LAPD officer killed by bomb in Afghanistan

LAPD officer killed by bomb in Afghanistan

Associated Press
10/20/10 10:05 AM EDT
LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles police officer serving in Afghanistan has been killed by a roadside bomb.

Marine Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Cullins died Monday.

The 28-year-old reservist was an explosive ordinance disposal officer.

Read more at the Washington Examiner:
LAPD officer killed by bomb in Afghanistan

Drop FOX

I feel for my friends who still watch FOX. They are bright people and they care about this country as much as I do but they remain uninformed because they watch FOX. Now it looks as if Beck is behind employees being a target by a deluded thug who credits Beck with inspiring him.

Still the biggest issue I have with FOX is that they show no care for the troops or our veterans. If they cared at all, they would take the lead and report on what has been happening since they were deployed into Afghanistan and Iraq. They would take the lead on finding programs and support for PTSD and TBI research, suicide prevention and holding the military leadership accountable for the rise in suicides and attempted suicides. There is so much they can do because of the viewers they have but they refuse to. I refuse to watch FOX.


From Media Matters

What has Glenn Beck's response been to the revelation that his false and paranoid attacks on the Tides Foundation inspired viewer Byron Williams to target Tides employees for death?

Doubling down.

Beck dedicated his Friday night Fox News show to yet another extended attack on the Tides Foundation, accusing the progressive institution of subverting churches, turning children against their parents and spreading "anti-human" theories.

A week ago we told you the story of Williams, who was incited by the conspiracy theories of right-wing media figures to try and assassinate employees of the progressive Tides Foundation and the ACLU. The same lies and smears that Williams said "blew my mind" go on every day at Fox.

Instead of recognizing the danger and taking appropriate action, Fox News is allowing and encouraging Beck's violent rhetoric, abdicating the responsibility the public expects of a powerful broadcaster. That is why targeting Glenn Beck's advertisers is no longer enough -- we need to hold the entire network accountable.
read more here
Tell major advertisers it's time to drop Fox.

James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital "conditions are horrible" says wounded soldier's stepfather

Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now
Surgery keeps Kent in Tampa, out of D.C.
BY DENES HUSTY III • DHUSTY@NEWS-PRESS.COM • OCTOBER 20, 2010


A wounded Cape Coral soldier can’t be transferred immediately from a Tampa veterans’ hospital, where his family describes conditions as “deplorable” because he had surgery there Tuesday.

The procedure to remove Army Pfc. Corey Kent’s infected gallbladder was successful, said his stepfather, Dan Ashby.

Kent asked to be transferred from Walter Reed Medical Center near Washington three weeks ago to be nearer his family, Ashby said.

Now Kent, 22, “cannot wait to get out of there. He’s regressed. The conditions are horrible. The place is dirty” and he wants to go back to Walter Reed, said Ashby, 40.

However, he said Kent can’t be transferred until at least late next week because of his recuperation and the arranging of a military flight, Ashby said.
read more here
Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now

54 Regional Veterans Day Observances

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Designates

54 Regional Veterans Day Observances

WASHINGTON - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced
today the designation of 54 regional Veterans Day observances. These
sites are recognized as model events for the observance of Veterans Day
on November 11.

"On Veterans Day we celebrate the lives and legacy of America's 23
million living Veterans," said Shinseki. "From the National Veterans
Day observance to regional celebrations nationwide, I encourage all
Americans to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank our Veterans
for their service."

Shinseki is Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee, which is
comprised of representatives from 41 organizations dedicated to serving
and supporting America's Veterans. Founded in 1954, the committee's
mission is to promote the observance of Veterans Day nationwide. Each
year, the committee recognizes regional observances - including parades,
ceremonies and concerts - that are dedicated to celebrating and honoring
America's Veterans of all eras.

The 2010 Veterans Day Regional Sites are:
Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery, Ala.;
Phoenix, Ariz.;
Palm Springs and Sacramento, Calif.;
Loveland, Colo.;
Hartford, Conn.;
New Castle, Del.;
Brevard Community College-Coco Campus, and Weirsdale, Fla.;
Atlanta and Dawson County, Ga.;
Emporia, Leavenworth and Valley Center, Kan.;
Bossier-Shreveport,
Bossier City and Slidell, La.;
Brunswick, Md.;
Sherborn, Mass.;
Detroit, Farmington Hills, Mason, and Lansing, Mich.;
Inver Grove Heights, Minn.,
Biloxi and Kosciusko, Miss.;
St. Louis, Mo.;
Northfield, N.J.;
New York, N.Y.;
Charlotte, Fayetteville, Morehead City and Warsaw, N.C.;
Columbus and North Olmsted, Ohio;
Ponca City, Okla.;
Albany and Portland, Ore.;
Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Penn.;
North Charleston, S.C.;
Gatlinburg and Nashville, Tenn.;
Austin, Bonham, Dallas and Houston,
Texas; Virginia Beach, Va.;
Auburn, Port Angeles, Vancouver and West
Richland, Wash.;
and Milwaukee, Wis.

For more information about the Veterans Day regional site program,
including an application for the 2011 observance, log onto the Veterans
Day Web site at http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/regsites.asp.

PTSD defense may delay murder trial of Iraq vet

PTSD defense may delay murder trial of Iraq vet

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 13:28:36 EDT

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — The post-traumatic stress disorder defense being raised by an Iraq war veteran will likely postpone his double-murder trial to sometime after the second anniversary of the sandwich shop robbery at the center of the case.
read more here

PTSD defense may delay murder trial of Iraq vet

Nurse testifies 3 soldiers not afraid facing Hood gunman

Nurse: 3 soldiers not afraid facing Hood gunman

By Angela K. Brown - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 13:52:58 EDT

FORT HOOD, Texas — Three young soldiers showed no fear and didn’t try to hide in the face of certain death as a lone gunman approached them during a deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, a civilian nurse testified at a military hearing Tuesday.

“All three of these kids just stood their ground. They didn’t flinch. They weren’t afraid of him,” Theodore Coukoulis told the Article 32 hearing. “All three looked directly at the shooter. They were looking at death and they knew it.”

read more here
3 soldiers not afraid facing Hood gunman

Pentagon shooting isolated incident

Pentagon shooting isolated incident, police say

By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 15:53:25 EDT

WASHINGTON — Someone fired shots at the Pentagon early Tuesday in what security officials described as “a random event.”

No one was injured in the pre-dawn incident in which shots were fired into two windows at the sprawling Defense Department complex.

Steven Calvery, director of the civilian Pentagon Force Protection Agency, told reporters that a number of his officers reported hearing five to seven shots fired at about 4:55 a.m. local time near the south parking lot of the Pentagon. The Pentagon building and the roads leading it were briefly shut down as officers did an initial sweep of the area.

An internal search of the Pentagon found fragments of two bullets still embedded in two windows — one on the third floor and one on the fourth. The bullets had shattered but did not penetrate the windows, Calvery said. The windows were part of offices that are being renovated and they were unoccupied at the time.

read more here
Pentagon shooting isolated incident

Staff Sgt. Giunta to receive Medal of Honor

Giunta to receive Medal of Honor on Nov. 16

By William Petroski - The Des Moines (Iowa) Register
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 12:27:45 EDT

DES MOINES, Iowa — The White House announced Monday that Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta of Hiawatha will be awarded the Medal of Honor on Nov. 16 by President Obama.

read more here
Giunta to receive Medal of Honor

HBO Wartorn documetary on PTSD from 1861 to 2010

HBO DOCUMENTARY WARTORN: 1861-2010, EXPLORING COMBAT AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS, DEBUTS ON VETERANS DAY, NOV. 11

James Gandolfini Executive Produces



Civil War doctors called it hysteria, melancholia and insanity. During the First World War it was known as shell-shock. By World War II, it became combat fatigue. Today, it is clinically known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a crippling anxiety that results from exposure to life-threatening situations such as combat.

With suicide rates among active military servicemen and veterans currently on the rise, the HBO special WARTORN 1861-2010 brings urgent attention to the invisible wounds of war. Drawing on personal stories of American soldiers whose lives and psyches were torn asunder by the horrors of battle and PTSD, the documentary chronicles the lingering effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress on military personnel and their families throughout American history, from the Civil War through today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The HBO Documentary Films presentation debuts on Veterans Day, THURSDAY, NOV. 11 (9:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates: Nov. 11 (3:25 a.m.), 14 (3:30 p.m.), 18 (10:30 a.m., 12:10 a.m.), 22 (noon, 7:30 p.m.), 27 (noon ET/12:30 p.m. PT) and 29 (4:45 a.m.), and Dec. 7 (10:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Nov. 13 (7:45 a.m.) and 24 (8:00 p.m.)

Executive produced by James Gandolfini (HBO's "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq"), WARTORN 1861-2010 is directed by Jon Alpert and Ellen Goosenberg Kent and produced by Alpert, Goosenberg Kent and Matthew O'Neill, the award-winning producers behind the HBO documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq." Alpert and O'Neill also produced and directed the HBO documentaries "Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery" and the Emmy(R)-winning "Baghdad ER." The documentary is co-produced by Lori Shinseki.


Bookended by haunting montages of emotionally battered American soldiers through the years, WARTORN 1861-2010 explores the very real wounds that occur as a result of combat stress, or PTSD. Among the segments of the film are:

Angelo Crapsey: In 1861, 18-year-old Angelo Crapsey enlisted in the Union Army. His commanding officer called him the "ideal of a youthful patriot." In letters sent over the course of two years, Crapsey's attitude toward the Civil War darkened after he experienced combat and witnessed the deaths of countless soldiers, including several by suicide. By 1863, Crapsey, was hospitalized, feverish and delirious; eventually he was sent home to Roulette, Pa. Becoming paranoid and violent, he killed himself in 1864 at age 21. His father John wrote, "If ever a man's mental disorder was caused by hardships endured in the service of his country, this was the case with my son." A postscript reveals, "After the Civil War, over half of the patients in mental institutions were veterans."

Noah Pierce: More than a century after Crapsey's suicide, 23-year-old Noah Pierce got in his truck, put a handgun to his head, placed his dog tag next to his temple and shot himself. Pierce's mother Cheryl recalls how her son changed following two tours of Iraq, showing a photo of him "filled with hate and disillusionment." Cheryl Pierce says, "The United States Army turned my son into a killer," adding, "They forgot to un-train him." In a letter he left in the truck, Pierce wrote, "I'm freeing myself from the desert once and for all I have taken lives, now it's time to take mine."

Gen. Ray Odierno: In Baghdad, James Gandolfini meets with Gen. Ray Odierno, Commander of Allied Forces in Iraq, who says that 30% of service men and women report symptoms of PTSD and explains how Vietnam helped inform today's understanding of combat trauma. "Nobody is immune," says Odierno, relating how his own enlisted son lost his left arm when a rocket-propelled grenade ripped through his vehicle, killing the driver. Later, at nearby Camp Slater, Gandolfini visits with U.S. Army Sgt. John Wesley Matthews, who speaks candidly about his bouts of depression, reliance on sleeping pills and contemplation of suicide.

Read more: Breaking News - HBO Documentary "Wartorn: 1861-2010," Exploring Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress, Debuts on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 | TheFutonCritic.com HBO DOCUMENTARY WARTORN

"Must you carry the bloody horror of combat in your heart forever?" - Homer, "The Odyssey"

William Fraas Jr.: Two years after his return from the current Iraq conflict, Billy Fraas is trapped by memories, transfixed by computerized photos taken over 29 months and three tours of duty. The leader of a reconnaissance team, he was sent home after PTSD symptoms surfaced, and his leg still shakes uncontrollably when he sits at the computer. Fraas' wife Marie is frustrated by what's become of her husband. "Even though he wasn't shot," she says, "he still died over there." Adds Fraas, "I've seen humanity at its worst. And I struggle with that on a daily basis."

Herbert B. Hayden: In 1921, Col. Herbert Hayden's Atlantic Monthly story "Shell-Shocked and After" described the "perfect hell" of being sent to the front in WWI. His nightmare continued even after he returned home six months later "back and yet not back at all." Suicidal, Hayden checked into Walter Reed Hospital, "searching for a spark in the emptiness," but found only newspaper clippings of tormented ex-soldiers who were not being cared for. "What was wrong with my country?" he asked.

Nathan Damigo: In San Jose, Marine Lance Cpl. Nathan Damigo got a hero's welcome when he returned home from Iraq. A month later, he was arrested for attacking a Middle Eastern taxi driver at gunpoint. As his mother Charilyn explains, Damigo was drunk and confused, and went into "combat mode" as he assaulted the cabbie. After a final night of freedom, Damigo makes a court appearance where he is sentenced to six years in jail. "They took him when he was 18 and put him through a paper shredder," says his heartbroken mother. "We get to try to put all the pieces back together. Sometimes they don't go back together."

Jason Scheuerman: A member of the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq, Scheuerman grew up in a family of soldiers. His father Chris recalls how Jason went to see an Army psychiatrist, and filled out a questionnaire admitting that he had thought about killing himself. After a ten-minute evaluation, he was told to "man up" and was ordered back to his barracks to clean his weapon. Instead, he shot himself. "It's not just the soldier that's in combat that comes down with PTSD," says Chris Jr., who served in Afghanistan. "It's the entire family."

Akinsanya Kambon: Marine combat illustrator Kambon served as a corporal in Vietnam for nine months. "The Marine Corps teaches you to be like an animal," he says, adding he turned into "a mad dog." One of his nightmarish drawings is of a soldier, eyes still flickering, whose lower torso is blown away. "It's one of the images that I wake up screaming about," he says, "but it won't go away."

Fort Campbell preps for screening returning troops

Fort Campbell preps for screening returning troops

Oct 15, 2010

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — While most of the 101st Airborne Division is in Afghanistan, preparations are already under way to identify those soldiers who will return home suffering from combat stress and mild brain injuries.

Suicides at Fort Campbell spiked last year after troops began returning home and increases in the Army's overall suicide rate is one reason installations like this one screen troops at such lengths. The Army is also adjusting their rules on the medical privacy of soldiers, a move officials hope will reduce stigma.

Soldiers will step off planes starting in January at Fort Campbell and face a battery of medical tests and interviews at a converted gymnasium. Underneath the basketball hoops, the one-stop shop for medical needs will become a triage point for hundreds of soldiers a day.

Medical officers with Army Surgeon General's office came to Fort Campbell this week to see the process for returning troops as some will struggle to resume their daily lives after a long and dangerous year of war.

Col. Rebecca Porter, chief of behavioral health under the surgeon general, said with soldiers serving repeated deployments, it's critical to "get their psychological, emotional and personal health in shape."

Some of the questions they'll face involve their marriages or their children, whether they have feelings of depression or stress or difficulty sleeping. They will also be assessed for mild head injuries.

"Initially several years ago soldiers were very resistant to it and felt like they were taking survey after survey," Porter said. "But that's why we have face-to-face interviews ... to look you in the eye and say, 'Are you really OK?'"
read more here
Fort Campbell preps for screening returning troops

Suicide Survivors Find Comfort With TAPS

Suicide Survivors Find Comfort With TAPS

By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 12, 2010 – Miranda Kruse sits in a hotel lobby here, sharing her story as dozens of her friends pass by. She waves at some and jumps up to warmly hug others, carefully guarding a plate of sandwiches for her three children, who are off playing with friends.


It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, Kruse could barely leave her house, gripped by a loneliness and depression triggered by her husband’s suicide that nearly swallowed her in darkness.

“Loneliness is so horrible after a suicide,” she said, her eyes welling up with tears. “There’s such a stigma and everyone wants to point a finger.”

It wasn’t until she attended her first Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors seminar that she truly emerged from the darkness, she said. TAPS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the survivors of fallen military loved ones.

“TAPS got me back on my feet,” she said. “They understand what you’re going through. We may cry and get emotional, but they understand.”

Kruse is among the more than 200 family members who traveled here from across the nation last weekend to attend the 2nd Annual TAPS Suicide Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp. Participants range from parent to spouse, sibling to battle buddy, but all lost a military loved one to suicide, some as recently as a week ago.

It has been nearly five years since Kruse’s loss, but the emotion still seems raw for her as she recalled her husband’s decline. It was only about a year into their relationship that Kruse first recognized something was very wrong with her future husband, Navy Chief Petty Officer Jerald Kruse.

It began with his severe insomnia, then progressed into nervous rocking and incessant nail biting. One night she heard him yelling and cursing at someone in the bathroom. But when she opened the door, he was alone.

Kruse urged him to get counseling, but he hesitated, afraid of the stigma of seeking military mental health care. He eventually agreed, although reluctantly, and was told to cut back on caffeine. They switched to another counselor, who said it might be attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a diagnosis they dismissed after some research.

They went to one last counseling visit on Aug. 5, 2005, and Kruse begged him to reveal the true depth of his troubles as he went in to talk to the counselor alone. After the appointment, he broke down in tears.

“What happened?” she asked him. “They don’t have answers,” he replied. “I’m done with this.”
Five months later, on New Year’s Day in 2006, Kruse went out in the evening for a while. When she returned, she found her husband in the backyard. He had shot himself.
read more here
Suicide Survivors Find Comfort With TAPS

Unique common oddities

Unique common oddities


Sarah Palin is not the brightest woman in the country, not the richest and certainly not the prettiest although when it comes to politicians, she may be the most attractive. The problem is, being attractive does not qualify someone for being in charge of anything. The media created the fascination. She was not nominated for the presidency but we don’t hear much about John McCain. The media hang on every Tweet she posts and they cover every appearance she makes. Yet John McCain, the actual nominee for the presidency, followed into the slow decent into the media abyss along with John Kerry and Al Gore, the spotlight on Palin has yet to dim. It is not driven by attention from us commoners but driven by the media.

Politicians and political ads fill the days as we attempt to watch TV. Their ads stuffed in our emails. CNN, MSNBC and Fox have dropped in-depth reporting on topics they used to make sure we knew about. It wouldn’t be so bad if the reporters knew their topic well enough to actually ask the questions the rest of us want answers for, but they don’t. We want to know, need to know, what the candidates plan on doing should they be elected. People deserve to know who really wants to cut Social Security, Medicare, Veterans Healthcare and the Department of Education when they talk about cutting spending. When they talk about worrying about the deficit and passing on the bill to our kids, we are worrying about surviving today and the current state of our lives knowing full well that if we fail today, the future will inherit all of this trouble.

Money flows into the campaigns allowing them to buy airtime. The media provide them with free advertising and that attention causes people to donate more. It’s big money for the media outlet and each year it costs more and more to run. Each year, there is more and more political ads being bought feeding the chain of attention. These people running for office are just as common as the rest of us but while we go to work on regular jobs taking care of one particular business, their business is the state they live in. It has never really been a matter of how well they do their jobs nut more about what kind of coverage they get from the media. The media decides what we learn and whom we learn about. It is one of the biggest reasons I no longer watch CNN, MSNBC or Fox.



When was the last time you actually heard anything about Iraq or Afghanistan? Our troops are deployed into two combat operations but we don’t seem to hear much about either one. We certainly don’t hear about the suicides, attempted suicides, the medicated state of soldiers suffering because they were sent over and over again into combat any more than we hear about the homeless veterans created by combat. Unless you are interested and invested enough to search for reports, you have no clue what any of them are going through. The media decided that reporting on them was just not sexy enough.

Here’s a thought. Considering the billions of dollars Iraq and Afghanistan caused us to spend along with the billions predicted to care for the combat wounded in the Veteran’s Healthcare system, wouldn’t it be great if the media figured out that there are more veterans of combat than politicians running for office? There is more money being dedicated to taking care of them than going into the political campaigns they find worthy of coverage. While they want to talk about the deficit, how about reporting on the fact neither war was in the budget or funded up until this year. It was all supplemental request for additional funding but none of the reporters have thought this is an important fact to mention. It is a certainty the politicians silently accepting all of this will find it in their best interest to remain silent on this fact.

Here in Florida with much of the population on Social Security, the ads try to cause the to fear cutbacks by the wrong people. It is true that money was cut from Medicare but it was not cut from benefits. It was cut from the waste, fraud and abuse hurting our seniors. The politicians the ads support actually have it in their plan to privatize Social Security. This fact is not mentioned by the ads or by the media. They also claim to care about our veterans but also in their plan is turning veterans’ healthcare over to private companies. We have over 400,000 veterans and the new VA hospital in Lake Nona is due to open in 2012. Do Florida politicians plan on turning that over to private companies too?

This nation sent them into combat. They served this one nation. This nation owes them the care they were promised. The VA is a government run program some politicians call a “welfare program” totally disregarding the facts behind the need for it. While there are problems in the VA you read about here everyday, some want to end it instead of fixing the problems. We deserve the truth on who is behind this just as much as we deserve to know who is really fighting for veterans but they are a minor topic for the media.

Getting back to the media darling Palin, the media did a lousy job covering that campaign when they did not report on McCain’s deplorable votes on veterans issues. It is disgraceful how he votes against them all the time while all these years he’s run as being one of them. The media just allowed the myth to go on much as they decided all along who they would turn into a common oddity to advertise as unique.

The next time you hear someone complain about the money being spent remember this.

VA Tops $1B Mark in Recovery Act Distributions

Upgrades Include Energy Projects, Medical Facility Upgrades,

Cemetery Improvements



WASHINGTON (Oct. 15, 2010)- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has
distributed more than $1 billion in funds made available through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, agency officials have
announced. Recovery Act funding is being used to modernize and replace
existing VA medical facilities, make improvements at national cemeteries
and award grants to states for Veterans homes.

"America's Veterans are getting more modern, efficient and greener
facilities that are better suited to provide them the comprehensive care
and service they have earned," VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said.
"These upgrades are possible through Recovery Act funds that are not
only revitalizing VA's extensive infrastructure, but also moving needed
money into the economy," he said.

The funding is part of President Obama's economic recovery plan to
improve services to America's Veterans. VA committed its total Recovery
Act funds of $1.8 billion by July.

To help Veterans access their care, Recovery Act projects at VA medical
facilities are adding or improving more than 26,000 parking spaces. VA
is also upgrading nearly 14,000 inpatient bed spaces and 16 pharmacy
renovation projects will help Veterans get medicines quicker and more
efficiently. More than 14,400 clinical improvement projects, some with
multiple exam rooms, are being undertaken.

Physical improvements to VA medical facilities include investments in
energy efficiency projects; almost $400 million overall is targeted for
energy projects and some $90 million for renewable energy studies and
projects.

VA is installing solar photovoltaic systems at facilities in
Albuquerque, N.M.; Tucson, Ariz.; Dublin, Ga.; Calverton, N.Y.; and San
Joaquin and Riverside, Calif.

The department is erecting a wind turbine in Bourne, Mass., and
constructing a geothermal system at its medical center in St. Cloud,
Minn. Additionally, VA is building renewably fueled co-generation
systems at five medical facilities: Togus, Maine; White River Junction,
Vt.; Chillicothe, Ohio; Loma Linda, Calif.; and Canandaigua, N.Y. It is
also installing metering systems at all VA-owned facilities to monitor
energy utilities, including electricity, water, chilled water, steam and
natural gas consumption.

VA is investing $197 million in energy and water infrastructure
improvements. Its facilities across the country are upgrading
properties and structures to reduce energy consumption and water usage
and better manage related costs.

Throughout VA's system of 131 national cemeteries, 392 improvement
projects are underway using $50 million in Recovery Act funding. VA is
restoring and preserving 47 historic monuments and memorials, becoming
more energy efficient by investing in renewable energy sources (solar
and wind), implementing nine energy conservation projects, and improving
access and visitor safety with 44 road, paving and grounds improvement
projects.

Funds are also being used to raise, realign and clean approximately
200,000 headstones and markers, repair sunken graves, and renovate turf
at 24 VA national cemeteries.

VA Recovery Act grants totaling $150 million are also assisting states
to construct, improve, or acquire nursing home, domiciliary or adult day
health care facilities.

Let someone tell you they are not worth it.

Sounds of war, memories of a massacre

At Fort Hood: sounds of war, memories of a massacre
From Charley Keyes, CNN Senior Producer
October 17, 2010 3:44 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A military hearing is underway at Fort Hood for the suspect in last year's shootings on the base
A prosecution parade of witnesses began last week
Most of the shooting victims were preparing for Iraq or Afghanistan when they were hit
Fort Hood, Texas (CNN) -- The distant rumble of big guns on Fort Hood's artillery range rattles the ceiling tiles in the small military courtroom.
But the sounds of war training don't interrupt the intensity inside the military hearing as dozens of witnesses here recal that day last November when 13 people were shot to death and 32 wounded on the base in central Texas.
Training with Paladin howitzers is part of everyday life at Fort Hood, the country's largest Army base. Most of the shooting victims were preparing to ship out to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
But nothing prepared them for what happened to them at home -- dodging bullets as a gunman cut down their buddies.
The prosecution put up more than two dozen witnesses in the first three full days of the Article 32 hearing. Prosecutors have set aside two more weeks, and scores more witnesses are expected. The Article 32 hearing will reconvene in November for defense attorneys to make their case. Then an Army colonel, -- the Investigating officer presiding over this hearing -- will decide if there is enough evidence to push the case along toward a court martial with a possible penalty of death upon conviction.
During live video testimony from Afghanistan, fighter jets roared overhead as soldiers described how their safe and secure base suddenly became a bloody battleground.
read more here
At Fort Hood sounds of war memories of a massacre

Combat Stress Driving Up Army Crime, Drug Abuse, Suicides

Anti-anxiety medications given to over 100,000 soldiers? Most of these drugs, if not all of them, require a doctor checking on them but that's not all not being done. These drugs won't help if the lives are not changed at the same time. Putting them back into combat after trauma has already begun to eat them away only prolongs the agony instead of helping them heal. Most of these medications also come with warnings about staying away from things that can make their condition worse while telling them side effects can make even driving dangerous to them. They are given these medications and then armed to face combat but even using machinery can be dangerous? Therapy is needed more than drugs to help them heal otherwise the symptoms are only being masked.

Substance abuse is common with PTSD, much like medications, they mask the symptoms of PTSD and calm them down for a while. Too many soldiers don't want to be given drugs that make them zombies. Some would rather be thought of as being a druggie or alcoholic instead of being a "mental case" because that attitude still lives on in military culture.

The other factor in this report is that with 2 million having been deployed into combat, the increase in PTSD yet the rates for crimes are very low, which says a lot about their character.

What exactly is the military still thinking when it comes to giving them medication even civilians have to be careful about taking? Are they trying to just get them to show up for duty and function no matter what harm is being done to them without therapy? Do they think about the side affects of the drugs they are handing out? Do they think about short term memory loss and the fact that some soldiers can't remember if they took their pills or not?

They can heal and recover but medication alone won't get them there from here.

Combat Stress Driving Up Army Crime, Drug Abuse, Suicides

Today, more than 100,000 soldiers are on prescribed anti-anxiety medication, and 40,000 are thought by the Army to be using drugs illicitly. Misdemeanor offenses are rising by 5,000 cases a year.

With the pressing need for manpower, the Army has retained more than 25,000 soldiers who would otherwise have been discharged for misbehavior, including 1,000 soldiers with two or more felony convictions.

DAVID WOOD
Chief Military Correspondent

The U.S. Army, under the accumulating stress of nine years at war, is suffering an alarming spurt of drug abuse, crime and suicide that is going unchecked, according to an internal study that depicts an Army in crisis.

A small but growing number of soldiers who perform credibly in combat turn to high-risk behavior, including drug abuse, drunken driving, motorcycle street-racing, petty crime and domestic violence, once they return home.

As a result, more soldiers are dying by drug overdose, accident, murder and suicide than in combat. Suicide is now the third-leading cause of death for soldiers.

"Simply stated, we are often more dangerous to ourselves than the enemy,'' concludes the extraordinary internal Army investigation commissioned by Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff.

The study also found that across the Army, leaders have lost visibility and accountability over their soldiers, in many cases unaware that soldiers under their command had abused drugs, committed crimes or even previously tried to commit suicide. Drug testing is done only sporadically, the study found, and there are no central repositories for criminal data.
read more here

Combat Stress Driving Up Army Crime Drug Abuse Suicides

Storage facility manager makes sure veteran gets a proper burial

Storage facility manager makes sure veteran gets a proper burial


By Matt Kawahara | Sacramento Bee
CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. -- They rumbled up the driveway of a Citrus Heights storage facility at 11:30 a.m. Friday, each of the five motorcycles flying an American flag, each of the six riders wearing a bright yellow vest.

They lined up and parked in front of unit 5001. Jerry Petersen, manager of the Mini Stor on Auburn Boulevard, rolled up the orange metal door and lifted a golden urn from some shelving inside.

As Petersen stood in the open doorway, the six riders made a path to the motorcycles for him, three on each side, saluting. Petersen carried the urn to the back seat of a waiting bike, stepped back and gave an emphatic salute.

And like that, James Gerald Leach, retired U.S. Air Force senior master sergeant, was on his way to an honorable burial 13 years after his death.



Read more: Veteran gets a proper burial

Being what you were meant to be

A long time ago I began to ask people what made them become what they were.  In a way, I wanted to discover if any of them would be able to tell me what made me do what I do.  One of my classes at college just answered it for me and much to my surprise, I am what I was intended to be.

I always believed that God creates a soul for a purpose.  Each one of us have certain gifts, talents and are drawn to do certain things no one else is.  There are strong parts of me and then there are weak parts of me.  One of them that drives me nuts is that I can't really cook.  I do it enough to not starve to death but frozen dinners are fine with me.  It is something I have never really been good at doing.  My strengths perplexed the hell out of me until I took the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator.  I am type ENFJ with the jobs listed are ministry, media, therapist, educator and primary caregiver. No shocker there considering I am a chaplain, (ministry) work in media (blog and website) work with veterans and their families coping with PTSD, (therapist) and do it by educating them on what PTSD is, (educator) and all because I am married to a Vietnam Vet with PTSD as the primary caregiver.  I am doing what I was built to do and while there are issues doing it, usually financial, I am very comfortable doing it.  I belong here.

Some of the other people with ENFJ are;

 Famous people of your particular type


Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Clara Barton (Founder of the American Red Cross), Ronald Reagan
 
According to the test I am;

Warm, empathetic, responsive and responsible.  Highly attuned to the emotions, needs and motivations of others.  Find potential in everyone, want to help others fulfill their potential. May act as a catalysts for individual and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism.  Sociable, facilitae others in a group and provide inspiring leadership.

This brings up a very interesting theory I have had for a very long time.  When people enter into the military, they do it because that is what they were built/created to do.  It requires a great deal of compassion to care enough to be willing to risk your own life but it also takes a great deal of courage.  They care enough about others to be ready to die for them.  So how is it that the rest of us can't seem to understand this? How is it the military cannot understand their own people?

It is human nature when you care so deeply for others that your life is secondary that you also feel everything more deeply and that includes pain.  There is a lot of heartbreak when men and women are sent into combat zones that needs to be addressed as soon as possible but because of all the other qualities that make them "them" this often gets overlooked.  It is also one of the biggest reasons there is such a rise in PTSD aside from the increase due to redeployments.  They don't get what they need to heal and recover. 

Reports have come out that many of them are not getting any therapy at all but are getting medication.  That does not help them heal. Medication only alters the symptoms so they can function. Most of the time they are redeployed before they can get therapy.  Yet in our civilian world, there are many crisis responders for us to talk to as humans.  This makes no sense at all to have the people exposed to traumatic events the most to be the last one to receive the emotional help to heal. 

For National Guards and Reservists, the issue is even more troubling because many of them are also members of law enforcement, firefighters and EMT workers.  They leave one traumatic experience for another back home.  Who is there for them?  They were created to be what they have become but no matter how much extra God put into them, they still need the support and care the rest of us get but they need it even more.  This type of person is the last to ask for help because they are the givers.  They also need it more because they are doing what few others in this country would ever dream of doing, yet they wanted to do nothing else more.

If we want to get ahead of the suicides and attempted suicides and start to really help them heal, we need to get to them before they have settled for the pain they feel to be just part of their job.

If you are drawn to do something or pulled against what you "want to do" then maybe you should take this test and find out what you were made to be.  You may be surprised.

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

Take it if you are or were in the military because the chances are you were created to be what you are and that is a very rare person.

Widow of a Vietnam Veteran walking for those who cannot

Why Diane Musselmann
is “Walking for Those Who Can’t”

Kenneth Musselmann was a soldier who fought for his country in Vietnam. After losing both legs to a landmine, Ken returned home and devoted his life to disabled vets and their causes, his wife Diane at his side during this important journey. As a Director of the Disabled Veterans’ LIFE Memorial Foundation, Ken was an integral part in the Foundation’s efforts to bring the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial to reality and to educate people about disabled veterans’ issues.

Sadly, Ken passed away in 2009. But Diane has been making sure his passion endures. To raise awareness and donations for the Memorial that Ken championed, Diane will be walking 90 miles over six days along the coast of California in memory of her husband and those who have fallen in service.

Please support Diane’s courage and selflessness during her Walk.

Show Diane your support by making a donation to AVDLM at Diane’s Memorial Ambassador Page.

Stay updated on her progress by visiting Diane’s blog where she will be chronicling her experience.

If you live in Southern California, walk with Diane for as long and as far as you are able (see the map below for dates and places).



Walk Schedule

10/18 VA Medical Center Long Beach
5901 East 7th Street
Long Beach, CA 90822
Contact: Mike Burns
(562) 404-1266
7:30 a.m. Walkers and supporters meet at the VA Medical Center Long Beach for refreshments and speeches.
8:00 a.m. Diane and walkers depart.
Route will pass through Seal Beach, Sunset Beach and Huntington Beach, ending in Newport Beach.

10/19 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Newport Beach (Jamboree Rd. and Pacific Coast Hwy.)
Route will pass through Corona Del Mar and Laguna Beach, ending in Dana Point.

10/20 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Dana Point (Del Prado Rd.and Golden Lantern St.)
Route will pass through Capistrano, San Clemente and San Onofre State Beach, ending at the Las Pulgas gates of Camp Pendleton.

10/21 Camp Pendleton
CA 92055
(Old Pacific Hwy and Las Pulgas Rd.)
7:00 a.m. Walkers and Supporters gather at Las Pulgas gate.
8:00 a.m. Marines escort walkers through Camp Pendleton.
After Camp Pendleton, route will end in Carlsbad.

10/22 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Carlsbad (Carlsbad Blvd. and S. Coast Hwy.)
Route will pass through Encinitas and Solano Beach, ending in Del Mar.

10/23 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Del Mar (Camino Del Mar and Hwy 101.)
Route will pass through Torrey Pines before reaching their final end point at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Diego.

12:00 p.m. Walkers and Supporters arrive at the
VA Medical Center in San Diego.
3350 La Jolla Village Dr.
San Diego, CA 92161
Contact: Jim Galliher
(619) 299-6916

Refreshments, balloon arts and more to welcome and congratulate Diane and her fellow walkers.

 

Diane Musselmann
I am a widow of a Vietnam Veteran, mother and grandmother. I am 64 years young. I am walking the "Walking for Those Who Can't" walk to create awareness for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C. Also, to focus attention on disabled veterans, past and present and unfortunately, future. This is going to be a challenging and emotional journey. I will be pushing my husband's empty wheelchair for the entire 6 day, 90 mile walk to create awareness for the long overdue American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.
read more about her walk here

http://www.walkingforthosewhocant.blogspot.com/

10 more soldiers testify in hearing about Fort Hood killings

10 more soldiers testify in hearing about Fort Hood killings
12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, October 16, 2010

By LEE HANCOCK / The Dallas Morning News
lhancock@dallasnews.com
FORT HOOD, Texas – Some soldiers glared on Friday as they identified the man in a wheelchair as their assailant. Several wept describing comrades dying where no one expected an attack. The judge presiding, prosecutors and defense lawyers looked grim – even stricken – as witness after witness recounted how a soldier readiness center became a charnel house.

Maj. Nidal Hasan gave them all the same impassive look that he has maintained during three previous days of his probable cause hearing.

The Army psychiatrist blinked slowly as soldiers told of their desperate scramble for cover to escape steady gunfire. He rubbed his chin or forehead with pale hands as men and women described being shot again and again as they crawled through blood and bodies. Only during breaks did his blank expression change; he once looked anxious and once showed the hint of a smile as he conferred with the defense team.

The 40-year-old betrayed no emotion as soldiers from the mental health unit he was scheduled to deploy with spoke of taking bullets and watching comrades die trying to stop his Nov. 5 attack.
read more here
10 more soldiers testify in hearing about Fort Hood killings

Mich. soldier's remains among 3 returned from Laos

Mich. soldier's remains among 3 returned from Laos
By The Associated Press
3:07 p.m. CDT, October 16, 2010

The Defense Department says the remains of a Michigan soldier are among those of three soldiers missing in action in the Vietnam War that have been identified.

Army Staff Sgt. Melvin C. Dye, of Carleton, Mich., was one of those aboard a UH-1H Iroquois helicopter when it was shot down by enemy fire in Laos on Feb. 19, 1968.
read more here
Michigan soldier

Funeral home shows honor to homeless veterans

Funeral home shows honor to homeless veterans
October 11, 2010|Stephen Fellersfeller@tribune.com

Even though there are government programs to offer support to the men and women who have defended our country, many veterans end up on the streets with no one to give them a proper burial after death.

Seeking to give these heroes the dignity it feels they deserve, one company launched a national program with the help of several national groups to give veterans a full funeral and military service.

Kraeer Funeral Home, a Margate-based location of the Dignity Memorial chain of homes, did its first burial of a homeless veteran on
The funeral home provided embalming services, a casket, a flag, clothes and the procession to the cemetery, all which runs about $7,000, to honor Clay, said Marge Muth, local director of funeral services for Dignity Memorial.

"Even though they're homeless and have no family, we want to give them full military honors and eulogy," Muth said. "We all went up there and treated him like he was a top dog somewhere."
Funeral home shows honor to homeless veterans

They did it here in Orlando and they have done it many times across the country.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Vietnam Vet Andrew Elmer Wright found a home as a homeless vet