NAMI fighting to stop stigma of mental illness

In this issue...
What’s In a Name? A Letter from the ADS Center
Online Resources
Research
Models, Programs, and Technical Assistance Tools… NAMI’S In Our Own Voice
In My Experience…Learning From a Troubled Genius by: Miriam Davis
What’s In a Name?
Nearly two months ago, we announced a change to the ADS Center’s name, from SAMHSA's Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma to SAMHSA's Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity and, Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health. The change demonstrates a new perspective for The ADS Center. We’re focusing on recovery, wellness, and the power of individuals with mental illnesses to chart their own recovery courses, based on their strengths and goals. These elements have always been part of our work, but now they’re at the forefront.

Many of you have shared your comments and feedback about the new change, and we thank you for taking the time to write. While we had a few emails questioning the new name, the majority expressed view like these:

Fabulous! Language structures experience and intention. I love your name change and applaud the awareness and consciousness out of which it grew.
I really like the positive and “do it” attitude that the new name presents!!!!!
The new name reflects a shift in society's view of mental illness from exclusion to inclusion.
The name change is powerful. Thank you very much for your foresight and thoughtfulness in doing this. It will make a difference.
I like the way the new name stresses the positive strengths and attributes as opposed to a negative focus.

We also received emails that challenged us to go further with the name change, like this one: The name change is great. But I note that the website still is called Stopstigma and also this email. It seems a little redundant.

We agree. From now on, we have a new Web site:

http://promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/ and a

new email address: mailto:promoteacceptance@samhsa.hhs.gov

Please bookmark the site and use that new email address to stay in touch. Thank you for helping us Promote Acceptance, Dignity and, Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health.
Sincerely, The ADS Center
Online Resources
Guidance of Transformational Language

Transformation in services and supports for adults, and children and youth with mental health problems, requires a complementary transformation in the language we use to describe the people we serve. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration developed this guide to provide examples of transformational, people-first language.

Guidelines for non-handicapping language in APA journals:

Committee on disabilities issues in psychology This fact sheet provides guidelines for the use of appropriate language regarding people with disabilities.

Mind your language: Media guidelines for mental health issues

This booklet, part of the 'see me' mental health public education campaign of Scotland, provides guidelines when addressing mental illness in the media.

Module Two: Defining the Illnesses

This is a teaching module on the proper uses of psychiatric terminology. Learners understand how inaccurate portrayals and stereotypes of mental illnesses create barriers to medical treatment. This brochure is also available in its entirety from the American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.

Stigma and discrimination: Aspects of stigma

Prejduice and discrimination towards people with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, and even towards their families, is a huge problem. This Web site contains ideas put together from conferences and other academic discussions about language.

Stigma and Mental Illness

This fact sheet about labels and stereotyping demonstrates the ways in which words can hurt and the ways in which they can affirm people with mental illnesses. By juxtaposing the ways that 'words can be poison' and the ways that 'words can heal,' the document sets ups do's and don't for the appropriate use of language.

Stigma: Language matters

A fact sheet created by On Our Own of Maryland outlining appropriate and nonstigmatizing language to use when speaking about people who have mental illnesses. The fact sheet is available at onourownmd.org

Words matter

This fact sheet provides examples of appropriate and inappropriate language when discussing mental illness.

Research
Corrigan, P. Language and Stigma. Psychiatric Services. August 2006; 57:1218.
Covell, N.H., McCorkle, B.H., Weissman, E.M., Summerfelt, T. and S.M. Essock. What's in a Name? Terms preferred by service recipients. Administration and Policy in Mental Health. September 2007; 34(5):443-7. Epub 2007 Apr 27.
Folsom et al. A Longitudinal Study of the Use of Mental Health Services by Persons With Serious Mental Illness: Do Spanish-Speaking Latinos Differ From English-Speaking Latinos and Caucasians? The American Journal of Psychiatry. 2007; 164: 1173-1180
Hamilton, B. and E. Manias. 'She's manipulative and he's right off': A critical analysis of psychiatric nurses' oral and written language in the acute inpatient setting. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. June 2006; 15(2):84-92.
Levav, I., Shemesh, A.A., Kohn, R., Baidani-Auerbach, A., Boni, O., Borenstein, Y., Dudai, R., Lachman, M., and A. Grinshpoon. What is in a name? Professionals and service users' opinions of the Hebrew terms used to name psychiatric disorders and disability. The Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences. 2005; 42(4):242-7.
Rose, D., Thornicroft, G. Pinfold, V., and A. Kassam. 250 labels used to stigmatise people with mental illness. BMC Health Services Research. 2007; 7: 97.
Sharma, V., Whitney, D., Kazarian, S.S., and R. Manchanda. Preferred terms for users of mental health services among service providers and recipients. Psychiatric Services. February 2000; 51(2):203-9.
Simmoons, T., Novins, D.K., and J. Allen. Words have power: (Re)-defining serious emotional disturbance for American Indian and Alaska Native children and their families. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, The Journal of the National Center. 2004 11(2): 59-64.
Models, Programs, and Technical Assistance Tools
Listening Well for Mental Health

Paula Comunelli a 2008 SAMHSA Voice Award Winner for Consumer Leadership is the founder and CEO of Listening Well, an organization that provides personal and professional development for individuals, organizations, and communities using the power of storytelling. Her diverse background includes social change advocate, entrepreneur, corporate manager, government contractor, and transformational leader. A mental health consumer in recovery, Paula works to remove prejudice and discrimination that comes from ignorance and brings different cultures and ethnicities regardless of age and gender together.

Listening Well uses a recovery philosophy to both empower consumers of mental health services, family members, and service providers, and reduce negative public perceptions of people with mental disorders through unique community storytelling retreats and mental health monologue events.

Listening Well’s goals include:
Facilitating consumers of mental health services to step further into their personal power and potential by taking them on a retreat to go through a process of helping them uncover and prepare to present the essence of their story of recovery and
Promoting transformation in members of the public or mental health system who witness these stories (at a monologue event) by impacting perceptions about the recovery capacity of people regardless of where they lie on the continuum of mental health and by reducing negative attitudes surrounding mental health issues.

Listening Well accomplishes its goals through programs that include:
The Listening Well Experience (LWE)This personal exploration is designed to deepen self-knowledge, enhance leadership capacity, and further the human experience. This workshop is for those committed to their inner and outer journey and who seek balance and wholeness in their lives. Because storytelling is a universal language, the Listening Well Experience can be delivered in any language, to any age group, and with any population. Of particular interest is developing bi-lingual, bicultural facilitators to serve monolingual populations. Along with a wellness and recovery story, some key outcomes are reclaimed lives, the realization that one is not alone, and increased personal empowerment.

Inspired Leadership This program focuses on strengths (Appreciative Inquiry) and has been successfully used with corporations, not-for-profits, government systems, groups, and individuals. Some key outcomes are discovered strengths, enhanced relationships, clarified intentions, and defined next steps to create the work, life, and world desired.

LWE Group Facilitator Certification (Train-the-Trainer)This program develops the ability to facilitate the Listening Well Experience in a group format. Participants learn the basics of modeling leadership, using self as an instrument of change, and applying cross-cultural teachings and Appreciative Inquiry. Some key outcomes are a developed and sustained learning environment, improved language and story development, and enhanced co-facilitation and feedback skills. LWE Group Facilitator Certification is provided at the close of the workshop based upon successful demonstration of core competencies.

For more information on Listening Well contact the organization at 831-421-9393 or contact@listeningwell.net You may also access the Listening Well Web site at http://www.listeningwell.net/

In My Experience… Learning From a Troubled Genius
Originally published in The Washington Post on Tuesday, December 18, 2001When 25 Years Ago the Author Met John Nash, the Nobel-Winning Schizophrenic, She Behaved Badly. She's Beginning to Understand Why.1By Miriam DavisHis shorts were a bright plaid, glaringly different from the pattern on his shirt. On his feet he wore red sneakers. On the self-consciously earth-toned Princeton campus of 1976, he stood out. "Who's that?" I asked my friends in the math department about the odd-looking figure who hung around the math area, which faced the biology lab where I'd begun working on my doctorate."Oh, that's Nash," came the reply."Who's he?" I persevered."He's crazy, but he won't hurt you." End of discussion.That was my introduction to math genius John Nash -- years before he was awarded his Nobel prize in economics, years before his recovery from schizophrenia, years before the release of the film version of his biography, "A Beautiful Mind," which is scheduled to arrive in theaters in January. And years before I began to care about the stigma of mental illness.

I didn't question my friends' dismissiveness. Nash's illness reduced him to insignificance for me, as it did for so many others.

Like them, I grew accustomed to seeing "The Ghost of Fine Hall," as he was known, in and around the math department where he had been a fixture for years -- a department in which he no longer had any formal affiliation but where all knew of his former glory. Outside Princeton, many academics assumed he was dead.The trouble was that I saw this dead man walking everywhere on campus. He could hardly be missed. Hunch-shouldered, arms hanging, he wandered the grounds wearing a vacant expression and the same mismatched plaids in all weather, regardless of season. He muttered to himself and made no eye contact. His appearance was so unsettling that I never said hello or bothered with a half-smile. I never wondered who he really was beneath the off-putting exterior, why he was there, whether he had a family, what his background was. I simply tried to steer clear.

It took me 20 years to realize that in writing him off as almost subhuman, I'd fallen into the smug ignorance of most Americans. Sixty percent of them, according to one comprehensive national survey, want to distance themselves from people with schizophrenia.
As a grad student in the 1970s, I was, as they say, part of the problem.

Keep reading Miriam Davis’ story by clicking here.

1 The author used the term “schizophrenic” in the original publication but the ADS Center advocates for use of the phrase “person with schizophrenia.” Person-first language helps us to look at an individual, not his illness.

Subscribe to receive this update by visiting the ADS Center Web Site or by calling an ADS Center representative at 800-540-0320.

Chicago Police Officer Richard Francis killed outside police station

Woman Kills 27-year Veteran Cop With His Own Gun

Chicago Tribune via YellowBrix

July 02, 2008

CHICAGO, IL – A 27-year veteran Chicago police officer was shot and killed by a woman who grabbed his gun during a struggle outside a police headquarters on the North Side early Wednesday morning, Supt. Jody Weis said.

Officers who responded to the scene at Belmont and Western Avenues around 2 a.m., then shot the woman several times, critically wounding her, authorities said.

Belmont District Officer Richard Francis, 60, was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center and pronounced dead just before 3 a.m., the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. The unidentified woman was at the same hospital being treated early this morning.

“Our focus right now is on his family. It’s a tragic loss for his family, it’s a terrible loss for the Chicago Police Department,” Weis said in a brief statement outside the hospital. “It’s a stark reminder of what the dangers that the officers of this department face everyday.”
go here for more
http://www.policelink.com/news/35905-woman-kills-27-year-veteran-cop-with-his-own-gun

Homeless veterans worth less than 2 minutes to CNN

Veterans Living on the Street: CNN Reports

By homelessalliance CNN did a short story on Homeless Veterans in Washington, DC, highlighting that post traumatic stress disorder is a contributing factor to homelessness and almost 2000 Iraq War veterans around the country are homeless (according to the ...The Homeless Alliance of WNY - http://homelessalliance.wordpress.com

The video report was 1:59. 2,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans already living on the streets across America joining the older veterans who found no place to call home and all CNN could do was devote less than two minutes to this important issue. At least they did report on that much anyway.

Spc. James Fair wounded in Iraq, protected at home by donation

Here's a story we don't come across too often but it raises and important issue the wounded do need to think about. Aside from a great human interest story of Tyco making this donation thru Homes For Our Troops, the wounded face additional dangers just living at home. It would be great if we were all aware of this.

Rapid Response Home Fire Sprinkler System Protects Iraq War Veteran
July 2, 2008

In an effort to raise awareness about the importance of installing home fire sprinkler systems and to honor America’s service men and women, Tyco Fire & Building Products donated a Rapid Response Home Fire Sprinkler System to a house built in Ross Township, Pa., for veteran Spc. James Fair by Homes for Our Troops.

Homes for Our Troops provides new or renovated homes that are specially adapted for severely wounded military service members at no cost to veterans and their immediate families.

James Fair suffered life-altering injuries in Fallujah, Iraq, in November 2003 while stringing barbed wire around an ammunition supply point. He stepped onto a makeshift enemy bomb, causing an immediate explosion. He lost his hands and sight in both eyes. Shrapnel also severely injured his right leg and caused a traumatic brain injury.

“For soldiers like James Fair, who have been injured so severely, the challenges are great -- especially in regard to house fires where residents have just minutes to safely escape their homes,” said Darren Palmieri, product manager at TFBP. “James deserves to live in a home that is designed to meet his needs and keep his family safe should a fire occur. We are proud that Rapid Response can now protect a courageous young soldier who has selflessly protected our country.”
go here for more
http://www.secprodonline.com/articles/64877/

Homeless veterans face new battle for survival

Homeless veterans face new battle for survival
Story Highlights
More veterans are facing a new enemy on the nation's streets
Veterans make up almost a quarter of homeless population
Homeless rate among veterans expected to rise

By Mike Mount
CNN

(CNN) -- "I can't find the right words to describe when you are homeless," says Iraq war veteran Joseph Jacobo. "You see the end of your life right there. What am I going to do, what am I going to eat?"


War trauma sends many veterans to the streets where they beg for survival.

Jacobo is one of an increasing number of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who come home to life on the street. The Department of Veterans Affairs is fighting to find them homes.

Veterans make up almost a quarter of the homeless population in the United States. The government says there are as many as 200,000 homeless veterans; the majority served in the Vietnam War. Some served in Korea or even World War II. About 2,000 served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The VA and several nongovernmental organizations have created programs that address the special needs of today's veterans returning from war. In addition to treating physical and mental injuries, there are career centers and counseling programs. But the VA still expects the homeless rate among the nation's newest veterans to rise because of the violent nature of combat seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Officials say many more Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer post-traumatic stress disorder than veterans of previous wars. The government says PTSD is one of the leading causes of homelessness among veterans.

"They come back, and they are having night trauma, they are having difficulty sleeping. They are feeling alienated," says Peter Dougherty, the director of homeless programs for the VA.

The VA says 70 percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan saw some form of combat, either through firefights, rocket attacks or the most common strikes on troops -- roadside bomb attacks on their vehicles.


That is three times the rate of combat experienced by Vietnam veterans, according to the VA.

"Because we are convinced, and we know that the earlier the intervention happens, particularly when it is related to PTSD, the better the prognosis is for recovery," Dougherty says.

go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/02/homeless.veterans/index.html
Witness slams 'nightmares' of Army medical system
VA blasted over veterans suicides
Vietnam Vets: Helping Iraq War Trauma

Peter Dougherty knows what he's talking about. So does every other expert who has honestly been working on this since Vietnam veterans came home. There were 1.6 million Vietnam veterans considered to have come from the hot zones of combat despite over a million more considered to have been in relatively safe zones. Out of the 1.6 million, the result was 500,000 diagnosed with PTSD by 1978 according to a study funded by the Disabled American Veterans. By 1986 117,000 committed suicide. Over 300,000 ended up homeless. Thousands of them ended up in prison. As bad as those figures were there were another 148,000 seeking help for PTSD for the first time between 2006-2008 in 18 months alone. This does not include the veterans being diagnosed in between all those years.

For the most of them it was a matter of not knowing what PTSD was. They knew there was something wrong with them but very few knew it's name or the fact there was a treatment for it. It was not until the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan produced news reports of the newest generation of PTSD wounded they began to receive the information through increased outreach efforts. Even many Gulf War veterans were not aware of PTSD.

With a homeless veterans count of these new veterans already at 2,000, studies placing the PTSD wounded at 300,000 along with another 320,000 TBI wounded, we should all be in emergency mode to address this head on. We are not even close to being ready.

The worst part of all of this is that the fact remains as soon as PTSD is treated it stops getting worse. When family members are aware of PTSD, they have a great chance of staying together and coping with the wound affecting the entire family. They also have an opportunity to take a proactive role in being an advocate for their spouse. When it involves the National Guard and Reservists, this is even more important to provide the emotional support they need to seek treatment. This is not happening at the rate it needs to be happening all over the nation.

While National Guard forces are taking a pro-active role developing their own videos like Picking Up the Pieces, the rest of the units are not. We are still receiving reports unit commanders are discouraging their troops from seeking help and still regarding PTSD as a fake illness. All this at a time when they could be saving the lives of their men instead of jeopardizing their lives needlessly along with their families.
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos

Schofield Soldier in 18 hour standoff ends peacefully

Royal Kunia Standoff Ends Peacefully
Written by KGMB9 News - news@kgmb9.com
July 01, 2008 11:10 AM


UPDATE 5: The wife of a soldier involved in an 18-hour standoff in Royal Kunia says he was being treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

No one was hurt and he was taken into police custody this morning.

Moments after residents were given the all clear, right after 11 this morning, the Red Cross closed a shelter some stayed in at nearby Hoaeae Community Park.

Police will give another briefing at 1 p.m.

We'll have much more on the incident throughout the day and later on our evening newscasts.

Military officials have confirmed the man is an active duty Schofield soldier from the 25th infantry.
go here for more
http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/7825/40/

Group Needs Information for VA Investigation

Group Needs Information for VA Investigation
by: Brandon Friedman
Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 02:55:47 AM EDT
This has gotten pushed by the wayside with all the Clark uproar, but Disability Rights Advocates is working on another investigation of the VA. If you can help them out, please contact them directly. The intro is here, and the full letter they've sent is below the fold.

Disability Rights Advocates is conducting an investigation of the accessibility of VA hospitals and clinics. We would like to hear from you about your experiences at these facilities. If you have a mobility disability, a vision disability, a hearing disability, and/or Traumatic Brain Injury, you are entitled to full access and reasonable accommodations, whether or not your disability is service connected. We want to know if these accommodations are being provided. Please contact us at va.access@gdblegal.com and we can set up a time to talk with you about your experiences.
click above for more

Veteran Suicide Rates Highlight Heroes' Tough Battle at Home

Veteran Suicide Rates Highlight Heroes' Tough Battle at Home

Lee Hill Kavanaugh


The Kansas City Star

Jul 01, 2008

June 29, 2008 - Cara Davis knew her husband was still at war.

In the night, he would yell out his name — Dwayne D. Davis! — followed by his rank and serial number. He'd shout that he would never be taken hostage. Four times he tried to choke her because, in his nightmares, she was al-Qaida.

She knew what she had to do.

As gently as she could, she told him: I think maybe you have that disease, that post-traumatic stress thing. I think maybe you need some help.

"We talked about it," she recalled. He had never told his buddies. "He said he was afraid if he did, the other soldiers would call him a coward."

Finally, the pain was too much.

In December, a year after he got out of the Army, he asked for help. He spent 30 minutes talking with a psychology intern at a Veterans Affairs hospital. He told how he felt edgy and had trouble sleeping. He told about his rage and depression, his fatigue, his difficulty with crowds. He told about keeping a gun under his pillow and carrying a blade everywhere he went.

He had cleared the first hurdle, taken the first step.

But he never took a second.

Instead, two days after his 30th birthday, the Raytown native and Army veteran of four tours of war — two in Iraq, one in Afghanistan, one in Kosovo — became part of a grim litany of veteran suicide statistics.

Each day, 18 veterans kill themselves, according to the latest estimate from the Department of Veterans Affairs. No firm numbers are available, such as breakdowns of veterans' suicides by the decade in which they served. There's no unified nationwide system to track veterans' deaths.

But 18 suicides each day translate to more than 6,500 deaths a year — and 21 percent of all U.S. suicides. Veterans make up about 8 percent of the U.S. population.

Now, with the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq lasting longer than World War II, the number of troops returning home with some form of mental illnesses is increasing.

On April 22, Sgt. Davis came home after an 80-hour week in an Oklahoma oil field. He'd had car trouble. In a rage, he grabbed a rifle and shot out the windshield of his wife's car outside their Elk City, Okla., home. Then he asked where his handgun was. She had hidden it earlier.

When she looked into her husband's normally crystal-blue eyes, she shuddered. They "just looked black," she said. She ran outside and hid in the backyard bushes. Before police arrived, she heard one shot.

And knew.

Her husband had killed himself.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10547

Veterans United for Truth Responds to Court Ruling

Editorial Column: Veterans United for Truth Responds to Court Ruling

Bob Handy


Veterans United for Truth

Jul 01, 2008

July 1, 2008 - Recently Federal District Judge Samuel Conti decided in the class action lawsuit in which we (Veterans United For Truth and Veterans for Common Sense) were plaintiffs, that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was failing in many cases in providing mental health services to returning veterans. Unfortunately he also decided that he did not have jurisdiction at his level to compel changes in the VA’s procedures.

While we are disappointed with Judge Conti's decision that he lacked jurisdiction, and do not agree that we did not prove the “systemic” nature of these problems, this outcome is far from being all bad. We knew that it was a crap shoot going in, but we were sure that he had the necessary jurisdiction. We also knew that no matter how he decided, the case would most likely end up before the Supreme Court. Of course we had hoped to be defending Judge Conti's decision against an appeal by the DVA; now we will be appealing his decision in the Ninth Circuit.

When we started out, we knew that we were in it for the long haul. We won round one, just by getting the case heard in federal court, since the DVA and the Department of Justice both attempted multiple times to have us disqualified as plaintiffs, and denied that the federal court had any right even to examine DVA procedures and policies..

We lost part of round two. It may be a setback, but it succeeded in large part since Judge Conti’s ruling expressed agreement with much of our complaint. Additionally The DVA has been exposed not only to the Congress, but also to the national and international media, who have stepped up their reporting on the shoddy treatment that the VA has been providing to returning veterans, and to the repeated delay and denial of service by the DVA..

America’s veterans will be forever in the debt of Morrison & Foerster and Disability Rights Advocates, the two law firms that took on the DVA pro bono.
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10553

Brave New Foundation steps In Their Boots for the troops

From Jim Miller
and the Brave New Foundation team

Over the past several months, as we gathered our staff and began to meet the men and women who have served, we knew that it would be a privilege to be able to share the stories of these servicemembers and their families so that the other 99% of the US population can better understand what is happening to our troops when they return from war.

We wanted to do something different than our usual short videos with this project, so we developed an idea for a LIVE internet-based show and decided to call it In Their Boots to let the audience know they would be hearing the information from the servicemembers' points of view.
The show premieres today, Wednesday July 2nd, at 4pm Pacific/5 Mountain/6 Central/7 Eastern at www.intheirboots.com. The stories are riveting and the show will be broadcast LIVE. You will have the opportunity to hear the stories from these servicemembers, learn about organizations that are helping, and find out how you can help as well.

The show will be broadcast from our brand new studio (it was a beauty parlor just 2 months ago), not quite finished since we are still doing some fundraising, but looking pretty good. Since it is LIVE, we invite you all to join the discussion and become part of webcast history by asking our interview guest a question, live, "on the air."

We are proud of what we have put together and we hope that you all tune in to see this. Please let us know what you think of it as well. And if you miss any part of the episode, be sure to check it out on our site: www.intheirboots.com. We plan on producing a new episode every Wednesday, live at 4pm Pacific.

Caring for Wounded Warriors Act, S. 2921

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Approves Caring for Wounded Warrior Act Provisions
Published by admin at 8:25 pm under Brain Injury Law, Recent TBI News
On Thursday, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee approved provisions contained in S. 2921, The Caring for Wounded Warriors Act, S. 2921. BIAA has strongly supported and endorsed this legislation, and several recommendations made by BIAA during the legislative drafting process were incorporated into the bill.
Provisions in the legislation, which was recently introduced by Sen. Clinton (D-NY), would strengthen supports for family caregivers of returning servicemembers with TBI. Specifically, provisions would require two pilot programs to be implemented through the Department of Veterans Affairs, improving the resources available to those caring for returning servicemembers with TBI.

click above for more

Many veterans finding difficulty finding work

Many finding difficulty finding work
07/01/2008, 9:47 am
Andrea Zelinski, sng3@springnet1.com, 217-525-8207
Tyler Carroll uses what he learned in the military every day.
Carroll, a 27-year-old Afghanistan veteran from Rock Island, spent five months carrying out missions like taking control of airfields and capturing top terrorist lieutenants.

Now he's securing crime scenes and arresting troublemakers as a police officer in Burlington, Iowa.

Carroll came home from Afghanistan in 2002 knowing exactly where he wanted to take his career. But many veterans aren't immediately following through after they come home from war, according to a report the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs published in September.

Those who try often have trouble finding quality work.

Here's what the Department of Veterans Affairs found:

18 percent of recently separated servicemen and women are unemployed.
One in four who land a job make less than $10.50 an hour or $21,840 a year.
Those with four-year college degrees earned $9,500 less than their civilian counterparts.

Amidst the already grim look of the U.S. and state economy, job prospects for Iraq War veterans are slimming as many struggle to relate their unique war experience to well-paying jobs, according to the study.

go here for more
http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=362577

Did Nicholson's departure from VA really matter?

From 2007 and not much has changed but this is an important voice that should be re-heard. I get Google Alerts so this must have come from someone hitting on this piece from last year before Peake replaced Nicholson.

Changing of the Guard
Does VA Secretary Jim Nicholson's departure matter to the men and women fighting the Iraq war? A veteran's view.
By David Botti Newsweek Web Exclusive
Jul 19, 2007
Botti, a former Marine Corps reservist, served as a rifleman in Iraq in 2003. He is now a freelance writer in New York.
On my first trip to a Veterans Affairs hospital for a post-deployment evaluation after returning from Iraq, the doctor said he didn't have time to screen me. He asked a nurse to do it instead.
Halfway through the interview, she suggested I change one of my answers, or I would be spending all day waiting to speak with doctors in the psych department.

I walked out as soon as the evaluation was over, and I never went back. If Ineeded help, I wasn't going to get it there.
It seems little has changed between then and now, except perhaps for the severity of soldiers' injuries inflicted by a more adept and resourceful enemy.

Nicholson's announcement on Tuesday that he would resign as Secretary of Veterans Affairs came as a surprise to most. The political spin storm still managed to get off the ground in no time. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama released a statement saying Nicholson left the VA worse than he found it. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said the president was grateful forMr. Nicholson's service.

It seemed that those with the most to say were the least affected.

This was in 2004, six months before James Nicholson inherited a Department of Veterans Affairs already strained by the nearly two-year-old war. As a Marine among the first wave of veterans to return from Iraq, I simply figured it was going to take a little while longer for the VA to get its wartime footing.
go here for more
http://www.newsweek.com/id/32946/page/1

Hood CSM: Army tired, undermanned but resolute

When I post about what is going on in Iraq, this is part of what I have a huge problem with. The soldiers are still willing to do their duty no matter how they are treated. They are still willing to lay down their lives no matter what happens at the top of the food chain.

Hood CSM: Army tired, undermanned but resolute

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 2, 2008 5:59:56 EDT

KILLEEN, Texas — A three-decade Army veteran called a “steel spine” by the defense secretary says he and most other soldiers would prefer never to deploy and fight again because they are tired, undermanned and under-equipped.

“We, the Army, have been rode hard and put up wet,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Neil L. Ciotola, Fort Hood’s senior noncommissioned officer. “We’re catching ourselves coming and going. ... In all honesty, ladies and gentlemen, I and the majority of us in uniform, and those that repeatedly support us are tired.”

Ciotola spoke at the Central Texas-Fort Hood Chapter of the Association of the United States Army where he was given an award for leadership Monday night.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/ap_hood_csm_070108/

When it was clear they were sent into Iraq, into the "quagmire" as predicted by Dick Cheney in the 90's when he played the role of Secretary of Defense, they were willing to go and give the administration a chance to prove themselves. They failed and the troops were left to fend for themselves. Given no grandiose plans to accomplish the mission they were sent on, given no back up with diplomatic warfare to engage the Iraqi people to participate, they still did their duty.

When it was clear the claims that Iraq was not a threat to us, they switched mode from fighting against into fighting for the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people however decided they wanted to fight against the troops. Fracture by sectarian inclinations instead of nationalism, old hatred and hunger for revenge, they then turned on each other while trying to kill the troops in their spare time.

When commanders decided that they would pay the people to stop fighting the troops, it seemed to work but no one knows what will happen when soon the money stops flowing from the US and the Iraqi government has not decided they will pay these militias instead.

When pressure was put on the administration to change the plans, yet excuses and demands to continue staying the course, prevented any kind of resolution of the occupation. Yet the troops still were willing to do their duty.

When they came home wounded and were neglected by the system never addressed to take care of their wounds, they were still willing to serve. When no one in Washington was paying attention to their suffering, they were still willing to serve. When the Army study on redeployments proved the fact they would increase the risk of PTSD by 50%, yet they did them anyway, the troops were still willing to do their duty.

Throughout all of these years, these men and women, no matter what was done to them and not done for them, they were still willing to serve. Yet instead of this nation stepping up to force the administration to pay attention to these men and women, they either decided that they would support the administration no matter what, or just ignore it entirely.

We cannot stop the occupation of Iraq anymore than we can accomplish the mission in Afghanistan, the forgotten occupation that should have been the top report since 2001, but what we can do today is make sure they are taken care of. We can make sure they get the rest between deployments that is necessary. We can make sure the National Guard and Reservists do not suffer financially for their lost incomes. We can make sure that when they come home wounded, they are treated with the dignity and respect they have all earned.

The Secretaries of the VA have regarded them as if they do not matter for far too long. James Peake will indicate that the administration has been moving mountains to address PTSD one day and the next he's dismissing the suffering as if they really don't matter. We can make sure that we do not ignore what they claim they are doing and demand proof of it.

While Battlemind, the program they are claiming is all so important, the facts prove the program does not work. If it worked there would not be an increase in the suicides and attempted suicides. Is anyone demanding proof to show how Battlemind is really performing? The media has been reporting on the claims of accomplishments as well as the devastating consequences but none of them have managed to put the two together. Are they paying attention enough? It's doubtful when we pick up a newspaper one day about more suicides one day and the next the administration is being patted on the back for something they claim is happening. We can make sure the media does their job reporting facts instead of just what they are told by people without proof.

There are things we can do for the sake of the troops even if we cannot bring them home. We can bring them home to a nation that actually lives up to being grateful for their willingness to serve no matter what the administration is putting them through. We cannot go on ignoring them. We all want them home as soon as possible but what are we doing to them between now and then and what are we expecting them to come home to?

Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Oakley cares for kids orphaned by plane crash

Oakley cares for kids orphaned by plane crash
Tyche Hendricks,Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writers

Tuesday, July 1, 2008
(06-30) 19:02 PDT Oakley - -- The east Contra Costa County town of Oakley was in mourning Monday for two couples deeply woven into the fabric of the community who died in a single-engine plane crash Saturday near Las Vegas, leaving seven children orphaned.

A U.S. flag flew at half-staff outside City Hall, and black ribbons festooned the "City of Oakley" signs there. The electronic sign board at the town's civic center read: "Our deepest sympathies to the families of Erik & Tanya Nunn and Craig & Michele Wilson."

Nowhere was the grieving greater - or the community response stronger - than in the well-kept subdivision where the two families lived less than a block apart, on Susie Street and Kali Court.

Cars clogged the driveways of both homes along with children's bikes and scooters, and a steady stream of friends and neighbors came and went. The parents and siblings of all four victims had settled in to care for the three Wilson children and the four Nunn kids.

Anne Marie Montes, who lives across from the Wilsons and around the corner from the Nunns, sat stunned on her front stoop. All the families in the neighborhood moved in together when their homes were built about five years ago, she said. The parents visit frequently, and the children play constantly.

click post title for more


How to help
Donations can be made to:
-- The Nunn Children Trust and Wilson Children Trust at Bank of the West, 2195 Main St., Oakley, CA 94561 or call (925) 625-2211.
-- The Children of Craig Wilson Trust Fund, the BART Police Officers Association, P.O. Box 12688, Oakland, CA 94604 or call (510) 464-7182.
E-mail Tyche Hendricks at thendricks@sfchronicle.com.

Corps: Marine who died at Africa base wasn't hazed

Corps: Marine who died at Africa base wasn't hazed
By GENE JOHNSON
The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 1, 2008; 5:16 PM

SEATTLE -- A Marine was not being hazed or abused when he collapsed and died on a base in Africa, but his superiors broke rules when they had him exercise as punishment for slightly injuring another Marine, a commander concluded.

Lance Cpl. Dustin Canham chose to do push-ups and other exercises to avoid having a black mark on his record and his death March 23 was due solely to a heart condition, said Lt. Gen. Samuel T. Helland, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command, in a summary provided to Canham's father.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating Canham's death separately, but the Marine report includes some statements other Marines made to NCIS.

Canham, 21, of Lake Stevens, Wash., and a Marine private had been playing catch with a rock that day at the U.S. base in Djibouti, according to the documents. The private told investigators he looked away just before Canham threw the rock, which hit him in the mouth. It chipped his tooth, but the injury did not require medical attention.
click post title for more

Peake still doesn't get it on PTSD

VA SECRETARY PEAKE MINIMIZES PTSD AND MARGINALIZES
VETS WITH DISORDER -- Peake: "It doesn't mean you have
a disorder that is going to be longstanding..." and "...it is not
just a federal responsibility, it is a national responsibility."

VA Secretary James Peake

Although the following article's headline is about VA Secretary Peake's reaction to the New G.I. Bill...the real story of importance is his comments about PTSD.

Peake, very well-trained in public relations, is using what we call the "M&M" strategy, "minimize & marginalize."

When you "M&M" a situation, you try to make a problem appear smaller that it really is (minimize), and then you try to show that those with the problem are really alright because the problem is being taken care of (marginalize).

In the article below, Peake minimized PTSD by saying, "It doesn't mean you have a disorder that is going to be longstanding and problematic for the rest of your life..." The message here is that PTSD is not debilitating...and many Americans will believe this.

He then marginalized PTSD vets by saying, "...it is not just a federal responsibility, it is a national responsibility." This statement was made in reference to private providers stepping in to help PTSD vets because the VA can't handle the load. The message here is, "It's OK. They are being taken care of." But, Peake is wrong. It IS a federal responsibility. When Peake makes it a national responsibility, he turns PTSD veterans into welfare cases, needing to rely on the sympathy of the public instead of the care that the VA should be providing.

A veteran wrote me recently and said, "Peake doesn't have a clue." Wrong! He knows exactly what he's doing. He's trying to sell his "minimize & marginalize" program to the American people.

I hope they see this for what it is...just another way for the government to avoid their responsibility to veterans who come home from war with the unseen wound of PTSD.

For more about veterans and PTSD, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here... http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=ptsd&op=and
Story here... http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0628/p25s34-usmb.html
Story here on VA Watchdog
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJUN08/nf062808-1.htm


Can anyone in this country wonder why there has been so many problems with our veterans getting the help they need for PTSD with an attitude like this?

Bush's speech on Webb's GI Bill was a load of lies

YouTube - COUNTDOWN: Sen. Jim Webb On The GI Bill 6/30/08
Jim Webb discuss the recent GI bill he sponsored and the hypocritical stance of President Bush and Sen. John McCain trying to take credit for it when they

Statement of Senator Jim Webb on the White House's Embrace of his 21st Century GI Bill
"For the past 17 months, I and my staff have been working every day to provide first-class educational benefits to those who have served since 9/11. I am delighted that after having opposed this legislation, the President has now pledged that he will not veto it when it comes before him as part of this year's supplemental appropriations package.

"The bill being sent to the President contains every provision in S. 22, which has received meticulous scrutiny and the full support of every major veterans' organization. It will pay for a veteran's tuition, books, and a monthly stipend, along the lines of the benefits given to those who returned from World War II. As such, it fulfills the pledge I made on my first day of office to provide today's veterans with the opportunity to move forward into an absolutely first-class future.

"I would like to again express my appreciation to the veterans' service organizations, many of whom communicated their support of this bill directly to a skeptical White House, and to the 58 Senate and 302 House cosponsors of this landmark legislation. This bipartisan coalition consistently rejected the allegations of this Administration, and of Senators McCain, Burr and Graham, among others, who claimed that the bill was too generous to our veterans, too difficult to administer and would hurt retention.

"It has now been nearly seven years since 9/11 -- seven years since those who have been serving in our military began earning the right for a proper wartime GI Bill. I am looking forward to the President living up to his word, and signing this legislation at his earliest opportunity."
To view a Fact Sheet on S.22, please click here
To download a complete press packet on S.22, please click here
To view the Senate co-sponsors, please click here
To view the House co-sponsors, please click here
New York Times Op-Ed: A Post-Iraq G.I. Bill by Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel (November 9, 2007)
Washington Post Editorial: Reward for Service, Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan deserve an improved GI bill (November 11, 2007)
Prominent GI Bill Beneficiaries (Edward Humes, Over Here: How the GI Bill Transformed the American Dream)
Chart on WWII Veterans in the Senate--How Much the GI Bill Would Cover Then & Now

but here is Bush's speech

President Bush Signs H.R. 2642, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008
Oval Office

Video (Windows)
Presidential Remarks
Audio
En Español



9:48 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. A few moments ago I signed legislation that funds our troops who are in harm's way. Our nation has no greater responsibility than supporting our men and women in uniform -- especially since we're at war. This is a responsibility all of us in Washington share -- not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans. And I want to thank leaders of the House and Senate for getting this bill to my office.

America remains a nation at war. There are enemies who intend to harm us. Standing in their way are brave men and women, who put on the uniform, who raise their right hand, and took an oath to defend our freedom. They volunteered to deploy in distant lands, far from their families, far from their homes, and far from comfort of America. And every day, they risk their lives to defeat our adversaries and to keep our country safe.

We owe these brave Americans our gratitude. We owe them our unflinching support. And the best way to demonstrate that support is to give them the resources they need to do their jobs and to prevail. The bill I sign today does exactly that. It provides necessary funds to support our troops as they conduct military operations in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in other theaters in the war on terror.

I appreciate that Republicans and Democrats in Congress agreed to provide these vital funds without tying the hands of our commanders, and without an artificial timetable of withdrawal from Iraq. Our troops have driven the terrorists and extremists from many strongholds in Iraq; today violence is at the lowest level since March of 2004. As a result of this progress, some of our troops are coming home as result of our policy called "return on success." We welcome them home. And with this legislation we send a clear message to all that are servings [sic] on the front line that our nation continues to support them.

We also owe a debt of gratitude to our nation's military families. They endure sleepless nights, and the daily struggle of caring for children while a loved one is serving far from home. We have a responsibility to provide for them. So I'm pleased that the bill I sign today includes an expansion of the GI Bill. This legislation will make it easier for our troops to transfer unused education benefits to their spouses and children. It will help us to recruit and reward the best military on the face of the Earth. It will help us to meet our responsibilities to those who support our troops every day -- America's great military families.

The bill also includes agreed-upon funding for other critical national priorities. This bill includes $465 million for the Merida Initiative -- a partnership with Mexico and nations in Central America to crack down on violent drug trafficking gangs. The bill includes nearly $2.7 billion to help ensure that any state facing a disaster like the recent flooding and tornadoes in the Midwest has access to needed resources. This bill includes a measured expansion of unemployment insurance benefits with a reasonable work requirement. And this bill holds overall discretionary spending within the sensible limits that I requested.

The bill is a result of close collaboration between my administration and members of both parties on Capitol Hill. I appreciate the hard work of my Cabinet -- especially the leaders of Defense and State, and Veterans Affairs, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, as well as OMB. I want to thank House and Senate leadership and leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. I am particularly grateful to Congressmen Boehner, Hoyer, Obey, and Lewis. And I want to thank members who worked hard for the GI Bill expansion -- especially Senators Webb and Warner, Graham, Burr, and McCain.

This bill shows the American people that even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats can come together to stand behind our troops and their families.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080630.html

Too bad the fact is Bush, McCain and others fought against this bill and that is why Webb had to fight so hard to get this many to sign onto it. He had to make sure Bush could not be able to veto it as he promised he would and was on tape saying he would veto it. McCain fought it because he said it was just too generous.

Now I heard on the Randi Rhodes show today that McCain is getting disability payments from the VA for his wounds. If he is, he does deserve them but you would think he wouldn't have become part of the "I got mine, screw you club!" since he always votes against veterans.

Veteran Healthcare Advocates Want VA to Focus More on Prevention

Veteran Healthcare Advocates Want VA to Focus More on Prevention


WASHINGTON, July 1, 2008--A first-ever leadership summit for veterans' healthcare advocates ended here Thursday in general agreement that the Department of Veterans Affairs must focus more time and resources on prevention and preventive medicine practices.

The objective of the Patient Advocacy Leaders Summit, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., was to expand awareness about critical health issues that impact the lives of veterans and those currently serving in uniform. Almost 100 attendees from more than three dozen organizations from the veteran and medical communities were present to hear and interact with prominent physicians and researchers in the fields of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), Diabetes, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

The TBI seminar focused on the effects blast injuries are having on servicemen and women deployed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 20 percent of the 1.6 million men and women who had served in the war had experienced a blast – mostly caused by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Better body armor combined with modern battlefield medicine and rapid transportation have reduced the war's mortality-to-casualty rate to 10 percent, compared to previous wars that had 25 percent fatality rates in Vietnam and Korea, and 30 percent during World War II. The high survivability rates, however, are resulting in multiple grievous injuries that will continue to challenge the medical community – and the wounded veterans – for years.

Symptoms, diagnostic issues and challenges were presented at the PTSD seminar, as well as who was most at risk: military reservists under the age of 25 who have had repeated deployments, as well as those who are repeatedly exposed to traumatic events. This seminar also found the results of three independent PTSD studies to be similar: a quarter to one-third of those who went to war came home with mental health problems.
go here for more
http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=4620

Sgt. Sean K. Webster found dead at Camp Pendleton

VA Marine Killed (10:31 pm)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) - Marine Corps authorities investigating the death of an Iraq combat veteran at Camp Pendleton say they have not ruled out the possibility of homicide. The Marine Corps said the body of 23-year-old Sergeant Sean K. Webster of Fairfax, Virginia, was discovered Saturday. Webster was twice awarded the Purple Heart.

The North County Times reports his first Purple Heart came after he was wounded in June 2005 bombing during a raid near the Syrian border. The second came after an anti-tank mine exploded under his vehicle in Anbar province in September 2005. The Marines say the death was not an accident, and spokesman Lieutenant Ken Kunze says the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has not ruled out homicide.

The circumstances have not been released.
http://www.wtvr.com/Global/story.asp?S=8582068
Linked from ICasualties.org


UPDATE

A reader left a comment on the first post I did on Sgt. Webster letting me know he passed away. In just a few days, I had forgotten why his name was tugging at me. This is why and I feel horrible I had forgotten this hopeful story was part of his life.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Camp Pendleton 80% PTSD at Wounded Warrior Battalion
"Eighty percent of our residents have some degree of PTSD," Lawhorne said, referring to the disorder that requires counseling and group therapy in mild cases and more intensive psychiatric treatment and medications in its more severe form. "At the same time, we're seeing a lot more TBI cases."

MILITARY: Treating the troops
Wounded Warrior Battalion focuses on injured Marines and sailors
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer Friday, June 20, 2008 5:13 PM PDTCAMP PENDLETON ---- Nearly three years and 14 surgeries after the right side of his body was torn apart by shrapnel in a roadside bombing in Iraq, Marine Sgt. Sean Webster is working to save his military career.After he was injured, he had visions of becoming a drill instructor; now, he'd be grateful for a job training fellow Marines in some less-intensive discipline."My goal is to stay in the Marine Corps on limited duty," the 23-year-old Virginia native said during a Wednesday interview at the base. "What I'd really like to do is stay as a staff member here.

"The "here" for Webster is the Wounded Warrior Battalion West, a unit established in part because of criticisms regarding care for troops.The battalion's mission is simple: Do all it can to help coordinate treatment for injured Marines and sailors.Nearly 12 months after it was formally launched, the battalion's civilian and military members are working directly with or tracking more than 600 current and former troops, including 41 now living in the barracks.The battalion and a comparable one at Camp Lejeune on the East Coast were established to provide a central point of contact for troops injured on and off the battlefield. Troops assigned to it are mostly those needing outpatient services, not the more severely wounded who are treated at comprehensive medical facilities.

"We have two main goals," said Cheryl Lawhorne, a civilian liaison officer who works to make sure troops and families are receiving the services they need. "Get them back to full ability or get them through the medical board and get them every benefit they're entitled to. We track everybody who comes through here for as long as it takes."go here for more

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/06/20/military/
z2bc7c6e36fc93b698825746c0071037d.txt

Wheelchair man dumped forgives deputy

No trial for deputy in wheelchair case
Prosecutors say the request for the intervention program, which spares former deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones from a trial, came from an unlikely source: Brian Sterner, the victim who had been dumped to the jailhouse floor.

Florida Base on list DOD doesn't want to clean up

DoD fights EPA on hazardous waste cleanups

By Dina Cappiello - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 6:50:32 EDT

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department is refusing to comply with orders or sign contracts to clean up 11 hazardous waste sites, and has asked the White House and Justice Department to intervene on its behalf.

The dispute between the Pentagon and the Environmental Protection Agency has simmered over the last year since the EPA began issuing orders compelling the Air Force and Army to clean up four properties where contamination poses an “imminent and substantial” risk to public health and the environment. To date, the Pentagon has agreed to comply with only one of those orders, at an Air Force missile plant near Tucson, Ariz.

In separate letters in May to the White House budget office and the Justice Department, Pentagon officials challenged the EPA’s authority to issue orders under other environmental laws to force Superfund cleanups at Air Force bases in New Jersey and Florida and at the Army’s Fort Meade in Maryland. The Defense Department dismissed the EPA’s claim that soil and groundwater pollution at the three bases was dangerous enough to warrant such action.

Senate Environment Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., agreed Monday with a request by Maryland’s two Democratic senators, Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin, to hold a hearing on the Pentagon’s noncompliance with the EPA’s orders.

At eight other Superfund sites, the Pentagon is objecting to “additional provisions” that it says the EPA added to proposed cleanup contracts. Those eight facilities are in Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, New Jersey, Florida and Hawaii.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_hazardous_waste_063008/

Video Shows Patient Dying on Floor

Video Shows Patient Dying on Floor
AP
Posted: 2008-07-01 12:35:02
Filed Under: Law News, Nation News
NEW YORK (July 1) - Video from a surveillance camera at a Brooklyn, N.Y., hospital shows a woman dying on the floor of a psychiatric emergency-room while people nearby ignore her.

The video was released Monday by lawyers suing Kings County Hospital alleging neglect and abuse of mental health patients at the facility.
click post title for more
The video is posted on the side bar of this blog.

French army chief quits after soldier shoots 17 people

French army chief quits after soldier shoots 17 people
Posted 3 hours 37 minutes ago

The French army chief of staff has resigned two days after a soldier injured 17 people when he mistakenly opened fire with live ammunition during a display at an army base, the presidency said.

President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed severe punishment following the shooting, which took place as hundreds of people watched a mock hostage rescue operation near the south-western city of Carcassonne.

"The president of the republic, head of the armed forces, has accepted the offer of resignation by General Bruno Cuche, chief of staff of the army," Mr Sarkozy's office said in a statement.

"This powerful gesture follows the tragedy that occurred last Sunday in Carcassonne," it said.

Fifteen bystanders including five children were shot during the display as were two soldiers. A three-year-old boy was in serious condition after taking bullets in the heart and in the arm.

The 28-year-old sergeant who fired the shots from his assault rifle was being held in custody and was expected to be charged with causing unintentional injury.

The sergeant has been described as an experienced soldier with no history of psychological problems.
go here for more
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/01/2291444.htm?section=justin

Two programs assist veterans with disability

Allan Appel: Two programs assist veterans with disability

Vero Beach Press-Journal - Vero Beach,FL,USA

By Allan Appel
Monday, June 30, 2008


The Veterans Administration administers two disability programs designed to help veterans with support and benefits.

Eligibility for the Veterans Disability Compensation Program is not based on financial need. Assets and income are not qualifying factors and therefore do not affect eligibility. The veteran's injury or disease, however, must have been incurred or aggravated while on active military duty.

On the other hand, the Veterans Disability Pension Program is tailored for low-income veterans who are totally and permanently disabled. The disability need not be connected to time spent on active military duty. Unlike the previously mentioned compensation benefit, this is a needs-based program, similar to Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income.

click above for more

Soldier on leave found dead

Soldier on leave found dead

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 6:01:13 EDT

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — A 24-year-old Army soldier who was home on leave after serving in Afghanistan and Germany died just days after he arrived in Alabama, authorities said Monday.

Spc. Toney L. Goble II was found dead in bed Friday morning at a home where he had spent the night, said Marshall County Coroner Marlon Killion. The cause of death wasn’t determined immediately.

go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_goble_063008/

DOD to review comp cases 20% or less

Pentagon board to review disability ratings

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 8:26:52 EDT

Service members given a disability rating of 20 percent or lower during their medical evaluation boards since Sept. 11, 2001, may have their cases reviewed by a new Defense Department board.

The Physical Disability Board of Review was mandated by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act after several investigations — including an analysis of five years’ worth of Defense Department budget records by Military Times — showed discrepancies across the services in average amounts of disability benefits awarded. For example, Military Times found enlisted airmen averaged much higher monthly disability payments — $926 — than did enlisted Marines at $770 a month. And all the services tended to award more officers than enlisted personnel ratings of 50 percent or higher.

“The purpose of the [board] shall be to reassess the accuracy and fairness of the combined disability ratings assigned service members who were discharged as unfit for continued military service,” wrote David S.C. Chu, undersecretary for personnel and readiness, in a memo dated June 27. “The [board] shall operate in a spirit of transparency and accountability, and shall impartially readjudicate cases upon which review is requested or undertaken on its own motion.”
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/military_medicalboard_review_063008w/

VA Losing Care Coordinators

VA Losing Care Coordinators
Rick Maze


Army Times

Jun 30, 2008

June 27, 2008 - The Department of Veterans Affairs has trouble keeping medical care coordinators for severely injured combat veterans, with four of the first eight people having to be replaced.

Two of the original Federal Recovery Coordinators hired late last year quit, and two have died, VA officials confirmed Thursday.

"Of the original eight, two have tragically died and two left the program for personal reasons," said VA spokeswoman Josephine Schuda.

VA officials and congressional aides, speaking on the condition of not being identified, said they knew that the jobs were going to be stressful — dealing with seriously ill or wounded combat veterans who have especially complex needs can be demanding — but no one anticipated such high turnover.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10535

Dayton OH VA did not take rape of veteran seriously

What is wrong with these people? Don't they understand that rape is a crime and should be treated like it? How could they take this kind of attitude? How could they put a soldier being treated for sexual addiction problems anywhere near a woman in treatment?

Impartial Group Gets Rape Case at Local VA
Jim DeBrosse


Dayton Daily News

Jun 30, 2008

June 29, 2008, Dayton, OH - A 24-year-old female veteran's claim that she was raped in a residential facility at the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center is being investigated by VA officials from outside the Dayton VA.

The veteran, who asked not to be named, requested the independent investigation after complaining that staff at the Dayton VA did not take her allegations seriously. She said the March 25 incident was reported to VA staff March 26, but police records show she was not interviewed by VA police until April 25, almost a month later. The veteran has a service-connected physical injury.

Formal complaints filed

She filed formal complaints against five VA employees, including her mental health counselor, who "insisted (the incident) was consensual," her complaint alleges.

In the complaint, she also faults her case manager for having placed the alleged rapist in the same residential facility knowing that "he was seeing a (VA) psychologist for sexual addiction" and that she still "felt very used ... and violated" from the breakup of a consensual relationship with a VA intern involved in her care.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10540

After Deaths, U.S. Inspects Electric Work Done in Iraq

After Deaths, U.S. Inspects Electric Work Done in Iraq
By JAMES RISEN
Gen. David H. Petraeus told Congress of the new inspections while also disclosing that at least 13 American personnel had been electrocuted in Iraq since the war began.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has ordered electrical inspections of all buildings in Iraq maintained by KBR, a major military contractor, after the electrocutions of several United States service members.

Gen. David H. Petraeus, the American commander in Iraq, told Congress of the new inspections while also disclosing that at least 13 Americans had been electrocuted in Iraq since the war began. Previously, the Pentagon said that 12 had been electrocuted. In addition to those killed, many more service members have received painful shocks, Army officials say.

General Petraeus’s written statement was made public on Monday afternoon by Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania. The statement said that of the 13 Americans electrocuted, 10 were in the Army, 1 in the Marines, and 2 were contractors.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a Green Beret from Pennsylvania, died Jan. 2 when he stepped into a shower and was electrocuted at his base in Baghdad. His death prompted investigations this spring by Congress and the Pentagon’s inspector general into evidence that poor electrical work at facilities used by American personnel had led to other electrocutions.
click above for more

Wounded Iraqi Forces Say They’ve Been Abandoned

Wounded Iraqi Forces Say They’ve Been Abandoned
By MICHAEL KAMBER
Iraqi veterans described their government’s treatment of them as at best indifferent and at worst vindictive.

BAGHDAD — Dawoud Ameen, a former Iraqi soldier, lay in bed, his shattered legs splayed before him, worrying about the rent for his family of five.

Mr. Ameen’s legs were shredded by shrapnel from a roadside bomb in September 2006 and now, like many wounded members of the Iraqi security forces, he is deeply in debt and struggling to survive. For now, he gets by on $125 a month brought to him by members of his old army unit, charity and whatever his wife, Jinan, can beg from her relatives. But he worries that he could lose even that meager monthly stipend.

In the United States, the issue of war injuries has revolved almost entirely around the care received by the 30,000 wounded American veterans. But Iraqi soldiers and police officers have been wounded in greater numbers, health workers say, and have been treated far worse by their government.

A number of the half-dozen badly wounded Iraqis interviewed for this article said they had been effectively drummed out of the Iraqi security forces without pensions, or were receiving partial pay and in danger of losing even that. Coping with severe injuries, and often amputations, they have been forced to pay for private doctors or turn to Iraq’s failing public hospitals, which as recently as a year ago were controlled by militias that kidnapped and killed patients — particularly security personnel from rival units.

No one knows the exact number of wounded Iraqi veterans, as the government does not keep track. In a 2006 report by the Congressional Research Service, Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson, the American commander in charge of Iraqi police training, said that in just two years, from September 2004 to October 2006, about 4,000 Iraqi police officers were killed and 8,000 were wounded.

That number does not include soldiers in the Iraqi Army, who are far more numerous than the police and, Iraqi commanders say, have suffered injuries at a far greater rate.
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Marines learn skills to save lives

Monday, June 30, 2008

Marines learn skills to save lives

Cpl. Jessica Aranda

AL ASAD, Iraq (June 14, 2008) – Marines deployed with 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) recently became certified lifesavers after completing a class hosted by Navy corpsman here June 13.

The combat lifesaver skills course is designed to train non-medical personnel the basics of emergency care, enabling them to step in and provide assistance to patients and corpsman in a combat environment.

“While conducting combat operations, there could only be one corpsman assigned to an entire unit of Marines,” explained Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Rodrick Jones, the course instructor and corpsman with Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 3, 3rd MAW (Fwd.) “So when an emergency arises, these combat lifesavers become integral to stabilizing patients and assisting the corpsman.”
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Massachusetts seeks to boost services to veterans

Helping vets with hidden wounds left by US wars
Mass. is seeking to boost services

State lawmakers will convene the first of a series of meetings today to consider how to improve mental health services and programs for thousands of veterans returning to Massachusetts from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The committee will review how the state can supplement federal assistance for the more than 29,000 veterans in the state who have served in the military since Sept. 11, 2001.

The 19-member Hidden Wounds of War Commission will explore whether to establish mandatory mental health treatment programs for National Guard members, a state military family leave policy for caregivers of returning veterans, and a statewide training program to assist police, correction officers, and other officials in recognizing the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"The federal government has not provided adequate services, and we want to know what we can do as a Commonwealth to be helpful," said state Senator Stephen M. Brewer, the commission's cochairman. "There are heart-wrenching stories that need action. Unfortunately, in our society there remains a stigma to mental health issues. Veterans may be reluctant to come forward. We want to see that they get the help they need."
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PTSD in Military: "A shared national problem"

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report

Coverage & Access Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Recent Developments Related to Veterans' Health
[Jun 23, 2008]
Summaries of several recent developments related to health care for veterans appear below.

Disparity for women: Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake on Friday said that the department has begun efforts to eliminate disparities in the quality of outpatient care for women, the AP/Orlando Sentinel reports. At the National Summit on Women Veterans' Issues, a meeting organized by VA and other veteran groups after the release of a report by the Associated Press that highlighted the issue, Peake said that the department will spend about $32 million on equipment to meet the health care needs of women. He said, "We are making a full-court press to ensure that women veterans receive the highest quality care" (Hefling, AP/Orlando Sentinel, 6/21).


Mental health: The Chicago Tribune on Monday examined the "complex decisions facing the U.S. military" in efforts to address the "mental health problems plaguing its troops while maintaining its warrior ethos and respect for the chain of command." According to the Department of Defense, physicians have diagnosed at least 40,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, and 12% to 15% of soldiers in combat areas take antidepressants or insomnia medications.

In 2007, 115 soldiers committed suicide, the highest annual number since the military began to track such cases, according to DOD. Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, chief medical officer for the Army, said that the Army needs to improve health care facilities and lacks an adequate number of mental health care providers. He said, "I think we can say as a nation that our mental health facilities and access to mental health providers is not adequate to the need right now," adding, "So part of the problem that we as a military are suffering is a shared national problem" (Madhani, Chicago Tribune, 6/23).
View entire Policy Report.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=52901

Veterans commission suggest PTSD cases higher than DOD thinks

If you take the data from Vietnam, add in the 50% increased risk of PTSD for redeployments and then factor in the stigma preventing too many from seeking help, it's easy to know that we will be facing at least a million diagnosed within the next 5 years. I'll be doing my end providing knowledge of what PTSD is and doing the outreach work to get them into treatment but will there be enough help for them waiting? This is my biggest concern. What good will it do to get them to understand what is wrong with them, get them over the notion there is anything to be ashamed of and talk them into going to be diagnosed if there is no one available to treat them?

Veterans commission suggest PTSD cases higher than DOD thinks
Monday, June 30, 2008, 10:01 PM
By Bob Priddy
The state veterans commission urges testing for post-traumatic stress disorder of every service member who comes back from battle zones, whether they stay in the military or leave it.

Sometimes post-traumatic stress disorder can take years or decades to manifest itself. A Rand Corporation study suggests 300-thousand American troops who've served in Afghanistan or Iraq suffer from PTSD or major depression.

Ombudsman Pat Rowe Kerr with the state veterans commission thinks the number of cases is on the rise in Missouri although she does not have raw numbers.
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http://www.missourinet.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=
DBD1074A-C33A-4690-8DFC40CCBA7B4645

NAMI New Mexico has free video for veterans mental health issues

Posted on Friday, Jun. 27, 2008
National Alliance on Mental Illness New Mexico Offers Free Video to Help Veterans Identify and Manage Mental Health Issues

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New Mexico announced today that it is offering a free educational video to help returning soldiers in New Mexico identify and manage mental health issues, such as stress, anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. With the support of a grant from OptumHealth, NAMI New Mexico will make the video available to returning soldiers, family members and others in the community who work with veterans from current and past conflicts.

"Many soldiers coming home may be facing mental health issues that can be treated.

Unfortunately, we know that some soldiers and family members do not seek help because they may not understand a soldier's condition, are not aware of the resources available, or might be afraid to seek help," says Becky Beckett, president of NAMI New Mexico. "With New Mexico's strong ties to the military, this national problem is also a local one. The 'Coming Home: Supporting Your Soldier' video will help our local soldiers understand that they are not alone and that help is available."

The Veteran's Health Administration projects that by September of this year, New Mexico will be home to more than 175,000 veterans, 45,000 of them from the Gulf War and other recent conflicts(1).
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As soon as I have a chance to watch it, I'll have more to post on this.

Troops and cold medicine ‘Ultimately, it will destroy your life’

Soldiers hope battle with cold medicines serves as warning to others
‘Ultimately, it will destroy your life’
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, July 2, 2008

CAMP CASEY, South Korea — Pfc. Stephen Wanser’s typical Saturday breakfasts were the same as his Friday night dinners: 16 Coricidin Cold and Cough pills, water or soda optional.

Wanser and his roommate, Pfc. Gary Cooper, 22, remained in a hallucinatory daze most of the weekend before crashing on Sundays.

Even when Wanser thought he nearly choked to death after taking the pills — a sign from God, the deeply religious 24-year-old believed — it was only enough to keep him off the drug for a month.

Coricidin contains more dextromethorphan, also known as DM or DXM, than most cold medicines.

In small doses, DXM relieves a cough. But large doses produce abnormally elevated moods and hallucinations typically associated with drugs like PCP and LSD.

Although there are few, if any, military studies on dextromethorphan abuse, medical and 2007 sales data from Camp Casey’s post exchange stores attest to the drug’s popularity.

In a place where all soldiers receive free health care and prescriptions, Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores sold as many as 300 boxes of Coricidin and its generic equivalent in one week, according to a paper presented at a national medical conference in May.

They would often read the Bible while tripping, discussing Solomon, heaven, hell and their place in the world.

Wanser said he felt closer to God during those times.

But he acknowledges that taking potentially fatal doses of drugs is a bad way to get there.

He experienced hyper-religiosity, a relatively common phenomenon among mania-prone users of psychedelic drugs, said Area I support psychiatrist Maj. Christopher Perry.

"As people become more manic and grandiose in their thinking, religion plays a larger role in their life," Perry explains.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55894

also on this

Sales spikes, overdoses prompt drug restrictions
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, July 2, 2008


CAMP CASEY, South Korea — When Pfc. Gary Cooper would go to the Camp Casey post exchange to get his fix of cold medicine, he had to act quickly.

"You get to the store and pick it up right away, because that stuff would sell so fast," Cooper said.

For several months last year, Cooper and Pfc. Stephen Wanser say they abused Coricidin Cough and Cold, which contains dextromethorphan, or DXM.

Wanser recalls other soldiers grabbing at the boxes as they were stocked. On another occasion, Wanser says a South Korean employee handed him four boxes when he asked for one.

By October, AAFES officials restricted sales of medicines with DXM to two boxes per month per servicemember, after consulting with medical officials.

Average sales dropped 57 percent following the restrictions, according to a study conducted by Area I support psychiatrist Maj. Christopher Perry and Capt. Eugene Chung.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55895

Young Marine "I'm no Vietnam vet, but a vet of Operation Iraqi Freedom"

From Healing Combat Trauma

PTSD: (That's Some) Pretty Terrible Sh*t (to Have to) Deal (With), Don't You Think?

Editor's Note: We commemorate the otherwise momentous, historic signing of the GI bill into law today with this little snippet of what life was like for someone who served recently. For everyone who doesn't "get" what sacrifice is, and that those who've served have earned their accolades and rewards, here's a grunt's-eye view of the experience of combat trauma, and how that relates to PTSD and various other topics in the news. It's doubtful that any one of us would like to have changed places with him, at such a young age. Herewith, his story, emphasis mine:


I'm no Vietnam vet, but a vet of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I turned 18 while in boot camp because I graduated high school at 17. I was discharged early for having "personality disorder" after I went to Iraq.



I was in the Marines, and my MOS was a ground communications electronics technician. A couple months after graduating my training for the job and going to my first unit, I was "volunteered" to join and train with another unit that was leaving soon. The new task I was given was "Mortuary Affairs".

This group was put together with a couple dozen other Marines from other sections. Our job was to go to locations where troops had been killed and not able to be retrieved by the group they were out with due to the fact they were under too much danger or whatever the case. I had no clue the effects this would have on me. It was a horrible experience.



It was not like going and picking up a corpse and that's it. For one, you were in a hot zone, where people were just killed, not just by gunfire.
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http://www.healingcombattrauma.com/2008/06/ptsd-pretty-terrible-sht-to-discover.html

More than half firearm deaths are suicides

More than half firearm deaths are suicides
Story Highlights
Recent Supreme Court ruling on guns focused on protection from home invasion

Suicides accounted for 55 percent of nearly 31,000 firearm deaths in 2005 in U.S.

More gun-related suicides than homicides and accidents in 20 of last 25 years

Research shows if gun in home, higher likelihood of suicide or homicide in home


ATLANTA, Georgia, (AP) -- The Supreme Court's landmark ruling on gun ownership last week focused on citizens' ability to defend themselves from intruders in their homes. But research shows that surprisingly often, gun owners use the weapons on themselves.

Suicides accounted for 55 percent of the nation's nearly 31,000 firearm deaths in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There was nothing unique about that year -- gun-related suicides have outnumbered firearm homicides and accidents for 20 of the last 25 years. In 2005, homicides accounted for 40 percent of gun deaths. Accidents accounted for 3 percent. The remaining 2 percent included legal killings, such as when police do the shooting, and cases that involve undetermined intent.

Public-health researchers have concluded that in homes where guns are present, the likelihood that someone in the home will die from suicide or homicide is much greater.

Studies have also shown that homes in which a suicide occurred were three to five times more likely to have a gun present than households that did not experience a suicide, even after accounting for other risk factors.
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/30/guns.suicides.ap/index.html