Bradenton firefighter shot and killed by police was also a veteran

UPDATE

Wendt joined the Bradenton Fire Department in December 2003 after volunteering with Cedar Hammock-Southern Manatee while working at Ten-8 Fire Equipment.

A year later, he spent 13 months in Iraq with the United States Army Reserve. Wendt received a Bronze Star Medal for his efforts.

On May 13, 2005, as a recovery section sergeant with HHC Platoon, 1st Battalion, 103rd Armor and Task Force Liberty, Wendt “went to the aid of a fellow soldier who was injured and trapped under a burning vehicle during a Vehicle Born Improvised Explosives Device attack,” according to the U.S. War Office. He used tow chains to move the burning vehicle away from the injured soldier.

“It seems like every day you read about this, but when it hits home, it's different,” Gallo said.

I am posting this with an extremely heavy heart. This morning I woke up to news of this from his Mom. My prayers for my friend and his entire family as well as the firefighters and police officers involved with this tragedy.

He was a firefighter and volunteered to serve this country in combat.

When will we ever get to the point where being back home is less dangerous than combat for those we send?

Officer fatally shoots firefighter brandishing guns
Herald Tribune
STAFF REPORT
Published: Monday, November 24, 2014

Donald Wendt in a 2008 photo provided by the City of Bradenton
Wendt, 50, was shot and killed Nov. 23, 2014, by a Bradenton police officer.

MANATEE COUNTY - A Bradenton firefighter was shot and killed by a city police officer Sunday night after the firefighter reportedly approached officers brandishing two handguns.

Bradenton Police SWAT Officer Jason Nuttall — a 15-year veteran — shot Donald Wendt, 50, who was employed as a firefighter for the Bradenton Fire Department.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.

Bradenton Police Chief Michael Radzilowski said Wendt served two tours of military duty in Afghanistan and may have been suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

At 9:30 p.m. Sunday, neighbors called police to report Wendt was outside of his home in the 3300 block of Oxford Drive waving a weapon and threatening to kill himself and his sister.

A SWAT team and hostage negotiators were summoned. Wendt was inside when police arrived, so officers set up a perimeter and evacuated people from nearby homes.

Team members were trying to contact Wendt by phone, when he re-emerged from the home and pointed a gun at police.

Nuttall fired a single shot at the firefighter, killing him.
read more here

New Jersey National Guardsman Suicides Blamed On 4 Soldiers?

This part sums up the ineffectiveness of "suicide prevention" and resilience training.

“Everybody has to take some responsibility when we lose a soldier,” Cunniff said. “It’s our duty as citizens, much less soldiers, to look after one another. That’s one of the cornerstones of our suicide prevention program here and the military on the whole.”

If it doesn't work for those not deployed, then how did they expect it to work for the deployed? They can blame the soldiers all they want but when they pushed programs that failed, they should have stopped using them. So what is behind this still being used when the number of suicides went up afterwards?

"They are among a large and vulnerable group of young soldiers who enlist in the Guard and bring to the job the baggage of their everyday life, from family and relationship conflicts to financial and job problems, that puts them at risk."

The National Guards is like all other branches and they do psychological testing before enlistment. How were these "vulnerable" men allowed to enlist?

N.J. Army National Guard grapples with three suicides after decade of none
NJ.com
Christopher Baxter
November 23, 2014

Governor Chris Christie greets the troop before the ceremony during the New Jersey National Guard Military Review at the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt , NJ 9/27/14 (Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

TRENTON — Five years ago, the country’s top military officer touted the New Jersey Army National Guard as a model of success for the nation, noting that it had experienced no suicides among its members since the invasion of Iraq began in 2003.

The record was impressive and one matched by only a handful of other states. The overall suicide rate in the Guard steadily climbed through the decade and, by 2008, had exceeded the rate among the general population, federal statistics show.

Since then, the rise has continued, with the Guard hitting an all-time record of 120 suicides across the nation in 2013. New Jersey held steady at zero.

But that came to a quiet end this year, when, in the span of six months, three New Jersey Army National Guard members committed suicide, and a fourth died as a result of a possible drug overdose, NJ Advance Media has learned.

Their backgrounds, however, do not fit the profile of soldiers who ship off to war and struggle with post-traumatic stress and reintegration upon return. All four men were first-time enlistees, from 21 to 25 years old, and had never been deployed.
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Vietnam Veteran Came Home in 1970, Survived Then Surcumbed

Murphy came home from Vietnam in 1970. He survived combat plus decades here. We can only wonder how long he could have survived had he been granted the promises made "to care for him who shall have borne the battle" as President Lincoln said. To read the beginning of the fine article on Savannah Now, it would not do proper justice to this life gone too soon.

"Robert Lloyd Murphy Jr. was born in Newport News, Va., but spent his childhood in Virginia and in Florida. His father was a Baptist minister, Townsend said, and “they moved around a lot.”

Murphy’s parents are both dead now. So is his sister, his only sibling.

For his senior year in high school, Murphy attended Oak Hill Academy, a private, Baptist-affiliated boarding school in Virginia. His fellow seniors in the Class of 1966 voted him “Best Personality.”

“Bob, you have so much potential,” a teacher named Edith Hough wrote on a page of Murphy’s “Hilltopper” yearbook. “Live up to your potential.”

In Murphy’s case, that meant serving his country.

The Vietnam War had been raging for two years when Murphy got his high school diploma. By the end of 1966, the number of American troops in Vietnam reached 385,000 men.

On May 7, 1967, Murphy started on a path to join them by enlisting in the U.S. Army. His superiors trained him to fly helicopters. He arrived in Vietnam on Oct. 20, 1968, on the heels of the huge battle at Khe Sanh. Murphy must have been good at his job, as he became a commander for his rotary wing unit.

“He made captain when he was 22,” Murphy’s nephew said. “He got shot down once, and he said he was lucky to get out with only a few injuries. But he was hard core. He wanted to do his duty.”

He served 19 months in Vietnam and returned to the states in May 1970. He was honorably discharged in 1971 from Fort Stewart."

Tom Barton: VA scandal hits home: Vet hooked on morphine, takes own life
Savannah Now.com
Tom Barton
Posted: November 22, 2014

My morphine addiction is a necessary evil that prevents my death by suicide. I know it is inevitable and the increase of the dosage is without a doubt a foregone conclusion. I don’t look forward to it.
— Bob Murphy on Veterans Day, 2013
read the rest here

Desert Storm Veteran Reduced to Tears

A Disabled Vet Breaks Down When He Finds Out That He Isn’t Being Filmed For A Documentary
IJ Review
BY JUSTEN CHARTERS

Johnny Hicks served in Desert Storm and then for 20 years in the Navy. After retiring, Hicks took a government job but was unfortunately let go.

Hicks suffers from tremors, memory issues and kidney problems. Since losing his job, he’s struggled to make ends meet.

Fortunately for Hicks, a guy by the name of Rob Anderson wanted to give back to our veterans. Anderson is a street magician and YouTube filmmaker, who gained national attention for turning a homeless veteran’s sign into a wad of money:
read more here and then stop asking why there are no more miracles on this earth.

Disabled Vet Gets Life-Changing Thank You!

Court Helps Veterans Take Leap of Faith

Veterans Trauma Court: From broken and battered to a leap of faith
The Gazette
Stephen Hobbs
November 23, 2014

"I was a battered, broken soldier that felt like I had no hope," said Kenneth Authier, an Army veteran. At the end of his speech, Authier's voice cracked with emotion as he advised program participants to "take that leap of faith" with the staff of the Veterans Trauma Court.

About 100 military veterans, community advocates and elected officials gathered for a milestone graduation ceremony recently for the Veterans Trauma Court program at the 4th Judicial District courthouse in Colorado Springs.

The program, which started at the courthouse in December 2009, works to give veterans a chance to receive rehabilitation and get treatment after entering the criminal justice system.

At the 45-minute ceremony this month, five of the eighteen graduates of the Veterans Trauma Court were given diplomas and a special coin and were congratulated by peer mentors, probation officers and attorneys connected with the program.

"You did what 99 percent of our fellow Americans chose not to do or couldn't do," said Lt. Col. Aaron M. Termain, battalion command of the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Carson, who gave the keynote address at the ceremony. "We're very lucky to have a community out there to support us."

The Nov. 13 event was the 10th graduation since the program began. As part of the ceremonies, three of the graduates read letters to those in attendance.
read more here

NBC 348 Stories on Michael Brown, None on Issac Sims

There is a quote about the people of Ferguson waiting for the outcome of a Grand Jury hearing into police shooting Michael Brown that sums up the way things are. “It's like a war zone. Everybody's looking over their shoulder.” It happened August 9th. Protests and riots followed.

On the NBC website, right at the top, there is this

MICHAEL BROWN SHOOTING 348 STORIES

Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen, was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri.

Is the death of a teenager tragic? Yes. But what is behind the protests and riots in this case? People don't just do it whenever police shoot someone with questionable circumstances. They don't even seem to care when the person shot by police was a veteran trying to get help. Two months before police shot Michael Brown, a veteran was shot and killed by police in the same state.

Kansas City police had shot and killed Issac Sims, 26, in the garage of his parents’ house a day earlier. His death was a bloody coda to a five-hour standoff that began after officers responded to Shawn’s 911 call. May 25th

There is the story of Issac Sims on the local NBC 12 news out of Missouri, but it wasn't about him. He was just mentioned in the story about VA Secretary Shinseki resigning.

The truth is, it happens all over the country all the time.

On July 4, Icarus Randolph woke up in a bad mental place. The 26-year-old Marine veteran had served in Iraq and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, his family says. That afternoon, he became a casualty on his mother’s front lawn when a Wichita police officer shot him in front of his family. Then-Police Chief Norman Williams said the officer fired the fatal shots after Randolph charged with a knife.

July, Justin Neil Davis was only 24. His last tour ended when he was 22 in 2012. Davis knew he was having problems. He had been in the VA rehab for 30 days but as it turned out, it didn't make that much of a difference. Davis was one of the countless stories of veterans seeking help instead of denying they need it. That is the saddest part of all. They wanted to live, hoped to heal, reached out for help and tried the best they could to recover from combat. They are also the greatest example of how the government failed them.

Jacinto Zavala, 21 whose family told authorities was a veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder was shot by police early Wednesday morning shortly after allegedly telling a 911 dispatcher that "they are going to have a shoot-out." August

Police in Las Cruces New Mexico have just identified the officer who shot Army Sgt. William Smith. A single bullet ended the 5 hour standoff.

Jeffrey Johnson, the 33-year-old father and veteran killed during an officer-involved shooting, says he was dealing with post traumatic stress disorder. Police first contacted Jeffrey at Best Western in north Abilene after receiving a welfare call indicating he may have been suicidal. Upon arrival, Johnson slammed and barricaded the door, and fired two shots from inside which nearly hit an officer, according to police. September

Anthony Eric Chavez, 24 Lakewood He said he took the gun from a friend’s apartment at the complex, and was trying to shoot himself as Lee arrived, but couldn’t get the gun to fire. The mother of Chavez’s children told police he was hit by shrapnel while in the Army and suffered a traumatic brain injury and has post traumatic stress disorder. He started drinking heavily and taking illegal drugs after his injury, and refused his medications, she said. She told police he had tried to kill himself multiple times. October

Nathan Boyd: The Persian Gulf War veteran had been diagnosed with PTSD and other maladies before his confrontation with police. November 5th

There are so many more, but you don't find over 300 news reports about them or their lives cut short. 

You don't see protests after they tried to get help but didn't get it. You don't see riots.

You don't see the National News stations sending reporters out to tell their stories.

The difference is, the media wanted this story to matter so much more. The Grand Jury may not find the police officer responsible but the media is guilty of making this story matter as much as possible while making sure few know about the lives lost when veterans come home.

“If it’s happening here, it’s happening all over the country” to Veterans

Togus VA system probed over allegations of shortcuts, omissions
An October memo by a federal watchdog agency outlines allegations that, if proven, would link Maine for the first time to issues similar to those at veterans hospitals nationwide.
BY MICHAEL SHEPHERD
STAFF WRITER
November 22, 2014

TOGUS — Allegations that officials at the VA Maine Healthcare System took shortcuts and withheld information from patient files in an effort to meet national benchmarks have prompted a federal probe of services there.

While it’s not clear what impact that has on the nearly 10,000 veterans who receive treatment statewide for issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, a veterans benefits lawyer said if the claim that information was omitted from patient files is true, it would be “absolutely huge.”

GAMING THE SYSTEM?

Omissions in patient files may be the most serious allegation that drew the inspector general’s office in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to the Togus campus for an inspection of mental health services last month.

In the short term, those alleged omissions would mean that veterans may have gone without care. Long term, incomplete records could leave veterans unable to prove they’re eligible for benefits providing needed counseling. Lilly, though, said he told the inspector general’s office he had not seen evidence of “an instruction to omit things” as a strategy at Togus, and he has no proof that claims were affected.

Still, Joseph Moore, a lawyer at Bergmann and Moore, a Maryland firm handling veterans’ benefits appeals claims, said if substantiated, that claim “is absolutely huge” and would mean that “administrators got treatment providers to lie, to the obvious and direct detriment of the veterans they were treating.”

Even so, Moore and others cautioned that issues alleged at Togus are similar to VA problems nationwide, including a shortage of health professionals that the federal department’s new secretary, Robert McDonald, wants to fix.

“If it’s happening here, it’s happening all over the country,” said John Wallace, of Limestone, an Army veteran and the president of Vietnam Veterans of America in Maine.
read more here

Veterans' Broken Lifelines

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 23, 2014

I admit it. I am odd. God created an extreme curiosity within my soul that is never satisfied with the answers I find. There are always more questions to ask.

I started to study war and PTSD when I needed to know what made my Vietnam veteran husband so much different from my Dad (Korea) and uncles (WWII). That was in 1982.

After understanding enough about it, it became wondering why I didn't have it because of all the times in my own life linked to the long list of causes of PTSD in civilians. When I found the answer that it had more to do with the way my family talked everything out of me, I then wondered why it isn't being done with the troops in combat, or at least soon afterwards.

Actually it was being done. I was done during the Korean War to reduce the number of psychiatric evacuations from combat zones. Clinicians were deployed with the troops so as soon as they started to show signs of stress, they were removed from combat, treated until they could be returned to duty. They learned their lessons after WWII produced a 300% increase from WWI. The rate of troops being sent home from Korea was 3%.

Addressing trauma, especially combat trauma, as soon as possible was vital but they stopped doing it during Vietnam. The year long deployments ended too soon, so signs of traumatic stress began to show after they came home.

The rate of their suicides swiftly outpaced combat casualties to the point where if their deaths were fully acknowledged by the time the Vietnam Memorial Wall was dedicated, it would have to be twice the size. Had they been counted up to today, there wouldn't be enough room to cover all the losses associated with Vietnam. Suicides and Agent Orange claimed far more lives than the over 58,000 names on the Wall.

By the time the Gulf War started there was a publicized life lost to suicide.

Michael Creamer, a Casualty of Two Wars
By: Tom Brokaw
18 February 1991

All of us, in one way or another, have been living first with the prospect of war and then with the reality of it since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. For many veterans of Vietnam, this has been an especially anxious time. Many of their worst memories have been reawakened. The Persian Gulf has become their second war as it plays out graphically and continuously on television, radio and in the press.

Michael Creamer was one of those veterans. He grew up in a South Boston working-class family and served as a medic with the Rangers in Vietnam, winning two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his valor during long, dangerous patrols.

When he returned he had trouble leaving his terrible experiences behind. He dropped out of nursing school when an assignment to emergency-room surgeons provoked a nightmare of broken bodies and horrible wounds from his combat days. He returned to his mother’s home and the life of despair common to victims of post-traumatic stress disorder – depression, bouts of violence, and thoughts of suicide.

Friends, other veterans, suggested that he confront his past by attending the dedication of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, and that trip was the beginning of a halting recovery. He met his future wife at the ceremony. She persuaded him to join a veteran’s outreach program.

As his confidence returned, he decided to reenlist in the Army. An injury during parachute training short-circuited his career plans, so he returned to New England and began to work with other troubled veterans, counseling them on their problems, helping them find work.

By now you must been seeing the similarities from what was happening back then to what is happening now.

SARASOTA -- Michael Robert Gehrz served two deployments in Iraq as a Navy corpsman, taking care of wounded Marines at Fallujah and in Anbar Province in some of the fiercest fighting of the war.

Severely wounded in combat, he returned home with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder after his most recent deployment in 2005, and was medically retired from the Navy.

Michael Gehrz with fiancé, Bridget Bueckens, and little sister Alyssa. Photo used by permission of Jim Gehrz

He also returned home beset by unknowable torment.

On Oct. 10, he took his own life at age 33, leaving behind a wife and three children.

News coverage makes it seem as if all of this is new. The only thing that is new came because of Vietnam veterans asking why it was happening to them not knowing it happened to all other generations.

They did something with the answers they found and caused the mental health community to take action after forcing the government to invest funds for research to help them heal. Then, it wasn't about helping just them. It was about helping all generations of veterans. They started Vietnam Veterans of America because they were not welcomed into any of the established groups. They had no choice. Within their mission statement came the promise they would never leave another generation behind them. They kept their word.

They did it all without the Internet, Facebook and mass emails. They found each other and became the lifeline to healing what war caused inside of them.

The emotional walls trapping in the pain and blocking good feelings from getting it started to come down. One by one they realized the American public's apathy was not the only thing making them uncomfortable with them. It was the simple fact that the public did not go to Vietnam, physically, emotionally or financially. They didn't understand, not just because they didn't want to, they simply couldn't any more than civilians can understand the OEF and OIF veterans coming home.

For Vietnam veterans, the Gulf War increased the number of their suicides along with older veterans. All anagnodital evidence because there were simply no studies being done on the connection between another war and the private war being fought in the minds of warriors of the past.

By the time this nation was attacked, many had perished due to their service, yet their suicides increased and they are the largest percentage of the suicides tied to military service.

Wars don't end for those who come home simply because we stop counting them.

In homes all across America, the private battles are fought and lost in too many cases but in even more cases, they are won. They are won because the veteran is still connected to his lifeline. Much like in combat, he is not left alone. He is not fighting this fight by himself. His back is being watched and he is watching out for his brothers.

How does this work? Much like the way my family helped me. I had a safe place to talk. Even though they didn't go through the same things I did and couldn't really understand, they tried. I felt safe to talk, bringing the unsafe event into a safe time. They gave lousy advice most of the time but they did it with love.

Veterans understand veterans, not just in their own generation, but a Vietnam veteran can understand fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq because even though technology has changed, the men and women fighting those wars is still the same basic design.

They are all made of three parts. Their body, pushed to the limits, needs to be reprogrammed to calm down. Their minds fueled by training need to be retrained to think of things in different terms. Above all else, their souls, the thing that makes them who they are, gives them hope tomorrow can be better than this day is, need to be fed.

It is the part of them that caused them to want to serve in the first place. They don't risk their lives because of any other reason than to save the lives of those they serve with. That requires a unique ability to care far beyond what the rest of us capable of.

Among other veterans, they realize they are not alone even though they are only about 7% of the population. They begin to understand that it is impossible for civilians to fully understand them in return anymore than they can understand civilians. Ironic considering they once were one of them but when you think about it, there was always something different about them.

They cared more about others than themselves.

If you are still wondering why there are so many suicides and families suffering over a death that didn't have to happen, it is because their lifeline has been broken. They believed they had to fight this battle alone. They believe no one will understand. They are asking the wrong questions and settling for the wrong answers.

If you know a veteran feeling isolated, encourage them to seek out other veterans to reconnect to the lifeline they need to heal. Too many gone too soon when they were still needed to save the lives of their brothers.

Vietnam Era Veteran, Alone and Homeless in Life, Honored After Death

Homeless Army veteran from St. Tammany laid to rest with full military honors
The Times Picayune
Kim Chatelain
November 14,2014

Staff Sgt. Matthew Buenrostro completes the flag folding ceremony during the memorial tribute to Pfc. Patrick Higgins at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Slidell, Louisiana on Friday, November 14, 2014. Higgins served during the Vietnam era and was homeless when he died. His fellow veterans and local officials bestowed upon him the Louisiana Veteran's medal and gave the former serviceman a noble burial.
(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

On a cool, lustrous day at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery near Slidell, military and civilian dignitaries gathered with pomp and patriotism to pay tribute to the somewhat mysterious life of Patrick Joseph Higgins, an Army veteran whose body was never claimed after his death on June 26, 2011, at age 61.

Because he is believed to have been from St. Tammany Parish and because his family could not be located, Higgins' ashes were eventually turned over to the St. Tammany Parish President's Veteran and Military Affairs Advisory Council, which spearheaded the ceremony.

"Today, you are his family," Ted Krumm, a retired Navy commander and director of the veterans cemetery, told the gathering at the service for Higgins. Members of the Patriot Guard Riders, the Northshore Honor Guard and representatives from several veteran and military organizations were involved in the ceremony.

Higgins was a private first class in the Army during the Vietnam era. He was born on Sept. 11, 1949. Other than that, Krumm said little is known about the Army veteran or his death because his family could not be located. His remains were retained by a local funeral home for many months in hopes of someone claiming them. No one did.

When it was discovered that Higgins had served in the military, various veterans groups got involved, determining that he had been honorably discharged in the 1970s.
read more here

Iraq veteran and his family battle PTSD

10 years after Iraq, 40 years after Vietnam, nothing really changes for them or families. That is the most depressing thing of all. Ask a Vietnam veteran when he was there and he'll usually say, "last night" without lying.  He's there almost every night.

10 years after Iraq, Brainerd veteran and his family battle PTSD
Twin Cities.com
By Renee Richardson
Forum News Service
POSTED: 11/22/2014

Josh Heldt while serving in Iraq in 2004. (Courtesy photo)

BRAINERD, Minn. -- A decade after returning from Iraq, Josh Heldt's battle continues.

The 37-year-old Iraq veteran, who lives in Brainerd and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, isn't alone.

Bob Nelson, Crow Wing County director of veterans services, said a strong percentage of National Guard members have dealt with PTSD.

"More than I probably would have initially anticipated," Nelson said.

Often the veteran isn't the one who realizes the problem. Nelson said it can be hard to assess one's self, but family members can see the anger, the triggers, even rage.

"He doesn't realize how bad it is," Heldt's wife Marcie said this summer. They've know each other since high school and married after he returned from his tour. They share a house with three active young children ages 2 to 5 and a 13-year-old.

Everything in their lives revolves around PTSD, from what they eat to where they go to how they fall asleep. Loud sounds, food smells, a napkin left on a floor, a teenager walking into the house wearing headphones - all could set off the anger, which may be followed by days or weeks without talking.

He didn't want to be around people. He shut down. Decisions on social events had to include how many people might be there. Even when he was happy, his family would be tense not knowing when he would explode next. It was like walking on eggshells all the time, Marcie said. Even going to sleep meant an entire production of having things just right.
read more here

Veteran Charged With Crime of Getting Upset at the VA?

You just can't make this stuff up anymore when the truth is so much stranger than fiction.

Vet's conviction upheld for "loud and boisterous" conduct at Palo Alto VA hospital
Inside Bay Area.com
By Howard Mintz
POSTED: 11/21/2014

A Bay Area veteran has lost an unusual legal challenge to a seldom-used federal law that criminalizes "loud, boisterous and unusual noise" at Veterans Affairs facilities.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld Louis Agront Sr.'s 2013 conviction for disruptive conduct at the Palo Alto VA hospital, rejecting his lawyers' arguments that the law applied to the incident is so vague that it is unconstitutional.

"One may reasonably question the wisdom or necessity of the citation and of the prosecution that followed," 9th Circuit Judge Raymond Fisher wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel. "But Agront has not shown it was unconstitutional."

The ruling stems from a 2011 confrontation at the Palo Alto VA hospital, where Agront's family brought him for treatment. The family, court papers say, told Agront he was being treated for an injured knee, but they actually wanted the hospital to examine him for "unusual behavior" and a sudden weight loss.

Once Agront consulted with VA staffers about his treatment, he grew upset and stormed out of the hospital, leading to a loud confrontation with his son outside, according to court records. A VA police officer tried to calm Agront, but he resisted and was arrested.

Federal prosecutors charged Agront with a misdemeanor for violating the VA "unusual noise" statute. He was sentenced to six months probation and a $50 fine, but a federal public defender challenged the constitutionality of the law.
read more here

Congress blaming the VA is like horse blaming the ground

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 22, 2014

You should get some Imodium before reading this. It has got to be the biggest load of crap I've ever heard! It comes from MedPageToday titled "Senate to VA: Save Our Suicidal Veterans" as if Congress had absolutely nothing to do with the processions of needlessly filled coffins for the last 40 years. Doesn't everyone get it is the job of our elected officials to actually earn their pay and benefits?

For Congress to blame the VA it is like a horse blaming the ground for the mess it left behind.

The list of members of the House and the Senate sitting on the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Committees are responsible for all of this clusterfuck!

Sorry but I read a long time ago that profanity was a great stress relief and in the words of Ouiser Boudreaux "I'm not crazy, I've just been in a very bad mood for the last 40 years!" but in my case, it has just been 30+ years.

One More Hearing

On Wednesday, the Committee on Veterans Affairs questioned directors of mental health and suicide prevention services at the VA about efforts to improve the quality and timeliness of mental health care.

During the hearing, senators criticized the VA for long wait times, limited access to mental health resources, and poor tracking of returning soldiers, particularly those diagnosed with a mental health condition.

Burr said VA officials had earlier told the Senate of its efforts to provide evidence-based care, but Burr said a review of VA outcomes raised serious questions about the validity of such care.

He cited an American Legion survey of around 3,100 veterans, the majority of whom felt that their symptoms were either not improving or worsening after psychotherapy or medication that was prescribe by the VA.

"If more than half of our nation's veterans don't think they're getting better, I believe the focus on whether evidence-based treatment is provided might be misguided."

They can have all the hearings they want but that in no way, shape or form, indicates they are actually listening or even understanding what people have been telling them for decades.

This was followed by even more bullshit!

More Problems Than Solutions

Kudler described a joint suicide data repository developed by the VA and the Department of Defense to track patterns of suicide among veterans and service members. He said that data could be used to identify and replicate the most effective suicide prevention programs.

Ritchie added, "If you come from working at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay or the detainment facilities in Bagram you don't necessarily get a whole lot of pats on the back, and we need to recognize that type of service as well."

Vincent Vanata, a retired master sergeant with the U.S. Marine Corps and Combat Stress Recover Program participant with the Wounded Warrior Project from Cody, Wyo., said the VA's problem is a lack of outreach. "From my perspective the VA is not engaging with these returning veterans and letting them know what's available," he said.

If they don't actually understand what the fuck has been happening any more than they get how long it has been going on, then they need to decline the invitation to sit in the chair!

The problem is not lack of outreach. It is lack of getting what they needed to be prepared for the increase in wounded/disabled when troops were sent into Afghanistan and Iraq while there was already a waiting line at the VA of Gulf War Veterans, Vietnam Veterans, Korean War Veterans, WWII Veterans and remaining WWI Veterans! You know, the veterans sent into combat without the VA being ready for them either.

How do I know about the long lines? I saw it first hand with my Dad, a 100% disabled veteran and my husband another 100% disabled veteran. In other words, I spent my life witnessing what veterans had to go through to have their claims approved as well as really great care once they did from fantastic employees for the most part. Most of the time I was scratching my head wondering why all veterans didn't get what they needed or why things weren't ready for them when they needed it. My Dad had to go to the DAV for help with his claim in the 70's and so did my husband in the 90's. We had to fight for 6 years before it was approved making sure we met all the deadlines.

The House Veterans Affairs Committee put their behinds in the chair in 1946.

Legislation Within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Veterans' measures generally.
Pensions of all the wars of the U.S., general and special.
Life insurance issued by the government on account of service in the Armed Forces.
Compensation, vocational rehabilitation, and education of veterans.
Veterans' hospitals, medical care, and treatment of veterans.
Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief.
Readjustment of servicemen to civilian life.
National Cemeteries.
Complete Jurisdiction of the Committee

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee has been holding hearings as well as the House.

The Veterans' Affairs committee was created in 1970 to transfer responsibilities for veterans from the Finance and Labor committees to a single panel. From 1947 to 1970, matters relating to veterans compensation and veterans generally were referred to the Committee on Finance, while matters relating to the vocational rehabilitation, education, medical care, civil relief, and civilian readjustment of veterans were referred to the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare.

To this day there have been members of Congress using the term of "public welfare" as a way of cutting the VA budgets and not having to acknowledge that in the case of veterans, they paid for it when they signed over the blank check up to and including their lives.

They got away with it because we have reporters with the national media more interested in the headline than the history behind it. I don't talk to them anymore when they call to make their lives easier. They never understand there is a long history of politicians getting away with pretending they care when the results prove they don't have the slightest interest in fixing anything.

Veterans groups have a totally different conversation going on than the public does because we don't rely on the press to tell us anything. We live it! We lament over funerals while they play political games pitting one group against another. Veterans risked their lives for each other no matter what party they belonged to so if one of them has been betrayed, they all feel it.

Civilians talk about celebrity news and reality TV shows. We talk about heroes and the reality of living as a veteran every day of the year while they turn Veterans Day into a pre-Christmas sales day. They don't understand that they actually sold out veterans a long time ago.

Unless they know someone in the military they can't even show up for the parade unless it happens to be covered on TV like in New York.

"That they receive the recognition and support they so richly deserve on this 95th anniversary of the Veterans Day Parade."

The VA has had problems for decades but no one in any of the congresses fixed the problems. They just spent money without knowing what was needed, what would work and then turned around awarding money to repeat the same mistakes. Year after year, family members sat in front of them telling their heartbreaking stories and year after year, they were followed by more and more families telling the same stories over and over again. Nothing has been fixed.

We have less than 4 million veterans compensated for disabilities yet more deserve it. They don't for help simply because they have heard all the horror stories and battles they have to fight to get what they earned fighting for the country while in their uniforms. First the DOD failed them then the VA was blamed for failing but the fault belonged to members of congress with the responsibility to ensure both lived up to their promises.

Watch the parade. Hear the words. Hear them talking about the new groups as if they were the only generation fighting for what they need. Millions a year collected to do what the DOD and the VA have been delivering for decades to all veterans and other groups fighting for all veterans equally because they know how long all of this have been going on. Veterans didn't fight for themselves in combat and they fight for each other afterwards.

While the OEF and OIF veterans get the attention of the press, older veterans have suffered longer waiting for the same care and attention the new veterans receive. Why? Why the hell should one group matter while other groups don't anymore?

Who decided to forget about Gulf War Veterans? Who decided to forget about Vietnam Veterans? Who decided to forget about Korean War, WWII and the lesser publicized battles fought by the men and women who came before?

Most of the established groups have been fighting for decades while they told members of congress exactly what was going on yet over and over again members of congress decided they had other placers to be so they walked out of the hearings that got them attention. Watch CSPAN videos and you'll see empty chairs.

We see them get up and leave. We see empty chairs at our tables when our veterans get up and leave their lives before they had to. We see the tears, trembling bodies and screams in the night. We see the hope vanish from their days as one day gets harder than easier. When one day it is harder to stay alive here than it was to fight the battles on foreign lands.

If you think losing more after combat than during it is a new thing, then think again because the majority of the veteran suicides are 50 and over.

We didn't get it right for them and we won't get it right for the newer veterans getting the attention today because Congress didn't get it right yesterday.

Veterans Equal Access Act Will Allow PTSD Veterans Medical Marijuana

While I cannot offer names of mental health professionals treating veterans with PTSD, most I know say they would rather write prescriptions for medical marijuana than most of the drugs they are giving their patients. Even if it is legal in the state where these veterans live, the VA doctors cannot prescribe it.

This is a good idea when other medications have failed miserably. In this case some members of congress got it right.

"Veterans Equal Access Act" would allow VA physicians to discuss medical marijuana with their patients without federal censure
Washington, DC – (ENEWSPF)
November 20, 2014

U.S. House Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), along with ten bipartisan Congressional cosponsors introduced the "Veterans Equal Access Act" (VEAA) today, marking a concerted federal effort to allow our country's veterans to become medical marijuana patients in states where it's legal. The VEAA would simply allow Veterans Affairs (VA) physicians to discuss and recommend medical marijuana to their patients, a right enjoyed by physicians outside of the VA system.

"Post traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury are just as damaging and harmful as any injuries that are visible from the outside," said Blumenauer, the bill's author. "Sometimes even more so because of the devastating effect they can have on a veteran's family. We should be allowing these wounded warriors access to the medicine that will help them survive and thrive, including medical marijuana, not treating them like criminals and forcing them into the shadows. It's shameful."

The VEAA is cosponsored by a balanced mix of ten members on each side of the aisle, as well as a range of members from states that have, and still have not, legalized marijuana for medical use: Dina Titus (D-NV), Justin Amash (R-MI), Paul Broun (R-GA), Walter Jones (R-NC), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Sam Farr (D-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Beto O'Rourke (D-TX), Steve Stockman (R-TX) and Steve Cohen (D-TN).
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Problem Solvers Reporters Straighten Out VA for Vietnam Veteran

Vietnam veteran struggles to get transportation for medical care; Problem Solvers step in to help
KJRH News
Jamil Donith
Nov 21, 2014

WAGONER, Okla. - David Breman was just 17-years-old when he pre-in listed in the Marine Corps, and 37-years later he is still haunted by his past.

"I live with it, and I have lived with it a long time."

Three of his comrades were killed by the very bombs the U.S. used during the Vietnam War to destroy unwanted military equipment and the harmful chemical, Agent Orange.

Breman says he was off duty that day.

"I lost three, you know, and there are a lot of times I feel like that should have been me," he said.

Not only does the Vietnam Veteran live with post-traumatic stress disorder, doctors say he suffers severe pain from his exposure to Agent Orange.

"I get pressure in my head and it feels like it's going to explode," he said. "Terrible, terrible, ringing in my ears. Nothing relieves the pain."

To make it worse, he struggles to get medical treatment for his condition.

So he came to the 2NEWS Problem Solvers.

We took his complaints to the VA and asked them to look into his problem further. Just a month later, he got a call from a patient advocate at the VA. They set up an appointment on a day when he could get a ride and promised to take care of his transportation after his surgery.

"Twelve months and you all did it in a month," he said. "I'm really, really, appreciative, very, very, and thankful for the help."
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Family of Iraq Veteran-National Guardsman Seeks Probe After Police Shooting

We need to read what happened first on this story.

The police officers had responded to Reynoso’s home after reports that he had been screaming and acting strangely, and yelling “[expletive] kill people.’’ A mail carrier told the officers that Reynoso might have post-traumatic stress disorder. He had served in the US Army National Guard for eight years, including a tour in Iraq.

After the officers entered his home, Reynoso reportedly managed to grab Bernard’s gun from his holster and put it at Bernard’s head. He fired two shots during the ensuing struggle, barely missing the officers, according to Blodgett’s review.

Hilton warned both Reynoso and Bernard five times that he was going to shoot before he pulled the trigger, Blodgett’s report said.

Blodgett found that Reynoso was able to gain control of the gun because Bernard’s holster was “somewhat worn” and missing a screw, which permitted the gun to be “easily removed with all safety devices engaged.”

Reynoso’s 5-year-old son was in the living room during the confrontation.

Family of veteran killed by Lynn police seeks federal probe
Boston Globe
Milton J Valencia
Globe Staff
November 22, 2014

The family of an Iraq war veteran from Lynn who was shot and killed by a police officer last year asked the US Department of Justice to investigate the controversial shooting a day after Governor Deval Patrick honored the officer for bravery.

The sister of Denis Reynoso asked the federal agency’s civil rights division to independently review the circumstances of how the 30-year-old father was killed, after a bystander had alerted police officers that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Yessenia Reynoso said her family was appalled by the governor’s decision to recognize the officer who shot her brother, and two other responding officers.

“They made our family relive the whole thing,” she said of Wednesday’s ceremony. “You deserve an award when you save lives, not when you kill.”

In the complaint filed Thursday, Yessenia Reynoso wrote: “The actions leading to his death seem to be caused by the lack of education and understanding by officers of the law and mentally ill.”
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Military veteran killed in Lynn after police shoot him in altercation

National Guardsman dies after police shoot him in altercation in Lynn