At home, but locked in war
Haunted by what he saw in Iraq, a former soldier takes his life
By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Monday, June 2, 2008
SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The war in Iraq never ended for Jonathan Michael Boucher. Not when he flew home from Baghdad, not when he moved to Saratoga Springs for a fresh start and, especially, not when nighttime arrived.
Tortured by what he saw as an 18-year-old Army private during the 2003 invasion and occupation, Boucher was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and honorably discharged from the military less than two years later.
On May 15, three days before his 24th birthday, the young veteran committed suicide in his apartment's bathroom, stunning friends and family, including more than three dozen cousins. There was no note. He was buried in the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery just days before Memorial Day.
His death came even as Pentagon officials prepared to release numbers showing an increase in suicide and PTSD rates among active-duty troops. Some 115 killed themselves in 2007 -- a 20 percent increase since 2005.
PTSD, an anxiety- and stress-related disorder, has afflicted some 40,000 American troops since 2003. The military, in last week's report, acknowledged lengthy and repeated deployments are taking their toll.
"I (have) been shot at by AK-47s, rocket launchers, mortars and tanks," Boucher wrote to his family in May 2003. "I didn't think I was going to make it."
Boucher's short but intense life was marked by an adventurous spirit and a love for his family, his country and its military. He grew up with a zest for the outdoors and snowboarding and often visited family in the Saratoga area. He had an enormous work ethic and moral compass, family members said.
"He really loved angels," said his mother, Janet Boucher, 50, of Corinth. Mom and son spent weekends walking together in downtown Saratoga Springs and admiring his favorite art piece, the Spirit of Life statue in Congress Park.
go here for more
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=692776&category=REGION&newsdate=6/2/2008
When they come home and commit suicide, we just simply call it suicide. Some of us will dare to call it non-combat death, but usually that is reserved when they take their own lives while deployed. For years, I've wrestled with the right word and now I think I've found it. Succumbed. He was carrying a wound that penetrated into every fiber of his being. He died as a result of that wound and that wound was caused by combat. There is no excuse to keep using non-combat wound or non-combat death, other than it's the lazy way out. Who will do a search for succumbed or put out an alert on that word? No one.
We've all grown so accustomed to reading about them and slapping the label of non-combat death associated with their name. Does this help the family when they know full well that their sons, daughters, husbands and wives would not be suffering had it not been for the trauma war created?
How many times do we need to read their stories and see "they suddenly changed" or "they didn't come home the same" before we let any of this really sink into our own brains, once and for all allowing us the opportunity to do far more than we have ever thought of doing? How many more lives will be sacrificed to this wound that far too few are trying to treat?
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Colonel Pete Petronzio worries Afghanistan will become a 'forgotten war'
U.S. marine leader worries Afghanistan will become a 'forgotten war'
KATHERINE O'NEILL
Globe and Mail Update
June 1, 2008 at 5:28 PM EDT
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — The highest-ranking U.S. Marine in Afghanistan is worried he's losing the battle when it comes to getting Americans interested in the war.
“I get concerned some days that, as Americans, we are a military at war, not a nation at war,” Colonel Pete Petronzio told Canadian reporters Sunday during a frank and wide-ranging interview at Kandahar Air Field.
“Afghanistan is not a story that's being told as much as it should be,” added the 47-year-old marine colonel, who leads the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Already dubbed the “forgotten war” by many Americans, the conflict has long been overshadowed by the U.S. military's on-going and much bloodier battle in Iraq.
The commanding officer said that it doesn't help that U.S. residents are currently more captivated by stories about the presidential campaign and rising gas prices.
Col. Petronzio said that over the weekend, marines were engaged in the heaviest fighting since they arrived in Afghanistan in March. About 2,400 troops are currently in Afghanistan, with the majority stationed in Helmand province, an area along the Pakistani border that remains held by Taliban militants. The province, located in southern Afghanistan, neighbours Kandahar province, where Canadian soldiers are deployed.
Col. Petronzio hopes the marines' efforts have reduced insurgent activity in Kandahar this spring.
click post title for more
Col. Petronzio is right, but it's already happened. No one is talking about Afghanistan on the TV or cable news. It's very hard to even find reports on Afghanistan. Other than ICasualties.org, there are not many reports to be found at all. While we were all talking about the death count in Iraq being at an all time high for 2007, it was also at an all time high in Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, they are doing some fantastic things but hardly none of it gets reported on the nightly news if they report on any part of either occupation. I think the lack of reports are by design. The vast majority of the American people still agreed with the need to address Afghanistan so there is no story there as far as the media goes. We fight over Iraq and all the talking heads only seem to want to discuss and debate Iraq while ignoring Afghanistan.
These reports are just from this weekend alone
06/01/08 Reuters: Scores of Taliban killed in operation
Scores of Taliban militants were killed last week in an operation involving Afghan and foreign troops in Afghanistan, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
06/01/08 AP: 1 killed in Kabul blast against Afghan army bus
Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says a remote-controlled bomb detonated as a bus carrying Afghan soldiers passed by, killing one civilian and wounding five people.
06/01/08 AP: Roadside bomb wounds 2 ISAF soldiers in Paktia province
Two other ISAF soldiers were wounded in a roadside bombing on Saturday in Paktia province, a troubled region in the country's east bordering Pakistan, ISAF spokesman Carlos Branco said.
06/01/08 AP: U.S. authorities release citizen held in Afghanistan
U.S. authorities in Afghanistan have released a German citizen who had been held since January accused of being on a U.S. base without authorization, the German Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
06/01/08 AFP: Japan may send troops to Afghanistan
Japan is considering whether to send its first troops to Afghanistan on a reconstruction mission, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Sunday. Tokyo has been a major donor to Afghanistan, pledging 1.3 billion dollars since the fall...
06/01/08 AP: Suicide bomb kills 2 soldiers in Afghanistan
A suicide car bomb attack against a NATO convoy Saturday killed two soldiers and wounded four others...The bomb attack in the eastern city of Jalalabad hit a contingent of NATO's International Security Assistance Force
05/31/08 : DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Sgt. 1st Class David Nunez, 27, of Los Angeles, Calif., died May 29 in Shewan, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered small arms fire while conducting combat operations. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion...
05/31/08 AP: NATO soldier killed in Afghan bombing
A suicide car bomber killed one NATO soldier and wounded at least seven other people, an Afghan official said on Saturday. The attack targeted a convoy of international troops in the eastern city of Jalalabad.
05/31/08 AFP: Suicide car bomb targets foreign troops - 4 wounded
A suicide car bomb exploded Saturday near an international military convoy in eastern Afghanistan, injuring four coalition troops, officials said.
05/31/08 Reuters: Two insurgents in killed in Farah province
The Afghan National Army, with air support from international forces, killed and wounded a number of insurgents in two separate districts in the western province of Farah on Friday, during an operation to clear the area of insurgents...
05/31/08 Reuters: Afghan soldier killed, 2 wounded in Sangin District
One Afghan soldier was killed and two others wounded when they came under fire from insurgents at a military checkpoint on Friday in Sangin District in the southern province of Helmand, the defence ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
05/30/08 M&C: Frenchman kidnapped in Afghanistan
A French national, two Afghan associates and their chauffeur have been kidnapped by a group linked to the Taliban, the web site of the daily Le Figaro reported on Friday.
05/30/08 AFP: US-led soldier killed in Afghanistan, district falls
A soldier in the US-led coalition and several militants have been killed in separate clashes in Afghanistan...The soldier was killed "in action" Thursday near the western town of Farah, the coalition said in a statement.
05/30/08 Reuters: Taliban insurgents capture remote Afghan town
Taliban insurgents seized a remote Afghan town overnight, patrolling the streets for some hours before withdrawing ahead of a government operation to retake it on Friday, residents and officials said.
05/30/08 AP: Afghanistan seeks to revive farming sector
Afghanistan will ask international donors next month for $4 billion to revive its agricultural sector, but it could be a hard sell with another massive crop of opium expected this year.
05/30/08 NYTimes: NATO Chief - Pakistan’s Tack on Militants Is Not as Expected
The departing American commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Dan K. McNeill, raised concerns on Thursday that Pakistan had not followed through on promises to tackle militancy on its side of the border...
05/30/08 paktribune: Taliban claim US chopper shot down in Afghanistan
Taliban in Afghanistan on Thursday claimed to have shot down a chopper of a United States private security company, Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), in the restive province of Khost.
05/30/08 Reuters: Several militants killed near Sangin
Afghan security forces and U.S.-led coalition troops killed several militants near Sangin in the southern province of Helmand on Thursday after coming under fire, the U.S. military said on Friday.
05/30/08 Reuters: Several militants killed, 16 detained in Ghazni province
U.S.-led coalition forces killed several militants and detained 16 during search operations in Ghazni province, south of Kabul on Thursday, the U.S. military said on Friday.
05/30/08 Reuters: Several militants killed in Farah province
U.S.-led coalition forces killed several militants with small arms fire and air strikes after coming under fire from a house in the western province of Farah on Wednesday, the U.S. military said on Friday.
05/30/08 Reuters: Suicide car bomber attacks convoy - no military casualties
A suicide car bomber blew himself up alongside a convoy of military engineers in the eastern province of Khost on Friday, the U.S. military said. No soldiers were wounded and no equipment was damaged in the incident, it said.
38 US were killed this year and 40 Coalition
http://icasualties.org/oef/
"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few"
From Bible Gateway
Matthew 9
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
The Workers Are Few
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Luke 10
Jesus Sends Out the Seventytwo
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.'
6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.
7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.
9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.'
10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say,
11 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.'
12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
As with the time of Jesus walking upon the earth, too many get it wrong. They think the mission of "workers" for Christ is to force faith upon them, but it isn't. You can see clearly what the thoughts of Jesus was when he gave instructions to his disciples. Their mission was to heal them to show the love of God and the mercy of Christ who sent them. The harvest was plenty because there were some many people hurting and in need of comfort, compassion, love, hope and healing. The workers were those who made the choice to follow Christ, but there were too few of them at the time to reach everyone in need.
Today we see that being repeated yet again. The workers in this case are the people who work for the VA. The vast majority of them are fine people who were willing to work for a lot less money in order to help the veterans as a way of paying them back in their own way. Yet today, even still, there are less workers in the VA than there were following the Gulf War. There are less psychiatrist and psychologist, less mental health nurses and not enough Chaplains. 20% of the facilities use Chaplains. This fact I found devastating when I posted it the other day on this blog. The needs of them many cannot be filled by the few.
While there is a problem with the fact there are people more interested in getting more members into their own branch of Christianity and evangelizing more than they are serving the needs of people as Christ commanded, I do not have a problem with Chaplains serving. Big difference. As a Chaplain I am required to take care of the spiritual needs of all people no matter which branch they belong to and no matter what faith they have. This means that if they have no faith at all, I am still required to serve them equally as one of God's children. I am not there to condemn them, embarrass them or walk away from them if they lack faith. Just as Christ sent out the 72, if they want my help, I have to give it. If they do not, then that's up to them.
Working with veterans, the first thing is to get them to understand that PTSD is a wound, has nothing to do with their bravery or courage, their patriotism or anything other than the fact they are normal people exposed to abnormal events and having a normal reaction to what most people never see. It's my job to get them to understand what comes with PTSD and it is also my duty to get them to stop feeling as if God abandoned them or condemned them. I am there to support them no matter if they agree with what they did serving or not, no matter if they are practicing Christians, or any other faith or of no faith at all. They are wounded people who need help and if they see the compassion of Christ within me and the love of God, then I am doing my job. Where they go and what they do after is up to them but they will walk away knowing a side of God they may not have known before. Too many remember the parts of the Old Testament and know very little from the New Testament. It's very hard for them to understand all the love there is within the pages of the Bible.
When Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, the wounded man did not say what he believed, did not say he was a member of any faith at all. The Samaritan was helping someone in need and took care of a stranger everyone else just avoided. In this is love. In this is mercy. In this is compassion. When Christ said that we were to treat others as we would want to be treated, he added nothing to that. It was not commanded we first ascertain their faith base before we help them. This again is the mission and the duty of a Chaplain. Yet some will condemn the "heathens" with no faith, will condemn the homeless and the poor and the needy as if they have no right to live at all.
Jesus told the doubters that if they did not believe in who he was then they should believe in the work he did. It's about time we got to work the way he intended us to do the jobs he called us to do. It's about time we returned to the original mission and let God lead them where He wants to take them after.
I am Greek Orthodox, yet was administrator of Christian Ed for a Presbyterian Church, my best friend is Methodist and I have a lot of Catholic friends as well as some family members. Do you think I would say to any of these people I care about their faith is not as worthy as mine? Do you think I would tell them they are wrong? Who am I to judge any of them? Jesus started one church and one Christian faith, not many. After all there was only one of him who died on the cross and the faith is named after him.
We need to get back to the original mission and that is to serve those in need. The VA needs to utilize these people to serve the far too many in need today, not months and years from now.
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Universal Studios should give firefighters free passes
Blaze Erupts on Universal Studios Lot
By GREG RISLING,AP
Posted: 2008-06-01 15:03:03
Filed Under: Nation News
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (June 1) - A large fire tore through a back lot at Universal Studios early Sunday, destroying a set from "Back to the Future," the King Kong exhibit and a video vault containing more than 40,000 videos and reels.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/blaze-erupts-on-universal-studios-lot/20080601095209990001?icid=1615988631x1203356749x1200308531
Go to the above site and take a look at some of the photographs of the firefighters risking their lives like they always do. Several pictures have them on top of roofs as the smoke rises showing how brave these people are. They do their jobs everyday but this day they were there to save Universal Studios and did a great job of keeping the fire for spreading. The least Universal Studios can do is provide these brave men and women free passes for a year for them and their families. That would be the least they could do to say thank you for saving most of Universal Studios and allowing it to reopen already.
Getting rid of spin on Purple Heart Award
The Badge of Military Merit/the Purple Heart awarded for service
The Badge of Military Merit/the Purple Heart
At his headquarters in Newburgh, New York, on August 7, 1782, General George Washington devised two new badges of distinction for enlisted men and noncommissioned officers. To signify loyal military service, he ordered a chevron to be worn on the left sleeve of the uniform coat for the rank and file who had completed three years of duty "with bravery, fidelity, and good conduct"; two chevrons signified six years of service. The second badge, for "any singularly meritorious Action," was the "Figure of a Heart in Purple Cloth or Silk edged with narrow Lace or Binding."
This device, the Badge of Military Merit, was affixed to the uniform coat above the left breast and permitted its wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge and to have his name and regiment inscribed in a Book of Merit. The Badge specifically honored the lower ranks, where decorations were unknown in contemporary European Armies. As Washington intended, the road to glory in a patriot army is thus open to all."
The award fell into disuse following the Revolution and was not proposed again officially until after World War I. On October 10, 1927, Army Chief of Staff General Charles P. Summerall directed that a draft bill be sent to Congress "to revive the Badge of Military Merit."
For reasons unclear, the bill was withdrawn and action on the case ceased on January 3, 1928, but the Office of The Adjutant General was instructed to file all materials collected for possible future use.
The rough sketch accompanying this proposal showed a circular disc medal with a concave center in which a relief heart appeared. The reverse carried the legend: For Military Merit.
A number of private interests sought to have the medal reinstituted in the Army. One of these was the board of directors of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum in New York.
On January 7, 1931, Summerall’s successor, General Douglas MacArthur, confidentially reopened work on a new design, involved the Washington Commission of Fine Arts. His object was medal issued on the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth.
Miss Elizabeth Will, an Army heraldic specialist in the Office of the Quartermaster General, was named to redesign the newly revived medal, which became known as the Purple Heart. Using general specifications provided to her, Ms. Will created the design sketch for the present medal of the Purple Heart. Her obituary , in the February 8, 1975 edition of The Washington Post newspaper, reflects her many contributions to military heraldry.
The Commission of Fine Arts solicited plaster models from three leading sculptors for the medal, selecting that of John R. Sinnock of the Philadelphia Mint in May 1931.
As described in Army Regulations 600-35 of November 10, 1941, the design consisted of a purple enameled heart within a bronze quarter-inch border showing a relief profile of George Washington in Continental uniform. Surmounting the enameled shield is Washington’s family coat of arms, the same used by the heart shape and the coat of arms of the obverse is repeated without enamel; within the heart lies the inscription, For Military Merit, with space beneath for the engraved name of the recipient. The device is 1-11/16 inches in length and 1-3/8 inches in width, and is suspended by a rounded rectangular length displaying a vertical purple band with quarter-inch white borders.
The War Department announced the new award in General Order No. 3, February 22, 1932:
By order of the President of the United States, the Purple Heart established by General George Washington at Newburgh, August 7, 1782, during the War of the Revolution, is hereby revived out of respect to his memory and military achievements.
http://www.ct.gov/mil/cwp/view.asp?a=1351&q=258456
In 1932 the connection to that legacy was revived. President Herbert Hoover had decided to honor the bicentennial of Washington's birth, and instructed Gen. Douglas MacArthur to re-introduce the Badge of Military Merit.After turning the badge into a medal, MacArthur stuck with the original design and color. But he made one significant change.
Deciding that those wounded or killed in the line of duty were worthy of an award of merit, he altered the criteria to include the combat wounded and made the honor retroactive to World War I.
Having been injured in battle, MacArthur received the first Purple Heart medal.
Since then, over 800,000 Purple Heart medals have been awarded, some in formal ceremonies, others as intimate as a medal pinned to a hospital gown. The qualifications have expanded during that time as well, to include injuries to servicemen and women from terrorist attacks, friendly fire and from being part of a peacekeeping force.
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/purpleheart/index.html
By order of the President of the United States , the Purple Heart established by General George Washington at Newburgh, August 7, 1782, during the War of the Revolution, is hereby revived out of respect to his memory and military achievements.
By Order of the Secretary WarDouglas MacArthurGeneralChief of Staff
Purple Heart (obverse)
Army regulations specified the design of the medal as an enamel heart, purple in color and showing a relief profile of George Washington in Continental Army uniform within a quarter-inch bronze border. Above the enameled heart is Washington 's family coat of arms between two sprays of leaves. On the reverse side, below the shield and leaves, is a raised bronze heart without enamel bearing the inscription “For Military Merit.” The 1 11/16 inch medal is suspended by a purple cloth, 1 3/8 inches in length by 1 3/8 inches in width with 1/8-inch white edges.
Army regulations' eligibility criteria for the award included:
Those in possession of a Meritorious Service Citation Certificate issued by the Commander-in Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. (The Certificates had to be exchanged for the Purple Heart.)
Those authorized by Army regulations to wear wound chevrons. (These men also had to apply for the new award.)
The newly reintroduced Purple Heart was not intended primarily as an award for those wounded in action -- the “wound chevron” worn by a soldier on his sleeve already fulfilled that purpose. Establishing the Meritorious Service Citation as a qualification for receiving the Purple Heart was very much in keeping with General Washington's original intent for the award.
Purple Heart (reverse)
However, authorizing the award in exchange for “wound chevrons” established the now familiar association of the award with injuries sustained in battle. This was reinforced by Army regulations, which stated that the award required a "singularly meritorious act of fidelity service" and that "a wound which necessitates treatment by a medical officer and which is received in action with an enemy, may, in the judgment of the commander authorized to make the award, be construed as resulting from a singularly meritorious act of essential service."
Until Executive Order 9277 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in December 1942 authorized award of the Purple Heart to personnel from all of the military services (retroactive to December 7, 1941), the medal was exclusively an Army award. The Executive Order also stated that the Purple Heart was to be awarded to persons who “are wounded in action against an enemy of the United States, or as a result of an act of such enemy, provided such would necessitate treatment by a medical officer.”
In November 1952, President Harry S. Truman issued an Executive Order extending eligibility for the award to April 5, 1917, to coincide with the eligibility dates for Army personnel.
President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 11016 in April 1962 that further extended eligibility to "any civilian national of the United States, who while serving under competent authority in any capacity with an armed force…, has been, or may hereafter be, wounded" and authorized posthumous award of the medal.
Executive Order 12464 signed by President Ronald Reagan in February 1984, authorized award of the Purple Heart as a result of terrorist attacks or while serving as part of a peacekeeping force subsequent to March 28, 1973. The 1998 National Defense Authorization Act removed civilians from the list of personnel eligible for the medal.
The Purple Heart is ranked immediately behind the bronze star and ahead of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal in order of precedence.
Possession of the Purple Heart medal does not by itself qualify veterans for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation. However, since November 1999, Purple Heart recipients have been placed in VA's enrollment priority group 3, unless eligible for the higher priority groups (1 or 2) based on service-connected disabilities. Recipients are also exempt from co-payments for VA hospital care and medical outpatient care, but not from pharmacy co-payments for medications prescribed for non-service connected conditions.
Sources: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration; U.S. Army Center of Military History
http://www1.va.gov/opa/feature/celebrate/purple-heart.asp
Trauma is Greek for wound. If they did not go into combat, no trauma caused by combat with the enemy. No trauma, no wound. Should be end of story, but I doubt it. It was not designed to be about a wound but about service to the nation. It became an award to acknowledge a wound caused by serving the nation. As such, being wounded in your mind, body and spirit, because of service in a time of war, this should qualify. The VA does not separate those who have a physical wound that can be seen against one that cannot be seen when they pay disability compensation ratings. They only deal with the severity of the wound.
Marine from Waterbury dies in Iraq
Marine from Waterbury dies in Iraq
May 31, 2008
Connecticut military deaths. May be updated.
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) _ A 21-year-old Marine from Waterbury has died during his first tour in Iraq, according to his family's pastor.
The military notified Christian Cotner's family on Friday about his death. Details about how and when he died had not been released Saturday, and the military had not publicly announced his death.
He is the 40th military member with ties to Connecticut who has died in Iraq and Afghanistan since U.S. operations began in those countries in 2003 and 2002, respectively. Two civilians from the state have also died.
The Cotner family's pastor, the Rev. Kenneth Frazier Jr. of the First Congregational Church of Waterbury, said Saturday that the family was too grief-stricken to make public statements, but planned to do so soon.
"They would like for the public to respect their grieving process and they will make themselves available at some point when they are ready and able," Frazier said.
go here for more
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--marinedeath0531may31,0,7401126.story
May 31, 2008
Connecticut military deaths. May be updated.
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) _ A 21-year-old Marine from Waterbury has died during his first tour in Iraq, according to his family's pastor.
The military notified Christian Cotner's family on Friday about his death. Details about how and when he died had not been released Saturday, and the military had not publicly announced his death.
He is the 40th military member with ties to Connecticut who has died in Iraq and Afghanistan since U.S. operations began in those countries in 2003 and 2002, respectively. Two civilians from the state have also died.
The Cotner family's pastor, the Rev. Kenneth Frazier Jr. of the First Congregational Church of Waterbury, said Saturday that the family was too grief-stricken to make public statements, but planned to do so soon.
"They would like for the public to respect their grieving process and they will make themselves available at some point when they are ready and able," Frazier said.
go here for more
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--marinedeath0531may31,0,7401126.story
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Cpl. Christian S. Cotner, 20, of Waterbury, Conn., died May 30 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, Marine Wing Support Group 17, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.
The incident is currently under investigation.
'Improper denials, poor service to vets'
VA claims pace lagging: 'Improper denials, poor service to vets'
Spokesman says radiation claims slowed all claims, but that the numbers are improving
Sid Salter • ssalter@clarionledger.com • June 1, 2008
Complaints that claims for Mississippi's 233,888 military veterans - including Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans - aren't being processed in a timely manner have led to calls for a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs investigation
Documents obtained by The Clarion-Ledger show that in April of this year, claims at the U.S. Veterans Affairs' Jackson Regional Office were being processed 53 percent slower than the national and regional average. That includes claims from combat veterans seeking help for combat-related post traumatic stress disorder.
The records show that on April 30, the national average "days pending" on veterans' claims ratings were 127.4 days while the Southern Area average was 127.5 days. But the average "days pending" for claims ratings in the VA's Jackson Regional Office was 194.8 days - a difference of 67 days.
In a May 1 letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake, interim U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Tupelo, called for the VA's Office of Inspector General to investigate the findings of a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee counsel who uncovered "lapses in procedure" and "complaints from senior staff regarding the work environment" at the Jackson office.
go here for more
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080601/OPINION/806010327/1046
Spokesman says radiation claims slowed all claims, but that the numbers are improving
Sid Salter • ssalter@clarionledger.com • June 1, 2008
Complaints that claims for Mississippi's 233,888 military veterans - including Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans - aren't being processed in a timely manner have led to calls for a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs investigation
Documents obtained by The Clarion-Ledger show that in April of this year, claims at the U.S. Veterans Affairs' Jackson Regional Office were being processed 53 percent slower than the national and regional average. That includes claims from combat veterans seeking help for combat-related post traumatic stress disorder.
The records show that on April 30, the national average "days pending" on veterans' claims ratings were 127.4 days while the Southern Area average was 127.5 days. But the average "days pending" for claims ratings in the VA's Jackson Regional Office was 194.8 days - a difference of 67 days.
In a May 1 letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake, interim U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Tupelo, called for the VA's Office of Inspector General to investigate the findings of a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee counsel who uncovered "lapses in procedure" and "complaints from senior staff regarding the work environment" at the Jackson office.
go here for more
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080601/OPINION/806010327/1046
PTSD 22 years of service John Staubach fell through cracks
John Shaubach hangs out with his step-daughters, Obra and Jess, in his Alaska home. Shaubach served 22 years in the Army before receiving a medical discharge because of a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder, a result of his service in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Submitted)
Who will help with post-traumatic stress disorder?
'I fell through the cracks,' said an Iraq war vet crippled by the syndrome.
By JEFF FRANTZ
Daily Record/Sunday News
Article Last Updated: 06/01/2008 03:13:00 AM EDT
Could that man be my brother?
Melissa Gieniec had been warned he didn't look good, but this?
She remembered her brother as a man who plucked his eyebrows.
The man sitting on the bench in the baggage claim of the Anchorage airport looked like he hadn't showered or shaved in weeks. He smelled homeless.
John Shaubach served 22 years in the Army. He jumped out of planes with the 82nd Airborne Division. He led men into combat in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned a pair of Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.
The man in front of her looked lumpy, she later recalled. His shoulders slumped forward.
Twice, she said, she had walked past the man before she realized this was her brother.
go here for more
http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_9441818
Gov. Joe Manchin, taking the lead taking care of veterans
Helping Afghanistan, Iraq veterans cope theme of conference
By Bill Byrd
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — Helping the state’s Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans — and their families — cope with readjustment issues, including care for those with traumatic brain injuries, is the theme of a conference this week in Charleston.
Speakers will discuss issues such as financial counseling, addictive behaviors, suicide prevention, treatment for those with traumatic brain injuries, women in the military, and post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, said the Rev. Ricardo Flippin, a conference organizer.
Flippin is the coordinator of the “Care-Net: Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” program, sponsored by the West Virginia Council of Churches.
Gov. Joe Manchin, one of the leaders in the effort to help the state’s veterans, including those on active duty, will open the conference Wednesday morning. The June 4-5 event at the Charleston Civic Center will consist of workshops and panel discussions. The conference is free and open to the public.
“We want to assure all veterans and their families have the same resources available to them no matter where they live in the state,” Manchin said.
“The Care-Net conference is an opportunity to network and learn about programs, agencies and systems that offer assistance to military members and their families,” he said in a statement.
“We hope to highlight our strong assistance programs and outline our weaknesses so we can learn how to provide the best services and assistance through a combined effort,” the governor said.
Manchin and state lawmakers have been working since early last year and the disclosure of neglect in the care of seriously wounded soldiers to make sure active duty members and veterans of all wars get the services and help they need.
go here for more
http://www.timeswv.com/intodayspaper/local_story_153003504.html
Iraq Vet Michael Lufors, two years later, no help for PTSD
County struggles to fill veterans' needs
By Sarah Frier
MEDIANEWS STAFF
Article Created: 05/31/2008 06:32:13 PM PDT
Two years after returning from duty in Iraq, San Mateo County resident Michael Lufors says he has yet to see a county veteran service officer for help in dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
It's not for lack of trying, Lufors said, noting he has called the county office four times and visited once but nobody was ever available.
Some say that's because there is only one veteran service officer in a county with 40,000 veterans, a much lower ratio than in most California counties.
"We need more guys to talk to," Lufors said. "It's fairly necessary stuff." When the issue was raised last year, the Board of Supervisors added a veteran service representative position to the budget in October to work with the lone veteran service officer. But eight months later, that position still hasn't been filled because the veteran service officer retired in December, and county officials wanted to replace him first. "We wanted to first hire for the veteran services officer position and get that person started," County Human Services Manager Lorena Gonzalez said.
The county now is recruiting for the second position and hopes to have someone hired by the end of June, said Beverly Johnson, director of human services.
But the quality of service won't change immediately because training a new representative could take a couple of years, said Allan Moltzen, the current veteran service officer, who was hired in January.
go here for more
http://origin.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_9440829
By Sarah Frier
MEDIANEWS STAFF
Article Created: 05/31/2008 06:32:13 PM PDT
Two years after returning from duty in Iraq, San Mateo County resident Michael Lufors says he has yet to see a county veteran service officer for help in dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
It's not for lack of trying, Lufors said, noting he has called the county office four times and visited once but nobody was ever available.
Some say that's because there is only one veteran service officer in a county with 40,000 veterans, a much lower ratio than in most California counties.
"We need more guys to talk to," Lufors said. "It's fairly necessary stuff." When the issue was raised last year, the Board of Supervisors added a veteran service representative position to the budget in October to work with the lone veteran service officer. But eight months later, that position still hasn't been filled because the veteran service officer retired in December, and county officials wanted to replace him first. "We wanted to first hire for the veteran services officer position and get that person started," County Human Services Manager Lorena Gonzalez said.
The county now is recruiting for the second position and hopes to have someone hired by the end of June, said Beverly Johnson, director of human services.
But the quality of service won't change immediately because training a new representative could take a couple of years, said Allan Moltzen, the current veteran service officer, who was hired in January.
go here for more
http://origin.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_9440829
Tsunami trauma still haunts victims
Sunday, June 1, 2008
NIMHANS: Tsunami trauma still haunts victims
June 1, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad: The Tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean in December 2004 is now history. But
four years after the devastation, people affected by Tsunami are still in trauma. Their psychiatric morbidity is quite high and children are the worst-hit. The Bangalore-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences conducted a study on people affected by Tsunami and compared the data with those of normal population. About 12,000 victims were interviewed as part of the study to establish psychiatric morbidity and the extent of mental trauma they had undergone.
"People are still traumatised. The effect will continue for some more time. In case of children, it may continue for life," NIMHANS assistant professor of psychiatry Dr
Suresh Bada Math, told this correspondent. A meta-analysis of 160 studies of disaster victims found that post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorders, and panic disorders were identified.
The team found that 475 survivors had at least one psychiatric diagnosis. Of these, 244 were displaced survivors residing in the Port Blair relief camps, and 231 were in the Non-Displaced Survivors Group from Car-Nicobar Island. The most common psychiatric problems observed in the survivors’ group were adjustment disorder in 178 (37.5 per cent), depression in 102 (21.5 per cent), panic disorder in 57 (12 per cent), PTSD in 53 (11.2 per cent), anxiety disorder not otherwise specified (NOS) in 26 (5.5 per cent), and other disorders in 16 (3.4 per cent). The "other" disorders were noted in children and adolescents by their parents, and included dizziness, vertigo, startle response, sleep-wake cycle disturbance.
go here for more
http://syedakbarindia.blogspot.com/2008/06/nimhans-tsunami-trauma-still-haunts.html
Don't Throw Sergeant VerSteegh From His House
Don't Throw Sergeant VerSteegh From His House
Robert Naiman
Huffington Post
May 31, 2008
May 29, 2008 - I'm delighted Senator Webb's GI Bill and Senator McCain's opposition to it presents another opportunity to emphasize that the neoconservative elite who lied about Iraq also lied about "supporting the troops" -- the very club they used to silence criticism when they lied about Iraq. If we can reach the place where a super-majority of the U.S. population is permanently convinced that you can't trust anything related to military affairs said by neocon elitists like Pastor John Hagee's AIPAC, it's quite plausible that we could, at long last, enjoy a Presidency of the United States in which the U.S. commits no new violations of international law with respect to the use of military force.
In the latest evidence that neocons "support the troops" as long as it doesn't cost anything to them or their rich elitist friends, Bloomberg reports:
In the midst of the worst surge in mortgage defaults in seven decades, foreclosures in U.S. towns where soldiers live are increasing at a pace almost four times the national average.
You might think veterans' groups would be very concerned about this. You'd be right.
"We've never faced a situation like this, not in the Vietnam War, World War II, or the Korean War, where so many military are in danger of losing their homes," said Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, a Washington-based advocacy group started in 2002 by Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans. "No one asked them for their credit score when we asked them to fight for us."
How does this affect the family of an individual soldier?
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10259
Robert Naiman
Huffington Post
May 31, 2008
May 29, 2008 - I'm delighted Senator Webb's GI Bill and Senator McCain's opposition to it presents another opportunity to emphasize that the neoconservative elite who lied about Iraq also lied about "supporting the troops" -- the very club they used to silence criticism when they lied about Iraq. If we can reach the place where a super-majority of the U.S. population is permanently convinced that you can't trust anything related to military affairs said by neocon elitists like Pastor John Hagee's AIPAC, it's quite plausible that we could, at long last, enjoy a Presidency of the United States in which the U.S. commits no new violations of international law with respect to the use of military force.
In the latest evidence that neocons "support the troops" as long as it doesn't cost anything to them or their rich elitist friends, Bloomberg reports:
In the midst of the worst surge in mortgage defaults in seven decades, foreclosures in U.S. towns where soldiers live are increasing at a pace almost four times the national average.
You might think veterans' groups would be very concerned about this. You'd be right.
"We've never faced a situation like this, not in the Vietnam War, World War II, or the Korean War, where so many military are in danger of losing their homes," said Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, a Washington-based advocacy group started in 2002 by Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans. "No one asked them for their credit score when we asked them to fight for us."
How does this affect the family of an individual soldier?
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10259
Thomas Lipscomb wrong on PTSD attitude
He is so wrong on this. Let me count the ways.
I've heard all the nonsense about this before but when they try to toss in everything with their usual talking points, it blows their argument right out the door. The fact there are fraudulent claims is real, but tiny and those claims are not all about PTSD. This list goes on and so does the type of rant we just read.
I don't know who this person is and I do not care to learn who he is but the blessing is that people like him are dwindling in numbers. More and more people in this country and all over the world are awakening to this century and advancements in technology. The dark ages are drawing to a close and soon we will stop fighting over what we already know so we can begin to address what needs to be done and do it. Fighting over the existence of a problem does nothing to fix a problem.
It comes down to this. The men and women who serve in the military are doing their jobs. They are doing what they were trained to do and what we are lucky to have them willing to do. When will we be willing to acknowledge this? Civilian employees have an easier time collecting for injuries on their jobs. We make those who fight for this country turn around and fight the country to have their wounds taken care of and their families provided for. Post means "after, Traumatic means "after trauma" and trauma means "wound" but people like him can't get that into their own brains and will make all kinds of lame attempts to dismiss the suffering of our troops and our veterans. Why do they do it? What do they hope to gain by attacking veterans? Why do they hide behind them instead of standing beside them?
This is what Washington had to say
So why is it that people fight against doing the right thing for the sake of those who serve?
Leave the Purple Heart Alone
Thomas Lipscomb May 27, 2008Since the 1960s the combination of the antiwar and non-military serving sectors of academia, the media, the leaders of various peace causes, the "allergic to combat" upper income sector of society and the shrinkocracy have made various cases with various levels of proof that not only was the old Mothers for Peace poster correct that "war not healthy for children and other living things," but that it causes far more casualties than are normally counted.
1-One word, Afghanistan. Proof of this is Bush's approval rating when he decided to invade Afghanistan in retaliation to the attacks of 9-11. His approval rate was near 90%. This removes any notion that "antiwar and non-military serving sectors of academia, the media, the leaders of various peace causes, the "allergic to combat" upper income sector of society and the shrinkocracy" but apparently he has also forgotten another event called the Gulf War. This also found favor with the American people so much so that Bush the 43rd thought Bush the 41st, should have ran his re-election campaign on the "political capital" he gained by it. People can claim whatever they want but what they cannot do is remove history.Veterans have always found war downright hazardous to their health. But now their own lobbying groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, and Vietnam Veterans of America, and employees of the Veterans Administration itself have decided to facilitate a blizzard of dubious veterans' benefit claims worse than the wildest dreams of any welfare queen.
2-Welfare queen? Ok and how does one accomplish this? This argument has so many holes in it. Welfare is for people in need regardless of what they earned. The VA compensation however, is dependant upon what is earned. The very fact they have to prove they were wounded in service to this nation blows any notion of "welfare" out the door. The key word here is wounded. In the private sector, there is a thing called workman's compensation and social security disability insurance that is paid should a worker become injured and unable to work due to their employment. This argument may play well with the ambivalent crowd of "screw you I got mine" but it appalls the rest of us who have been paying attention and do in fact value the lives of the men and women serving this nation now and in all the years prior.
The financial "benefit" has been provided all along. The Purple Heart has nothing to do with the fact the VA and the DOD not only acknowledge PTSD, but they have invested hundreds of millions of our tax dollars in addressing it since the 80's. Sure, they are lacking in what needs to be done but if it was not such a huge real problem, they would be sinking the funds into defense instead of the needs of the veterans created by defending the nation.Now the anti-military groups and some veterans' lobbyists appear to be combining forces in asking that the honored Purple Heart for those physically wounded in combat be awarded for mental conditions based upon some highly dubious criteria. And this proposal is actually receiving serious consideration by the Bush Department of Defense.
3- The "anti-military" groups in his mind would include all the groups established to take care of the veterans needs. If they were anti-military, this would include veterans. There would be no veterans if they did not serve in the military. How can these groups be anti-military if they are fighting for the members who made up the military in the first place?Claims of injuries from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are being used to grossly inflate the casualty rate and establish a whole new class of dubious "victims" out of veterans who served their country and are now being induced to serve themselves by both those who hate the American military while, of course, ritually praising their "service," and veteran lobbyist groups who claim to speak "for veterans" while increasing their ability to sell veterans on the benefits they get by paying for membership.
4-To "grossly inflate the casualty rate" would require the fact the media would be adding in the deaths associated with service. When a soldier dies in country (the place they are risking their lives in) they are counted no matter how that death occurred. Natural causes, accidents, suicides while deployed are counted in the death count. Yet when they die back in this country (the country they were risking their lives in service of) this is where the line is drawn. Sometimes if they die as a result of their acknowledged physical wounds, they do get included in the total death count, but there are many who do not ever get added to it. The deaths connected with the wound of PTSD do not get added to the count. We need to look at the word trauma itself. Many who argue against awarding the Purple Heart are simply unaware of what trauma is. It comes from the Greeks and means wound. When they named PTSD what they did, they knew what they were doing.In doing so, they have helped veterans and in some cases people who simply claimed to be veterans make hundreds of thousands of PTSD injury claims in what military records fraud expert B.G. Burkett calls "by far the largest collection of military disability fraud cases in the history of the United States, all alleging PTSD."
5- "Claim to be veterans" again is a fraudulent statement. They must prove they are veterans first. Records from the DOD are required before any claim can be begun. Evidence has to be presented. You cannot walk into a DAV office and sit there and claim to be a veteran without any documentation to back it up. Are there frauds who manage to pull off fake documents that even experts believe? Absolutely but they are a tiny fraction of the vast population of real veterans needing help.If you go here http://www.va.gov/oig/52/reports/2001/99-00054-1.pdf you will find that the "fraud" cases reported here do not involve fake claims, but claims where income has not been reported as required. A veteran's pay (percentage of disability) allows veterans to work depending upon the percentage of the claim awarded. A veteran with 100% disability is paid because they are deemed to be unemployable. In other words, they are not supposed to be able to work at all. A lower rate would be calculated on the fact they can work but have been limited to how much they can work. These are not fraudulent claims but fraudulent financial compensation instead.
If you go here http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_20_15/ai_54775001/pg_2 you will find a report on workman's comp claims from federal employees, in other words, people who work for the VA and not veterans with disability claims.
It turns out that it's only 2.5% that are potentially fraudulent.
It also raises the specter that some veterans might be engaging in fraud, stating that 2.5 percent of cases where veterans were getting some money for PTSD were "potentially fraudulent." "We noted an abundance of Web sites providing advice to veterans filing PTSD claims or offering ways to compile less than truthful evidence to obtain approval," the report reads. It notes that one Web site sells a fake Purple Heart for $19.95.
http://obama.senate.gov/news/050810-sticker_shock_over_shell_shock/index.php
For six years, the VA would not approve my husband's claim. They did not doubt PTSD, but they did question his Bronze Star award. The social security number on his award was typed in wrong. When he pointed this out, while still in Vietnam, they said they would correct it. They did not fix the record all the way through. It took a general to review all the documents to have it corrected all the way. His claim was approved soon afterward. This is where the "potentially fraudulent" claim can come in. His claim was truthful but he had to prove it, then his claim was honored.PTSD is a real condition and many do suffer from it, but it is a lot easier to fake than it is to diagnose, and with the sloppy standards currently in effect, it is inevitable that the system is constantly abused.
6-Again, take a look at the 2.5%. There are some who do try to fake a claim but there are far more who never file a claim at all because of all that comes with having the claim approved. The attitude of people in this country, from employers to co-workers is still appalling. You don't have to search very hard to find reports of people thinking PTSD is funny. They will go to great lengths to obtain entertainment from a PTSD veteran by trying to set them off. Then there is the attitude of the military itself telling the troops that it could harm their careers and yes, that is still going on. The other factor is the future. Try to apply for a life insurance policy with PTSD diagnosed. Try to get health care with it. When it comes to getting a job because you have less than 100% VA disability, you'll have a very hard time finding one.Seventy per cent of the disability claims presented to the Veterans Administration come through what is called "a membership representative," who often works for one of the veteran's lobbyist organizations and helps applicants with the difficult paperwork. One of the recent candidates for president of the Vietnam Veterans of America had to disqualify himself when it was revealed that he had admitted drawing up phony claims for disabilities by VVA members to the Veterans' Administration.
7-The service organizations would not have to help with claims if the claim process was easier to understand and there was not such a huge backlog of claims. The help is needed especially with PTSD claims because the veteran is under a disability when they cannot advocate for themselves, have limited thinking, decision making ability and short term memory loss. Most of the veterans filing claims are on their own when it comes to having a family member fighting for them. This is why there are so many service organizations filing claims on behalf of veterans.
The other part about the VVA, I couldn't find anything on considering the name of the person was not even provided.Since a 100 percent disability payment for PTSD can be worth more than $30,000 a year for life, it is not surprising that a high percentage of veterans working for the VA also receive payments for PTSD themselves. It also makes the grantee eligible for a 50 percent disability payment under Social Security. Together they total over $40,000 a year, tax free and inflation-indexed.8-For the real facts go here and see what they get
http://www.military.com/benefits/veteran-benefits/va-compensation-tables
Even with this, think about how much money the veteran in fact loses. Take a veteran who makes a good living while they can work. $30,000 is a drop in the bucket for a lot of them. The VA does not provide overtime and does not provide bonuses. This is also given up when a veteran can no longer work. The key here is unable to work. They are unable to provide themselves with income to live. Most of them would prefer to work since they can make more money being able to work but their condition eliminates this.
9-Another thing is that while this rant is supposed to be about the Purple Heart being issued for PTSD, this "author" has taken it upon himself to attack every veteran with a claim into the VA for compensation. He is not separating any figures out for what he would acknowledge as a "worthy" claim and compensation. This makes his whole argument an attack against all disabled veterans.Burkett, a veteran himself, has been hired as an expert to the Marine Corps and the FBI, and testified on cases of phony assertions of rank, military service and medals awarded in numerous legal cases. His book Stolen Valor led to the recent passage of the Stolen Valor Act of 2006. The Act established Federal penalties for attempts to pass off fraudulent claims for medals or military service.
10-What does this have to do with PTSD and the Purple Heart? Are there jerks in this country who are trying to find some gain in pretending to be heroes? Yes. I'm glad people are going after the frauds who have been in the media reports but most of the ones they caught were not getting VA disability. They were just getting people to suck up to them.Newspapers have carried stories for years about Burkett's work in helping unmask pretenders to military rank and honors who had been showing up on 4th of July reviewing stands and public ceremonies for years in full dress uniforms, with ranks and decorations they had invented rather than earned.
In an attempt to try to get a handle on the flood of PTSD disability claims overwhelming the Veteran's Administration, its Inspector General department briefed Burkett about a pilot study the VA had made of 2100 random PTSD cases that had been extracted out of the 287,000 cases they were considering at the time.
11-And this proves what? "Considering" "Pilot study" What does this prove?Of that sample group, for example, more than 28 percent had no medical trauma event of any kind in their records. And the rate of successful PTSD claims processed through the VA system was far higher in some parts of the country. Some areas approved 60 percent of claims with no trauma record while only 10% were granted in others. The VA seemed on the edge of uncovering the most massive fraud in its history and one in which it bore at least part of the blame. As the second largest agency in the Federal government with almost 300,000 employees it was at least possible for it to do a solid evaluation.
12-Again when the cliam is proven the evidence has to be there. No trauma means it is not PTSD. PTSD is after trauma. They have to prove the trauma. Until a claim is approved, they fall into "not proven" and the claim is denied. We could also address the fact that there were over 22,000 troops discharged under a false "personality disorder" diagnoses when in fact the evidence pointed to PTSD, but then that would blow his argument yet again. This is not even addressing the fact that when a claim is turne down, a lot of veterans walk away and give up because they don't have the fight in them to fight the government.But as soon as word of the VA's intention of a broad review of hundreds of thousands of PTSD claims costing potentially billions of dollars got out, Congressional members like Barack Obama and Lane Evans proposed legislation to block any review of possible fraud as an attack upon the rights of veterans. Not surprisingly, no review has taken place. In the meantime the paperwork on PTSD disability claims has gotten so huge at the VA and the expense of reviewing each claim is so high, that the VA is considering routinely granting disability payments before finally approving claims.13-72,000 became "hundreds of thousands" in his mind.
In August, the VA announced it would be reviewing 72,000 PTSD awards granted between 1999 and 2004. This amounts to about one-third of all PTSD claims. The majority of the awards went to Vietnam veterans who have battled the VA, many for ten years or longer, to receive compensation for PTSD. The awards to be reviewed will be ones where full disability (100%) for PTSD was granted. Veterans? groups stand united in opposition to the review.
http://www.vawatchdog.org/milcom/veteransbenefitsarenotsafe.htm
There has been enough medal inflation in the American military over the past half century. From the medals "package" that started being handed out like Red Cross donuts in the Vietnam War to the rows of ticket-punching "I was there" ribbons that clutter the chest of an 18 1/2-year-old who had some involvement in the current conflict in the Middle East, it is hard enough to separate those that mean something from the rest.
14-Ok, he just insulted Vietnam veterans who earned their medals. Why do they do this? Why do they attack all veterans trying to prove a point?Gaming the military awards system for medals has always been a problem. The fictional Victorian Sir Harry Flashman was constantly able to get medals for bravery during his worst acts of cowardice. And the real Swift boat naval officer John Kerry managed to somehow get the three Purple Hearts it took him to get out of any further service in Viet Nam in just four months, without losing a single day on duty.
15-When all else fails, attack John Kerry.But the idea of seriously considering awarding the Purple Heart for an as yet difficult to establish PTSD condition that is the focus of an immense fraud being concealed from the public, whose taxes have to pay for it, by both the Executive and Legislative branches of the Federal Government, is a cynical obscenity.
16-This is it. This is the problem with PTSD and he just admitted it. "Difficult to establish PTSD condition" because of all the things that go along with this. The fraud is not that these wounded veterans are seeking what they already earned in service to this nation. The fraud is when you have lip service being paid to the suffering of our veterans with cameras rolling and then they turn around and say PTSD is not worth addressing. Peake tried to say it was like a football injury and that attitude is what they hold behind closed doors. Read some of the things they've said and you'll know what I mean. Most of them are on this blog.Let's do the best we can to support the Military Order of the Purple Heart, made up of those to whom it has actually been awarded, in keeping the one medal established by the nation's first commander in chief and first President, George Washington, for what it is. It is one of the few awards that has maintained its value during all the medal inflation of the past 70 years since it was re-established by Douglas MacArthur.
17-They used to shoot PTSD soldiers for being cowards. That was when they had an excuse from lack of knowledge. Just like when they used to bleed patients to death to "cure them" and amputate limbs because they didn't know what else to do. The death rate of severely wounded has dropped because now the medical advancements have saved lives. If he wants to go back in time to a place where we did a lot of stupid things then he needs to consider all the ramifications in doing so. Again PTSD means wound! It is acknowledged in police departments, fire departments, emergency responders and all other walks of life as a human wound. How can it be that so many in this country still fail to acknowledge this fact?It should not be allowed to fall the victim of the military's self-interested "friends" and long-standing enemies. We don't need another worthless example of the inability of our society to tell a proud citation for what novelist Stephen Crane called "the red badge of courage" from the bloodless transmittal sheet for yet another questionable disability claim.
18-This lost any sense of seriousness of this rant. Why on earth would "enemies" of the military give a crap for anyone in the military or any veteran who served in the military? What point was he trying to make here and failed so miserably in doing so?
(Journalist Thomas Lipscomb served as an officer in the Army from 1961 to 1964. He was chairman of the Vietnam Veterans' Leadership employment program in New York. This article originally appeared at Real Clear Politics.)
Sound Off...What do you think? Join the discussion.
Copyright 2008 Thomas Lipscomb. All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of Military.com.
http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,168565,00.html
I've heard all the nonsense about this before but when they try to toss in everything with their usual talking points, it blows their argument right out the door. The fact there are fraudulent claims is real, but tiny and those claims are not all about PTSD. This list goes on and so does the type of rant we just read.
I don't know who this person is and I do not care to learn who he is but the blessing is that people like him are dwindling in numbers. More and more people in this country and all over the world are awakening to this century and advancements in technology. The dark ages are drawing to a close and soon we will stop fighting over what we already know so we can begin to address what needs to be done and do it. Fighting over the existence of a problem does nothing to fix a problem.
It comes down to this. The men and women who serve in the military are doing their jobs. They are doing what they were trained to do and what we are lucky to have them willing to do. When will we be willing to acknowledge this? Civilian employees have an easier time collecting for injuries on their jobs. We make those who fight for this country turn around and fight the country to have their wounds taken care of and their families provided for. Post means "after, Traumatic means "after trauma" and trauma means "wound" but people like him can't get that into their own brains and will make all kinds of lame attempts to dismiss the suffering of our troops and our veterans. Why do they do it? What do they hope to gain by attacking veterans? Why do they hide behind them instead of standing beside them?
This is what Washington had to say
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."
- George Washington
So why is it that people fight against doing the right thing for the sake of those who serve?
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker:PTSD Help Not Adequate
MILITARY PTSD CASES SOAR AS ARMY SURGEON GENERAL
SAYS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES "NOT ADEQUATE" --
"As a nation, our mental health capability is not adequate
to the need," and the Army suffers from the same problem.
Wartime PTSD cases jumped nearly 50 pct. in 2007
By PAULINE JELINEK
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of troops diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder jumped by roughly 50 percent in 2007, the most violent year so far in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon records show.
In the first time the Defense Department has disclosed a number for PTSD cases from the two wars, officials said nearly 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with the illness since 2003, though they believe many more are likely keeping their illness a secret.
"I don't think right now we ... have good numbers," Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker said Tuesday.
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfMAY08/nf052808-1.htm
SAYS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES "NOT ADEQUATE" --
"As a nation, our mental health capability is not adequate
to the need," and the Army suffers from the same problem.
Wartime PTSD cases jumped nearly 50 pct. in 2007
By PAULINE JELINEK
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of troops diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder jumped by roughly 50 percent in 2007, the most violent year so far in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon records show.
In the first time the Defense Department has disclosed a number for PTSD cases from the two wars, officials said nearly 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with the illness since 2003, though they believe many more are likely keeping their illness a secret.
"I don't think right now we ... have good numbers," Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker said Tuesday.
That's partly because officials have been encouraging troops to get help even if it means they go to private civilian therapists and don't report it to the military. The 40,000 cases cover only those that the military has tracked.go here for more
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfMAY08/nf052808-1.htm
Stand Down Tucson for Homeless Veterans
Saturday Stand Down helps homeless vets
SHERYL KORNMAN
Tucson Citizen
Homeless Army veteran Joseph Battle said he’d rather keep on living in his pickup truck than give up his dog to get into subsidized housing.
“This is companionship,” he said Saturday morning at a Department of Veterans Affairs-sponsored “Stand Down” here.
Saturday's Stand Down, underwritten in part by Wal-Mart, Tucson Electric Power and Tucson Truck Driving School, was organized by the local group Tucson Veterans Serving Veterans.
Stand Downs give homeless vets a chance to rest, get in out of the heat, shower, get a haircut, a meal, a sleeping bag, new boots and sunglasses.
Perhaps more important, the Stand Down Saturday gave veterans access to about 20 social service providers and to employment services.
A banner reading “Welcome Home Veterans” was draped across the entrance to the event at the U.S. Army Reserve Center, 1750 E. Silverlake Road. It began at 8 a.m. and was scheduled to end at 2 p.m.
“We want you to be happy, safe and healthy,” said Mary Pat Sullivan, director of Comin’ Home, a nonprofit that provides housing to homeless vets.
She welcomed the veterans after a Color Guard ceremony in the building’s cafeteria.
Battle, 49, said Buddy, his 14-month-old Shepherd-Chow mix, is important to his wellbeing and said most landlords won’t rent to him because of the large dog.
Battle panhandles for a living.
He said he has emphysema – though he still smokes – hepatitis C, arthritis and two compressed discs. He’s been trying for years to get on Social Security disability, he said.
He collects food stamps and gets his medical care at the Veterans Affairs hospital.
He has a 14-year-old daughter living in the Tucson area and he hasn’t seen her in about 10 years. “I’d like to see her,” Battle said.
go here for more
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/86913.php
SHERYL KORNMAN
Tucson Citizen
Homeless Army veteran Joseph Battle said he’d rather keep on living in his pickup truck than give up his dog to get into subsidized housing.
“This is companionship,” he said Saturday morning at a Department of Veterans Affairs-sponsored “Stand Down” here.
Saturday's Stand Down, underwritten in part by Wal-Mart, Tucson Electric Power and Tucson Truck Driving School, was organized by the local group Tucson Veterans Serving Veterans.
Stand Downs give homeless vets a chance to rest, get in out of the heat, shower, get a haircut, a meal, a sleeping bag, new boots and sunglasses.
Perhaps more important, the Stand Down Saturday gave veterans access to about 20 social service providers and to employment services.
A banner reading “Welcome Home Veterans” was draped across the entrance to the event at the U.S. Army Reserve Center, 1750 E. Silverlake Road. It began at 8 a.m. and was scheduled to end at 2 p.m.
“We want you to be happy, safe and healthy,” said Mary Pat Sullivan, director of Comin’ Home, a nonprofit that provides housing to homeless vets.
She welcomed the veterans after a Color Guard ceremony in the building’s cafeteria.
Battle, 49, said Buddy, his 14-month-old Shepherd-Chow mix, is important to his wellbeing and said most landlords won’t rent to him because of the large dog.
Battle panhandles for a living.
He said he has emphysema – though he still smokes – hepatitis C, arthritis and two compressed discs. He’s been trying for years to get on Social Security disability, he said.
He collects food stamps and gets his medical care at the Veterans Affairs hospital.
He has a 14-year-old daughter living in the Tucson area and he hasn’t seen her in about 10 years. “I’d like to see her,” Battle said.
go here for more
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/86913.php
A shoulder to cry on in Baghdad
A shoulder to cry on in Baghdad
The US military says levels of violence in Iraq are at their lowest for four years, but what psychological effect has constant unrest had on ordinary Iraqis? Caroline Wyatt returns to Baghdad after a 10-year absence to find out.
The Baghdad I remembered was a sprawling city, a place of honking horns and barely-controlled anarchy on the roads.
Amid the narrow, uneven pavements of the gold market, I jostled for space with shoppers peering closely at the gold necklaces given to brides at their wedding.
As a Westerner, I felt safe. After all, the secret police were everywhere. My government minder was never more than two steps behind, sometimes so close he would trip over my microphone lead, apologising profusely.
There was no forgetting who was in charge in those days.
Every government building bore images of Saddam Hussein, in all his guises... holding the scales of justice at the courthouse, cockily brandishing a shotgun as an Austrian-style huntsman in lederhosen, or my personal favourite... the massive poster on the telecom building showing a grinning Saddam chatting on a bright, pink telephone.
This week I have been driving through Baghdad in the back of an armoured vehicle.
No government minder this time. Four British security advisers instead.
The traffic around us is as anarchic as ever, now jammed together as cars approach the frequent armed checkpoints and the old bustle starts to return.
go here for more
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7427372.stm
Linked from ICasualties.org
The US military says levels of violence in Iraq are at their lowest for four years, but what psychological effect has constant unrest had on ordinary Iraqis? Caroline Wyatt returns to Baghdad after a 10-year absence to find out.
The Baghdad I remembered was a sprawling city, a place of honking horns and barely-controlled anarchy on the roads.
Amid the narrow, uneven pavements of the gold market, I jostled for space with shoppers peering closely at the gold necklaces given to brides at their wedding.
As a Westerner, I felt safe. After all, the secret police were everywhere. My government minder was never more than two steps behind, sometimes so close he would trip over my microphone lead, apologising profusely.
There was no forgetting who was in charge in those days.
Every government building bore images of Saddam Hussein, in all his guises... holding the scales of justice at the courthouse, cockily brandishing a shotgun as an Austrian-style huntsman in lederhosen, or my personal favourite... the massive poster on the telecom building showing a grinning Saddam chatting on a bright, pink telephone.
This week I have been driving through Baghdad in the back of an armoured vehicle.
No government minder this time. Four British security advisers instead.
The traffic around us is as anarchic as ever, now jammed together as cars approach the frequent armed checkpoints and the old bustle starts to return.
go here for more
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7427372.stm
Linked from ICasualties.org
New veterans cemetery a 'national shrine'
New veterans cemetery a 'national shrine'
Burial site for region's veterans to be dedicated after six-year campaign
By Kim Hackett
Published Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last updated Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 7:14 a.m.
SARASOTA COUNTY — Sarasota County is poised to become a resting ground for thousands of military veterans after Sunday's groundbreaking and dedication of the 295-acre Sarasota VA National Cemetery.
The ceremony at the new site on State Road 72, east of Interstate 75, is expected to draw 1,000 people, including local politicians such as U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan and former U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris. The Navy Band from Jacksonville will play and the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office will have a helicopter flyover.
"It's the culmination of a dream," said , president of the Sarasota County Veterans Commission, who started the campaign for the cemetery six years ago and got Harris to push it through Congress. "We need it now to properly recognize and bury Korean and World War veterans who are a vast aging group."
The Sarasota County cemetery will be Florida's sixth national cemetery. Its addition is part of the nation's biggest expansion of cemeteries for veterans since the Civil War.
More than 400,000 veterans live within 75 miles of Sarasota. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has estimated the cemetery will accommodate more than 10 burials a day, and up to 50 a day, once it opens.
go here for more
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080531/NEWS/805310313/1661
Burial site for region's veterans to be dedicated after six-year campaign
By Kim Hackett
Published Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last updated Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 7:14 a.m.
SARASOTA COUNTY — Sarasota County is poised to become a resting ground for thousands of military veterans after Sunday's groundbreaking and dedication of the 295-acre Sarasota VA National Cemetery.
The ceremony at the new site on State Road 72, east of Interstate 75, is expected to draw 1,000 people, including local politicians such as U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan and former U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris. The Navy Band from Jacksonville will play and the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office will have a helicopter flyover.
"It's the culmination of a dream," said , president of the Sarasota County Veterans Commission, who started the campaign for the cemetery six years ago and got Harris to push it through Congress. "We need it now to properly recognize and bury Korean and World War veterans who are a vast aging group."
The Sarasota County cemetery will be Florida's sixth national cemetery. Its addition is part of the nation's biggest expansion of cemeteries for veterans since the Civil War.
More than 400,000 veterans live within 75 miles of Sarasota. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has estimated the cemetery will accommodate more than 10 burials a day, and up to 50 a day, once it opens.
go here for more
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080531/NEWS/805310313/1661
Agent Orange Quilt of Tears Memorial Day Display
I hope everyone has had a nice weekend and that Memorial Day has brought all of you a heart full of pride & love as you reflect upon the ones we honor & remember today. God bless all our heroes…past, present & future…every one!
Henry & I are still trying to catch up after our journey. We spent two days displaying The Quilt Of Tears on the East Knoll just a few hundred yards from The Wall. What an incredible two days! The weather was absolutely beautiful all weekend.
The first picture below of The Quilts was printed in the Monday edition of the Washington Times.
The photographer from The Times spent a really long time hanging out looking at The Quilts, reading the blocks, taking pictures & just basically taking in the effect of it all...I think she was very intrigued by it all. Before she left she told me that one of the pictures might be used in the paper & it was.
I really like the picture that was chosen & I think that it speaks for itself. I think by using the picture she took through the leaves of the near by trees sort of sends a unique message about herbicides... don't you?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/may/26/thunder-rode-again/
When the page is loaded go over on the right hand side where the picture of the Vet with the flag is... just below the picture you will see a button that says "enlarge"... please click on it & scroll thru the 4 pictures...Picture # 4 is of The Quilts & was printed in the Monday edition of the Washington Times.
As people leave The Wall they are automatically attracted to the blazon orange.... The Quilt Of Tears just beyond,that are displayed adjacently on the East Knoll.
On Saturday I don’t remember a time all day that there weren’t people standing shoulder to shoulder at the foot of each row of Quilts reading & looking at everyone single block.
Sunday was pretty much the same with the exception of a short slow down when the Rolling Thunder Ride started.
Home Of The Agent Orange"Quilt Of Tears" A Traveling Tribute, Honor & Memorial to VeteransTo Visit Our Site! Click Here!Agent Orange Victims & Widows Support Network, Inc.
Army Continues Fight Against Soldier Suicides
Army Continues Fight Against Soldier Suicides
May 30, 2008
BY Elizabeth M. Lorge
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 30, 2008) - Despite a new report showing that 2007 had the Army's highest suicide rate since record-keeping began in 1980, Army officials told Pentagon reporters Thursday that new prevention and mental-health efforts are helping Soldiers.
There were 115 suicides last year in the active Army, with two cases still pending, according to the 2007 Army Suicide Event Report, compiled by Army medical officials and force-protection reports. This was up from 102 suicides in 2006. To date, the Army has 38 confirmed suicides for 2008, with 12 pending.
The 2007 numbers include 93 active-duty Soldiers and 22 mobilized reserve-component Soldiers. When not mobilized, the National Guard and Army Reserve track suicide numbers differently, and lost an additional 53 Soldiers.
There were also 935 active-duty suicide attempts, which Col. Elspeth C. Richie, psychiatry consultant to the Army's surgeon general, said includes any self-inflicted injury that leads to hospitalization or evacuation. This number is less than half of the approximately 2,100 attempts reported in 2006.
Richie and Brig. Gen. Rhonda Cornum, assistant surgeon general for force protection, didn't like the upward trend of the past few years, and said the Army is making huge changes in its culture and the way it perceives mental healthcare to help Soldiers.
"Army leadership is committed to taking care of every Soldier regardless of whether they are ill, injured or have a psychological diagnosis," said Cornum. "But our responsibility really doesn't start and stop there. Just as we don't wait for Soldiers to get malaria when they deploy them, we employ the full range of prevention, mitigation and treatment strategies...We do all the things we can to prevent and reduce risk and then, if they still get the disease, we apply scientifically-tested and specific treatments to cure it, with the expectation of full recovery and return to the force.
"We need to approach the maintenance of good mental health...in the same way, by preventive education and by applying risk-mitigation strategies in order to increase resilience and hardiness in our Soldiers before they are exposed to those environments associated with a high risk for mental health issues," she said.
The majority of the Soldiers who committed suicide, Richie said, had not sought psychological intervention, so it's vital that Soldiers know it's okay to ask for help.
Part of that education is Battlemind training, which teaches Soldiers and their Families about readjustment issues and mental-health problems they could face after a deployment, danger signs and how to get help. There are also two videos to help children deal with deployment available on www.behavioralhealth.army.mil.
According to Richie, Battlemind has been particularly successful in reducing anxiety and depression. She said the fifth-annual mental health advisory team, which deployed to Iraq in the Fall, found that 12 percent of Soldiers who said they had received the training reported post-traumatic stress symptoms, versus 20 percent who had not received the training. She added that the rate of stigma attached to getting help went down on four of five markers.
The Department of Defense recently revised a question regarding mental health on national-security questionnaires, excluding noncourt-ordered, nonviolence-related marital, family and grief counseling, as well as counseling for adjustments from combat. This, Cornum said, should help alleviate concerns many Soldiers have about their security clearances or ability to work in sensitive jobs.
The Army is also working on training primary-care providers to recognize and diagnose combat-stress injuries and other mental-health problems, and has hired 180 additional behavioral-health providers in the United States, although Richie acknowledges this is not enough and the Army has requested more.
Since July 2007, more than 900,000 Soldiers have been trained under a chain-teaching program designed to educate them about post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, and the Army has formed a General Officer Steering Committee to target root causes that may lead to suicide and change the behavior of Soldiers and leaders to recognize and intervene when they see someone with risk factors.
"One of the things that I believe is happening, looking at these reports, is that the Army is very, very busy and perhaps we haven't taken care of each other as much as we'd like to. So if somebody's stressed next to you and you're stressed yourself, you might not have the energy to reach out to them...How can we take care of each other better?" Richie said.
"A good first sergeant is one of the best screeners there is," she continued, and stressed that staying connected is vital. Forty-three percent of the Soldier suicides last year took place after a deployment, and Richie said many of these took place when Soldiers changed units and lost connectivity.
Failed relationships, she said, are the biggest risk factors for suicide, and while deployments can and do contribute to relationship problems, she cautioned against blaming higher suicide numbers on deployments alone. Twenty-six percent of the Soldiers who committed suicide had never deployed. The Army's active-duty rate of 16.8 per 100,000 is also lower than the national average of 19.5, among similar age and gender demographics.
For more information, visit www.behavioralhealth.army.mil
or www.battlemind.org.
http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/05/30/9523-army-continues-fight-against-soldier-suicides/
If it worked the suicides would not have gone up since they started this. Why can't they understand this?
May 30, 2008
BY Elizabeth M. Lorge
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 30, 2008) - Despite a new report showing that 2007 had the Army's highest suicide rate since record-keeping began in 1980, Army officials told Pentagon reporters Thursday that new prevention and mental-health efforts are helping Soldiers.
There were 115 suicides last year in the active Army, with two cases still pending, according to the 2007 Army Suicide Event Report, compiled by Army medical officials and force-protection reports. This was up from 102 suicides in 2006. To date, the Army has 38 confirmed suicides for 2008, with 12 pending.
The 2007 numbers include 93 active-duty Soldiers and 22 mobilized reserve-component Soldiers. When not mobilized, the National Guard and Army Reserve track suicide numbers differently, and lost an additional 53 Soldiers.
There were also 935 active-duty suicide attempts, which Col. Elspeth C. Richie, psychiatry consultant to the Army's surgeon general, said includes any self-inflicted injury that leads to hospitalization or evacuation. This number is less than half of the approximately 2,100 attempts reported in 2006.
Richie and Brig. Gen. Rhonda Cornum, assistant surgeon general for force protection, didn't like the upward trend of the past few years, and said the Army is making huge changes in its culture and the way it perceives mental healthcare to help Soldiers.
"Army leadership is committed to taking care of every Soldier regardless of whether they are ill, injured or have a psychological diagnosis," said Cornum. "But our responsibility really doesn't start and stop there. Just as we don't wait for Soldiers to get malaria when they deploy them, we employ the full range of prevention, mitigation and treatment strategies...We do all the things we can to prevent and reduce risk and then, if they still get the disease, we apply scientifically-tested and specific treatments to cure it, with the expectation of full recovery and return to the force.
"We need to approach the maintenance of good mental health...in the same way, by preventive education and by applying risk-mitigation strategies in order to increase resilience and hardiness in our Soldiers before they are exposed to those environments associated with a high risk for mental health issues," she said.
The majority of the Soldiers who committed suicide, Richie said, had not sought psychological intervention, so it's vital that Soldiers know it's okay to ask for help.
Part of that education is Battlemind training, which teaches Soldiers and their Families about readjustment issues and mental-health problems they could face after a deployment, danger signs and how to get help. There are also two videos to help children deal with deployment available on www.behavioralhealth.army.mil.
According to Richie, Battlemind has been particularly successful in reducing anxiety and depression. She said the fifth-annual mental health advisory team, which deployed to Iraq in the Fall, found that 12 percent of Soldiers who said they had received the training reported post-traumatic stress symptoms, versus 20 percent who had not received the training. She added that the rate of stigma attached to getting help went down on four of five markers.
The Department of Defense recently revised a question regarding mental health on national-security questionnaires, excluding noncourt-ordered, nonviolence-related marital, family and grief counseling, as well as counseling for adjustments from combat. This, Cornum said, should help alleviate concerns many Soldiers have about their security clearances or ability to work in sensitive jobs.
The Army is also working on training primary-care providers to recognize and diagnose combat-stress injuries and other mental-health problems, and has hired 180 additional behavioral-health providers in the United States, although Richie acknowledges this is not enough and the Army has requested more.
Since July 2007, more than 900,000 Soldiers have been trained under a chain-teaching program designed to educate them about post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, and the Army has formed a General Officer Steering Committee to target root causes that may lead to suicide and change the behavior of Soldiers and leaders to recognize and intervene when they see someone with risk factors.
"One of the things that I believe is happening, looking at these reports, is that the Army is very, very busy and perhaps we haven't taken care of each other as much as we'd like to. So if somebody's stressed next to you and you're stressed yourself, you might not have the energy to reach out to them...How can we take care of each other better?" Richie said.
"A good first sergeant is one of the best screeners there is," she continued, and stressed that staying connected is vital. Forty-three percent of the Soldier suicides last year took place after a deployment, and Richie said many of these took place when Soldiers changed units and lost connectivity.
Failed relationships, she said, are the biggest risk factors for suicide, and while deployments can and do contribute to relationship problems, she cautioned against blaming higher suicide numbers on deployments alone. Twenty-six percent of the Soldiers who committed suicide had never deployed. The Army's active-duty rate of 16.8 per 100,000 is also lower than the national average of 19.5, among similar age and gender demographics.
For more information, visit www.behavioralhealth.army.mil
or www.battlemind.org.
http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/05/30/9523-army-continues-fight-against-soldier-suicides/
If it worked the suicides would not have gone up since they started this. Why can't they understand this?
Less than 20 percent of VA facilities use Chaplains
In addition, less than 20 percent of facilities reported utilizing the Chaplain service for liaison and outreach to faith-based organizations in the community (e.g., inviting faith-based organizations in the area to a community meeting at a VA Medical Center (VAMC) to explain VHA services available, having a VA Chaplain accompany the OIF/OEF coordinator to post-deployment events in the community). Although facilities would need to tailor strategies to consider local demographics and resources, a system-wide effort at community based outreach appears prudent.
Less than 20% use Chaplains! As posted several times on this blog, the VA needs to change the rules of who they will allow to be Chaplains when you consider how few Chaplains they use. They need to be all over the country, especially in rural areas where help is hard to find. They need to be in every community doing the outreach work that has to be done to catch up to the need. One day we may actually get ahead of this but right now, we need to do everything humanly possible on an emergency basis just to catch up to the need. It is ridiculous that the tool of Chaplains is there, trained and ready to go but while the International Fellowship of Chaplains is good enough for the police, fire fighters and emergency responders, they are not good enough to take care of the veterans that are not being taken care of right now, today!
Everything that Dr. Michael Shepherd recommended is exactly what I've been trying to do since I started doing all of this. It is exactly what frustrates me the most. We know what needs to be done but they are not doing it. How many lives, marriages, families, careers and futures could have been spared needless suffering if they implemented all of this years ago when we finally understood what needed to be done?
This is the whole testimony
Testimony By Michael Shepherd M.D.
Physician, Office of Healthcare Inspections
Office of the Inspector General
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on suicide prevention and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) report, Implementing the VHA’s Mental Health Strategic Plan Initiatives for Suicide Prevention. My statement today is based on that report as well as individual cases that the OIG has reviewed and reported on involving veteran suicides and accompanying mental health issues. In the process of these inspections, clinicians in our office have had the opportunity to meet with and listen to the concerns of surviving family members, and to witness the devastating impact that veteran mental health issues and suicide have had on their lives.
The May 2007 OIG report reviewed initiatives from the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) mental health strategic plan pertaining to suicide prevention and assessed the extent to which these initiatives had been implemented. In prior testimony, we have stressed the importance of the need for VA to continue moving forward toward full implementation of suicide prevention initiatives from the mental health strategic plan. In terms of other changes VA could make, we would offer the following observations:
Community Based Outreach – In our report, we noted that while several facilities had implemented innovative community based suicide prevention outreach programs, (e.g., facility presentations to New York City Police Department officers who are Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) veterans, participation by mental health staff in local Spanish radio and television shows) the majority of facilities did not report community based linkages and outreach aimed at suicide prevention. In addition, less than 20 percent of facilities reported utilizing the Chaplain service for liaison and outreach to faith-based organizations in the community (e.g., inviting faith-based organizations in the area to a community meeting at a VA Medical Center (VAMC) to explain VHA services available, having a VA Chaplain accompany the OIF/OEF coordinator to post-deployment events in the community). Although facilities would need to tailor strategies to consider local demographics and resources, a system-wide effort at community based outreach appears prudent.
Timeliness from Referral to Mental Health Evaluation – In our report we noted that while most facilities self-reported that three-fourths or more of those patients with a moderate level of depression referred by primary care providers are seen within 2 weeks of referral, approximately 5 percent reported a significant 4-8 week wait. Because these patients are at risk for progression of symptom severity and possible development of suicidal ideation, Veterans Integrated Service Network leadership should work with facility directors to ensure that once referred, patients with a moderate level of depression and those recently discharged following hospitalization are seen in a timely manner at all VAMCs and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).
Co-Occurring Combat Stress Related Illness and Substance Use – Substance use may contribute to the severity of a concurrent or underlying mental health condition such as major depression. The presence of alcohol may cause or exacerbate impulsivity and acute alcohol use is associated with completed suicide. In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Longitudinal Assessment of Mental Health Problems Among Active and Reserve Component Soldiers Returning from the Iraq War, Milliken et al., found that soldiers frequently reported alcohol concerns on the Post Deployment Health Assessment and Reassessments “yet very few were referred to alcohol treatment.”
Regardless of why a patient begins to abuse alcohol, with frequent and/or excessive use, physiologic and psychologic drives develop until alcohol misuse ultimately takes on a life of its own that is independent of patient history and circumstance. Functional ability and quality of life become dually impacted by both underlying anxiety and depressive symptoms and co-morbid substance use issues. For patients with concurrent conditions, an effective treatment paradigm may require addressing the primacy of not only anxiety/depressive conditions but also of co-morbid substance use disorders. VA should consider augmenting services that address substance use disorders co-morbid with combat stress related illness for inclusion in a comprehensive program aimed at suicide prevention.
Enhanced Access to Mental Health Care – Treatments for mental health problems may take time to show effect. For example, antidepressant medication, when indicated, may take several weeks to several months to effect symptom reduction or remission. For some patients, treatment may necessitate multiple visits that occur consistently over time and may entail multiple modalities including individual and/or group evidence based psychotherapy, medication management, and/or readjustment counseling. Therefore, efforts that enhance patient access to appropriate treatment may help facilitate both patient engagement and the potential for treatment benefit.
For example, ongoing enhancements in the availability of mental health services at CBOCs may help mitigate vocational and logistical challenges facing some veterans residing in more rural areas who otherwise may have to travel longer distances to appointments at the parent VAMC.
In certain locations, the VA may want to consider expanding care during off-tour hours to increase the ability for some transitioning OIF/OEF veterans to access mental health treatment while minimizing interference with occupational, and/or educational obligations. This would be consistent with the recovery model for mental health treatment which emphasizes not only symptom reduction but also promotion and return to functional status.
Facilitating Early Family Involvement – Mental health symptoms can have a significant and disruptive impact on family and domestic relationships. Relational discord has been cited as one factor associated with suicide in active duty military and returning veterans. In addition, some studies indicate that family involvement in a patient’s treatment may enhance the ability for some patients to maintain treatment adherence. VA should consider efforts to bolster early family participation in patient treatment.
Coordination between VHA and Non-VHA Providers – When patients receive mental health treatment from both VHA and non-VHA providers, seamless communication becomes an increasingly complex challenge. This fragmentation of care is particularly worrisome in periods of patient destabilization or following discharge from a hospital or residential mental health program. VA’s Office of Mental Health Services should consider development of innovative methods or procedures to facilitate flow of information for patients receiving simultaneous treatment from VA and non-VA providers while adhering to relevant privacy statutes. In addition, VA’s Readjustment Counseling Service and VA’s Office of Patient Care Services should pursue further efforts to heighten communication and record sharing for patients receiving both counseling at Vet Centers and treatment at VAMCs and/or affiliated CBOCs.
Mr. Chairman, thank you again for this opportunity to testify. I would be pleased to answer any questions that you or other Members of the Committee may have.
http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/Testimony.
aspx?TID=18680&Newsid=237&Name=%20Michael%20%20Shepherd%20M.D.
Here are some more links to the hearing
Opening Statements
Hon. Bob Filner Chairman, and a Representative in Congress from the State of California
Hon. Steve Buyer, Ranking Repubican Member, and a Representative in Congress from the State of Indiana
Hon. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, a Representative in Congress from the State of South Dakota
Hon. Harry E. Mitchell, a Representative in Congress from the State of Arizona
Hon. Shelley Berkeley, a Representative in Congress from the State of Nevada
Hon. Jeff Miller, a Representative in Congress from the State of Florida
Hon. Ginny Brown-Waite, a Representative in Congress from the State of Florida
Hon. Timothy J. Walz, a Representative in Congress from the State of Minnesota
Hon. James P. Moran, a Representative in Congress from the State of Virginia
Witness Testimonies
Panel 1
The Honorable James B Peake M.D., The Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Accompanied By:
Gerald Cross, Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Health, Veterans Health Administration
Ira Katz M.D., Deputy Chief Patient Care Services Officer for Mental Health, Veterans Health Administration
Panel 2
Stephen L Rathbun Ph.D., Interim Head & Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of Georgia
M. David Rudd Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University
Ronald Wm. Maris Ph.D., Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of South Carolina
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