While I've been doing a lot of work for free helping organizations across the country, I can no longer keep donating my time. Financially it's placed an impossible burden on my family. We just got back from doing our taxes and there is too much money going out but not enough money coming in.
Groups have turned to me for advice, my videos and Power Points but have not thought to donated any funds in return for the work I do. This has to stop. Some groups have been very generous and they are not included in on this notice. Yes, I do know who you are and you have appreciated the help I've given enough to think of donating. Our relationship will not change. For all other groups, the fee is $50.00 per hour subject to change with notice and mutual agreement. You will need to discuss using my videos for presentations from now on. I put a lot of time and research into making these videos, thus saving you work. The same applies to the Power Points.
For all veterans and their families, I made a commitment to you 26 years ago and will not charge you ever for the help I give. This will not change. My frustration is with people making a living doing what I do and expecting me to just keep helping them for free.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
MySpace hero stops web suicide
Sane MySpace user prevents Webcam suicide
Posted by Chris Matyszczyk
Not everyone can hope to meet someone like Jesse Coltrane online.
Coltrane, a 22-year-old from New Jersey, befriended a teenager from the Sacramento area on MySpace. About a month later, the teen revealed in a Webcam chat that he was cutting himself and intended to take his own life.
Perhaps some of you might remember the case of Abraham Biggs, the Florida teen who made a similar statement last November and went through with his suicide, while being egged on by many pleasant little worms, staring at their Webcams as if this was entertainment.
click link for more
Posted by Chris Matyszczyk
Not everyone can hope to meet someone like Jesse Coltrane online.
Coltrane, a 22-year-old from New Jersey, befriended a teenager from the Sacramento area on MySpace. About a month later, the teen revealed in a Webcam chat that he was cutting himself and intended to take his own life.
Perhaps some of you might remember the case of Abraham Biggs, the Florida teen who made a similar statement last November and went through with his suicide, while being egged on by many pleasant little worms, staring at their Webcams as if this was entertainment.
click link for more
A reporter finally gets it on VA PTSD numbers
A reporter finally gets it on VA PTSD numbers
by
Chaplain Kathie
Jo Hartley gets it! With all the reports coming out on the numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans coming home with PTSD, very few reporters actually get what the real numbers are and what they mean for the future. While I've slammed reporters in the past, it feels wonderful to pat one on the back.
It disgusts me that the VA is unable to keep up with the veterans seeking treatment for PTSD at the same time they claim to be doing outreach efforts to reach the veterans that have been living with PTSD but did not know what it was. Again, one more case of bureaucracy gone insane. What were they thinking when it came to providing the information veterans need about this wound if there is no one there to take care of them? Did they think the veterans they finally reached would say, "Hey great! I know what's wrong with me." and then do absolutely nothing to have it treated and compensated for? The natural outcome is an influx of veterans seeking treatment and compensation! Their lives were damaged by this wound!
They saw they could no longer keep jobs when nightmares and flashbacks, twitches and overreactions to what co-workers did made working impossible.
They saw their kids turn away from them. Some were even hated by their kids because of what unknown PTSD was doing to them. They saw these same kids end up with secondary PTSD because of the traumatic stress of living with a PTSD veteran and not knowing what it was.
They saw the love of their life turning away from them, avoiding them, being angry and crying because of what PTSD did in the household and to their relationship. They saw divorce lawyers and wondered how things ever got so bad.
Then they wondered if they would ever be able to actually feel love ever again. Would they ever feel joy? Would they ever wake up happy to be alive? Would they ever have hopes for better days when they could laugh the way they used to without being drunk? Would they ever be able to enjoy the things the used to like going to a movie or eating in a restaurant without having to fear where they would be seated? Would they ever have a night when they were not afraid to fall asleep because they didn't want the nightmares to take them back into combat? Would they ever be able to drive down the street without having a flashback spawn from a trash bag left behind?
These are just some of the things PTSD veterans live with. When it comes to female veterans they have all of this but even more. For those that survived sexual assaults it's even worse. They end up wondering if they will ever be able to view the hands of a man without fear ever again.
To think that there would not be a wave of veterans turning to the VA, that prides itself on having the best PTSD programs, is the definition of incompetence.
Outreach work is reaching them. Not just the tiny efforts the VA has been producing but by people like me all across the nation. The Internet has blessed us with the opportunity to share what we know and provide vital information that was not available when Vietnam veterans came home. For all the hours I put in on a daily basis, all the stories I read, all the heartbreaking emails I receive, I am profoundly hopeful because the older veterans are reaching out for help instead of suffering in silence. I have never seen it this bad but in a way, it's a good thing. They would still be suffering but now they have hope. Hope of healing to the point where they find their own kind of normal and a peaceful coexistence with this ghost of combat. Yet because of the ineptitude of the past leaders in the VA coupled with the past ambivalence of Congress, no one has been there to sustain the hope.
Ever wonder what it's like for them to finally discover why their lives have been sent on some kind of trip from hell, knowing it was all because they served this nation, when the same nation turns them away? Add to that the fact the VA tells them to seek help for PTSD and then turns down their claims then charges them for their treatment because their claim has not been approved and Congress gave them the right to collect for any non-service connected treatment. That's right! No approved claim means even if PTSD is linked to combat by their own doctors, it's considered non-service connected until that claim is approved by the same VA. Nice twist on honoring the veterans isn't it?
What makes this all worse is that for all the claims approved and all the backlogged claims that have even more PTSD veterans within those claims waiting for help, are even more not seeking help from the VA. They gave up. It just wasn't worth being tortured even more than they already were. Then there is the issue of the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Bill that says they cannot keep their guns if they are found to have PTSD. This Bill was supposed to be about saving lives but ended up keeping veterans from seeking help. No one thought about the veterans that have jobs requiring guns. No one thought about the veterans that are not dangerous to themselves or others but have relied on their guns for protection and to help them feel safer. Did anyone think that while they were in combat, their weapon was their protection? Take flashbacks and all that comes with PTSD and then tell them they are back home safe now and don't need their guns anymore. Did anyone think that it would be better to have a PTSD veteran in treatment, getting help while they had guns than it would be to have PTSD veterans with guns and not getting help? Well that's exactly what happened.
I did a presentation for a group of veterans on PTSD. During the time for questions and answers, the only question they had was about this bill and the fact they would have to surrender their guns. Often talking about PTSD will cause a flashback and an emotional tsunami flooding over them. I was standing in a room filled with armed veterans talking to them about PTSD and had absolutely no fear at all.
I am not stupid and I know the means of choice for suicide is a weapon. But I'm also very, very aware of the fact if they do not have a weapon, they find another way of doing it. What causes someone to commit suicide is the loss of hope and not the wound itself. When they lose hope of healing, snatched away from them at the same time they seek help with the DOD or the VA, they lose the reason to live another day. Taking away their guns does more harm than good when the obvious answer to the suicide epidemic is to treat the wound and stop torturing the wounded.
Six months without compensation to live on, being charged for treatment and being tortured! Would you feel this was a grateful nation?
by
Chaplain Kathie
Jo Hartley gets it! With all the reports coming out on the numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans coming home with PTSD, very few reporters actually get what the real numbers are and what they mean for the future. While I've slammed reporters in the past, it feels wonderful to pat one on the back.
It disgusts me that the VA is unable to keep up with the veterans seeking treatment for PTSD at the same time they claim to be doing outreach efforts to reach the veterans that have been living with PTSD but did not know what it was. Again, one more case of bureaucracy gone insane. What were they thinking when it came to providing the information veterans need about this wound if there is no one there to take care of them? Did they think the veterans they finally reached would say, "Hey great! I know what's wrong with me." and then do absolutely nothing to have it treated and compensated for? The natural outcome is an influx of veterans seeking treatment and compensation! Their lives were damaged by this wound!
They saw they could no longer keep jobs when nightmares and flashbacks, twitches and overreactions to what co-workers did made working impossible.
They saw their kids turn away from them. Some were even hated by their kids because of what unknown PTSD was doing to them. They saw these same kids end up with secondary PTSD because of the traumatic stress of living with a PTSD veteran and not knowing what it was.
They saw the love of their life turning away from them, avoiding them, being angry and crying because of what PTSD did in the household and to their relationship. They saw divorce lawyers and wondered how things ever got so bad.
Then they wondered if they would ever be able to actually feel love ever again. Would they ever feel joy? Would they ever wake up happy to be alive? Would they ever have hopes for better days when they could laugh the way they used to without being drunk? Would they ever be able to enjoy the things the used to like going to a movie or eating in a restaurant without having to fear where they would be seated? Would they ever have a night when they were not afraid to fall asleep because they didn't want the nightmares to take them back into combat? Would they ever be able to drive down the street without having a flashback spawn from a trash bag left behind?
These are just some of the things PTSD veterans live with. When it comes to female veterans they have all of this but even more. For those that survived sexual assaults it's even worse. They end up wondering if they will ever be able to view the hands of a man without fear ever again.
To think that there would not be a wave of veterans turning to the VA, that prides itself on having the best PTSD programs, is the definition of incompetence.
Outreach work is reaching them. Not just the tiny efforts the VA has been producing but by people like me all across the nation. The Internet has blessed us with the opportunity to share what we know and provide vital information that was not available when Vietnam veterans came home. For all the hours I put in on a daily basis, all the stories I read, all the heartbreaking emails I receive, I am profoundly hopeful because the older veterans are reaching out for help instead of suffering in silence. I have never seen it this bad but in a way, it's a good thing. They would still be suffering but now they have hope. Hope of healing to the point where they find their own kind of normal and a peaceful coexistence with this ghost of combat. Yet because of the ineptitude of the past leaders in the VA coupled with the past ambivalence of Congress, no one has been there to sustain the hope.
Ever wonder what it's like for them to finally discover why their lives have been sent on some kind of trip from hell, knowing it was all because they served this nation, when the same nation turns them away? Add to that the fact the VA tells them to seek help for PTSD and then turns down their claims then charges them for their treatment because their claim has not been approved and Congress gave them the right to collect for any non-service connected treatment. That's right! No approved claim means even if PTSD is linked to combat by their own doctors, it's considered non-service connected until that claim is approved by the same VA. Nice twist on honoring the veterans isn't it?
What makes this all worse is that for all the claims approved and all the backlogged claims that have even more PTSD veterans within those claims waiting for help, are even more not seeking help from the VA. They gave up. It just wasn't worth being tortured even more than they already were. Then there is the issue of the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Bill that says they cannot keep their guns if they are found to have PTSD. This Bill was supposed to be about saving lives but ended up keeping veterans from seeking help. No one thought about the veterans that have jobs requiring guns. No one thought about the veterans that are not dangerous to themselves or others but have relied on their guns for protection and to help them feel safer. Did anyone think that while they were in combat, their weapon was their protection? Take flashbacks and all that comes with PTSD and then tell them they are back home safe now and don't need their guns anymore. Did anyone think that it would be better to have a PTSD veteran in treatment, getting help while they had guns than it would be to have PTSD veterans with guns and not getting help? Well that's exactly what happened.
I did a presentation for a group of veterans on PTSD. During the time for questions and answers, the only question they had was about this bill and the fact they would have to surrender their guns. Often talking about PTSD will cause a flashback and an emotional tsunami flooding over them. I was standing in a room filled with armed veterans talking to them about PTSD and had absolutely no fear at all.
I am not stupid and I know the means of choice for suicide is a weapon. But I'm also very, very aware of the fact if they do not have a weapon, they find another way of doing it. What causes someone to commit suicide is the loss of hope and not the wound itself. When they lose hope of healing, snatched away from them at the same time they seek help with the DOD or the VA, they lose the reason to live another day. Taking away their guns does more harm than good when the obvious answer to the suicide epidemic is to treat the wound and stop torturing the wounded.
Six months without compensation to live on, being charged for treatment and being tortured! Would you feel this was a grateful nation?
VA Strains to Meet the Needs of our Veterans
Natural News.com - Phoenix,AZ,USA
Thursday, February 05, 2009 by: Jo Hartley, citizen journalist
(NaturalNews) The number of veterans needing health care is rising, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is having difficulty meeting the needs of our veterans.
New statistics released from the Department of Defense and the VA reveal that US casualties are rising. Injuries and deaths connected to Iraq and Afghanistan assignments are at 81,361 now. This is an increase from 72,043 from one year ago.
Veteran patients increased from 263,909 in December 2007 to 400,304 currently.
Mental illness is the number one ailment for the soldiers inundating the VA. Forty-five percent of the current VA patients have mental health diagnoses. This includes 105,000 diagnoses of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These numbers do not include the unknown number of veterans who are mentally ill but have not sought treatment through the VA.
Thanks to legislative changes and funding increases, health care for our veterans has improved over the last year. Recently, the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act was passed. This act entitles veterans to up to five years of free health care for all military-related health conditions. Additionally, there have also been significant improvements to VA facilities, increased health care research, and improvements to the existing claims processing system.
Despite these improvements, however, there remain problems that prevent adequate care and compensation for veterans. This is particularly true for veterans who need disability benefits. It is commonplace for these benefits to be either delayed or denied. For veterans diagnosed with PTSD, 59 percent are awaiting approval for benefits. This means that they are still waiting for their claims to be processed or they have not filed a claim because of the many deterrents that exist within the system.
Over 809,000 veterans are awaiting claim decisions at this time. The average processing time for veteran claims is over six months. PTSD patients typically have longer delays. Current economic woes are making this waiting period even more difficult for veterans. Often veterans are not able to work due to their disabilities and for this reason, their financial circumstances become crises.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Fort Carson Female Solider died of illness
Local Soldier Dies of Illness
Posted: 3:51 PM Feb 4, 2009
Last Updated: 3:51 PM Feb 4, 2009
Reporter: KKTV
A Colorado National Guard Soldier who was stationed at Fort Carson died has died from an unspecified illness.
Spc. Callie A. Rader, 32, of Fort Carson, a nuclear, biological and chemical specialist was assigned to the 1158th Space Support Company, 117th Space Battalion. Rader was not in a military status when she died on February 2.
"Callie Rader had a friendly nature and a contagious happiness," said 1158th 1st Sgt. Ken Noland. "She lifted the spirits of those around her and appeared to genuinely enjoy coming to drill."
click link for more
WWII vet frozen to death leaves $$$ to hospital
WWII vet frozen to death leaves $$$ to hospital
Story Highlights
Martin Schur, 93, froze to death in his home last month; leaves estate to hospital
Attorney won't disclose amount; relative says it's likely in excess of $500,000
"Hopefully his death is not in vain and we can learn from this," nephew says
The death has prompted a state investigation into the manner in which he died
By Wayne Drash
CNN
(CNN) -- A 93-year-old World War II medic who froze to death last month in his Bay City, Michigan, home left his entire estate to a local hospital, an estate attorney told CNN Wednesday.
The attorney would not disclose the exact amount left behind by Martin Schur. But his nephew said his uncle indicated to family members two years ago that he had saved up more than a half-million dollars over the years. Schur and his wife, Marian, who died more than a year ago, did not have any children.
"I just know at one time he said he had over $600,000 in savings," said William Walworth. "That's what he told me and my brother, and he was proud that he was able to save and build his estate up to that."
Cathy Reder, an attorney negotiating on behalf of Bay Regional Medical Center and the Schur family, said she was filing paperwork in probate court Wednesday for the court to determine the validity of the will. A hearing has been set for March 17.
click link for more
Story Highlights
Martin Schur, 93, froze to death in his home last month; leaves estate to hospital
Attorney won't disclose amount; relative says it's likely in excess of $500,000
"Hopefully his death is not in vain and we can learn from this," nephew says
The death has prompted a state investigation into the manner in which he died
By Wayne Drash
CNN
(CNN) -- A 93-year-old World War II medic who froze to death last month in his Bay City, Michigan, home left his entire estate to a local hospital, an estate attorney told CNN Wednesday.
The attorney would not disclose the exact amount left behind by Martin Schur. But his nephew said his uncle indicated to family members two years ago that he had saved up more than a half-million dollars over the years. Schur and his wife, Marian, who died more than a year ago, did not have any children.
"I just know at one time he said he had over $600,000 in savings," said William Walworth. "That's what he told me and my brother, and he was proud that he was able to save and build his estate up to that."
Cathy Reder, an attorney negotiating on behalf of Bay Regional Medical Center and the Schur family, said she was filing paperwork in probate court Wednesday for the court to determine the validity of the will. A hearing has been set for March 17.
click link for more
Lawmakers call for action on burn pits
Lawmakers call for action on burn pits
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 4, 2009 10:43:53 EST
Seven members of Congress have added their names to a growing list of legislators concerned about service members who say burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan have made them sick.
“It has come to our attention that a growing number of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are becoming sick and dying from what appears to be overexposure to dangerous toxins produced by burn pits used to destroy waste,” reads a letter from Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y., to Eric Shinseki, the new secretary of veterans affairs. “Further conversations with other veterans have revealed that the armed forces have not investigated this threat adequately.”
Bishop’s office sent the letter Monday. It was also signed by Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.; Bill Delahunt, D-Mass.; Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y.; Keith Ellison, D-Minn.; Sander Levin, D-Mich.; and Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa.
Congress first heard about the issue, the letter states, after a series of stories came out in Military Times showing that service members were exposed to everything from burning petroleum products to plastics to batteries in burn pits used to dispose of waste at every base in Iraq and Afghanistan.
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 4, 2009 10:43:53 EST
Seven members of Congress have added their names to a growing list of legislators concerned about service members who say burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan have made them sick.
“It has come to our attention that a growing number of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are becoming sick and dying from what appears to be overexposure to dangerous toxins produced by burn pits used to destroy waste,” reads a letter from Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y., to Eric Shinseki, the new secretary of veterans affairs. “Further conversations with other veterans have revealed that the armed forces have not investigated this threat adequately.”
Bishop’s office sent the letter Monday. It was also signed by Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.; Bill Delahunt, D-Mass.; Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y.; Keith Ellison, D-Minn.; Sander Levin, D-Mich.; and Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa.
Congress first heard about the issue, the letter states, after a series of stories came out in Military Times showing that service members were exposed to everything from burning petroleum products to plastics to batteries in burn pits used to dispose of waste at every base in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army Maj. Gen. David Blackledge's courage getting troops to seek help for PTSD
Reduce Mental Health Stigma
Army.com - Huntsville,Al,USA
Feb. 4, 2009
By John J. Kruzel
WASHINGTON (American Forces Press Service) – Army Maj. Gen. David Blackledge is doing his part to reduce the social stigma attached to seeking mental health treatment for war-related stress.
The general suffered from post-traumatic stress after surviving a near-death experience during his first deployment to Iraq in 2004. Now he willingly shares his tale of recovery and hopes his example will help others in dealing with war’s invisible wounds.
“I felt it was critical that we had senior leaders experiencing [post-traumatic stress] come forward,” Blackledge, the Army’s assistant deputy chief of staff for mobilization and reserve issues, said in an interview at the Pentagon last week.
The wife of a military member suffering from war trauma used Blackledge’s story to spur on her spouse to seek treatment, Blackledge said.
“She said, ‘My husband was suffering from this, and when I showed him the article in the paper about you coming forward, he said that if a two-star general can get help, then maybe I can too,’” he said.
Blackledge’s story begins in Iraq in February 2004, when he was working there as a civil affairs commander. He was leading a team to Iskandariyah to meet with tribal sheiks when their convoy was ambushed with smalls-arms fire. The attack killed the interpreter sitting near Blackledge and blew out a tire on their vehicle, causing it to roll.
The survivors of the attack regrouped and escaped to a nearby checkpoint. Blackledge suffered a broken back and ribs, and other physical injuries. He was put in a body cast at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, and remained there for several days before arriving at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here.
“Within a day of me being at Walter Reed, a psychiatrist came to me … and talked to me about what was going on. He also told me what to expect,” Blackledge recalled. “I told him at the time that the ambush kept replaying in my mind.”
The psychiatrist told Blackledge his re-experiencing of the incident was normal, and he provided the general with mental techniques to help gain control of his memories.
click link for more
Army.com - Huntsville,Al,USA
Feb. 4, 2009
By John J. Kruzel
WASHINGTON (American Forces Press Service) – Army Maj. Gen. David Blackledge is doing his part to reduce the social stigma attached to seeking mental health treatment for war-related stress.
The general suffered from post-traumatic stress after surviving a near-death experience during his first deployment to Iraq in 2004. Now he willingly shares his tale of recovery and hopes his example will help others in dealing with war’s invisible wounds.
“I felt it was critical that we had senior leaders experiencing [post-traumatic stress] come forward,” Blackledge, the Army’s assistant deputy chief of staff for mobilization and reserve issues, said in an interview at the Pentagon last week.
The wife of a military member suffering from war trauma used Blackledge’s story to spur on her spouse to seek treatment, Blackledge said.
“She said, ‘My husband was suffering from this, and when I showed him the article in the paper about you coming forward, he said that if a two-star general can get help, then maybe I can too,’” he said.
Blackledge’s story begins in Iraq in February 2004, when he was working there as a civil affairs commander. He was leading a team to Iskandariyah to meet with tribal sheiks when their convoy was ambushed with smalls-arms fire. The attack killed the interpreter sitting near Blackledge and blew out a tire on their vehicle, causing it to roll.
The survivors of the attack regrouped and escaped to a nearby checkpoint. Blackledge suffered a broken back and ribs, and other physical injuries. He was put in a body cast at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, and remained there for several days before arriving at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here.
“Within a day of me being at Walter Reed, a psychiatrist came to me … and talked to me about what was going on. He also told me what to expect,” Blackledge recalled. “I told him at the time that the ambush kept replaying in my mind.”
The psychiatrist told Blackledge his re-experiencing of the incident was normal, and he provided the general with mental techniques to help gain control of his memories.
click link for more
Troops died in Humvee hits because of "careers" in the Pentagon?
The Pentagon didn’t develop such a fleet because championing the vehicles wasn’t seen in the ‘90s as a “good career move,” said John Pike of Globalsecurity.org.
Please tell me I didn't read this right! Please tell me that no one in the Pentagon thought more about their careers than the lives of the troops! They knew about this in the 90's but "thought" ground war was a thing of the past? How stupid are they? The Cold War ended. What did they think the "enemy" would do considering the biggest threat this nation faced was terrorism? Did the Pentagon actually think that rag tag terrorists would come up with an Air Force? Maybe they thought they would just use unmanned drones to hit the people they wanted to kill? We got hit by civilian aircraft and what was the response the Pentagon came up with? Ground wars! They sent these Humvees into Afghanistan and Iraq knowing about the fact they were seen as "deathtraps" and did nothing to adapt them first or come up with something better.
If they use the excuse that Afghanistan was a rush job, they've had years to correct the problem after. There was no need to rush to hit Iraq and they have no excuse for not doing the right thing before they sent in the first Humvee into Iraq. Neither nation had an active military. The only weapons they had were guns and bombs. Did the Pentagon think they were up against people that would place nice and follow the rules of engagement? How many lives were lost because of this? How many limbs were blown off because of this?
Who has been put on trial for any of this?
Humvee vulnerabilities were long known
By Tom Vanden Brook - USA TODAY
Posted : Wednesday Feb 4, 2009 6:22:35 EST
WASHINGTON — Army and Marine Corps officials knew nearly a decade before the invasion of Iraq that its workhorse Humvee vehicle, was a “deathtrap” even with armor added to protect it against roadside bombs, according to an inspector general’s report.
Reports distributed throughout the Army and Marine Corps after the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the Somalia conflict in 1994 urged the development of armored vehicles to avoid the devastating effects of roadside bombs and land mines, but the Pentagon failed to act, the report says.
The Pentagon didn’t field significant numbers of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles until 2007, more than three years after roadside bombings began to escalate in the Iraq war. The conclusions of the 1991 and 1994 reports were not included in the one-page summary of the inspector general’s findings released in December.
The inspector general’s full report was later posted on a Web site by the Center for Public Integrity, a government watchdog group.
click link for more and prepare to scream.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Utah National Guards lost 2 soldiers in combat, but ten more because of it.
This is not new because people lost track of how many we lost after Vietnam. Two studies put their numbers between 150,000 and 200,000 of suicide deaths. Then you can add in the numbers of the Agent Orange deaths to get a better understanding of how large the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington would really have to be to honor all the lives lost because of Vietnam. While losing more after combat than during it, is not new, the numbers are early can coming faster. The worst part about this is that Army Secretary Pete Geren doesn't have a clue why. How many years do the people in charge need before they understand what we already know?
Suicide claiming more Utah Guard members than combat
Rising numbers » Military responding with increased social workers, counselors.
By Matthew D. LaPlante
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 02/03/2009 06:18:20 PM MST
Since 2005, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the lives of two soldiers from the Utah National Guard.
Suicide has claimed 10.
In response to an alarming increase of suicide in its ranks, the military has hired a virtual army of social workers, mental health professionals and suicide-prevention counselors to work with its members. But for the fourth consecutive year, the Army has reported an increase in the number of soldiers it has lost to suicide. At least 128 soldiers took their own lives in 2008 - - --- and that number could rise, as 15 other deaths remain under investigation.
"Why do the numbers keep going up? We cannot tell you," said Army Secretary Pete Geren. "But we can tell you that across the Army, we're committed to doing everything we can to address the problem."
In response to the rising numbers, the Army will conduct a 30-day "stand-down" starting Feb. 15, which will include training for members to recognize behaviors among their peers that may lead to suicide.
Utah National Guard officials said they are awaiting guidance on how to conduct that program, but will continue education and training efforts that seem to have helped to decrease suicide among their ranks in the past four years.
The Utah guard lost three soldiers to suicide in 2005, four in 2006, one in 2007 and two in 2008. Officials said statistics from prior years were unavailable because the Guard's personnel officers didn't track suicides separately from other deaths until 2005, but at least one soldier killed himself in 2004 while on duty in Afghanistan with the 211th Aviation Battalion.
click link for more
WBBM Chicago reports on War DejaVu
War Deja Vu
A suburban hospital is helping war veterans cope with post traumatic stress disorder, by recreating the battlefield. WBBM Suburban Bureau Chief Julie Mann reports.
A suburban hospital is helping war veterans cope with post traumatic stress disorder, by recreating the battlefield. WBBM Suburban Bureau Chief Julie Mann reports.
German Soldiers Reporting Increase In PTSD
Bundeswehr 03.02.2009
Afghanistan Increasing Number of Traumatized German Troops
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Many soldiers have difficulty re-adjusting to civilian lifeA film recently aired by public broadcaster ARD is helping draw attention to a little-discussed problem: the increasing number of German soldiers returning from Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The film, which aired on Monday, Feb. 2, is called "Wilkommen Zuhause" (Welcome Home). In it, director Andreas Senn tells the story of Ben, a Bundeswehr soldier who sets off for Afghanistan to participate in a humanitarian mission.
But when one of his colleagues is killed in a militant attack, Ben is no longer the same. Back home, he tries to convince his friends and family that he's fine, but even they notice the change. The sound of breaking glass is enough to send Ben hurtling to the floor in search of cover.
According to the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the number of German soldiers returning from Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder is on the rise. The paper reported on Tuesday that the number of known PTSD cases for Bundeswehr soldiers has risen from 55 in 2006 to 226 in 2008. Experts say that, in reality, the number of cases is likely much higher due to the cases that go unreported.
click link for more
Afghanistan Increasing Number of Traumatized German Troops
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Many soldiers have difficulty re-adjusting to civilian lifeA film recently aired by public broadcaster ARD is helping draw attention to a little-discussed problem: the increasing number of German soldiers returning from Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The film, which aired on Monday, Feb. 2, is called "Wilkommen Zuhause" (Welcome Home). In it, director Andreas Senn tells the story of Ben, a Bundeswehr soldier who sets off for Afghanistan to participate in a humanitarian mission.
But when one of his colleagues is killed in a militant attack, Ben is no longer the same. Back home, he tries to convince his friends and family that he's fine, but even they notice the change. The sound of breaking glass is enough to send Ben hurtling to the floor in search of cover.
According to the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the number of German soldiers returning from Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder is on the rise. The paper reported on Tuesday that the number of known PTSD cases for Bundeswehr soldiers has risen from 55 in 2006 to 226 in 2008. Experts say that, in reality, the number of cases is likely much higher due to the cases that go unreported.
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AWOL Soldier Requested Treatment for PTSD and was Denied/Refused/Threatened
How many more stories do we have to read to understand the DOD still does not get it?
Press Release
AWOL Soldier Requested Treatment for PTSD and was Denied/Refused/Threatened
VETWOW
Enumclaw, Washington, February 3, 2009
Two OIF soldiers from different units at Ft. Lewis, Washington have gone AWOL multiple times after each had multiple requests for mental health care with regards to their "undiagnosed" PTSD. Panic attacks, hypervigilance and inability to sleep are just a few of the symptoms these soldiers are experiencing. Not being allowed to obtain treatment, leaves them without a Diagnosis, which traps them in a Catch-22 situation.
After calling Ft. Lewis Inspector General as well as their AWOL Apprehension Team, Susan Avila-Smith discovered that the only way Fort Lewis officials will "approach this" is to have the soldiers return to base, be taken into custody by Ft. Lewis Military Police, and release them to their prospective units, the very Commanders that would not listen to their plea for treatment in the first place.
"While I understand that there are military rules and regulations, there comes a point when the best interests of the Military, the Soldiers and taxpayers need to step up to the plate and give medical and mental health care to those who need it, and who know enough to ask for help. Throwing them into the stockade and having their Command punish them, and possibly kicking them out of service when they have a valid medical issue is no way to treat our American Soldiers who have fought for our Freedom."
We encourage people to contact Fort Lewis officials to make sure that any soldier have complete access to Mental Health care, and hold Command accountable for their actions, rather than the soldier for their illness.
Susan Avila-Smith,
Director,
VETWOW
DoD Confirms Role Combat Plays in Suicide Epidemic
DoD Confirms Role Combat Plays in Suicide Epidemic
Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
U.S. Department of Defense
Feb 02, 2009
January 29, 2009, Washington, DC - The Army is committed to finding out why more soldiers committed suicide in 2008 than ever recorded, Army officials told reporters during a media roundtable today at the Pentagon.
"[Suicide] is not just an Army problem," Army Secretary Pete Geren said. "It's a national problem - we're committed to doing everything we can to address [the issues] better [and] put programs in place."
In past years, the Army, which consists of 1.1 million active and reserve troops, has been just below or on par with the national suicide rate, Geren said.
But this year, with 128 confirmed and 15 pending, an estimated 20.2 suicides occurred per 100,000 soldiers, the highest since the Army began recording the figure in 1980. The figure is higher than the national suicide rate, which is less than 20 victims per 100,000 people.
Also, the number of Army suicides increased for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Army's 2008 Suicide Data report released today.
Army researchers admitted that at least 90 percent of pending suicide cases turns out to be actual suicides. But they explained that there's no one cause or consistent formula for suicide prevention.
Multiple factors make up the risks and no two reasons are the same, Geren said.
A high mission tempo clearly can place strain on a military, and with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 12 months or longer deployment rotations and 12 months or less downtime at home, the Army certainly has been busy, Army Vice Chief Of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli said.
"We all come to the table believing stress is a factor," Chiarelli told reporters. But he added that 2008 statistics show 30 percent of suicide victims this year were deployed, 35 percent had recently redeployed and 35 percent had no deployment experience at all.
"I think those statistics have to be looked at, and more questions have to be asked," he said. "But there's no doubt in my mind that stress is a factor in this trend we're seeing."
Chiarelli said it's important to take a step backward to evaluate what the Army and research facilities already know about suicide and prevention and review them.
Army researchers have come together with the National Institute of Mental Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase the nation's awareness and understanding in suicide prevention, Dr. Philip S. Wang, director of the Division of Services and Intervention Research at the National Institute of Mental Health, said.
The five-year partnership is the largest research initiative on suicide ever conducted in the civilian and military sectors, Wang added.
"The National Institute of Mental Health is honored and committed to working with the Army to understand the urgency, to identify risks and prevention factors, to develop new and better intervention," he said. "The knowledge will not only extend to soldiers and their families, but to the civilian population as well."
Army leaders and researchers agree that reducing the number of suicide victims is a long-term goal, but in the near term, they've initiated an Armywide "stand-down" to take place on a day between Feb. 15 and March 15, Col. Thomas Languirand, Army deputy chief of staff for personnel, said.
The stand-down day will offer an opportunity for individual units and soldiers to address problems head on, and will include the latest training videos, materials and methods to identify symptoms and prevent suicide, Languirand explained.
The stand-down will be followed by another 120 days of a "chain-teaching" program, which is intended to be leader-led suicide prevention training, cascaded across the entire Army, he said. The stand-down period and chain-teaching program are mandated training in addition to quarterly and other suicide awareness and prevention training that may occur at the unit level already.
"The Army is concerned regarding where we are with our numbers," he said. "Any loss of life, especially by suicide, is a tragedy. That tragedy impacts the unit, it impacts morale on that unit - and it impacts the families. It's extremely important that we get out in front of this - nobody in the Army is satisfied as to where we are with our [past] programs."
The Army will conduct its next suicide update in April.
Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
U.S. Department of Defense
Feb 02, 2009
January 29, 2009, Washington, DC - The Army is committed to finding out why more soldiers committed suicide in 2008 than ever recorded, Army officials told reporters during a media roundtable today at the Pentagon.
"[Suicide] is not just an Army problem," Army Secretary Pete Geren said. "It's a national problem - we're committed to doing everything we can to address [the issues] better [and] put programs in place."
In past years, the Army, which consists of 1.1 million active and reserve troops, has been just below or on par with the national suicide rate, Geren said.
But this year, with 128 confirmed and 15 pending, an estimated 20.2 suicides occurred per 100,000 soldiers, the highest since the Army began recording the figure in 1980. The figure is higher than the national suicide rate, which is less than 20 victims per 100,000 people.
Also, the number of Army suicides increased for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Army's 2008 Suicide Data report released today.
Army researchers admitted that at least 90 percent of pending suicide cases turns out to be actual suicides. But they explained that there's no one cause or consistent formula for suicide prevention.
Multiple factors make up the risks and no two reasons are the same, Geren said.
A high mission tempo clearly can place strain on a military, and with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 12 months or longer deployment rotations and 12 months or less downtime at home, the Army certainly has been busy, Army Vice Chief Of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli said.
"We all come to the table believing stress is a factor," Chiarelli told reporters. But he added that 2008 statistics show 30 percent of suicide victims this year were deployed, 35 percent had recently redeployed and 35 percent had no deployment experience at all.
"I think those statistics have to be looked at, and more questions have to be asked," he said. "But there's no doubt in my mind that stress is a factor in this trend we're seeing."
Chiarelli said it's important to take a step backward to evaluate what the Army and research facilities already know about suicide and prevention and review them.
Army researchers have come together with the National Institute of Mental Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase the nation's awareness and understanding in suicide prevention, Dr. Philip S. Wang, director of the Division of Services and Intervention Research at the National Institute of Mental Health, said.
The five-year partnership is the largest research initiative on suicide ever conducted in the civilian and military sectors, Wang added.
"The National Institute of Mental Health is honored and committed to working with the Army to understand the urgency, to identify risks and prevention factors, to develop new and better intervention," he said. "The knowledge will not only extend to soldiers and their families, but to the civilian population as well."
Army leaders and researchers agree that reducing the number of suicide victims is a long-term goal, but in the near term, they've initiated an Armywide "stand-down" to take place on a day between Feb. 15 and March 15, Col. Thomas Languirand, Army deputy chief of staff for personnel, said.
The stand-down day will offer an opportunity for individual units and soldiers to address problems head on, and will include the latest training videos, materials and methods to identify symptoms and prevent suicide, Languirand explained.
The stand-down will be followed by another 120 days of a "chain-teaching" program, which is intended to be leader-led suicide prevention training, cascaded across the entire Army, he said. The stand-down period and chain-teaching program are mandated training in addition to quarterly and other suicide awareness and prevention training that may occur at the unit level already.
"The Army is concerned regarding where we are with our numbers," he said. "Any loss of life, especially by suicide, is a tragedy. That tragedy impacts the unit, it impacts morale on that unit - and it impacts the families. It's extremely important that we get out in front of this - nobody in the Army is satisfied as to where we are with our [past] programs."
The Army will conduct its next suicide update in April.
Suicide Rate Reflects Toll of Army Life
Feb 2, Rachel Martin
Consequences of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars: Suicide Rate Reflects Toll of Army Life
ABC News
Feb 02, 2009
January 31, 2009 - Three months into his first deployment to Iraq, in November 2003, Army Specialist TJ Sweet was having a hard time -- working intense 18-hour shifts, battling sandstorms and bouts of anxiety.
On Thanksgiving Day, Sweet exchanged some harsh words with his commanding officer. As punishment he was told to do five push-ups and he was dropped from the promotions list.
Not long after that, his fellow soldiers heard gunshots and found Sweet's body under the stairway of the barracks. He had shot himself in the head.
The news devastated his mother, Liz Sweet. She had never wanted her son to join the military because of his health problems: a heart condition and Attention Deficit Syndrome.
She had thought the Army would turn down his application to enlist, but when she told the recruiter about her son's conditions, she said the recruiter told her they could get waivers that would still allow him to serve.
Now her son is gone and she blames the Army, in part, for failing to recognize the signs of his despair and for accepting him in the first place.
"It could have been different," she said.
TJ Sweet is just one of the hundreds of soldiers who have committed suicide since the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
click link for more
Consequences of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars: Suicide Rate Reflects Toll of Army Life
ABC News
Feb 02, 2009
January 31, 2009 - Three months into his first deployment to Iraq, in November 2003, Army Specialist TJ Sweet was having a hard time -- working intense 18-hour shifts, battling sandstorms and bouts of anxiety.
On Thanksgiving Day, Sweet exchanged some harsh words with his commanding officer. As punishment he was told to do five push-ups and he was dropped from the promotions list.
Not long after that, his fellow soldiers heard gunshots and found Sweet's body under the stairway of the barracks. He had shot himself in the head.
The news devastated his mother, Liz Sweet. She had never wanted her son to join the military because of his health problems: a heart condition and Attention Deficit Syndrome.
She had thought the Army would turn down his application to enlist, but when she told the recruiter about her son's conditions, she said the recruiter told her they could get waivers that would still allow him to serve.
Now her son is gone and she blames the Army, in part, for failing to recognize the signs of his despair and for accepting him in the first place.
"It could have been different," she said.
TJ Sweet is just one of the hundreds of soldiers who have committed suicide since the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
click link for more
Soap Operas and PTSD
Soap Operas and PTSD
by Chaplain Kathie
Women across the nation watch their soap operas everyday. When they can't watch them, they tape them. They end up being so enthralled with the characters, they know everything about them as if they were friends. These are made up people with made up problems! The shows are filed with issues, sex, marriages in trouble, love gone bad and tragedy. What soap opera fans do not understand is that there are real life stories of real people happening all over the country on a daily basis and they can be even more tragic, heart tugging, tear evoking and infuriating than any script a writer could ever dream up. What makes these stories even more compelling is the fact they are occurring in right in the same neighborhoods as the soap opera fans live in but they don't even know these people exist in real life, real time so they don't have to wait for the next days episode or to find out what happened when they get home from work.
All My Children? Well I have to tell you that if every Mom across the country felt as if all the men and women serving in the military, National Guards and Reserves were their children, the DOD and the VA wouldn't be anywhere near the mess they are in right now. We talk a great deal about how freedom is not free, but we ignore the people doing the serving, the people we depend on as if they weren't even there.
Take a look at this
Days of Our Life? I bet they would love the complications of living with PTSD in the house and all that comes with it. PTSD veterans households have these twists and turns:
Sexual problems, cheating spouses, unrequited passion
Drugs and alcohol problems because they are self-medicating
Tension because of financial problems, emotional problems, kids under stress, wives under stress, anger, forgiveness and anger again.
We also have nightmares and flashbacks that can compete with any horror movie.
We have love stories and revenge stories
We even have deep dark secrets we try to keep as we find excuses for why our spouse is not at the party or didn't go to work or why we have a black eye because we decided to wake them up from a nightmare while in striking distance. We hold back when others talk about a wild sex night because we can't remember when the last time was we even slept in the same bed.
Oh and then there are also the stories about them being tortured by the VA when claims are denied when they should have been approved had it not been for the fact they didn't think to take down names and phone numbers of the people they served with in case they needed it later.
Millions of people watch the soap operas but they don't pay attention to sites like this or news reports coming out of their own communities. There was a time when I would wonder why anyone would want to read a blog like this unless they were living with it and then it dawned on me one day when I was having my car serviced and I saw daytime TV. All the talk shows and soap operas can't compete with what we have going on. Salacious? Yep, we got that too. Crimes and innocent people being charged with crimes? Got that too. Heck, we even have stories of faith and redemption. As a matter of fact, households across the nation have all these TV dramas topped!
Bold and Beautiful? Ever see the young men and women in the military after they've been trained and every muscle in their body has been conditioned to carry the loads they have to in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Young and Restless? Got that too!
What really gets me is that if people would read this type of blog, they could not only end up helping veterans and the troops, they could very well save their own marriages and their kids lives since millions of households across the country live with this all everyday but even more don't know they are. They know something is wrong with their family but they don't have a clue what it is. As a matter of fact, two thirds of the American public don't have the slightest clue what PTSD is. It's not just military families and veterans' families living with this. Oh no. We also have police officers, firefighters, emergency responders and survivors of other traumatic events. Not only do we have the issues of the soap operas topped, we have the demographics to wipe them into the dust. I'd like to see advertisers trying to capture this un-served audience!
by Chaplain Kathie
Women across the nation watch their soap operas everyday. When they can't watch them, they tape them. They end up being so enthralled with the characters, they know everything about them as if they were friends. These are made up people with made up problems! The shows are filed with issues, sex, marriages in trouble, love gone bad and tragedy. What soap opera fans do not understand is that there are real life stories of real people happening all over the country on a daily basis and they can be even more tragic, heart tugging, tear evoking and infuriating than any script a writer could ever dream up. What makes these stories even more compelling is the fact they are occurring in right in the same neighborhoods as the soap opera fans live in but they don't even know these people exist in real life, real time so they don't have to wait for the next days episode or to find out what happened when they get home from work.
All My Children? Well I have to tell you that if every Mom across the country felt as if all the men and women serving in the military, National Guards and Reserves were their children, the DOD and the VA wouldn't be anywhere near the mess they are in right now. We talk a great deal about how freedom is not free, but we ignore the people doing the serving, the people we depend on as if they weren't even there.
Take a look at this
What remains the strory of the year is how low CBS' "Guiding Light" can fall as it fights to survive and retain its title as broadcasting's longest running program. With numbers so low (a 1.4 HH rating on Thursday), it would make "Port Charles" look like a ratings winner. Sadly, "Port Charles" was cancelled in 2003 with higher ratings than this despite airing in the wee-hours of the night. While NBC's "Days of our Lives" loses 40% of its budget in the upcoming year and a loss of its two stars (Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn), three out of its five weekly episodes (Friday, Tuesday, and Monday) outranked every episode of ABC's "All My Children" and "One Life to Live." The highest episode was its Friday broadcast with 2.9 million viewers. For the week, "DAYS" averaged 2.7 million viewers. "DAYS" is also the only soap to increase viewers year-over-year, gaining 120,000 viewers from the same point last year. "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" remain daytime's most watched programs as they hold the 1-5 and 6-10 positions. "Restless," however has lost the most audience year-over-year with a decline of 630,000 viewers. It's Women 18-49 ranking, however, remains on par with its year-ago and up a point week-to-week.
http://soapoperanetwork.com/news/ratings/586-daytimes-40-most-popular-shows.html
Days of Our Life? I bet they would love the complications of living with PTSD in the house and all that comes with it. PTSD veterans households have these twists and turns:
Sexual problems, cheating spouses, unrequited passion
Drugs and alcohol problems because they are self-medicating
Tension because of financial problems, emotional problems, kids under stress, wives under stress, anger, forgiveness and anger again.
We also have nightmares and flashbacks that can compete with any horror movie.
We have love stories and revenge stories
We even have deep dark secrets we try to keep as we find excuses for why our spouse is not at the party or didn't go to work or why we have a black eye because we decided to wake them up from a nightmare while in striking distance. We hold back when others talk about a wild sex night because we can't remember when the last time was we even slept in the same bed.
Oh and then there are also the stories about them being tortured by the VA when claims are denied when they should have been approved had it not been for the fact they didn't think to take down names and phone numbers of the people they served with in case they needed it later.
Millions of people watch the soap operas but they don't pay attention to sites like this or news reports coming out of their own communities. There was a time when I would wonder why anyone would want to read a blog like this unless they were living with it and then it dawned on me one day when I was having my car serviced and I saw daytime TV. All the talk shows and soap operas can't compete with what we have going on. Salacious? Yep, we got that too. Crimes and innocent people being charged with crimes? Got that too. Heck, we even have stories of faith and redemption. As a matter of fact, households across the nation have all these TV dramas topped!
Bold and Beautiful? Ever see the young men and women in the military after they've been trained and every muscle in their body has been conditioned to carry the loads they have to in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Young and Restless? Got that too!
What really gets me is that if people would read this type of blog, they could not only end up helping veterans and the troops, they could very well save their own marriages and their kids lives since millions of households across the country live with this all everyday but even more don't know they are. They know something is wrong with their family but they don't have a clue what it is. As a matter of fact, two thirds of the American public don't have the slightest clue what PTSD is. It's not just military families and veterans' families living with this. Oh no. We also have police officers, firefighters, emergency responders and survivors of other traumatic events. Not only do we have the issues of the soap operas topped, we have the demographics to wipe them into the dust. I'd like to see advertisers trying to capture this un-served audience!
West Point, 2 suicides, 2 attempts in just 2 months
West Point reacting to 2 suicides in as many months
Times Herald-Record - Middletown,NY,USA
By Alexa James
February 02, 2009
WEST POINT — As the Army reels from record-high suicide rates, officials at the U.S. Military Academy are responding to tragedies of their own.
Two West Point cadets killed themselves and at least two others made suicide “attempts or gestures,” in the past two months, prompting Academy officials to summon an Army surgeon general’s suicide team to campus last week.
The team’s investigation left West Point feeling confident that its mental health programs are robust and active, but Brig. Gen. Michael Linnington, the Commandant of Cadets, said there is still room for improvement.
“We have to remove all the stigma that’s attached with going to seek help,” he said.
Hundreds of suicide prevention posters and wallet-sized help cards were doled out across campus last month, and Army brass met with every class to remind them about the confidential mental health resources at their disposal.
West Point’s 4,400 cadets have access to counselors and doctors around the clock, Linnington said, both through an on-site office called the Center for Professional Development (CPD) and also a manned telephone help-line.
“The numbers of cadets that have gone to seek help at the CPD are triple what they were just five years ago,” he said. “Some people would say ‘Oh my God, that’s bad. That means cadets are stressed,’” but Linnington takes it as a good sign, saying the programs are popular because cadets aren’t ashamed to use them anymore.
More than 200 cadets sought help last year, including the two who committed suicide: A junior from Tennessee suffocated on helium gas in a hotel room in Highland Falls on Dec. 8, and a freshman shot and killed himself Jan. 2 while on leave in North Carolina. He was home to get mental help.
click link for more
Times Herald-Record - Middletown,NY,USA
By Alexa James
February 02, 2009
WEST POINT — As the Army reels from record-high suicide rates, officials at the U.S. Military Academy are responding to tragedies of their own.
Two West Point cadets killed themselves and at least two others made suicide “attempts or gestures,” in the past two months, prompting Academy officials to summon an Army surgeon general’s suicide team to campus last week.
The team’s investigation left West Point feeling confident that its mental health programs are robust and active, but Brig. Gen. Michael Linnington, the Commandant of Cadets, said there is still room for improvement.
“We have to remove all the stigma that’s attached with going to seek help,” he said.
Hundreds of suicide prevention posters and wallet-sized help cards were doled out across campus last month, and Army brass met with every class to remind them about the confidential mental health resources at their disposal.
West Point’s 4,400 cadets have access to counselors and doctors around the clock, Linnington said, both through an on-site office called the Center for Professional Development (CPD) and also a manned telephone help-line.
“The numbers of cadets that have gone to seek help at the CPD are triple what they were just five years ago,” he said. “Some people would say ‘Oh my God, that’s bad. That means cadets are stressed,’” but Linnington takes it as a good sign, saying the programs are popular because cadets aren’t ashamed to use them anymore.
More than 200 cadets sought help last year, including the two who committed suicide: A junior from Tennessee suffocated on helium gas in a hotel room in Highland Falls on Dec. 8, and a freshman shot and killed himself Jan. 2 while on leave in North Carolina. He was home to get mental help.
click link for more
Is this anyway to treat a soldier? One of the worst stories I've read
If this were made into a movie, no one would believe it, but it's not a movie. It's the story of a soldier's life and how he was treated because someone does not know what the hell they are doing and too many others don't care. At the age of 20, Dominic Meyer had seen the horrors of war, the death of his father, injured by a hit and run and then labeled AWOL because of it. Then topping off all of this was being pulled over as the newspaper reported AWOL soldier nabbed with weapons leading to his arrest and pending trial. Why? Because he was hit by someone that didn't care and then no one in the chain of command at Fort Hood bothered to notice why he wasn't back on base from his leave.
Meyer did his duty. He went where he was sent, risked his life and had his life at risk in Iraq.
Just think about that the next time you read a story and ask yourself what if it happened to you or someone you love? How can he not feel as if he was betrayed for his loyalty to the country? How could he not feel as if this is one bad nightmare followed by more?
Meyer did his duty. He went where he was sent, risked his life and had his life at risk in Iraq.
Two months ago, before he was released from jail, a court-appointed psychologist interviewed Dominic to do a risk assessment.
"The (inmate) does appear to have some reactions to his combat experience in Iraq," the psychologist wrote. He doesn't spell it out as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) but that's clearly what he's talking about.
Just think about that the next time you read a story and ask yourself what if it happened to you or someone you love? How can he not feel as if he was betrayed for his loyalty to the country? How could he not feel as if this is one bad nightmare followed by more?
Soldier's wartime furlough offers no respite from trouble
Asbury Park Press - Asbury Park,NJ,USA
February 1, 2009
EATONTOWN — Last winter his father died. Two weeks later Dominic Meyer was on his way to Iraq. Soon he would be pulling another soldier out of a burning Humvee. The man was returned to his family a triple-amputee, blind and deaf.
Four times in the space of four months, the unit was jarred by the sound and the fury of a roadside bomb. Jangled nerves are evidently part of the bargain. Sometimes adrenaline is your only friend in Iraq.
Meyer was shot three times while he was there. His flak jacket may have saved his life. His buddy wasn't so lucky. He was killed by sniper fire.
There is no emotion in Meyer's voice. There's something in the way he looks at you, though. His eyes tell you they have seen far too much. "He has an old soul," says his mother, Dana Spencer.
Dominic Meyer is 20.
The Army sent him home in July, 18-day leave. On the 17th day of his furlough he was hit by a car in Sayreville, late at night. The driver didn't stop. Six months later his knee still bothers him. He walks with a cane.
After the hit-and-run accident, there was some mix-up. "In the confusion of having him formally transferred back to Fort Hood (Texas) for treatment, he was designated AWOL," his mother wrote in a letter to the Press. It's complicated. The doctor at Fort Monmouth has to talk to the commanding officer at Fort Hood who has to talk to the commanding officer in Iraq. Lot of paperwork, maybe a letter doesn't get stamped somewhere along the line, who knows.
By Sept. 29, Meyer was ready to report for duty. He was anxious to rejoin his unit in Iraq. He packed up his gear and loaded it into his 2003 Ford F-150. He would drive through the night, less traffic.
But before he got on the road, he was pulled over by the police, around 11:15 p.m. Someone called complaining about a pickup truck and a motorcycle racing up and down the street.
Meyer's registration was expired and he had no insurance. Then the officer saw the butt of a bayonet sticking out of the defroster vent.
The next day there was a story in the local paper: "Man AWOL from Army found in Sayreville with cache of weapons." In addition to the bayonet, the story went on to say that police had found two handguns, several magazines of ammunition, several knives, a hatchet and an unspent hollow-point bullet.
Meyer spent the next 57 days in the Middlesex County Jail. His bail originally was set at $100,000, with no 10 percent option. Under New Jersey's tough new gun law, enacted last year as a means to combat gang violence, Meyer could be facing mandatory prison time.
click link for more
Tammy Duckworth Tapped for VA Assistant Secretary
This will make a lot of people as happy as I am.
Recent VA News Releases
Duckworth Tapped for VA Assistant Secretary
WASHINGTON (Feb. 3, 2009) - President Barack Obama has announced his
intent to nominate L. Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois
Department of Veterans Affairs, to be the Assistant Secretary of Public
and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA).
"Effective communications with Veterans and VA's stakeholders is key to
improving our services and ensuring Veterans receive the benefits they
deserve," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "Tammy
Duckworth brings significant talent, leadership and personal experience
to this important work."
As assistant secretary, Duckworth will direct VA's public affairs,
internal communications and intergovernmental relations. She also will
oversee programs for homeless Veterans, consumer affairs and special
rehabilitative events.
Duckworth was appointed director of the state Veterans office in
Illinois in 2006. In previous testimony before Congress, she expressed
her commitment to Veterans and the need for transformation of the
Department. "The VA system faces new challenges as a result of the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan." She also noted "the patient profile is
changing. More wounded soldiers are surviving very serious injuries."
She is serving as a major in the Illinois National Guard and was
previously deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom where, as a captain, she
was assistant operations officer for a 500-soldier aviation task force.
She also served as a logistics officer and company commander. As a
helicopter pilot flying combat missions in 2004, she suffered grave
injuries when her helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade,
losing both legs and partial use of one arm.
Her previous managerial experience includes coordinating the Center for
Nursing Research at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, and working
for Rotary International's Asia-Pacific region from 2002 to 2004.
Duckworth earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Hawaii and a
master's degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Born in Thailand, she is the daughter of a U.S. Marine who fought in
Vietnam. She is married to Iraq war Veteran and National Guard officer,
Major Bryan Bowlsbey.
Monday, February 2, 2009
National Guard Soldiers laid to rest
Rockland bids a soldier farewell
Boston Globe - United States
February 2, 2009
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff
ROCKLAND -- A bagpipe player led a winding procession today past several thousand mourners standing on Union Street, his tune echoing off storefronts, city offices, and homes.
They cried as the white, horse-drawn caisson carrying the casket of Massachusetts National Guard Specialist Matthew Pollini passed. Members of the military stood at attention, and veterans offered a salute. Schoolchildren waved small US flags through the air.
The caisson stopped in front of the Holy Family Church, where six servicemen and women carried the flag-draped coffin into the half-filled church. Within moments, 800 of the mourners who had waited outside for the procession filled the church.
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Wading River soldier remembered
Newsday - Long Island,NY,USA
A Wading River soldier who died nine months after he was wounded in a firefight in Afghanistan was remembered at his hometown church Monday before being laid to rest at Calverton National Cemetery.
Spc. Jonathan Keller, 29, an Army National Guardsman, was shot in the arm and shoulder during a firefight near the Pakistan border in April.
He died Jan. 24 in Fort Bragg, N.C. His death is under investigation and the circumstances remained unclear on Monday.
During his funeral at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, packed with more than 400 friends and family, the Rev. James Pereda recalled Keller's "infectious smile" and said he had "a boyish and youthful enthusiasm for everything in life."
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Boston Globe - United States
February 2, 2009
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff
ROCKLAND -- A bagpipe player led a winding procession today past several thousand mourners standing on Union Street, his tune echoing off storefronts, city offices, and homes.
They cried as the white, horse-drawn caisson carrying the casket of Massachusetts National Guard Specialist Matthew Pollini passed. Members of the military stood at attention, and veterans offered a salute. Schoolchildren waved small US flags through the air.
The caisson stopped in front of the Holy Family Church, where six servicemen and women carried the flag-draped coffin into the half-filled church. Within moments, 800 of the mourners who had waited outside for the procession filled the church.
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Wading River soldier remembered
Newsday - Long Island,NY,USA
Sgt. Jonathan Keller, Army National Guardsman, front left, of Wading River is seen here training at Fort Bragg, NC in 2008 prior to deploying to Afghanistan. (Photo by Charles Eckert)
A Wading River soldier who died nine months after he was wounded in a firefight in Afghanistan was remembered at his hometown church Monday before being laid to rest at Calverton National Cemetery.
Spc. Jonathan Keller, 29, an Army National Guardsman, was shot in the arm and shoulder during a firefight near the Pakistan border in April.
He died Jan. 24 in Fort Bragg, N.C. His death is under investigation and the circumstances remained unclear on Monday.
During his funeral at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, packed with more than 400 friends and family, the Rev. James Pereda recalled Keller's "infectious smile" and said he had "a boyish and youthful enthusiasm for everything in life."
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Soldier on 1st skydive leads dying instructor down
Soldier on 1st skydive leads dying instructor down
By JEFFREY COLLINS
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Strapped to his dying instructor a few thousand feet from the ground on his first skydive, Daniel Pharr found himself floating toward a house and some trees.
The military taught the 25-year-old soldier not to panic. And TV taught him to pull the toggles on the already-deployed parachute to steer.
So Pharr grabbed the right handle and pulled to avoid the house and tugged again to miss the trees, landing safely in a field about a third of a mile from their intended landing spot.
Pharr said he wrestled out of the harness binding him to his instructor, George "Chip" Steele, and started CPR trying to save him from an apparent heart attack.
Steele was later pronounced dead, but the tragedy could have been worse: Other instructors at the skydiving school told Pharr if he had pulled the toggle too hard, the chute would have spun out of control, and he could be dead, too.
"They told me afterward that it was amazing that I knew to do that. This is my survival instinct at that point. I just kind of did what I had to do," said Pharr, taking a break Monday from his job at Fort Gordon near Augusta, Ga.
The jump was a Christmas gift from Pharr's girlfriend. The two went to Skydive Carolina in Chester on Saturday to jump from 13,500 feet in the air while attached to instructors.
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By JEFFREY COLLINS
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Strapped to his dying instructor a few thousand feet from the ground on his first skydive, Daniel Pharr found himself floating toward a house and some trees.
The military taught the 25-year-old soldier not to panic. And TV taught him to pull the toggles on the already-deployed parachute to steer.
So Pharr grabbed the right handle and pulled to avoid the house and tugged again to miss the trees, landing safely in a field about a third of a mile from their intended landing spot.
Pharr said he wrestled out of the harness binding him to his instructor, George "Chip" Steele, and started CPR trying to save him from an apparent heart attack.
Steele was later pronounced dead, but the tragedy could have been worse: Other instructors at the skydiving school told Pharr if he had pulled the toggle too hard, the chute would have spun out of control, and he could be dead, too.
"They told me afterward that it was amazing that I knew to do that. This is my survival instinct at that point. I just kind of did what I had to do," said Pharr, taking a break Monday from his job at Fort Gordon near Augusta, Ga.
The jump was a Christmas gift from Pharr's girlfriend. The two went to Skydive Carolina in Chester on Saturday to jump from 13,500 feet in the air while attached to instructors.
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Memorial service set for Fort Wainwright soldier
Memorial service set for Fort Wainwright soldier
February 02, 2009 19:01 EST
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska (AP) -- A memorial service for an Alaskan-based Tennessee soldier is set for Thursday afternoon.
The Army says Spc. Cody Lamb was found dead at his family's home while he was on a mid-tour leave.
Unicoi County Sheriff Kent Harris said last week foul play is not suspected and suicide has been ruled out.
Lamb was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks.
Officials say the brigade was deployed to Iraq in September.
The artilleryman entered the Army in November 2006 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright four months later.
Alabama National Guard selects 1st female general
Ala. Guard selects 1st female general
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Feb 2, 2009 20:21:47 EST
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Sheryl Gordon, a member of the Alabama National Guard for nearly 30 years, has been selected for promotion to become its first female general.
Gordon, who retired recently as an assistant principal at Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City, took command Sunday of the 62nd Troop Command in Montgomery, where she started her Guard career.
The unit at Fort Taylor Hardin is the state’s largest with about 5,000 troops.
In taking command, the paperwork process began for her to officially rise to the rank of one-star general.
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The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Feb 2, 2009 20:21:47 EST
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Sheryl Gordon, a member of the Alabama National Guard for nearly 30 years, has been selected for promotion to become its first female general.
Gordon, who retired recently as an assistant principal at Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City, took command Sunday of the 62nd Troop Command in Montgomery, where she started her Guard career.
The unit at Fort Taylor Hardin is the state’s largest with about 5,000 troops.
In taking command, the paperwork process began for her to officially rise to the rank of one-star general.
click link for more
Judge sets date for soldiers’ suit vs. KBR
Judge sets date for soldiers’ suit vs. KBR
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Feb 2, 2009 20:21:47 EST
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A federal judge has set a trial date for a lawsuit by 16 Indiana National Guard soldiers who claim they were exposed to a toxic chemical in Iraq.
Judge Richard L. Young on Monday set 10 days for the trial beginning May 3, 2010, in U.S. District Court in Evansville. He also scheduled a settlement conference for Aug. 17.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry, filed a federal lawsuit in December against defense contractor KBR Inc., saying its employees knowingly allowed them to be exposed to sodium dichromate, a known carcinogen, while guarding a water plant in Iraq in 2003.
KBR has said it notified the Army Corps of Engineers after finding the chemical at the site and the Corps concluded the company’s efforts to remediate the situation were effective.
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Feb 2, 2009 20:21:47 EST
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A federal judge has set a trial date for a lawsuit by 16 Indiana National Guard soldiers who claim they were exposed to a toxic chemical in Iraq.
Judge Richard L. Young on Monday set 10 days for the trial beginning May 3, 2010, in U.S. District Court in Evansville. He also scheduled a settlement conference for Aug. 17.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry, filed a federal lawsuit in December against defense contractor KBR Inc., saying its employees knowingly allowed them to be exposed to sodium dichromate, a known carcinogen, while guarding a water plant in Iraq in 2003.
KBR has said it notified the Army Corps of Engineers after finding the chemical at the site and the Corps concluded the company’s efforts to remediate the situation were effective.
DOD releases another non-combat death in Afghanistan
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
CW4 Milton E. Suggs, 51, of Lockport, La., died Jan. 30 at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 38th Operational Support Airlift Detachment, Hammond, La.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class David A. Cedergren was electrocuted in Iraq
AP NewsBreak: Sailor electrocuted
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A third U.S. service member has been determined to have been electrocuted in a shower in Iraq, and Navy criminal investigators are investigating, The Associated Press has learned.
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class David A. Cedergren, 25, of South St. Paul, Minn., died Sept. 11, 2004, while showering. His family was told he died of natural causes.
Late last year, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology changed the manner of Cedergren's death to "accidental," caused by electrocution and inflammation of the heart. The Naval Criminal Investigative Services has reopened an investigation into his death, Ed Buice, a NCIS spokesman, said Monday.
click link for more
Linked from ICasualties.org
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A third U.S. service member has been determined to have been electrocuted in a shower in Iraq, and Navy criminal investigators are investigating, The Associated Press has learned.
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class David A. Cedergren, 25, of South St. Paul, Minn., died Sept. 11, 2004, while showering. His family was told he died of natural causes.
Late last year, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology changed the manner of Cedergren's death to "accidental," caused by electrocution and inflammation of the heart. The Naval Criminal Investigative Services has reopened an investigation into his death, Ed Buice, a NCIS spokesman, said Monday.
click link for more
Linked from ICasualties.org
Potential VA benefits chief has new ideas
No I don't have ESP and I did not go to Harvard. I just pay attention and read about people like Linda Blimes thinking it would be a great idea to take care of the veterans by pushing their claims thru. Ironic as it is this showed up today on Army Times, but hey, anyone paying attention feels the same way.
Potential VA benefits chief has new ideas/
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Feb 2, 2009 17:36:26 EST
A Harvard University researcher with some radical ideas about how to reduce the backlog of veterans disability claims appears to be in line to head the Veterans Benefits Administration.
Linda Blimes, a public policy lecturer and research at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, wants the Department of Veterans Affairs to operate like the Internal Revenue Service — on an honor system that trusts veterans claiming service-connected disabilities. All veterans claims would be approved as soon as they are filed, with a random audit conducted to “weed out and deter fraudulent claims,” Blimes told the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee in testimony in 2008.
Ninety percent of veterans disability claims end up being paid after they make it through the system, she said — proof, she said, that most veterans are asking only for what they deserve.
Immediate payment of at least a minimum benefit would help to reduce the average 180-day waiting time for initial benefits claims to be processed and allow VA to redeploy the employees processing those claims to work on more complicated appeals, she said.
Blimes also has talked of a vastly simplified disability rating system that would have just four ratings instead of the current 10 for service-connected disabilities and illnesses.
Blimes has not been formally announced as a nominee, but her name is being circulated among lawmakers and congressional staff in what has become a standard procedure to determine whether there is any strong opposition to her taking the key post.
Her idea of a streamlined claims process has some prominent supporters, among them Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman who has talked of automatic claims approval as a way to quickly eliminate the claims backlog.
Proud to announce Military Spouses of America new site
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce that Military Spouses for Change (MSC) is now Military Spouses of America (MSA). MSA seeks to be a voice for the American military spouse and her family, in a MEANINGFUL way. MSA will help our spouses understand and utilize all resources available to them, both within the Departments of Defense and VA (if applicable) and outside of them. MSA will also encourage spouses to share their insight and experiences with each other, DoD leadership, elected officials, and the American public.
Why? Because Military Spouses of America believes (and is committed to promoting) the following facts:
1. Family readiness is vital to mission readiness.
2. The well-being of the spouse cannot be divorced from the well-being of the servicemember or veteran (and vice-versa).
3. Both the military and veteran communities benefit from well-informed and well-connected military spouses.
4. The spouses of servicemembers and veterans face unique challenges--challenges for which spouses can, and have, come up with the most effective and creative solutions (individually and collectively).
5. Servicemembers are not the only veterans in military marriages!
Military Spouses of America can be found at www.militaryspousesofamerica.org.
Please make a note of this change and pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested in our organization. Our site also provides fairly in-depth information on PTSD and TBI (as those are issues of particular importance to our community in this time of prolonged military conflict).Take care,Carissa-- Carissa Picard, Esq.PresidentMilitary Spouses of Americawww.militaryspousesofamerica.org
I am on the Board of Directors and have been excited about this for a while but I was waiting for the new site to be up and for Carissa to announce it publicly. She has been working tirelessly to get this up and running.
I will be doing a Q & A session every night very soon where you can ask questions and get some insight to help you understand what is "normal" with PTSD and to learn a lot easier than I did.
What a lot of people do not understand is that older veterans and their families made all the mistakes already and found out what works to live with PTSD in their lives. This is not hopeless, marriages do not have to fall apart and end if love is there and you have the tools to help you navigate through all the changes it brings. Naturally as a Chaplain I can, and probably will more often than not, address the spiritual issues that lead to reconnecting with God and your own faith, or finding faith when you had none before.
Keep in mind that I am not a minister, so I don't push one faith over another nor do I recommend one branch of Christianity over another. I'm too complicated for that. I'm Greek Orthodox, which is a minority in the Christian faith but is the oldest, so I tend to stay out of supporting one denomination over others. As a Chaplain, I'm here to address spiritual needs as you are and where you are spiritually. So if you happen to be of another faith, I will address the faith you have as well as I can. Your spirit called you to your faith for a reason.
The only thing I stay away from as much as possible is medication. That's for your doctor to decide and not someone like me. Your body is too complicated for me to recommend any medication over any others. I will post up warnings when I see them and will post stories on medications but I draw the line on what I will and will not say.
I am not in competition with the VA psychologist and social workers. My job is to get you to understand what PTSD is so you go to them for help and above all, get enough of them there so they are there to help you.
Please go to the new site for Military Spouse of America and go over the pages. A lot of information there. I'll post up when the Q & A begins. Hope to see you there.
Homeless man left to die on sidewalk in DC
No it wasn't at night when no one would have seen him. It wasn't in a part of the city where no one would see him. No, not at all. It was in front of a grocery store, on the sidewalk of a busy street in broad daylight with plenty of people just walking by. Their excuse was that they see this all the time. Amazing!
Passers-by ignore dying man 2:02
Passers-by ignore dying man 2:02
A man dies after being beaten on a D.C. street and then ignored by passers-by. WJLA reports.
Fix the economy by fixing veterans first
If the congress really wanted to fix the economy, aside from the infrastructure and turning this country green, they could start with one very urgent "social program" no Republican in their right mind would ever complain about. That's taking care of the veterans. With over 800,000 claims tied up and over 300,000 on appeal, that means veterans are waiting for care but it also means they are waiting for money so they can pay their bills and support their families. They need to face the fact that sooner or later, most of these claims will be approved and very few will be found to be fraudulent.
Take the backlogged claims and approve all of them at 50% that way you put food in their stomachs and help them pay the rent or mortgage. Review them afterward to either increase or decrease the compensation. Make sure they fully understand that if their claim was fraudulent, then they will be prosecuted plus forced to repay. The VA is supposedly already hiring more claims processors and this will free up the pile to allow them to fully review claims that were pushed through, give them ample time to get the information and documentation they need and actually help veterans with their claims instead of ending up acting as if they are against the veteran. Sorry folks but this is the way the VA is viewed by anyone filing a claim. They feel as if the VA is out to turn them down and make them just go away.
I'm sure they can come up with some kind of coding system that will flag these expedited claims and assist doctors in either proving or disproving claims. They need to listen to doctors considering they are paid by the VA and they were trained by the VA to know what they are doing.
There were some experts in the past that suggested pushing through the claims to free up the backlog but it seems to me we have a much better reason now. Stop and think about the way the economy is and how hard it is to get a job for civilians. It's even harder for veterans, believe it or not, and almost impossible if they happen to be disabled on top of that.
We have National Guards troops coming back to job losses plus the employers that are hiring unwilling to even think of hiring them because of the chance they will be redeployed again. Toss in a disabled National Guards combat veteran and then try to tell them why they have no money to pay their bills. Won't be an easy task at the same time they've been told this is a grateful nation.
As for veteran that can work, put them to work on all of these massive infrastructure projects. Give companies that hire them a better chance of competing for contracts. Give a company owned by one a better chance than that. Then maybe, just maybe, we can do the right thing for a change.
VA Compensation Tables
Veteran Alone
30% $376
40% $541
50% $770
60% $974
70% $1,228
80% $1,427
90% $1,604
100% $2,673
Take the backlogged claims and approve all of them at 50% that way you put food in their stomachs and help them pay the rent or mortgage. Review them afterward to either increase or decrease the compensation. Make sure they fully understand that if their claim was fraudulent, then they will be prosecuted plus forced to repay. The VA is supposedly already hiring more claims processors and this will free up the pile to allow them to fully review claims that were pushed through, give them ample time to get the information and documentation they need and actually help veterans with their claims instead of ending up acting as if they are against the veteran. Sorry folks but this is the way the VA is viewed by anyone filing a claim. They feel as if the VA is out to turn them down and make them just go away.
I'm sure they can come up with some kind of coding system that will flag these expedited claims and assist doctors in either proving or disproving claims. They need to listen to doctors considering they are paid by the VA and they were trained by the VA to know what they are doing.
There were some experts in the past that suggested pushing through the claims to free up the backlog but it seems to me we have a much better reason now. Stop and think about the way the economy is and how hard it is to get a job for civilians. It's even harder for veterans, believe it or not, and almost impossible if they happen to be disabled on top of that.
We have National Guards troops coming back to job losses plus the employers that are hiring unwilling to even think of hiring them because of the chance they will be redeployed again. Toss in a disabled National Guards combat veteran and then try to tell them why they have no money to pay their bills. Won't be an easy task at the same time they've been told this is a grateful nation.
As for veteran that can work, put them to work on all of these massive infrastructure projects. Give companies that hire them a better chance of competing for contracts. Give a company owned by one a better chance than that. Then maybe, just maybe, we can do the right thing for a change.
Aftermath of 9-11 leaves PTSD legacy
A few hours on one September morning shattered the city of New York, the state and the entire nation. One morning. We read about what happened that day along with what came after with PTSD cases, illnesses and yes, even suicide cases. We read about broken families. Why is it so easy for us to understand what came after 9-11 when we cannot seem to find the same level of understanding when it comes to the police officers the rest of time on duty, the firefighters the rest of their time on duty or the emergency responders the rest of their time on duty? Where is this understanding when National Guardsmen come home or the troops, or the veterans years after they were exposed to traumatic events over and over and over again?
Let that sink in a moment then read the following.
Ground Zero workers 'six times more likely to be stressed'
InTheNews.co.uk - London,UK
Monday, 02 Feb 2009 08:02
Workers at Ground Zero six times more likely to suffer from serious stress disorders, study shows Printer friendly version Ironworkers at Ground Zero are almost six times more likely to suffer from serious stress disorders than the general public, a new study showed today.
Research published today revealed that 18.5 ironworkers situated at the ruins of the World Trade Centre suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In comparison, the national average in the United States is 3.5 per cent.
Of the study's 124 participants – all of whom attended the World Trade Centre mental health screening programme in New York City between 14 and 17 months after the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks – 60 per cent displayed symptoms of psychiatric disorders.
As well as establishing a causal link between PTSD and working at Ground Zero, researchers, publishing their study in Psychiatric Bulletin, revealed near double rates of anxiety and panic attacks among participants. click link for more
Here you have us in the year 2009 but we're still talking about what happened that one morning on September 11, 2001. We still want to hear about the police officers, firefighters, the survivors and what happened to family members. We find it so easy to look at how their lives changed from this one morning but we don't want to look at how the lives change of those we send into combat or their families.
As bad as that is, yesterday I posted about how to normalize PTSD when it comes to the troops and veterans. That's because PTSD is a human wound caused by traumatic events, like this one morning in September. We need to help the troops and veterans let this sink into their own brains. New York experienced the horrific images of carnage but the troops and veterans experience this type of event over and over again. They cannot understand that sooner or later it does get to them simply because they are still human despite all the training, planing and equipping they receive. No matter how hard the military may try, they cannot prevent the men and women serving from being human. PTSD cannot be prevented unless somehow someone manages to stop all crime, stop all natural disasters, stop all fires and stop all wars.
As much as we claim to value the troops and the veterans this one fact is what makes them just like the rest of us and it's about time someone got the message thru to them that they are in fact still humans and they suffer like any other human. They need help like any other human. Would they think the people that responded to ground zero are weak or would they understand? Would they think the firefighters and police officers rushing to the Twin Towers were cowards because they didn't walk away the same as they rushed in or would they admire their courage in the first place? Then why can't they let those facts translate into what they go through? Why can't we make sure they look at themselves as a human first and a warrior second?
Columbia woman implores judge to keep her husband committed
A friend of ours is in a halfway house because of PTSD. We just got word he may never be able to go home. He came home from Vietnam with PTSD but was able to bury it for years. A secondary stressor sent him over the edge so fast his family couldn't understand what just hit all of them.
After WWII veterans with PTSD (not called PTSD back then) were sent to live on farms because they had shell shock. We need to face the fact that while the vast majority of PTSD wounded vetearns are not violent, some are.
After WWII veterans with PTSD (not called PTSD back then) were sent to live on farms because they had shell shock. We need to face the fact that while the vast majority of PTSD wounded vetearns are not violent, some are.
Columbia woman implores judge to keep her husband committed
Baltimore Sun - United States
Octogenarian attacked his wife with a hammer last year
By Don Markus don.markus@baltsun.com
February 2, 2009
Cedric Payne's visits to the state mental hospital where his father, Calvin, was involuntarily committed after beating his wife with a hammer last May follow a similar pattern: the elder Payne experiencing fleeting moments of focus followed by long periods of confusion.
As a result, Cedric, the only child of the Columbia couple, said that his 84-year-old father is where he should be, but that his 81-year-old mother, Alma, still fears for her life.
"She thinks that if he can get out, he'll come back and complete the job," Cedric Payne said in a telephone interview last week.
Alma Payne was attacked May 5 by her husband of 64 years in their Columbia home. Calvin Payne was charged with attempted murder and assault. After being sent to the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, a maximum-security psychiatric hospital in Jessup, Calvin Payne was moved in October to Springfield Hospital Center in Sykesville.
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Sunday, February 1, 2009
Reporter does not know when Vietnam ended?
This really could have been a great story. The problem is, it just doesn't add up.
Why am I upset? Because while this would have made a great story and was well written, the problem is, this "Vietnam veteran" was not if this reporter has his dates right.
Veterans do go homeless. I can't remember how many stories out of over 5,000 I've done on this blog alone about them. They also ended up in jail because back then when they committed crimes, no one cared they were a veteran. Today, well Veterans Courts are finally finding a balance of justice for the veterans.
Is Bob Nyert a veteran? I have no way of knowing and I don't know if the reporter asked for any proof either. What I do know is that the Vietnam War, for the most part was over in 1973 but the deaths didn't stop until 1975. I know Vietnam veterans from that time between the "end" and the real end, treated as if they are "not really Vietnam veterans" and this man claims he was one but served in 1976. So why drag Vietnam into any of this. It would be a bad enough story of yet another veteran ending up homeless, maybe going to jail when he should have been helped instead, but to drag Vietnam into this, does not do the story or the suffering of so many other homeless veterans justice at all.
Veterans Of Homlessness
By Gary Gray
Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: February 1, 2009
A door cracked slowly open, and a shadow stretched across the cold, gray floor.
Bob Nyert entered the meeting room at a snail’s pace, eyed his surroundings and tentatively rolled his wheelchair to a spot where he felt comfortable.
When asked to come closer, he gripped the wheels tightly and cautiously made his way forward. He positioned himself, locked his wheels in place and linked his hands together on his lap.
When he did, rays of sunshine poured down on his face and shoulders from a nearby window and bounced off the black and gold cross hanging from his neck.
The 51-year-old former Navy missile technician is a homeless veteran. His path through life has not been laden with the pretty and pleasant. The foundations of his story are built on heartache, anger and loss.
“It’s ugly,” he said of being homeless.
His eyes were wide and fixed. His body language projected clear signs of a man weighed down by regret and apprehension.
Nyert, originally from Illinois, was a missile technician from 1976-78. He joined the military to further his high school education and serve his country.
“I went in when I was 18, and at that point there was no thought in my mind at all that I might end up homeless,” he said. “But I found out I had a congenital spine disease while I was still in. That’s probably where it all started.”
Following an early honorable discharge because of his disability, Nyert became angry at his circumstances and at the world.
“When I got out I was filled with rage,” he said, his body stiffening. “I started using alcohol and drugs. I became a loner. People would look at me funny, and that increased the rage that was locked up inside me.”
In 1981, that rage finally got the better of Nyert, when he lashed out at another human being, committing a crime, which he would not discuss, that locked him and his rage behind bars for 26 long years.
“My war was prison,” he said softly, looking at the ground. “A lot of the guys from the Vietnam era – for them it was a war their government didn’t want to commit to, and the media forced that issue on the public. It damaged a lot of the men’s psyches.
“Today, the Vietnam vets see the guys returning from Iraq and being treated like heroes when they were spit on when they returned,” Nyert said. “It made them angry.”
Nyert was released from an Arizona prison just more than a year ago.
click link for more
Why am I upset? Because while this would have made a great story and was well written, the problem is, this "Vietnam veteran" was not if this reporter has his dates right.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) states, "A Vietnam era veteran is a person who served on active duty for a period of more than 180 days, any part of which occurred between August 5, 1964 and May 7, 1975, and was discharged or released with other than a dishonorable discharge.
Was discharged or released from active duty for a service connected disability if any part of such active duty was performed between August 5, 1964 and May 7, 1975.
Served on active duty for more than 180 days and served in the Republic of Vietnam between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975."
Veterans do go homeless. I can't remember how many stories out of over 5,000 I've done on this blog alone about them. They also ended up in jail because back then when they committed crimes, no one cared they were a veteran. Today, well Veterans Courts are finally finding a balance of justice for the veterans.
Is Bob Nyert a veteran? I have no way of knowing and I don't know if the reporter asked for any proof either. What I do know is that the Vietnam War, for the most part was over in 1973 but the deaths didn't stop until 1975. I know Vietnam veterans from that time between the "end" and the real end, treated as if they are "not really Vietnam veterans" and this man claims he was one but served in 1976. So why drag Vietnam into any of this. It would be a bad enough story of yet another veteran ending up homeless, maybe going to jail when he should have been helped instead, but to drag Vietnam into this, does not do the story or the suffering of so many other homeless veterans justice at all.
National Guard troops marking homes that need assistance in Kentucky
Troops mark homes; Kentucky is warned of strong winds
Story Highlights
NEW: One mayor says it may be two months before county has all electricity back
National Weather Service warns winds could knock loose trees down
National Guard troops marking homes that need assistance
More than 400,000 Kentuckians without electricity
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (CNN) -- National Guard troops were going door to door Sunday in Kentucky, checking on families in the worst-hit areas of what Gov. Steve Beshear called "the biggest natural disaster that this state has ever experienced in modern history."
The devastating ice storm has been blamed for at least seven deaths in Kentucky, Beshear said. In total, 21 deaths have been reported in the state since the storm hit on Tuesday, but authorities could not immediately confirm whether all were directly storm-related.
The "unprecedented" call-up of the National Guard includes 4,600 troops in various roles.
Of 120 counties in the state, 92 had declared emergencies, the governor's office said. More than 400,000 customers were without power. See images of the ice storm's aftermath »
Temperatures were higher Sunday -- in the 40s -- which meant some relief, but also new problems. Melting ice and snowcan make it more difficult for utility trucks to reach certain areas.
And the National Weather Service warned of another potential problem: winds that could knock down loose trees.
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Story Highlights
NEW: One mayor says it may be two months before county has all electricity back
National Weather Service warns winds could knock loose trees down
National Guard troops marking homes that need assistance
More than 400,000 Kentuckians without electricity
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (CNN) -- National Guard troops were going door to door Sunday in Kentucky, checking on families in the worst-hit areas of what Gov. Steve Beshear called "the biggest natural disaster that this state has ever experienced in modern history."
The devastating ice storm has been blamed for at least seven deaths in Kentucky, Beshear said. In total, 21 deaths have been reported in the state since the storm hit on Tuesday, but authorities could not immediately confirm whether all were directly storm-related.
The "unprecedented" call-up of the National Guard includes 4,600 troops in various roles.
Of 120 counties in the state, 92 had declared emergencies, the governor's office said. More than 400,000 customers were without power. See images of the ice storm's aftermath »
Temperatures were higher Sunday -- in the 40s -- which meant some relief, but also new problems. Melting ice and snowcan make it more difficult for utility trucks to reach certain areas.
And the National Weather Service warned of another potential problem: winds that could knock down loose trees.
click link for more
Another Warrior Transition Unit Dead Ruled Suicide
Another Warrior Transition Unit Death Ruled Suicide?
by
Chaplain Kathie
How much time is enough to get this right? How many more times do they need to find one more soldier dead before they figure out that what they are doing is not good enough? PTSD is not new! Humans have been on this planet long enough, facing traumatic events, going to war with each other, documenting what comes after war and suffering while telling their stories so that the "experts" should have some clue what the hell to do to help warriors heal. Not only are the veterans suffering, their families suffer and so do the people trying to take care of them while some pea brain without the slightest clue of what they are going through claims to have found the "right treatment" but they keep suffering and killing themselves! ENOUGH TALK! Enough re-researching what has been researched to death. Enough wasting time with what does not work. For Heaven's sake, we know what needs to be done and we know how to do it. We've had over 30 years of studying this to know better.
Step one-get rid of BattleMind because it does more harm than good. I have yet to hear from one veteran BattleMind has helped.
Step two-normalize PTSD. It's a normal reaction to abnormal events. Let them know how many civilians end up with PTSD from the other causes then point out for them, it's a one time traumatic event that does it while they end up enduring event after event after event. Then they'll get it into their brains that to expect to walk away from combat without any changes is not realistic at all. They all change. Some change more than others. Others end up wounded by all of it instead of just changed.
Step three-Stop acting as if they are criminals. Do not belittle them because they seek help and honor the fact they have the courage enough to ask for help. Do not treat them like scum because they say they want to stop drinking or using drugs to cover up what they don't want to feel and then help them understand that is what medications can do for them a lot better than street drugs and getting drunk ever could.
Step four-spend as much time as need to get it into the brains of their families they are no longer dealing with "normal GI Joe" because Joe is no longer able to communicate with himself anymore. The "Joe" he used to be is trapped behind a wall of pain and he needs their help to find "himself" again. While he will never be totally the same person he was before PTSD, he can in fact end up even better as a person than he was before, even with living with flashbacks and nightmares that may never totally go away. Tell the exactly what a flashback is and what they see in their dreams without sugar coating any of it. They need to know what they are up against when confronting a zoned out veteran on a flashback trip from hell or a out of body nightmare so vivid they have no clue where they really are if you wake them up.
Step five-take the one third of Americans with a clue what PTSD is and get them to pound it into the brains of the other two thirds they better start paying attention to all of this before the National Guards and Reservists come home from yet another deployment and then have to face the next mudslide, hurricane, wildfire, tornado or flood. Make sure they get the message before they face another time when a police officer or firefighter comes back from deployment and needs their help for a change.
This isn't that hard people! Families of Vietnam Veterans have been doing it for years and found out the hard way what works to save their veterans lives along with saving their marriages. The only regret we have is that the people with the power to raise awareness of what our voices have to say ARE NOT LISTENING!
So now please tell me what there is about any of this that there is yet one more suicide from a GI that was supposed to be in the best care possible?
by
Chaplain Kathie
How much time is enough to get this right? How many more times do they need to find one more soldier dead before they figure out that what they are doing is not good enough? PTSD is not new! Humans have been on this planet long enough, facing traumatic events, going to war with each other, documenting what comes after war and suffering while telling their stories so that the "experts" should have some clue what the hell to do to help warriors heal. Not only are the veterans suffering, their families suffer and so do the people trying to take care of them while some pea brain without the slightest clue of what they are going through claims to have found the "right treatment" but they keep suffering and killing themselves! ENOUGH TALK! Enough re-researching what has been researched to death. Enough wasting time with what does not work. For Heaven's sake, we know what needs to be done and we know how to do it. We've had over 30 years of studying this to know better.
Step one-get rid of BattleMind because it does more harm than good. I have yet to hear from one veteran BattleMind has helped.
Step two-normalize PTSD. It's a normal reaction to abnormal events. Let them know how many civilians end up with PTSD from the other causes then point out for them, it's a one time traumatic event that does it while they end up enduring event after event after event. Then they'll get it into their brains that to expect to walk away from combat without any changes is not realistic at all. They all change. Some change more than others. Others end up wounded by all of it instead of just changed.
Step three-Stop acting as if they are criminals. Do not belittle them because they seek help and honor the fact they have the courage enough to ask for help. Do not treat them like scum because they say they want to stop drinking or using drugs to cover up what they don't want to feel and then help them understand that is what medications can do for them a lot better than street drugs and getting drunk ever could.
Step four-spend as much time as need to get it into the brains of their families they are no longer dealing with "normal GI Joe" because Joe is no longer able to communicate with himself anymore. The "Joe" he used to be is trapped behind a wall of pain and he needs their help to find "himself" again. While he will never be totally the same person he was before PTSD, he can in fact end up even better as a person than he was before, even with living with flashbacks and nightmares that may never totally go away. Tell the exactly what a flashback is and what they see in their dreams without sugar coating any of it. They need to know what they are up against when confronting a zoned out veteran on a flashback trip from hell or a out of body nightmare so vivid they have no clue where they really are if you wake them up.
Step five-take the one third of Americans with a clue what PTSD is and get them to pound it into the brains of the other two thirds they better start paying attention to all of this before the National Guards and Reservists come home from yet another deployment and then have to face the next mudslide, hurricane, wildfire, tornado or flood. Make sure they get the message before they face another time when a police officer or firefighter comes back from deployment and needs their help for a change.
This isn't that hard people! Families of Vietnam Veterans have been doing it for years and found out the hard way what works to save their veterans lives along with saving their marriages. The only regret we have is that the people with the power to raise awareness of what our voices have to say ARE NOT LISTENING!
So now please tell me what there is about any of this that there is yet one more suicide from a GI that was supposed to be in the best care possible?
Transition unit spc. kills self in Colo. home
Nearly 70 soldiers died in WTUs’ first 16 months
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Feb 1, 2009 8:40:07 EST
The last person Spc. Larry Applegate is known to have spoken to before killing himself was a sergeant with the El Paso County Sheriff’s office in Colorado Springs, Colo.
His words, according to a spokeswoman, foretold a tragic ending.
“One of the sergeants talked with him briefly on the phone,” said the spokeswoman, Lt. Lari Sevene. “He was making suicidal statements.”
Applegate, according to Sevene, who cited preliminary deputies’ reports, was arguing with his wife around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 in their two-story home in the Widefield area of Colorado Springs when he fired a couple of rounds, causing her to flee the house.
He pursued her, fired a few more rounds, then holed himself up inside the house. Using a .45-caliber handgun and an M16 rifle, Applegate fired multiple rounds inside the house, tearing up the couple’s belongings and firing shots through the front door, where sheriff’s deputies had surrounded the house in a standoff, Sevene said.
Agents with a special weapons and tactics team went into Applegate’s house at 12:25 a.m., about 30 minutes after the gunfire stopped, and found him dead with a gunshot wound to the head, Sevene said.
No one else was hurt and the case is still under investigation.
Applegate, 27, was an infantryman who had deployed to Iraq for a year in December 2005 with 1st Battalion, 68th Armor, 4th Infantry Division. Since February 2008, he had been assigned to the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Carson for an undisclosed ailment.
Because of its public nature, his case is one of the most vividly detailed of the more than 70 soldiers who have died while assigned to one of the Army’s 36 WTUs, but suicide is not the leading cause.
According to data compiled by the Warrior Care and Transition Office, 68 soldiers died while assigned to a WTU between June 2007, when the wounded warrior care units were established, and Oct. 31, 2008.
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Off-duty LAPD officer is shot, in serious condition
Off-duty LAPD officer is shot, in serious condition
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
By Ruben Vives and Richard Winton
February 1, 2009
A 49-year-old off-duty Los Angeles police officer was in serious condition Saturday night after being shot in the shoulder during a struggle with two assailants who approached him as he was leaving his City Terrace home, police said.
The 14-year-veteran, Anthony Razo, is assigned to the Hollenbeck division and previously worked with the station's gang detail. He was leaving his house in the 800 block of North Gage Avenue about 5 a.m. Saturday to play golf when he was attacked near his SUV.
The motive for the assault, and whether the officer was targeted or a random victim, is under investigation.
Police said Razo and one attacker were armed with handguns.
During the struggle, Razo's weapon dropped and was picked up by one of the assailants and used to shoot the officer in the upper region of his right shoulder, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said.
Razo was found in his front yard, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Gil Carrillo. Razo was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
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Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
By Ruben Vives and Richard Winton
February 1, 2009
A 49-year-old off-duty Los Angeles police officer was in serious condition Saturday night after being shot in the shoulder during a struggle with two assailants who approached him as he was leaving his City Terrace home, police said.
The 14-year-veteran, Anthony Razo, is assigned to the Hollenbeck division and previously worked with the station's gang detail. He was leaving his house in the 800 block of North Gage Avenue about 5 a.m. Saturday to play golf when he was attacked near his SUV.
The motive for the assault, and whether the officer was targeted or a random victim, is under investigation.
Police said Razo and one attacker were armed with handguns.
During the struggle, Razo's weapon dropped and was picked up by one of the assailants and used to shoot the officer in the upper region of his right shoulder, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said.
Razo was found in his front yard, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Gil Carrillo. Razo was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
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Col. James L. Merchant III, died after parachute accident
Parachutist was a distinguished soldier
Tampabay.com - St. Petersburg,FL,USA
Curtis Krueger, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, January 31, 2009
TAMPA — The Army colonel who died in a parachute accident this week was a career soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned the Bronze Star.
Beyond being a fighter, Col. James L. Merchant III also was an intellectual who puzzled out how to communicate advantageously with foreign enemies.
"It required much intellectual energy and rigor," said his friend and colleague at Special Operations Command, Col. John Leonard. Merchant succeeded with "his ability to think through some of the most difficult problems that we deal with in the command here."
Merchant, 46, was from South Carolina and joined the military in 1984 through a program at the Citadel, where he graduated. His career took him to Korea, Italy, Croatia, Qatar and the Air War College, which emphasizes use of air and space power in joint and multinational fighting.
Witnesses said one parachutists seem to veer far from the group, and dropped into a lake outside of MacDill Air Force Base. He separated from his parachute and began swimming, but for unknown reasons he went under the water. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
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Welcome Home Indiana National Guard, Your Car Was Just Towed
Guardsmen find parking problem after ceremony
Updated: Jan 31, 2009 09:25 PM EST
Richard Essex /Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - Several Indiana National Guardsmen got a surprise when they left a ceremony welcoming them home Saturday.
According to Specialist Ronnie Capps, about 25 guardsmen had their cars towed from a White Castle parking lot during the ceremony at Lucas Oil Stadium. Capps said they had permission to park in the lot of the White Castle restaurant on South Street, but when they returned, their cars were gone.
"We came home and we get to told to park there, they said it was fine, the manager said it was fine at White Castle down the road and next thing you know, we come out from our ceremony, our welcome home, and it was like a welcome home present, the car was gone," said Spec. Capps.
With the tow came a $165 charge for the soldiers and airmen.
As if having their car towed wasn't bad enough, the soldiers had to walk three blocks in the snow, some of them with small children in tow.
"The women are out here getting cold and we're getting cold and their kids, they're sitting at White Castle until they get their cars back. It's just unnecessary," Capps said.
The tow left a bad taste in the soldiers' mouth.
"I used to come up to Indy at least once a week just to go to White Castle. No more," said one soldier.
The manager on duty at the White Castle told Eyewitness News she was unable to comment about the situation, instead referring questions to Jamie Richardson with the White Castle corporation. Richardson said the company is working to make amends with the troops.
"What we didn't realize, what we are feverishly working to make right, we didn't know necessarily this was related to our troops coming home, which we have the utmost respect and support," Richardson said. (click link for more or watch video)
Updated: Jan 31, 2009 09:25 PM EST
Richard Essex /Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - Several Indiana National Guardsmen got a surprise when they left a ceremony welcoming them home Saturday.
According to Specialist Ronnie Capps, about 25 guardsmen had their cars towed from a White Castle parking lot during the ceremony at Lucas Oil Stadium. Capps said they had permission to park in the lot of the White Castle restaurant on South Street, but when they returned, their cars were gone.
"We came home and we get to told to park there, they said it was fine, the manager said it was fine at White Castle down the road and next thing you know, we come out from our ceremony, our welcome home, and it was like a welcome home present, the car was gone," said Spec. Capps.
With the tow came a $165 charge for the soldiers and airmen.
As if having their car towed wasn't bad enough, the soldiers had to walk three blocks in the snow, some of them with small children in tow.
"The women are out here getting cold and we're getting cold and their kids, they're sitting at White Castle until they get their cars back. It's just unnecessary," Capps said.
The tow left a bad taste in the soldiers' mouth.
"I used to come up to Indy at least once a week just to go to White Castle. No more," said one soldier.
The manager on duty at the White Castle told Eyewitness News she was unable to comment about the situation, instead referring questions to Jamie Richardson with the White Castle corporation. Richardson said the company is working to make amends with the troops.
"What we didn't realize, what we are feverishly working to make right, we didn't know necessarily this was related to our troops coming home, which we have the utmost respect and support," Richardson said. (click link for more or watch video)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Ex-soldiers surviving post traumatic stress disorder
Once were warriors
After the horrors of war, many servicemen and women find themselves facing another battle: post-traumatic stress disorder. But a radical programme involving t'ai chi, meditation and Hawaiian "forgiveness" therapy is helping many of them find peace
• This article appears in Sunday's Observer Magazine
Louise Carpenter The Observer, Sunday 1 February 2009
Peter Stone was approaching the end of a long career in the army when he witnessed an event in Croatia in 1995 that was to ruin the next decade of his life. Walking through a village, he came across three Croatian children, aged 11, nine and seven. A father of four himself, Stone's instinct was to talk to them. He even reached into the pocket of his uniform and offered them some chocolate. Later, passing back through the village, he saw them again. They were lying in pools of their own blood by the roadside, their throats cut - punishment for speaking to the enemy.
Stone was an experienced soldier. He had served in Northern Ireland, the Falklands and Croatia. He had seen death and despair, and he had endured and pulled through explosions himself. And yet it was this singular, horrific event that was to be his unravelling. "Those children were innocent," he says, his voice faltering, "and I could not get the memory of them out of my mind, I could not get the thoughts to go [away] that I was responsible, that if it were not for me, they would still be alive today."
Years later, Stone was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a common problem that usually becomes apparent in soldiers years after the experienced trauma. It is often triggered by a second, unrelated trauma. In Stone's case, it was the death of his son in a car crash, two weeks before his son's 21st birthday, in 2001. He had been out of the army for a year then, his marriage having broken down due to the stresses of his job.
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After the horrors of war, many servicemen and women find themselves facing another battle: post-traumatic stress disorder. But a radical programme involving t'ai chi, meditation and Hawaiian "forgiveness" therapy is helping many of them find peace
• This article appears in Sunday's Observer Magazine
Louise Carpenter The Observer, Sunday 1 February 2009
Peter Stone was approaching the end of a long career in the army when he witnessed an event in Croatia in 1995 that was to ruin the next decade of his life. Walking through a village, he came across three Croatian children, aged 11, nine and seven. A father of four himself, Stone's instinct was to talk to them. He even reached into the pocket of his uniform and offered them some chocolate. Later, passing back through the village, he saw them again. They were lying in pools of their own blood by the roadside, their throats cut - punishment for speaking to the enemy.
Stone was an experienced soldier. He had served in Northern Ireland, the Falklands and Croatia. He had seen death and despair, and he had endured and pulled through explosions himself. And yet it was this singular, horrific event that was to be his unravelling. "Those children were innocent," he says, his voice faltering, "and I could not get the memory of them out of my mind, I could not get the thoughts to go [away] that I was responsible, that if it were not for me, they would still be alive today."
Years later, Stone was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a common problem that usually becomes apparent in soldiers years after the experienced trauma. It is often triggered by a second, unrelated trauma. In Stone's case, it was the death of his son in a car crash, two weeks before his son's 21st birthday, in 2001. He had been out of the army for a year then, his marriage having broken down due to the stresses of his job.
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