Marine claims brain trauma led to fatal DUI crash
By TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — It seemed like an open-and-shut DUI manslaughter case. Officers said Scott Sciple drove the wrong way down a Tampa interstate in April of 2010 and plowed head-on into another car, killing the other driver. According to court records, Sciple's blood-alcohol level was more than three times Florida's legal limit.
But as the case unfolded, so did the unusual circumstances of Sciple's life. He was a Marine captain who had earned three Purple Hearts for injuries and the Bronze Star for heroism in Afghanistan and Iraq. He had nearly died from blood loss, suffered severe head trauma and once dug a mass grave for Iraqi civilians.
It's these mental scars of combat, his lawyer says, that are to blame for the accident. Brain damage and post-traumatic stress disorder caused Sciple to blackout in a dissociative episode the night of the crash, said defense attorney John Fitzgibbons. Sciple has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney will offer an insanity defense at trial.
The other driver, Pedro Rivera, left behind a wife, two children and three stepchildren. His widow is broken-hearted and believes the military deserves some blame for the accident for not treating Sciple's disorder.
Remarkably, those sentiments are echoed by Marine Corps investigators who examined the case and wrote an 860-page report with recommendations for top brass. The report says the corps should be more thorough in evaluating and treating post-traumatic stress disorder, especially in Marines with brain injuries.
"This investigation reveals a disturbing vulnerability in the support we provide our combat veterans suffering the invisible wounds of PTSD," wrote Col. John P. Crook of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, in a Sept. 26, 2010 letter. "It is folly to expect a wounded mind to diagnose itself, yet our Marines still depend on an anemic system of self-diagnosis and self-reporting."
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Saturday, September 24, 2011
Republican Crowd Boos Gay Soldier at GOP Fox News Google Debate
Don't even get me started on this one. A soldier risking his life asked about how the GOP candidates would treat other soldiers like him and the answers were stunning! The boos from the crowd were even worse.
More Evidence That Marijuana-Like Drugs May Help Prevent PTSD
Not sure if it will "prevent it" but I know a lot of veterans helped by it. It calms them down when nothing else seems to be able to.
More Evidence That Marijuana-Like Drugs May Help Prevent PTSD
By Maia Szalavitz Friday, September 23, 2011
Could a marijuana-based medicine potentially prevent the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? If the findings of a new study in rodents hold up, they may offer a new avenue for treatment of an illness that affects at least 7% of Americans during their lifetimes.
For the study, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers exposed rats to severe, Navy Seal-level stress, including restraint, forced swims and anesthetization. Luckier control rats just stayed in their cages and were handled twice by researchers.
Like humans who develop PTSD, the stress-exposed rats later became oversensitized to more moderately stressful stimuli, showing an exaggerated startle response to loud noises, for example.
These rats also took longer to recognize that a once scary spot in a cage was now safe. Animals that had experienced traumatic stress also showed related changes in stress hormones.
But rats that were severely stressed, then immediately given a synthetic compound that mimics the effects of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, were mellower. They showed none of the stress-related changes seen in the rats receiving placebo.
The timing of the drug (known as WIN55, 212-2) mattered, though. The injections prevented symptoms of PTSD when they were given two or 24 hours after stress, but had no effect when administered 48 hours later.
The study, which involved a total of 637 male rats included in a series of 16 experiments, follows up similar previous work by the same author, this time using different tests of stress.
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Social media bridging gap between troubled vets and treatment
If Facebook and all the other online sites were around when Vietnam Veterans came home, there would be a lot more of them still here today!
Social media bridging gap between troubled vets and treatment
By MATTHEW M. BURKE
Stars and Stripes
Published: September 23, 2011
SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — Marine Cpl. J.P. Villont returned from Iraq a broken man.
The married father of four was angry, paranoid, hyper-vigilant, aggressive and withdrawn — telltale signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Yet, for seven years, the former Marine was reluctant to seek help.
“Obviously I had PTSD and it was undiagnosed,” Villont, 40, said recently from his Phoenix home. “It’s a huge stigma, so I didn’t want to find that out. I pretended I didn’t have it for many years.”
Then, following a couple of violent outbursts, Villont finally contacted a few veterans facilities in Arizona. He was told he would have to wait months for treatment.
With seemingly nowhere to turn, his wife, Lisa, starting posting messages on the Wounded Warrior Project’s Facebook page.
“Its been over 7 years since my husband returned home from Iraq, just last week he finally decided to seek help for what we assume will be diagnosed as PTSD,” she wrote.
Her words caught the attention of Jennifer Boyce, social media manager for the Wounded Warrior Project, who provided the Villonts with people who could help immediately.
read more here
Fort Hood soldier leads police on high-speed chase
KILLEEN
Fort Hood soldier leads police on high-speed chase
Posted: Sep 22, 2011 9:54 PM EDT
By: Nicole Jacobsen
KILLEEN - A Fort Hood soldier was arrested Thursday after he led police officers on a high-speed car chase through three cities.
It started when police responded to a domestic disturbance call just before 5 a.m. in the 300 block of Goodnight Drive. When officers arrived, Travis Edward Bell fled the scene in a red Dodge pickup truck.
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Fort Hood soldier leads police on high-speed chase
Posted: Sep 22, 2011 9:54 PM EDT
By: Nicole Jacobsen
KILLEEN - A Fort Hood soldier was arrested Thursday after he led police officers on a high-speed car chase through three cities.
It started when police responded to a domestic disturbance call just before 5 a.m. in the 300 block of Goodnight Drive. When officers arrived, Travis Edward Bell fled the scene in a red Dodge pickup truck.
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U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter getting help from his neighbors
When Christ said, "Love thy neighbor" this is exactly what he was talking about. Kyle Carpenter decided to serve the nation in the Marines and the fact he very well may have laid down his life doing it didn't stop him. His community stepped up when he came home wounded, yet again, out of love. Amazing story.
Saturday, Sep. 17, 2011
BENEFIT
Gilbert Marine, family to get help
BY JEFF WILKINSON - jwilkinson@thestate.com
Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, flanked by his parents, Jim and Robin Carpenter of Gilbert, laughs during a press conference in March at the State House. Lance Cpl. Carpenter was injured by a hand grenade in Afghanistan and was honored in the senate chambers.
- Tracy Glantz /tglantz@thestate.com
On Nov. 21, during the troop “surge” in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter of Gilbert was fighting on a rooftop near Marjah.
The Marines were fighting in a village they called Shadier because it was between two other villages they named Shady and Shadiest. During the firefight, a hand grenade landed in front of Carpenter and his best friend in Afghanistan, Cpl. Nick Eufrazio of Plymouth, Mass.
Carpenter absorbed most of the blast, which took his right eye, many of his teeth and mangled his right arm, among other injuries. A sliver of shrapnel went into Eufrazio’s brain. Both men still are being treated at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland.
Carpenter, 21, already has undergone about 35 surgeries and expects 10-12 more.
On Sunday, the Lutheran churches of Lexington County will sponsor a benefit for Carpenter, to raise money to help pay the expenses of family members when they go to Maryland to be with Kyle during those surgeries, and to help Kyle with college when he leaves the Marines.
“The military pays for Kyle’s medical treatment but not the family’s expenses,” said Rev. Eric Wolf of St. John’s Lutheran in Lexington. “And that is a big strain for anyone.”
The numerous surgeries have repaired much of Carpenter’s face and mouth, and given him partial use of his right arm and right hand. Subsequent surgeries will improve such things as finger movement.
“It really just depends on how much surgery Kyle wants and can do,” his mother, Robin Carpenter, said Wednesday. The surgeons “are doing miraculous things. You wouldn’t know he was blown up by a hand grenade on Nov. 21.”
read more here
also the original story
Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter
Four charged in deadly shooting of Vietnam veteran, deputies say
Harry Blakeney's life could fill any reality TV show. Aside from being a hoarder, he was accused of killing his wife during a flashback caused by PTSD and his time in Vietnam but with all of this his death is being tied yet again to Vietnam. It is suspected he was robbed and killed because he just received a disability check for Agent Orange.
Four charged in deadly shooting of Vietnam veteran, deputies say
Updated: Sep 22, 2011
By Chris Dyches, Web Content Producer
KERSHAW, SC (WBTV) - Deputies say four people have been charged after a Vietnam veteran was shot and killed in the streets near a church in Lancaster County.
According to the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office, the deadly robbery happened in the town of Kershaw near the intersection of N. Ingram and E. Church Streets around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, not far from the First Baptist Church.
Major Matt Shaw with the Sheriff's Office told WBTV that three men and a woman were charged after 21-year-old Jerel Davis and 25-year-old Heyward Truesdale went to the home of 69-year-old Harry E. Blakeney to commit armed robbery. During the robbery, shots were fired and Blakeney was killed.
Deputies say a bystander, 31-year-old Douglas Lewis, was standing near Blakeney when the shots were fired and was injured in the shooting.
According to deputies, Davis and Truesdale ran from the home and got into a vehicle with 35-year-old Prayon Truesdale and 19-year-old Shaun McCrorey.
Sources tell WBTV Blakeney is a Vietnam Veteran who killed his wife decades ago after returning from the war. The sources say he was having a flashback at the time and drowned her. After spending several years in a mental institution, he was released.
Those who knew Blakeney said he never got over the trauma of war.
"Many come back with wounds," said Rev. Bryant Fersner, Blakeney's pastor at First Baptist Church in Kershaw.
"Some of the wounds are visible. Many of the wounds are invisible. Ed was an invisible wounded warrior," said Fersner.
Neighbors said Blakeney had recently received a large settlement for being exposed to agent orange while serving in Vietnam and investigators believe the suspects were after Blakeney's money. Neighbors also described Blakeney as a hoarder, saying he had a reputation of buying and collecting anything from vehicles to tools to stash in his home.
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Thursday, September 22, 2011
BBC reports on our female veterans and trauma
Female veterans tormented by combat and sexual trauma
By Laura Trevelyan
BBC News, New York
June Moss struggled with suicidal tendencies and depression after returning home from her tour in Iraq
Nearly one in six members of the US military on active duty is a woman. Coming to terms with what they experience, especially when they come home, can take a terrible toll.
Women in the US military have come a long way since a WWII recruiting poster urged them to 'Free a Marine to Fight' by joining up in support roles.
Today 14.5% of active duty members of the US military are women.
And even though they're not strictly in combat roles, women are experiencing warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan just like the men do.
Women, too, are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of the horrors they've seen. Coping with that, and with being a mother, poses problems of its own.
Take June Moss, a mother of two who was a staff sergeant in the US army shortly after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
read more here
By Laura Trevelyan
BBC News, New York
June Moss struggled with suicidal tendencies and depression after returning home from her tour in Iraq
Nearly one in six members of the US military on active duty is a woman. Coming to terms with what they experience, especially when they come home, can take a terrible toll.
Women in the US military have come a long way since a WWII recruiting poster urged them to 'Free a Marine to Fight' by joining up in support roles.
Today 14.5% of active duty members of the US military are women.
And even though they're not strictly in combat roles, women are experiencing warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan just like the men do.
Women, too, are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of the horrors they've seen. Coping with that, and with being a mother, poses problems of its own.
Take June Moss, a mother of two who was a staff sergeant in the US army shortly after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
read more here
Fallen soldier's family urges support for those still deployed
Fallen soldier's family urges support for those still deployed
By JERRY WOFFORD World Staff Writer
Published: 9/21/2011
Relatives of a Collinsville soldier whose body was returned Tuesday to Tulsa from Afghanistan, where he was killed, said they want people to continue to support other soldiers still in harm's way.
Oklahoma Army National Guard Spc. Christopher D. Horton, 26, was killed Sept. 9 by small-arms fire.
His remains were met Tuesday by his wife, Jane Horton, and his parents, Cherie and David Horton, at the Oklahoma Air National Guard Base in Tulsa.
"Today is the day we welcome home a true American hero," Jane Horton said.
read more here
By JERRY WOFFORD World Staff Writer
Published: 9/21/2011
Relatives of a Collinsville soldier whose body was returned Tuesday to Tulsa from Afghanistan, where he was killed, said they want people to continue to support other soldiers still in harm's way.
Oklahoma Army National Guard Spc. Christopher D. Horton, 26, was killed Sept. 9 by small-arms fire.
His remains were met Tuesday by his wife, Jane Horton, and his parents, Cherie and David Horton, at the Oklahoma Air National Guard Base in Tulsa.
"Today is the day we welcome home a true American hero," Jane Horton said.
read more here
Fort Hood Soldier Dies During 4th Deployment To Iraq
Fort Hood Soldier Dies During 4th Deployment To Iraq
A 30-year-old Fort Hood soldier from Texas has died during his fourth deployment to Iraq, the military said Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (September 21, 2011)—Fort Hood Staff Sgt. Estevan Altamirano, 30, of Edcouch died Sunday of injuries he received in what the military described Wednesday as a non-combat-related incident.
Further details weren’t released.
Altamirano was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
He joined the Army in January 2001 and had deployed to Iraq from January 2004 through February 2005, October 2006 through January 2008, January 2009 through December 2009 and most recently in May.
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A 30-year-old Fort Hood soldier from Texas has died during his fourth deployment to Iraq, the military said Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (September 21, 2011)—Fort Hood Staff Sgt. Estevan Altamirano, 30, of Edcouch died Sunday of injuries he received in what the military described Wednesday as a non-combat-related incident.
Further details weren’t released.
Altamirano was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
He joined the Army in January 2001 and had deployed to Iraq from January 2004 through February 2005, October 2006 through January 2008, January 2009 through December 2009 and most recently in May.
read more here
Dogs Being Trained To Help Soldiers Suffering From PTSD
Dogs Being Trained To Help Soldiers Suffering From PTSD
By: SHEILA PARKER
Published: September 21, 2011
FORT STEWART, GA - WSAV --
Dogs are man's best friend. Some are also trained to help with tasks like search and rescue or guiding the visually impaired. Others offer psychological and emotional comfort to our fighting men and women in uniform. News Three introduces you to a program -- helping veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
The dogs are being trained to do incredibly helpful things -- open doors, refrigerators and cabinets, turn on lights and deliver their leash -- but it's the more intangible things they do that help the men and women suffering from post traumatic stress function on a day to day basis.
Sgt. Joshua Campbell says, “For me...loud public areas are very, very scary for me... Where there's a lot of people and I have no control it really gives me a lot of anxiety. What the dog does for me is acts like a second set of eyes and ears, you know, and she does it intuitively. I don't have to ask her to do it." He’s had his dog Jackie for three months and says, “The dog for me is the same as a wheelchair is for someone else…her just being with me gives me the ability to not necessarily cure me but help me work to that point, you know, just having a... Like a buddy system is what it feels like for me…she will be trained to notify me, let me know about people behind me. There's commands for her like "pop in the corner" where she can look around corners that I can't see and also cover my 6, you know, military terminology that they can do to let you know."
After three deployments led to post traumatic stress, working with Jackie has helped Sergeant Campbell rejoin society. He says, “It's still small steps but getting out of the house more, for instance, it's really hard for us to get going. We can't leave the house very much and we have to with the dog because the dog needs to be exercised. The dogs need to be, you know, taken care of and treated properly, so that gets us out."
read more here
By: SHEILA PARKER
Published: September 21, 2011
FORT STEWART, GA - WSAV --
Dogs are man's best friend. Some are also trained to help with tasks like search and rescue or guiding the visually impaired. Others offer psychological and emotional comfort to our fighting men and women in uniform. News Three introduces you to a program -- helping veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
The dogs are being trained to do incredibly helpful things -- open doors, refrigerators and cabinets, turn on lights and deliver their leash -- but it's the more intangible things they do that help the men and women suffering from post traumatic stress function on a day to day basis.
Sgt. Joshua Campbell says, “For me...loud public areas are very, very scary for me... Where there's a lot of people and I have no control it really gives me a lot of anxiety. What the dog does for me is acts like a second set of eyes and ears, you know, and she does it intuitively. I don't have to ask her to do it." He’s had his dog Jackie for three months and says, “The dog for me is the same as a wheelchair is for someone else…her just being with me gives me the ability to not necessarily cure me but help me work to that point, you know, just having a... Like a buddy system is what it feels like for me…she will be trained to notify me, let me know about people behind me. There's commands for her like "pop in the corner" where she can look around corners that I can't see and also cover my 6, you know, military terminology that they can do to let you know."
After three deployments led to post traumatic stress, working with Jackie has helped Sergeant Campbell rejoin society. He says, “It's still small steps but getting out of the house more, for instance, it's really hard for us to get going. We can't leave the house very much and we have to with the dog because the dog needs to be exercised. The dogs need to be, you know, taken care of and treated properly, so that gets us out."
read more here
Soldier Deals with Life After PTSD Breakdown
Soldier Deals with Life After PTSD Breakdown
Retha Colclasure
9/21/2011
The wounds of war aren`t always visible. More people are becoming aware of that. One year after a PTSD breakdown, one soldier`s family is glad he`s still alive.
One year ago tonight, Brock Savelkoul went into a convenience store in Watford City with guns. He then drove off, drunk, and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase that ended in a standoff in an attempt at suicide by cop.
Today, his friends and family are glad he`s still alive.
There`s nothing quite like a soldier`s homecoming. But after the hugs, the kisses and the tears of joy over the reunion, many soldiers are faced with the different reality of civilian life.
"You come back, you`re thrown into civilian life, and you`re rewired," said Joan Daigle, who`s a friend of the Savelkoul family.
That`s something Daigle found out when her son returned home and suffered from severe post traumatic stress disorder.
Daigle said, "I had no clue what was coming."
Many family members don`t. That`s why when Brock Savelkoul took off in a pickup truck, drunk, with weapons and suffering from a PTS blackout his family didn`t know what to think.
"It was a complete shock," said Angie Heinze, Brock`s sister. "It was a nightmare, this can`t be my brother. I knew it wasn`t the real Brock, had to be something else going on."
Brock had been diagnosed with PTSD, but the diagnosis wasn`t enough.
read more here
Retha Colclasure
9/21/2011
The wounds of war aren`t always visible. More people are becoming aware of that. One year after a PTSD breakdown, one soldier`s family is glad he`s still alive.
One year ago tonight, Brock Savelkoul went into a convenience store in Watford City with guns. He then drove off, drunk, and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase that ended in a standoff in an attempt at suicide by cop.
Today, his friends and family are glad he`s still alive.
There`s nothing quite like a soldier`s homecoming. But after the hugs, the kisses and the tears of joy over the reunion, many soldiers are faced with the different reality of civilian life.
"You come back, you`re thrown into civilian life, and you`re rewired," said Joan Daigle, who`s a friend of the Savelkoul family.
That`s something Daigle found out when her son returned home and suffered from severe post traumatic stress disorder.
Daigle said, "I had no clue what was coming."
Many family members don`t. That`s why when Brock Savelkoul took off in a pickup truck, drunk, with weapons and suffering from a PTS blackout his family didn`t know what to think.
"It was a complete shock," said Angie Heinze, Brock`s sister. "It was a nightmare, this can`t be my brother. I knew it wasn`t the real Brock, had to be something else going on."
Brock had been diagnosed with PTSD, but the diagnosis wasn`t enough.
read more here
Camp Lejeune Chaplain briefs service members about combat stress
Chaplain briefs service members about combat stress
Posted: Thursday, September 22, 2011 12:00 am
Pfc. Nik S. Phongsisattanak Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
When service members deploy, there are many things they sacrifice. They sacrifice the luxury of taking refreshing showers, fresh home-cooked meals, and most of all - the time they could be spending with their loved ones at home.
During deployments, Marines and sailors leave a lot behind, and when they return, common perception is that life should be grand, according to Lt. Commander John C. Rudd, command chaplain with Deployment Processing Command East, MCB Camp Lejeune. But, the weight of past experiences on their shoulders can be a lot to carry.
Rudd holds briefs that address combat stress. The briefs are for a small number of individuals, which include active-duty and reserve Marines and sailors, as well as contractors, who are augmented from their original units to temporarily support another unit. The brief is required for all augmented personnel.
Posted: Thursday, September 22, 2011 12:00 am
Pfc. Nik S. Phongsisattanak Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
When service members deploy, there are many things they sacrifice. They sacrifice the luxury of taking refreshing showers, fresh home-cooked meals, and most of all - the time they could be spending with their loved ones at home.
During deployments, Marines and sailors leave a lot behind, and when they return, common perception is that life should be grand, according to Lt. Commander John C. Rudd, command chaplain with Deployment Processing Command East, MCB Camp Lejeune. But, the weight of past experiences on their shoulders can be a lot to carry.
Rudd holds briefs that address combat stress. The briefs are for a small number of individuals, which include active-duty and reserve Marines and sailors, as well as contractors, who are augmented from their original units to temporarily support another unit. The brief is required for all augmented personnel.
"When I returned from my deployment, I wanted to go back to where I left off," said Rudd. "But things change as time passes. The general principle is realizing and admitting that time has passed and I'm not where I used to be, so I'm going to have to do the hard work of figuring out where I am right now and finding my new norm.
read more here
Families still waiting for National Guard to cover damages from fire
Herriman fire victims still awaiting payment one year later
BY KATIE DRAKE
The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Sep 21 2011
Robin Smugala still has the picture of her scorched, smoking home taken exactly one year ago, a damaged but still-standing victim of the fire that wreaked havoc on the Herriman hillsides.
While repairs on the home are almost complete, the couple is one of many still waiting for the National Guard to pay for the damage. The fire was sparked during a live-fire training exercise at the Army’s Camp Williams, on the southern side of the mountain.
Herriman residents have filed roughly 1,300 claims since the fire, and the Army has paid out about $4.3 million to cover the damage. But as of Wednesday, 34 claims remain open, leaving families like the Smugalas wondering if the Army National Guard will honor its promise to put things right.
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BY KATIE DRAKE
The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Sep 21 2011
Robin Smugala still has the picture of her scorched, smoking home taken exactly one year ago, a damaged but still-standing victim of the fire that wreaked havoc on the Herriman hillsides.
While repairs on the home are almost complete, the couple is one of many still waiting for the National Guard to pay for the damage. The fire was sparked during a live-fire training exercise at the Army’s Camp Williams, on the southern side of the mountain.
Herriman residents have filed roughly 1,300 claims since the fire, and the Army has paid out about $4.3 million to cover the damage. But as of Wednesday, 34 claims remain open, leaving families like the Smugalas wondering if the Army National Guard will honor its promise to put things right.
read more here
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