Thursday, April 2, 2009

Children of Combat Veterans getting help

While there are many things parents have a hard time talking to their children about, avoiding talking about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should not be one of them.

I had the opportunity for all the knowledge I needed when our daughter was an infant. She was raised knowing "why Daddy was ......" and this prevented her from blaming herself for the way he acted. This did not prevent hurt feelings but it did minimize the damage. It did not prevent conflict but kept it from escalating. She was able to adapt to the fact Daddy didn't go with us most of the time but she was able to enjoy his company when he did come.

There are adults walking around right now, children of Vietnam veterans feeling as if their fathers did not love them, that it was their own fault for the stained relationships and they carry the wound of war within them with secondary PTSD. This comes when being exposed to the traumatic situations veterans often deliver with untreated PTSD.

Drop a glass and Dad freaked out.
Sneak up on Dad to hug him or cover his eyes, the way most kids love to do, Dad freaks out.
When Mom was out of the house and you got hurt playing the yard, you needed him to clean up your wound and,,,you guessed it, Dad freaked out.
Dad had a habit of waking you up in the middle of the night because you could hear him screaming not knowing he was having a horrific nightmare.
Dad got drunk a lot, or got high, embarrassing you in front of your friends and your parents screamed at each other most of the time.

This they carried with them the rest of their lives. It never seemed to matter what they did because nothing was ever good enough.

for more go here
Nam Guardian Angel PTSD Shield

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

William "Wild Bill" Wiley, homeless veteran killed by BMW

Homeless man ID'd as victim in fatal accident
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen/Times-Herald staff writer
Posted: 03/31/2009 02:02:43 AM PDT


William "Wild Bill" Wiley, recently featured in the Times-Herald as a spokesman for local homeless people, was identified officially Monday as the pedestrian victim of an early morning Vallejo car crash.

Wiley was struck and killed by a BMW driven by a woman traveling south on Sonoma Boulevard at about 1:15 a.m. March 16, Solano County Deputy Coroner Adrian Garcia said.


"He was walking crossing Sonoma just north of Yolano, walking west, and was struck and killed by a passing motorist," Garcia said. "There was fairly poor lighting there, and the woman stopped after realizing she'd

hit something. It was deemed a freak accident."


Wiley had been featured in two recent newspaper articles about an illegal encampment in the White Slough area -- one on the encampment's environmental impact and one about the Vallejo Police Department's efforts to evict the 50 or so homeless people from the area.
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http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_12035784?source=most_viewed

Pfc. David Sharrett's family lied to about death in Iraq

Army Lied About How My Son Died in Iraq: Friendly-fire Victim Was 'Misidentified' as Enemy Gunman
Posted April 1, 2009
BY James Gordon Meek
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - Army brass in Iraq whitewashed an incident of a soldier killed by his own lieutenant by blaming the dead hero, stonewalling his family and promoting his killer, the Daily News has learned.


The friendly-fire victim, Pfc. David Sharrett, 27, of Oakton, Va., was "misidentified" by 1stLt. Timothy Hanson as an enemy gunman during a botched night raid Jan. 16, 2008, against an Al Qaeda in Iraq stronghold north of Baghdad, the Army belatedly acknowledged.

Sharrett bled to death as his buddies searched frantically for him for 25 minutes after the firefight ended.

For four months after the Army knew the truth, it still insisted to Sharrett's father that he was killed by enemy fire - and gave only atemporary wrist slap to Hanson under pressure from the families of Sharrett and two other G.I.s killed in the clash.

After The News uncovered new video evidence and raised questions, a 101st Airborne Division general said the probe into Sharrett's death may reopen.

"The final decisions and dispositions have yet to be made," Brig. Gen. Steve Townsend said.

Sharrett's family claims top officers in the legendary "Screaming Eagles" division initially - and angrily - denied friendly fire was involved, claiming for months that insurgents killed Sharrett when his eight-man team tried to capture six suspects in a rural thicket.
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Army Lied About How My Son Died in Iraq

Bond – Boxer – Lieberman Bill will Improve Treatment of Troops, Military Families

When President Obama was a Senator and running for the office, he made a promise to the family of Spc. Chris Dana and the Montana National Guard. He said if he ended up elected, he would take their PTSD program nationally. It looks like this is the start of honoring that promise. Read about Chris Dana below.

United States Senate

WASHINGTON, DC



For Immediate Release Shana Marchio - Bond: (202) 224-0309

WEDNESDAY, April 1, 2009 David Frey - Boxer: (202)224- 8120

Erika Masonhall - Lieberman: (202) 224-4041



Bond – Boxer – Lieberman Bill will Improve Treatment of Troops, Military Families





WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senators Kit Bond (R-MO), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) along with a bipartisan coalition of Senators, introduced the Honoring Our Nation’s Obligations to Returning Warriors Act (HONOR) to improve treatment for our service members and veterans suffering with invisible injuries like PTSD and TBI and increase care for military families. Additional original co-sponsors of the bill include Sam Brownback (R-KS), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Arlen Specter (R-PA).



Senator Bond said, “The government pledged to provide care for our troops and veterans who served America honorably in combat and their families but to date the Pentagon’s response to the suffering of our troops returning home with ‘invisible injuries’ has been deeply disappointing. We can’t continue to wait for the Pentagon to do the right thing, Congress must act now and this bipartisan bill is a critical first step.”



Senator Boxer said, “This bipartisan bill will help ensure the best possible care for those brave individuals who incurred traumatic brain and mental injuries while serving their country. We also help provide for the loved ones of those lost to suicide. I look forward to working with Senator Bond, Senator Lieberman and my other colleagues to see this bill become law.”



Senator Lieberman said, "We have no greater obligation than to care for our wounded service members. Our troops put their lives on the line for our nation – we must fulfill our duty to provide them with the support they need to recover from mental health problems and resume normal lives. If we provide the right care at the right time, we will not only be protecting them, but making our military stronger and more effective.”


As the Senate’s leading advocates for improving the mental health care our troops receive, Bond, Boxer, and Lieberman reintroduced the HONOR Act to address the immediate needs of those suffering with invisible injuries and to make a long-term fix to the military’s mental health care system. The Senators are hopeful for swift passage and Administration support since President Obama was one of the HONOR Act’s strongest supporters in the Senate last year.



According to the RAND Institute an estimated 620,000 returning service members suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or both. Despite this figure, which represents about 30 percent of those who have served in combat, the Pentagon’s response to the suffering of these troops and their families has been inadequate. The Senators stressed that the current military mental health system is underfunded, understaffed, and extremely difficult to navigate. Compounding this problem, there is a silent stigma on these “invisible injuries” that prevents many service members from seeking mental health treatment.

Provisions in the Bond-Boxer-Lieberman bill will:



Give active duty service members access to Vet Centers – the community-based counseling centers veterans use for mental health care services;


Extend survivor benefits to families of military personnel who commit suicide and have service-related mental health conditions, including PTSD and TBI;


Establish a scholarship for service members who have served in a combat zone to seek professional degrees in behavioral sciences to provide assistance to active and former service members afflicted with psychological mental health conditions connected with traumatic events during combat;


Create a program to employ and train combat veterans as psychiatric technicians and nurses to provide counseling for active duty service members in immediate need of treatment;


Establish an annual joint review and report on the effectiveness of re-integration programs from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense.


The HONOR Act also has support from our veterans and military groups. Wayne Frost, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Military Spouses of America said the HONOR Act is “one of the necessary steps that our nation must take in order to provide for the adequate and deserved care of our active duty military personnel and veterans who have become post traumatic stress, or traumatic brain injury war casualties.”



Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said “Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is pleased to offer our support for the ‘HONOR Act’. This legislation provides incentives for retiring or separating military personnel and combat veterans to pursue an advanced degree in the behavioral health field, alleviating the shortage of mental health specialists serving our active service members and veterans.”

The Importance of the HONOR Act: Chris Dana’s Story
At 23 years old, Chris Dana returned home with the 163rd Infantry Battalion, Montana National Guard. With an Iraq combat deployment and a world of experiences behind him, Dana was ready to transition from warrior to civilian. In November 2005, he came home to the peaceful town of Helena, Montana to rejoin his family, his friends, and his old job.
Like many before him, Dana honorably served his country and returned full of pride. Nevertheless, he began to struggle with the world around him, grappling with the inescapable memories of war. Chris'
loved ones began to notice his distant behavior, a striking departure from his usual outgoing demeanor. Although Chris was never physically injured in combat and his uniform was adorned with multiple stacks of ribbons, his psychological injuries festered under the surface. One of his brothers, Matt Kuntz, said Chris seemed to be melting from the inside. His father noticed that his eyes had lost their shine, reflecting the slow withdrawal from the joys of living.
Too many of our returning warriors come home with the same obstacles and face large uphill battles. These invisible injuries manifest themselves from numerous traumatic events which are often exacerbated by the lack of effective treatment at home. Chris was no different. Struggling with Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder (PTSD), he distanced himself from those closest to him, and his unit failed to reach out to him.
Today, many returning war fighters are unfamiliar with the mental and physical occupational hazards of war. In effect, military leaders struggle to grasp the toll that combat takes on the human body, and fail to reach out to their subordinates and those around them. All too often there exists an environment plagued by a stigma that punishes the returning service member for seeking help and rewarding those who "suck it up."
As a result, our Armed Forces continue to lose our most precious assets to suicide from PTSD and other psychological disorders. The spike in suicides is alarming, and the month of January 2009 solidified our worst fears. That month, suicide rates eclipsed combat fatalities from both Iraq and Afghanistan. The services have responded with audacious plans and resolute intensity to find a way to fix the suicide epidemic. A significant contributor to the inflated suicide rate is the inadequacy of mental health treatment for invisible injuries among service members, all too often compounded by a stigma that discourages seeking help. For example, in many units seeking mental health treatment is silently portrayed as a sign of weakness. One common phrase is that "our men and women knew what they were signing up for." Many cases of PTSD are never reported because service members are asphyxiated by the formidable impression of losing their job or more importantly, losing the respect of their colleagues.
Soon, Chris Dana drew further away from his family. He began screening his calls, he quit his job, and he stopped showing up at drill with the National Guard. Members of Chris' family felt that his unit failed to offer him an acceptable level of care, which ultimately pushed him further away. In the end, he was unable to be saved. Chris lost his battle to PTSD when he took his own life.
Chris' was buried with honors at a VA cemetery in his home state of Montana. The ceremony was filled with state officials, Montana National Guardsmen, and throngs of family. The National Guard honored Chris Dana's service by extending survivor benefits to his family. As a result, his brother was able to attend college and carry on the legacy his brother left behind.
Under current law, survivor benefits are not extended to former service members who commit suicide. The Honor Act introduced by Senators Bond, Boxer, Lieberman, Brownback, Grassley, McCaskill, Murkowski, Schumer, and Specter will extend survivor benefits to EVERY former service member who commits suicide and has a medical history of PTSD connected to combat. No military family should be left behind with nothing to honor and remember the legacy of their fallen loved one.

Orlando teen will walk to D.C. to help homeless children

Orlando teen will walk to D.C. to help homeless children
When 14-year-old David Ashby writes his how-I-spent-my-summer-vacation essay next fall, he's hoping that everyone from Oprah Winfrey to the nation's housing secretary will take note.

Two more non-combat deaths in Iraq

04/01/09 MNF: MND-N Soldier dies from non-combat related incident
A Multi-National Division - North Soldier died in a non-combat related incident in Salah ad Din province, March 31. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense.

03/31/09 MNF: MNF-W Marine dies in non-combat related incident
A Multi National Force – West Marine died as the result of a non-combat related incident here March 31. The Marine’s name is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification and release by the Department of Defense.
http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

Study links Gulf War exposures, brain changes

Study links Gulf War exposures, brain changes

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 1, 2009 12:06:55 EDT

A new study of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suggests that exposure to neurotoxins such as anti-nerve agent pills, insect repellent and Sarin caused neurological changes to the brain.

However, brain imaging shows those changes appear to differ depending on what and how much each person was exposed to. The changes also correspond to different sets of symptoms.

Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Southern Methodist University, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dallas performed digital brain scans on 21 chronically ill Gulf War veterans from the same Naval Reserve construction battalion, all of whom had symptoms of “Gulf War syndrome.”

According to a study published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging Journal, previous studies defined three categories of symptoms associated with Gulf War veterans:

• Complex 1: mild cognitive problems, such as distractibility, forgetfulness, feeling depressed, and excessive daytime sleepiness.

• Complex 2: a more debilitating state with confusion and a gross lack of muscle coordination.

• Complex 3: continuous joint and muscle aching.
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Study links Gulf War exposures, brain changes

The Memory War and PTSD

The Memory War
Posted by: Matthew Newton on March 30, 2009 at 8:00 am

We might be on our way out of Iraq but things are just starting to pick up in Afghanistan. With record-high number of veteran suicides and rising rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and clinical depression in every branch of the armed forces, is the nation headed for a mental-healthcare crisis?

On the eve of her discharge from the U.S. Navy, Annette Yover stood beneath a black sky watching fireworks explode in blooms of green and purple, yellow and red. It was July 4th, 2005, and the Navy was holding its annual Independence Day celebration at Carney Park, an American military recreation center in Naples, Italy. Yover had been stationed there for the last 18 months. A mortician at the nearby U.S. Naval Hospital, she was looking forward to a night of celebration with her friend. They spread out a blanket among crowds of other soldiers, and sat down to enjoy the show.

But Yover soon noticed something was wrong. As columns of fireworks spiraled into the air, each explosion more amplified than the last, her heart rate quickened and the blood drained from her face. The repetitive booms reminded her of the mortar fire she heard while forward-deployed in Kuwait, collecting human remains from the battlefront in Iraq. The smell of sulfur triggered memories of long hours spent in the Naval mortuary, mending wounds on the bodies of dead soldiers. Her chest muscles tightened, and tears welled up in her eyes. At first her crying was subdued, escaping from her mouth in short bursts. But it quickly gave way to heaving sobs, the type that take hold of the body and forcefully wring it out.

“I noticed other people looking at me,” Yover says now. “But I was the only one reacting. It was overwhelming, that sense of panic, that feeling of, ‘I need to get out of here.’”
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The Memory War

Bill would reimburse reservists for travel

Bill would reimburse reservists for travel

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Apr 1, 2009 8:27:14 EDT

Sen. Ben Nelson has introduced legislation allowing new travel reimbursements for National Guard and Reserve members.

Nelson, D-Neb., says it was inspired by 48 Nebraska National Guard soldiers who almost didn’t make it home for Christmas 2007 because of travel restrictions.
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Bill would reimburse reservists for travel

Phones, computer searched in 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc slaying investigation

Phones, computer searched in Wimunc slaying investigation


By Nancy McCleary
Staff writer

Investigators want to know what is on two cell phones, a computer and storage device and three cameras that belonged to Holley Wimunc, an Army nurse who was killed last summer.

Detective Jeff Locklear filed an affidavit March 20 asking for a warrant allowing him to search the items that remain in the custody of the Fayetteville Police Department, court documents say.

The warrant was granted, but it did not say what, if anything, investigators found.

Wimunc, 24, a second lieutenant, was a medical surgical nurse at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg. Police have said she was killed in her apartment on Wayah Creek Circle.

Her husband, Marine Cpl. John Patrick Wimunc, 23, who was stationed at Camp Lejeune, is charged with first-degree murder in her death.

The couple was in the process of divorcing.
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http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=322588
Found on Army Times