Saturday, January 22, 2011

Brother, Sister Die in Crash on Way to Stepmother's Funeral

Brother, Sister Die in Crash on Way to Stepmother's Funeral
Jan 22, 2011 – 2:15 PM



Lisa Holewa
Contributor
Chester Mills was supposed to bury his wife in Indiana earlier this week.

But while two of his children were driving from Georgia to attend their stepmother's funeral, their car spun out on a snowy highway and was broadsided by an oncoming tractor-trailer. The crash killed them and a friend who was driving the car.

Now Mills is left dealing with more impossible loss.

"It's a difficult day," Rev. Rodney Coffman told AOL News during a brief telephone interview, as he traveled this morning from the funeral to the cemetery where Amber Mills was being buried.

Mills, 43, died at her home in Waveland Monday morning after a battle with lung cancer. Her funeral, scheduled to be held Thursday -- the day of the accident -- was postponed until today, Coffman said.

Logan Mills, 21, and Amanda Mills, 25, died in the crash along with Anthony Suggs, 25, of Ruskin, Fla. Suggs apparently lost control of the car on the snow-covered road, causing it to spin into the northbound lane of State Road 47 into the path of the truck. The car tumbled into a ravine and the truck landed on top of it.
read more here
Brother, Sister Die in Crash on Way to Stepmother's Funeral

Medal of Honor headstone placed on fallen Oviedo soldier's grave




This morning was not a day for politics and Gov. Scott didn't make any speeches. The service was left to the commanders to address the people paying honor to this Medal of Honor fallen soldier.

No one was talking in the crowd but as I took pictures before the service I wondered why there were so few people there. How many Medal of Honor recipients do we have that people did not feel they had to be there for this service?

I taped it and I'm working on the video which should be done in a couple of days but I wanted to make sure readers of this blog heard about this story.
Medal of Honor headstone placed on fallen Oviedo soldier's grave
Governor Rick Scott attends ceremony unveiling memorial to fallen Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller
By Anika Myers Palm, Orlando Sentinel
3:54 p.m. EST, January 22, 2011
CASSELBERRY — Hundreds of people gathered at a cemetery Saturday to watch the unveiling of a memorial to a special Oviedo soldier.

A headstone placed at the grave of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller notes that Miller was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military recognition. Miller, who died serving in Afghanistan, was the first member of Operation Enduring Freedom to be awarded the honor.

Miller, 24, was "tough, skilled, smart and proven in many battles," said Admiral Eric Olson, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.

"He raised the abilities and the morale of everyone around him."


Miller died on Jan. 25, 2008, when he deliberately drew fire from more than 100 enemy fighters, allowing his fellow Green Berets and some Afghanistan National Army soldiers fighting with them to take cover, saving their lives. He killed more than 16 enemy combatants and wounded more than 30 in the battle, according to the U.S. Army Special Forces Command.

He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House on Oct. 6, 2010.

The crowd watched in silence as the headstone was unveiled at the All Faiths Memorial Cemetery..

"It was such a meaningful ceremony," said Edwina Ericsson of Winter Springs. "Getting a Medal of Honor is such a special, special thing."
read more here and see pictures from the Sentinel
Medal of Honor headstone placed on fallen Oviedo soldier's grave


















Westboro Group's hate defeated by love for fallen soldier

According to this report Westboro Group (I won't dignify them by calling them a church) was going to protest at this funeral. The family and other mourners were wrapped in an enormous group of strangers who came out to show their love. Hate is always defeated by love.

Hundreds of mourners pay respects to Bordentown soldier killed in Afghanistan
Published: Saturday, January 22, 2011
By Matt Fair/The Times


BORDENTOWN CITY — Hundreds of mourners – an assemblage of family and friends alongside representatives from police departments, fire companies, emergency medical squads and veterans groups from across New Jersey – gathered this morning to pay their last respects to a Bordentown City soldier who died in combat in Afghanistan last week.
U.S. Army Spec. Benjamin Moore, 23, died Jan. 12 after his unit was attacked with an improvised explosive device. Two other soldiers were also killed in the incident.
Moore, a native of Bordentown City, was also a volunteer firefighter and certified EMT with Hope Hose Human Co.

Protesters from the fringe Westboro Baptist Church, a hate group which has made a habit of picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in action, had said earlier this week they would be in attendance.
At the end of the day, despite authorities setting up a staging area well out of sight from the graveside service, no protesters from the group made an appearance. read more here
Bordentown soldier killed in Afghanistanl

Thieves Steal War Medals From Vietnam Vet

Thieves Steal War Medals From Vietnam Vet

Reported by: Rachel Azevedo

A Vietnam Veteran who served the United States is now asking for the public’s help. Joe Torres' war medals were stolen from his southeast Fresno home on Tuesday. He's devastated over the loss, but hopes whoever took the medals will bring them back.

This is the face of a 20-year-old Marine, proud to be serving his country. This is the same man today, devastated over the loss of his military medals.


“They took my whole heart, right there. I mean, that's three years of my life,” said Torres.


Three years, gone in an instant. On Tuesday, someone broke into Torres' home through the front door. The burglar ransacked the home, taking the T.V., computer, and a jewelry box which had Torres' medals inside.
read more here
Thieves Steal War Medals From Vietnam Vet

Female war-dog handler has been killed in action

Death of female war-dog handler is first for active duty servicewomen
Jan 22, 2011 1:20AM

The recent death of an Army sergeant in Afghanistan marks the first time a female war-dog handler has been killed in action in any U.S. war, according to experts on military working dogs.

Ron Aiello, head of the U.S. War Dogs Association and a former Vietnam War dog handler, and others who have studied the history of U.S. dogs in combat said they were not aware of any other women dog handlers killed in action.

Sgt. Zainah Caye Creamer, 28, of Texarkana, Ark., died Jan. 12 in the Kandahar area while patrolling for explosives, one of which detonated. She was on her third war deployment, but her first tour as a dog handler. Her dog, Jofa, was not injured.
read more here
Death of female war-dog handler

Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2011-2012

Opening Statement of Hon. Bob Filner, Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Welcome to the hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2011 and Fiscal Year 2012.

The President has requested a budget for VA of $125 billion, including a total discretionary resource request of $60.3 billion. VA medical care represents 86 percent of the total discretionary request. For fiscal year 2011, the Administration is requesting $51.5 billion in resources for VA medical care. Appropriated resources for medical care for fiscal year 2011 have already been provided in last year’s Consolidated Appropriations Act. This funding level is an increase of $4.1 billion, or 8.6 percent over fiscal year 2010 levels.

In accordance with the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, enacted last year with the support of this Administration and the bipartisan support of this Congress, the VA has requested $50.6 billion in appropriated dollars and a total resource level of $54.3 billion, a $2.8 billion, or 5.3 percent increase over fiscal year 2011 levels. We understand this level is consistent with the VA’s actuarial model.

Rest assured that this Committee will be working closely with our counterparts in Congress and with the Administration as the process moves forward to ensure that veterans have the medical care resources they need when fiscal year 2012 begins on October 1, 2011.

The veterans’ groups that co-author the Independent Budget, who will be testifying on our second panel today, have recommended for fiscal year 2011, a total resource level for VA medical care of $52 billion, and an overall discretionary funding level of $61.5 billion, $1.2 billion above the Administration’s requested increase of $4.3 billion. We are looking forward to their testimony and the testimony of The American Legion, VVA, IAVA, and Veterans for Common Sense which are on our third panel.

Mr. Secretary, I am impressed by your robust budget request and your emphasis on funding many of the priorities of this Committee, including addressing the plague of homelessness, rural health care access, and the mental health care needs of our veterans. This budget addresses the problems faced by our newer veterans while not forgetting the sacrifices and service of veterans from previous conflicts.

I note that you are requesting additional funding for more claims processors and I am looking forward to you providing this Committee with a roadmap on how we reform the claims process. More money and more FTE will not solve this broken process and it won’t provide us with a system that is fair to veterans and efficient.

We look forward to hearing about your successes this year, your frustrations, and how you plan to use the resources in this request to meet the needs of our veterans. We look forward to working with you to ensure that you have the money to do the job, and we look forward to working closely with you to assist you in your goal of creating a 21st Century VA.

Avatar deployed by DOD for PTSD

Watching the brief report from KPVI news it is hard to get a true impression of this but what I can tell you is that it very well may be a great idea.

PTSD leaves people feeling like a stranger in their own skin. An avatar could fit right into the way they already feel. The soldiers can go from one part of the site to another and watch "themselves" walk through it. Sounds good so far? It gets even better.

The thought that the DOD would come up with a program like this helps in that thought alone. They know they are not alone and more soldiers are dealing with the same issues they are even though they may not talk about it. The magnitude of this wound is spreading and will keep spreading as more and more troops face more traumatic events. The sooner they seek help to heal the less damage done to their lives. This is not an answer to all that comes with PTSD but seems like a really great place to start.

Department of Defense Launches New PTSD Website
Wednesday January 19, 2011 11:18pm MST
The Department of Defense (DoD) launched a new website Wednesday aimed at helping those suffering from the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The website has the user set up an avatar in which they navigate through a simulated "therapy island". The users can move at their own pace and click on links along the way. This is the first time that the Department of Defense has used this approach for PTSD.

The exact cause of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is still unknown but doctors believe that psychological, social, physical and genetic factors are all involved. PTSD alters the way that a person responds to stress. That is why it is so important to treat the disorder.

There are many options for treatment this includes the DoD website and the Pocatello Cere-Balance Center.
go here for video report
Department of Defense Launches New PTSD Website
MSNBC has a better report on this

Virtual haven set up for combat vets

Alan Boyle writes:One of the best things about virtual reality is that it isn't real — and the Pentagon is taking advantage of that fact by offering a virtual realm that can take combat vets and their loved ones through the whole cycle of post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD and depression are thought to affect 10 to 30 percent of the U.S. military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, depending on how you define the disorder. For some vets, the trauma left behind from combat experiences can lead to alcohol abuse, aggressive behavior, family problems or even suicide.
Typically, therapists help PTSD sufferers get through the experience by having them relive and talk through stressful experiences in a safe environment. That's where virtual reality can make a difference: For several years now, therapists have been using online worlds such as Second Life to simulate the stresses in a therapeutic context. Studies have shown that such simulations can lead to a clinically significant lessening of PTSD symptoms. Some researchers are even using simulations to identify potential PTSD sufferers —and deal with their problems — even before the warfighters are sent into combat.
Therapists only wish that vets would take greater advantage of the treatment tools at hand.




T2 Virtual PTSD Experience

Friday, January 21, 2011

Fort Hood Army suicides hit record mark

Hood, Army suicides hit record mark
At least 22 confirmed last year in and around Fort Hood, doubling the post’s total from 2009.
By Sig Christenson / Sigc@express-news.net
Published: 01:46 a.m., Thursday, January 20, 2011
Giger had spent close to a quarter-century in the Army and been to Iraq three times since 2004, receiving two Bronze Star medals for valor. If he felt stress from the divorce and financial problems, he didn’t let on.




KILLEEN — Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Eugene Giger was a “tall quiet Texan” even after his wife filed for divorce while he was in Iraq, his mom says.

Still, he was devastated.

“The only thing that I know is when she sued for divorce, she charged him with $2,000-a-month child support and insisted that he pay half of the house,” said Helen Giger, 71, of Chandler, east of Dallas. “And by the time she got through charging him with various things, he had very little money left over, not even hardly enough to pay for his rent.”

Authorities found Giger, 42, of Houston dead in his apartment near Fort Hood, hanging by necktie. He was one of at least 22 GIs from the post to commit suicide in 2010.

The Fort Hood mark is a new record for the post and contributed to the Army’s worst year for suicides. There was, however, a sign of hope in the grim tally. Slightly fewer active-duty soldiers died by their own hand compared with 2009. But there was bad news, too: The number of suicides in the National Guard and Army Reserve rose sharply.

The Army’s vice chief of staff, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, told the San Antonio Express-News that suicides at or near Fort Hood have increased as more soldiers have returned from combat.

Fort Hood’s 22 confirmed suicides, meanwhile, doubled its 2009 mark and was eight more than Fort Bragg, N.C., which had the second-largest tally.

And the Fort Hood mark could grow since some deaths haven’t been resolved. Others will remain mysteries, like that of Sgt. Bradley Dale Penman, 34, of Punxsutawney, Pa. Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin of Killeen said that Penman’s body, found last summer, was so decomposed no cause of death could be determined.


Read more: Hood, Army suicides hit record mark

Women Warriors Wellness Retreat


If you are thinking this is about getting you to become a member of this church, it isn't. I spoke with Major Leslie Haines, Executive Director of Lutheran Military Veterans and Family Ministries. This is all about helping to heal your soul.

This is part of the email I received.

I am the Executive Director of Lutheran Military Veterans and Families Ministries (www.lmvfm.org). I stumbled upon your video and would like to be able to incorporate it in a training program we have for civilian community care providers i.e., therapists, clergy, counselors, and those who are going into a like profession/vocation.

Our minsitry provides at no cost to veterans or their family members short term counseling and assistance, as well as resource assistance. Additionally, we provide a series of courses (Basic Training Seminars) for professionals and students.

We are a small non-profit ministry which I planted during my 2d year of seminary-which came after my second deployment.

She found me because of my videos on Great Americans. We talked for a long time, shared the same views and I feel truly blessed there is a group out there doing this work. The mind-body-spirit connection cannot be dismissed. Trauma is Greek for "wound" and it is a spiritual wound instead of a mental illness. It is caused by an outside force and is regarded as an anxiety disorder.

For women veterans there is more than one kind of trauma they experience during their service and that is sexual trauma. For all these years, women have been the least served even as their numbers increased. Now with talk of allowing women to serve in combat roles, their needs will increase even more. We can do better and this is a good start.


Thursday, January 20, 2011

Not all VA programs the same

Not all VA programs the same
January 20, 2011 posted by Chaplain Kathie
The Orlando VA had a meeting this morning on addressing the homeless veterans population. While all said that was being done sounds great I wondered why I am still asking the same question I have been asking for many years with no change happening. My question is why the VA does not do pro-active programs, like support groups and have educational meetings with families of veterans before it ever reaches the point where they become homeless. I didn’t really get an answer this morning either and none of the speakers brought up what is being done in other parts of the country by the VA like this.
Families At Ease
VA Program Helps Families Help Their Veterans
Do you know a Veteran who needs help?
“Families At Ease” is a new program developed by Department of Veterans Affairs that works with family members and friends of Veterans of any era to help them help their Veteran get care.
Many Veterans are reluctant to get help for the symptoms or difficulties they are having, or may not recognize their need for help.
It could be difficulty at work or at home, problems sleeping, driving too fast, or drinking too much. Or it could just be that they seem irritable or sad.
Whatever the problem, family members are often very aware of Veterans’ mental health difficulties and want to play a positive role in helping Veterans seek the help they need.
The “Families At Ease” educational campaign attempts to reach new Veterans through their concerned family members and provides information and support to help the Veteran access VA facilities for services and benefits.
A multi-site call center was developed at the Philadelphia, Pa. and Durham, N.C. VA Medical Centers to answer calls from family members and friends, as well as Veterans.
Callers can get information on how to enroll in VA care. They can also get free telephone-based coaching by a mental health consultant to help when a Veteran is reluctant to admit having difficulties.
According to Dr. Steven Sayers, “Familes At Ease” Director, “We take a positive approach to motivating the Veteran, which means while we work with the family member to motivate the Veteran, the choice to come in is always in the Veteran’s hands.”
Dr. Sayers is a Clinical Psychologist with the Mental Illness, Research, Education, and Clinical Center at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
VA Program Helps Families Help Their Veterans
Last year Congressmen Filner and Grayson had a meeting of their own here in Orlando. I asked Congressman Filner why I had to watch video after video on testimonies the House Veterans Affairs Committee had covering one heartbreaking story after another but I never heard any solutions or anything that worked. I asked why they never had families like mine talking about how to hold a family together and help their veteran heal or even how to understand what PTSD is. Again, while I was told it was a good point and was told the VA needed to put families like mine to work for them because we’ve been there and done that but nothing was done about it and it is doubtful there will ever be anything like that happening in Congress considering the leadership has changed.
read more here
Not all VA programs the same

Westboro Baptist Church set to protest funeral for slain New Jersey soldier

Westboro Baptist Church set to protest funeral for slain New Jersey soldier

A memorial service being held Saturday morning in New Jersey for Bordentown resident and soldier Benjamin Moore who was killed in action last week in Afghanistan. Moore was the first casualty from New Jersey in Afghanistan in 2011. His fueneral will be held Saturday morning at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Bordentown.
The Westboro Baptist Church has issued a bulletin identifying PFC Moore’s funeral to preach their message which is “Thank God For IED’s”. The zealots of the WBC will be met by the Patriot Guard Riders whose purpose is to shield the families of fallen soldiers from the insensitive and provocative protests of the WBC. They will be forming a flag line at the request of Moore’s family at the Friday night service and Saturday morning service.

read more here
Westboro Baptist Church set to protest funeral for slain New Jersey soldier

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Iowa vets lobby for free counseling, mental health court

Iowa vets lobby for free counseling, mental health court
By Mike Wiser Lee Des Moines Bureau
DES MOINES - State support for free counseling services and establishing a mental health court that would cater to veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder are the top two priorities of the veterans lobby this year.
Steve Mulcahy, chairman of the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs, said he hopes to work with legislators this year for greater recognition of mental health issues many veterans face when they return from combat.
"PSTD is the main issue right now," Mulcahy said following a series of short speeches today by Gov. Terry Branstad and three of the four legislative leaders of the Veterans Affairs Committees in the House and Senate in the Capitol Rotunda.
"Last year we had legislation that any counseling visit by a veteran would be covered, but it didn't make it out by the end of session," Mulcahy said. "Every veteran goes through some readjustment when they return from deployment to what we call ‘the life' and we're working for greater support of that."
Mulcahy's presence and the speeches by the governor and lawmakers were part of the events set up for today's Veterans Day at the Capitol. Roughly 300 people, many of them wearing hats signifying the Legion or VFW post they belong to and the years of their military service listened to the speeches and browsed among the display tables set up by organizations such as the Gold Star Mothers.
read more here
Iowa vets lobby for free counseling, mental health court

Elderly Florida woman dragged by car caught on tape

VA Office Developing Innovative Patient-Centered Model of Care

VA Office Developing Innovative Patient-Centered Model of Care for
Veterans


Dr. Tracy Williams Gaudet to Lead Office




WASHINGTON (Jan. 19, 2011)-- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is
creating a new office to develop personal, patient-centered models of
care for Veterans who receive health care services at VA's more than
1,000 points of care across the Nation.

"VA has become one of the Nation's leaders in quality health care and is
increasingly cited as the standard to emulate," said VA Under Secretary
for Health Dr. Robert A. Petzel. "However, we must always continue to
find ways to deliver more with our systems to the incredible patients we
are honored to serve. We need to be data-driven, providing the
treatments and therapies with the best clinical evidence, and we need to
be patient-centered, never losing sight that we have been given the
noble mission to care for our Nation's Veterans, families and
survivors."

The new VA Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation
began operations on Jan. 17 and is based in Arlington, Va.

The office's director, Dr. Tracy Williams Gaudet, comes to VA from Duke
University Medical Center where she has served as the executive director
of Duke Integrated Medicine since 2001. Dr. Gaudet received her
Bachelor of Arts and medical degrees from Duke University.

"The VA's vision and commitment to cultural transformation comes at a
pivotal moment for health care in this country, and I am deeply honored
to be joining VA in this important work," said Dr. Gaudet. "The Office
of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation will be a living,
learning organization in which we will discover and demonstrate new
models of care, analyze the results, and then create strategies that
allow for their translation and implementation across the VA. VA will
continue to be a national leader in innovation, and, in this way, we
will provide the future of high-quality health care to our Veterans."

The VA Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation will
have four regional implementation teams at select VA medical centers
across the country: Birmingham, Ala; East Orange, N.J.; Dallas; and Los
Angeles.

Each VA medical center was selected for excellence already demonstrated
in producing cultures of patient-centered care based on established
criteria. These regional teams, comprised of patient-centered care
consultants, will be responsible for facilitating the culture change for
patient-centered care at all VA facilities.

Both teens were hit with the same bullet from dropped backpack

Jan. 18, 2011
Girl Critical after School Shooting Near L.A.
Gun Discharged at School after Student Dropped Backpack Carrying It, School Principal Says
AP) Updated at 9:37 p.m. ET

LOS ANGELES - A gun in a 10th grader's backpack discharged Tuesday when he dropped the bag, wounding two students at a high school, including one who remained in critical condition, police said.

Both teens were hit with the same bullet, Los Angeles deputy police chief Patrick Gannon said.

John Deasy, deputy superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said there was no indication the student with the backpack had touched the gun before it discharged.

"He literally dropped his knapsack on the desk and it went off," Deasy said.

read more here
Girl Critical after School Shooting Near L.A.

Oviedo man also accused of sex attacks on missionary kids in Africa

Child-porn arrest: Oviedo man also accused of sex attacks on missionary kids in Africa
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) published a report accusing Samuel Shamba Warlick of sexually abusing children at a housing facility for missionary families in the Congo in the late 1980s.
January 14, 2011|By Amy Pavuk, Orlando Sentinel

An Oviedo man with past ties to church missions in Africa was arrested by the FBI on child-pornography charges Friday.

The arrest of Samuel Shamba Warlick comes three months after the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) published a report unrelated to the FBI case accusing Warlick of sexually abusing children at a housing facility for missionary families in the Congo in the late 1980s.

Warlick, 39, made an appearance Friday afternoon in Orlando federal court and was ordered to be jailed until a hearing next week. He faces charges of possessing and distributing child pornography, and could be sentenced up to 30 years in prison if convicted.


According to court documents, law-enforcement officers began investigating Warlick in an undercover capacity online in December.

When agents searched his home Friday, Warlick told them he has possessed child pornography for the past 10 years and that he prefers boys who are between 13 and 16 years old.
read more here
Oviedo man also accused of sex attacks on missionary kids in Africa

Missing female sailor's body recovered in Gulf of Oman

Missing sailor's body recovered in Gulf of Oman
By the CNN Wire Staff
January 19, 2011 7:46 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The sailor was reported missing from the USS Halsey on Tuesday
British and American forces participated in the search

(CNN) -- The body of a U.S. Navy sailor, who was reported missing from a ship on Tuesday, was recovered Wednesday during search and rescue operations in the Gulf of Oman, the U.S. 5th Fleet said.
The sailor failed to report to watch Tuesday aboard the USS Halsey, the military said in a statement. "After a search of the ship, a man overboard was called away."

The sailor is a female, a U.S. military official told CNN Tuesday.
read more here
Missing sailor's body recovered in Gulf of Oman

Army to report rise in National Guard, Reserve suicides

Army to report rise in National Guard, Reserve suicides
From Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
January 19, 2011 8:13 a.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Report on suicides is to be released Wednesday, senior Army official says
Active-duty suicides declined in 2010, but rose among Reserve, National Guard
Increase was among stateside troops, most of whom were never in a war zone
Army doesn't have any answers for the discrepancy, official says
Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Army on Wednesday will report that while the number of suicides in the active-duty force declined in 2010, the number of suicides in the Army Reserve and National Guard increased, a senior Army official said.
The increase in Reserve and National Guard suicides is among troops who are in the United States and not activated for duty. The senior Army official said more than half of those troops were never deployed to a war zone.
read more here
Army to report rise in National Guard, Reserve suicides



Army to implement new mental health screening procedures
By Charley Keyes, CNN
January 19, 2011 9:27 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The Pentagon will report on Army suicide rates for 2010 Wednesday
A study found pre-deployment screenings cut down on problems later
The soldier and unit both benefit from the screenings

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Army hopes it can do a better job of preventing mental health problems in the ranks with more aggressive screening of troops -- before they ship out to a war zone.
After nine years of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, the military is coping with a wave of mental health issues, from post-traumatic stress disorder to depression and suicide.
Army medical experts have been studying the results of a just-released study of the benefits of pre-deployment evaluation of soldiers and follow-up treatment while they were in Iraq. The study found that improved screening reduced later behavioral problems by 78% and reduced thoughts of suicide by more than half.
The service is struggling with a troubling suicide rate. At a news conference at the Pentagon later Wednesday, officials will report that while the number of suicides in the active-duty force declined in 2010, the number of suicides in the Army Reserve and National Guard increased, a senior Army official said.
read more of this here
Army to implement new mental health screening procedures

Missouri town bans protests during funerals

Does the Westboro group have the right to do what they want, say what they want, attack anyone they want? According to the ACLU, they have every right to stalk and harass families trying to bury their dead. I usually agree with the ACLU but in this case, they picked the wrong side to fight for. The families needed someone fighting for them to do something as simple as be able to have a funeral for someone they loved. That's all they are asking for. No one has said Westboro can't hold up protest signs or scream any kind of rant they want but what they do not deserve and are not entitled to is a right to demand the attention of a captive group of mourners. That is the point in all of this. The ACLU is fighting for the rights of this group to go where they want, do what they want so they can use their rights but in the process, they are preventing the rights of families who have to be there when Westboro does not. The ACLU is defending a group of stalkers wanting attention at any cost.

Keeping them away from the families during the funeral keeps them from getting attention and that is the only thing they want. But that again is the right of the media to cover them or not. Let them protest, hold up as many signs as this tiny group can hold, say anything they want to prove they have no relationship to Christ but not when the families are forced to see them, hear them and be harassed by them.

Missouri town bans protests during funerals
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 19, 2011 8:24:40 EST
ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Despite the likelihood that it will be sued, an eastern Missouri city has voted to ban protests at funerals.

The St. Charles City Council voted Tuesday night to allow protests during visitations and street and highway processions. But protests will be banned within 300 feet of funeral and burial sites between an hour before and an hour after an observance.
read more here
Missouri town bans protests during funerals

2 Fort Hood soldiers killed by Iraqi trainee

2 Hood soldiers shot by Iraqi trainee ID'd
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 18, 2011 8:25:37 EST
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department has released the identities of two Fort Hood soldiers officials say were shot dead by an Iraqi soldier they were training.

A Pentagon statement issued Monday says 23-year-old Sgt. Michael P. Bartley of Barnhill, Ill., and 43-year-old Spc. Martin J. Lamar of Sacramento, Calif., died when the trainee shot them with small-arms fire Saturday in Mosul, Iraq.
read more here
2 Hood soldiers shot by Iraqi trainee