Numbers on PTSD and TBI expected to increase

It isn't a secret because it has happened after every war. The difference is this time, there are some people talking about it before it happens.

"Jan. 1, some 63 percent of the more than 9,000 Army Wounded Warrior Program Soldiers were diagnosed with behavioral health injuries -- 47 percent had PTSD, 16 percent Traumatic Brain Injury."

Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli also addressed the increase in the Guards and Reserves.


Chiarelli expects increase in behavioral health needs
Feb 2, 2011

By J.D. Leipold
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 1, 2011) -- The Army's vice chief of staff said with the drawdown in Iraq and eventually in Afghanistan, the country could expect to see an increase in the number of Soldiers suffering from depression, anxiety, Traumatic Brain Injury and post-traumatic stress.

Speaking at the opening of the Reserve Officer Association's National Security Symposium Jan. 30, Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli praised the reserve component for being "truly remarkable" in what he called a nearly decade-long era of "persistent engagement," and added that the health and well-being of U.S. forces was absolutely critical to the security of the nation.

"Soldiers and their families are under tremendous stress and strain, physically and emotionally," he said. "Unfortunately, and I've said this often over the last couple of years, I do think it's going to continue to get harder, at least for a little while longer before it gets easy."

Of particular concern to Chiarelli were the physically hidden or unseen wounds -- Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Citing the Army Wounded Warrior Program population, he said as of Jan. 1, some 63 percent of the more than 9,000 Army Wounded Warrior Program Soldiers were diagnosed with behavioral health injuries -- 47 percent had PTSD, 16 percent Traumatic Brain Injury.
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Chiarelli expects increase in behavioral health needs

Soldier stationed at Fort Campbell took his own life at 23

Suicides up in area
February 3, 2011 - By BRAD BAUER Special to The News and Sentinel

MARIETTA - The last time Marietta resident Andrew Russell spoke to his younger brother, Travis A. Thomas, was to tell him he'd become an uncle.

On Jan. 10, Thomas, a 23-year-old soldier stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., took his own life.

"He sounded happy and really proud," said Russell, 25, of the conversation telling Thomas about the birth of Russell's son. "That's why I think this was more of an accident. I think he went a little too far with the alcohol. He was too excited about my son to want to do this."

Although Thomas' suicide did not take place in Marietta, local law enforcement has responded to at least four suicide attempts in January.

There were 13 suicide attempts reported to the Washington County Sheriff's Office in all of 2010. Police say there are probably more attempts that are not reported, or deaths that are never determined.
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Suicides up in area

Homeless Veteran turns his life around

Homeless Veteran turns his life around
By: Sherrie Johnson
BALTIMORE - Air Force Veteran Oliver Avery, III has struggled for 30 years with alcohol. He was divorced twice, homeless, desperate and ready for a change.

With the help of the VA Medical Center, Avery turned his life around. He was selected to attend the Veterans Affairs year long Leadership Development Institute. It's a program designed to enhance the leadership skills of people for higher level positions.
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Homeless Veteran turns his life around

Veteran's Wall Vandalized With "Kill Them All"

This happened last week but I have not been able to find any follow up stories on this.

Veteran's Wall Vandalized With "Kill Them All"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A tribute to fallen American heroes from the First Coast was vandalized sometime over the past few days, and was discovered on Friday evening.

A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office police report said an EverBank Field Security guard noticed the graffiti Friday on the Veteran's Memorial Wall in downtown Jacksonville.
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Veteran's Wall Vandalized

Florida Grandfather Reclaims His Identity After 17 Years

Fla. Grandfather Reclaims His Identity After 17 Years
Larry Smith Served Time in Jail for a Crime Committed by Alleged Identity Thief
BY JESSICA HOPPER
Feb. 3, 2011
A homeless man who allegedly stole the identity of a Florida grandfather who spent time in jail for a crime he did not commit will be arraigned today on multiple counts that include identity theft and welfare fraud, police said.

Joseph Kidd is accused of stealing Larry Smith's identity for 17 years, also costing Smith access to his medical benefits. The other charges against Kidd are giving false information to a police officer and grand theft of services.

In 1993, Kidd was arrested and fingerprinted in California for an unspecified, nonviolent crime as "Lawrence E. Smith," beginning a nightmare for the real Lawrence E. Smith, who lives in Lehigh Acres, Fla.

Investigators say they have discovered that Kidd had a birth certificate, a marriage license and even a driver's license with Larry Smith's name on it. He married a woman in 2007 allegedly using the alias.

Amid the confusion, the real Larry Smith has been wrongly ticketed for driving a purple Camaro too fast in 2001, billed $300,000 by Medicare and almost had his driver's license revoked for offenses he didn't commit.


"I spent eight days in jail in 2006 and my wife was on the phone 24-7 saying that it's not me," Smith said. "She sent paycheck stubs from where I was working when these crimes occurred to prove it wasn't me."
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Fla. Grandfather Reclaims His Identity After 17 Years

VA Awards include Orlando VA's Tim Liezert

VA Announces Awards for

Clinical Simulation Training, Education and Research

Innovations Result in Better Clinical and Customer Service Training

WASHINGTON (Feb. 3, 2011)- Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
employees Dr. David M. Gaba and Timothy W. Liezert were recently named
the first-ever recipients of the Under Secretary for Health's Awards for
Excellence in Clinical Simulation Training, Education and Research.

"This award honors individuals who have made a national impact through
the direct provision of innovative clinical simulation training,
education and research in VA," said VA Under Secretary for Health Dr.
Robert A. Petzel. "Dr. Gaba's influence on the skills of clinical staff
throughout VA has benefited the millions of Veterans cared for in our
health care system."

Petzel presented each with the award at the International Meeting of
Simulation in Healthcare in New Orleans on Jan. 24.

Gaba describes simulation as a technique - not a technology - to replace
or amplify real experiences with guided experiences that evoke or
replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive
manner.

Simulated learning enhances patient safety by ensuring clinicians
receive experience on virtual "patients" to improve procedural
performance. It also improves team functioning through training
scenarios in emergency rooms, operating rooms and intensive care units
where entire medical teams need to act seamlessly under tremendous
pressure. Recordings of simulated scenarios allow teams to review how
they work together and assess how they might improve their performance.

Dr. Gaba was recognized with the 2011 Excellence in Clinical Simulation
Training, Education and Research Practice Award for his numerous
contributions to the field of clinical simulation over the past two
decades. He created the first modern mannequin-based fully interactive
simulator, which has since been commercialized and, along with his
curricula, is in use in thousands of simulation training and education
programs around the world. He has also conducted ground-breaking
research in Crisis Resource Management (CRM) in clinical care settings
and has designed CRM-oriented simulation instructor training designed to
improve patient safety outcomes.

Gaba is staff anesthesiologist at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System,
Calif., and Associate Dean for Immersive and Simulation-based Learning
and Director of the Center for Immersive and Simulation Based Learning
(CISL) at Stanford University School of Medicine in California. He is
also editor-in-chief of "Simulation in Healthcare," the official journal
of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

In receiving the 2011 Clinical Simulation Training, Education and
Research Executive Leadership Award, Liezert was recognized for his role
in championing clinical simulation practice at the Orlando VA Medical
Center (VAMC), and in support of VA efforts to establish its Simulation
Learning Education and Research Network (SimLEARN) as a program of
peerless excellence. An active contributor to the vibrant and
nationally renowned Orlando simulation community, he has established
strong relationships with simulation leaders in industry, government and
academia that are greatly benefiting VA clinical simulation programs.

Committed to simulation excellence in clinical and non-clinical
settings, Liezert has applied simulation methodologies to customer
service training. "Tim Liezert is truly a model leader for VA in the
arena of clinical simulation," said Petzel. "His tireless efforts to
lead the way in establishing simulation as a learning modality for
health care education and training is significant, and is duly
recognized by this award." Liezert is director of the Orlando VA Medical
Center, Fla.

The strategy of VA's SimLEARN program is to improve clinical outcomes
for America's Veterans by providing a safe and supportive environment in
which practitioners master skills, practice protocols, learn
system-based practices, apply critical decision making and promote
communication and interpersonal skills. To learn more about the
SimLEARN program, visit www.simlearn.va.gov.

Pearl Harbor Vet held picture of his ship while caregiver was arrested

Crime & Courts
Family of 93-Year-Old Pearl Harbor Veteran Shocked by Caregiver Abuse Charges
Published February 02, 2011
FoxNews.com

Relatives of a Pearl Harbor veteran say they are shocked at the alleged abuse suffered by their 93-year-old father, who was found disheveled and dehydrated and living in a rat-infested home at the hands of his trusted caregiver.
Deputies with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said they found Arnold Bauer living in squalor last week at his home near El Cajon, Calif., and charged his caregiver, 63-year-old Milagros Angeles, with elder abuse.
Authorities said they found Bauer -- who has prostate cancer and dementia -- sitting next to rotting garbage and rat feces while clutching a framed photo of the ship he was serving on the day of Pearl Harbor, Fox5SanDiego.com reports.
Angeles has been charged with four felony counts of elder abuse, forgery, theft and false imprisonment. Prosecutors allege that Angeles wrote checks to herself from Bauer's account and sent the money to her native Philippines.


Read more:
Family of 93-Year-Old Pearl Harbor Veteran

Westboro Group ready to protest funeral for murdered children

Kansas church to protest at service for slain Florida siblings
By the CNN Wire Staff
February 2, 2011 4:19 p.m. EST

Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kansas, has stirred controversy through its demonstrations at funerals.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Westboro Baptist Church says it will picket service because mother is a military wife
Tampa schools sponsoring service for brother and sister, who were slain last Friday
Julie K. Schenecker, 50, is charged with murder in the deaths of her children
Her husband is with the U.S. Central Command

(CNN) -- A controversial Kansas church says members will picket before the memorial service Wednesday evening for two Florida teenagers allegedly killed by their mother.

In a press release, Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, said it will demonstrate outside the service in Tampa because the mother is a military wife and "the doomed American military declared war on God & His church."

The controversial church and its pastor, Fred Phelps, have made their name picketing near funerals of people who died of AIDS, gay people and soldiers. The church plans to picket beginning at 5:15 p.m.and ending at 6 p.m., when the service is scheduled to start, according to CNN affiliate WFTS-TV in Tampa.

Julie K. Schenecker, 50, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths Friday of her 16-year-old daughter, Calyx, and her 13-year-old son, Beau. She was denied bail at a court appearance Monday, a court spokesman said.

Her husband, Army Col. Parker Schenecker, is with the U.S. Central Command, which is headquartered in Tampa. Police told WFTS that he was in the Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar when his children were killed.

King High School, which Calyx attended, and Liberty Middle School, where Beau was a student, are sponsoring the service at First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace in Tampa, the church said.
Josh Saliba, director of creative ministries, told CNN he would not comment on Westboro Baptist's plans to protest.

On Monday -- their first day back since the shootings became public -- students at Liberty Middle School wore blue and black in memory of Beau, who was an eighth-grader there.

CNN affiliate Bay News 9 posted a statement Monday from the Schenecker family:
"Colonel Parker Schenecker has returned from his deployment and is grieving with family and friends. He is devoted first and foremost to honoring the lives and memory of his beautiful children, Calyx and Beau," the statement said. "Parker and his family have been touched by the overwhelming support from the community both near and abroad. Arrangements and details are still being finalized with regard to the services to be held for Calyx and Beau."
read more here
Kansas church to protest at service for slain Florida siblings

Florida Gov. Scott gives $200,000 to Wounded Warriors Project

Florida governor gives $200k for wounded vets
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Feb 2, 2011 12:39:27 EST
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Rick Scott is donating $200,000 raised during his inauguration events to the Wounded Warriors Project.

Scott said during a ceremony Wednesday at the governor's mansion that he visited the group's Jacksonville headquarters while campaigning and was impressed with the work it does to help wounded veterans.

Scott said, "You could just see that lives were changed through Wounded Warriors."

Scott, a Navy veteran, also said that his administration will put a strong focus on military issues.
Florida governor gives $200k for wounded vets

Ft. Leonard Wood Battles Sexual Assaults

Ft. Leonard Wood Battles Sexual Assaults
January 31, 2011
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- Two days after she joined her military police unit, the 19-year-old private found herself drunk, sick and locked in a barracks bathroom where, she said, a soldier in her unit sexually assaulted her.
Less than three months before, on Christmas Day 2009, the same soldier used similar tactics to assault a 20-year-old woman new to the 988th Military Police Company, prosecutors alleged in a court-martial earlier this month.
Six years after the Pentagon committed to addressing sexual assault within the ranks, such cases remain a fixture in military courtrooms. Of 19 pending courts-martial at Fort Leonard Wood, eight involve sexual assaults by soldiers, most of them on other service members. In many cases, the circumstances are sadly familiar and often difficult to prosecute.
The victim and accused often know each other, and, in some cases, may have had a previous sexual relationship. Alcohol is usually involved.
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Ft. Leonard Wood Battles Sexual Assaults

One Soldier’s Road to God

"I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

If you think that an average person cannot be just as important in sharing faith with others, you haven't read the Bible lately.

The truth is, few in the Bible had a formal education, most were common, only a few knew how to write but what they all had in common was a connection to God. Perfect faith? Hardly. Read the struggles they all went through and how they questioned their own faith. Read how they made mistake after mistake and were forgiven over and over again. Read how they started out with no faith at all but had a hunger to make it grow than an even stronger hunger to share what they had gained.

Christ took common fishermen and turned them into being leaders. A need to know she was not alone, Spc. Kelly Lee prayed out of desperation for a sign that she should not take her own life and it came with Psalm 34.

Photo by Sgt. David Bryant
The chaplain's assistant for the 36th Infantry deputy division chaplain, Spc. Kelly L. Lee, grew up in a household of drugs, alcoholism and crime. She was on the brink of suicide when an answered prayer turned her life around. Always an individual, Lee tells teh story of her life before and after being saved through body arwork, with a full "sleeve" on her left arm and plans to complete another "sleeve" on her right. The tattoos on her lower arm were completed by Clint Cummings of Sparrows Tattoo, Mansfield, Texas, and those on her upper arm by John Chancy of Fineline Tattoo in Mesquite, Texas.

A Life Worth Saving: One Soldier’s Road to God
36th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
Story by Sgt. David Bryant

BASRAH, Iraq – It was a clear, sunny February day. A breeze was blowing through the open window of her apartment; the closet had finally been cleaned earlier in the week and the small study Bible her best friend had given her when she was 12 was laying on the nightstand.

That was when Spc. Kelly L. Lee sat down on the floor next to her bed, placed the razor against her wrist and said, “God, if you’re there, you better let me know because I’m going to come meet you.”

“I was at such a point of self-loathing; that’s why I got out the razor blade,” the 27-year-old Dallas native said. “I had my own place, a good job and a wonderful fiancé at the time. All the pieces of the puzzle were there, but something was missing. That missing piece was the life I didn’t have.”

And life had not always been great for Lee, she said. A self-proclaimed Army brat, the fiery redhead grew up in an unstable home filled with drug and alcohol abuse. Her parents were divorced by the time she was 12 and her mother had been in and out of jail since Lee was 9 years old.

As she sat with the blade against her wrist, a breeze blew the small Bible onto the floor and opened to Psalm 34. As she began to read, a verse leapt out at her: “I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

“I didn’t get saved the ‘traditional’ way by being preached to or talking to a minister or anything like that,” Lee said. “You can’t deny a face-to-face meeting with God like that, though. I cried out and he heard me.”

Like most youth, Lee had been searching for an “identity” before she was saved. It was during her search that she first began to express herself through body art by getting her astrological sign, Leo, tattooed on each of her hands.

“I loved being able to express who I am through body artwork,” she said. “When I came to know Christ and his love for me, that translated into the tattoos I have now.”

The artwork now covers her entire left arm in what is known as a “sleeve,” and Lee uses them as part of her “personal ministry.”

“When people ask what they mean, it gives me a chance to express myself and tell my story,” she said.

From the depths of despair, she looked to a razor blade for salvation and instead found a calling, Lee added. “It was all he said; to be prepared. About a year and a half later, he laid on my heart: ‘Army.’ I prayed about it for about eight months, asking, ‘Is this really what you want me to do?’”
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One Soldier’s Road to God

Psalm 34

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

1 I will extol the LORD at all times;

his praise will always be on my lips.

2 I will glory in the LORD;

let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

3 Glorify the LORD with me;

let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;

he saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,

and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

9 Fear the LORD, you his holy people,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,

but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

11 Come, my children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

12 Whoever of you loves life

and desires to see many good days,

13 keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from telling lies.

14 Turn from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,

and his ears are attentive to their cry;

16 but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,

to blot out their name from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;

he delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,

but the LORD delivers him from them all;

20 he protects all his bones,

not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked;

the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

22 The LORD will rescue his servants;

no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

PTSD Not God's Judgment

Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 10, 2009

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Soldier's Wife Fights For Daughter's Meds

Soldier's Wife Fights For Daughter's Meds
Girl Has Dravet's Syndrome
Reported By Forrest Sanders

A Fort Campbell soldier's wife said her long fight was worth it. The mother wrote congressmen, senators and mayors to get help for her daughter's rare medical condition.

"If you have a child with special needs, don't give up," said Felicia Harris.

She and her husband were married after being high school sweethearts. Three years ago, they welcomed their daughter Lexy -- a happy baby suffering a rare syndrome.

"They did the blood test, and it came back, and she did have the gene," Harris said. "It's genetic. Hers is a mutation."

It's called Dravet's syndrome.

"It's just a severe type of epilepsy," said Harris. "Their seizures can last from five minutes to hours. My daughter's longest seizure was two hours and 45 minutes."

Harris said the only answer is a medication called stiripentol, but it isn't approved by the FDA and not covered by TriCare, the military's health care plan.
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Soldier's Wife Fights For Daughter's Meds

Man claims PTSD after allegedly killing 100 sled dogs

Man claims PTSD after allegedly killing 100 sled dogs
By Nina Golgowski, CNN
February 1, 2011 10:04 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A man files for workers comp, claiming stress
He says he was carrying out company orders to kill 100 dogs
The man cited "a slow winter season" as the reason to decrease the dog pack

(CNN) -- An employee of Canada's Outdoor Adventures company admitted to slaughtering 100 sled dogs, according to a workers compensation report he later filed.

The employee -- whose name authorities have not yet released -- worked as a general manager of Howling Dogs tour company in Whistler, British Columbia. He claimed he was suffering from post-traumatic stress after carrying out company orders to kill the dogs, the report said.

A company with a similar name, Howling Dogs Tours, in Canmore, Alberta, has no connection with this case.

The man cited "a slow winter season" that compelled him to decrease the size of the company's dog pack by 30 percent, the report said.
read more here
Man claims PTSD after allegedly killing 100 sled dogs

Holt brings Sergeant Coleman Bean bill back amid rise in vets’ suicide rate

Holt brings Bean bill back amid rise in vets’ suicide rate

Army report says 145 Guard, Reserve members took own lives in 2010
BY LAUREN CIRAULO
Staff Writer


EAST BRUNSWICK — Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th District) is renewing efforts to pass a bill intended to strengthen treatment resources for returning soldiers.

His reintroduction of the measure, which was suddenly removed from the federal Defense Authorization Act of 2011 in December, was bolstered by a Jan. 19 announcement from the U.S. Army that suicide rates among National Guard and Reserve veterans had increased significantly.

“In the coming weeks, I will be reintroducing the Sergeant Coleman Bean Reserve Component Suicide Prevention Act, which has passed the House unanimously twice but was blocked by members of the Senate minority,” Holt said. “My legislation, named in memory of a constituent who tragically took his own life after serving two combat tours in Iraq, would directly address the lack of follow-up with at-risk Guard and Reserve members …”

Army Chief of Staff Peter Chiarelli issued a report in January indicating that in 2010, the Army’s active-duty force saw a slight drop in the number of suicides, from 162 in 2009 to 156. However, there was a significant rise in the number of suicides among National Guard and Reserve units, nearly doubling from 80 deaths in 2009 to 145 in 2010.

“I am thankful that the efforts of Army Chief of Staff Peter Chiarelli and the Army as a whole has led to a slight reduction in the number of suicides among our active duty soldiers,” Holt said. “However, as Gen. Chiarelli acknowledged today, the doubling in suicides among Guard and Reserve members is both alarming and a call to action.”

For East Brunswick resident Greg Bean, whose son Coleman was 25 when he took his life Sept. 6, 2008, a few months after returning from his second tour in Iraq, the numbers demonstrate the need for action.
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Holt brings Bean bill back amid rise in vets’ suicide rate

NJ center to run counseling program at Fort Hood

NJ center to run counseling program at Fort Hood
By BETH DeFALCO Associated Press © 2011 The Associated Press
Feb. 1, 2011, 2:24PM

TRENTON, N.J. — In response to a record number of suicides in 2010, one of the nation's largest Army posts is turning to a successful veteran-to-veteran counseling program in New Jersey for help.

Beginning Tuesday, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey will provide a toll-free, 24-hour helpline for soldiers and families at Fort Hood in Texas.

Based in Piscataway, N.J., the Vets4Warriors helpline for will be staffed by five veterans, including some who served in Vietnam and Iraq. The counselors, who are trained and employed by UMDNJ, will be available for around-the-clock confidential support both over the phone and through an instant messaging system. Soldiers who call can remain anonymous.

"Unfortunately, the suicide rate among the military has risen dramatically in the past eight years," said Christopher Kosseff, CEO of UMDNJ's University Behavioral HealthCare. "Today, a veteran is twice as likely to commit suicide as someone who has never served."

The Army reported 22 suicides of Fort Hood soldiers last year — double the number in 2009 and even higher than the previous record of 14 in 2008 — prompting officials to look for new ways to help struggling soldiers.

Overall in 2010, the Army reported 343 suicides of soldiers, Army civilians and family members — 69 more than in 2009, according to the Defense Department.

Kosseff, who runs the New Jersey program, had the idea of starting the program at Fort Hood after four suicides were reported in one week at the Army post.

"A veteran can really understand the rigors of military life better than someone who has not lived it," Kosseff said.

Kosseff said that having veterans staff the lines and allowing callers to remain anonymous has been a key reason to its success in New Jersey.

"There's an issue that mental health professionals are not highly regarded by some. They are seen as people who can limit someone's activity, rather than someone who is supporting them," he said.

Known as the Vet2Vet program in New Jersey, the helpline was the first of its kind in the nation when it began operating in New Jersey in 2005. It was modeled after a Cop2Cop counseling program for police.

Master Sgt. Chuck Arnold, a counselor and Vietnam veteran who has worked with the New Jersey hotline since it started said that the peer element is crucial.

"Most are very relieved that they don't have to explain the language of the military," Arnold said. "We follow up and do what we say we are going to do. We are 24-7. You'll always get a live voice."
read more here
NJ center to run counseling program at Fort Hood

Valencia Veterans Association stood out the most

East Campus is my campus and I have to say that I am very proud it is. The association is already doing great things. We had a meeting yesterday and this is a dedicated group of people trying to make a difference at Valencia and in the community.


Tuesday, February 1, 2011

East campus students go clubbing
By Shannon Metherell
smetherell@valenciavoice.com

The Student Government Association had set up tables with individual clubs to promote the club fair. They hosted this event on East campus Thursday, Jan. 27.

With their military uniforms and the training techniques using the pull up bar, the Valencia Veterans Association stood out the most. Many of the club’s activities in creating a brotherhood include recruiting them around campus, helping homeless veterans, and even taking a trip to the gun range with UCF. “We like to help come together and try to help veterans transition into school life” stated president Donald Gibson.
read more here
http://valenciavoice.com/valencia-news/east-campus-students-go-clubbing

Iraq veteran killed by police lived trying to help other veterans

Another veteran dies in confrontation with police
Published: Tuesday, February 01, 2011
By Mike Francis, The Oregonian
Right on the heels of the burial of Thomas Higginbotham, the homeless veteran who was shot to death by Portland police, another veteran was shot to death after a showdown with police at his house in Gresham. Witnesses say he was suicidal and armed with a rifle.

McDowell's death shocked friends and associates, who say he was a jovial, outgoing man bursting with energy and eager to help vets.
read more here
Another veteran dies in confrontation with police

Man shot by Gresham police was an Iraq veteran who tried to help other vets
Published: Tuesday, February 01, 2011
By Lynne Terry, The Oregonian
A 50-year-old Gresham man who was killed in a confrontation with police was a career serviceman who spent the last two years trying to raise money and respect for veterans.

Anthony L. McDowell, an active member of the U.S. Army Reserves and the founder of a nonprofit supporting veterans, was killed outside his home in the 24000 block of Southeast Oak Street in Gresham on Monday evening.

Officer John Rasmussen, spokesman for Gresham police, said McDowell's wife, Teresa, called police right before 7 p.m., saying her husband was suicidal.

"Prior to our arrival, a family member had already taken a weapon away from him," Rasmussen said. "He did rearm himself with a rifle."

Gratton said her son's 13-year-old daughter and his wife witnessed the shooting.
read more here
Man shot by Gresham police was an Iraq veteran

Funeral of Homeless Vietnam Veteran Thomas Higginbotham who Died in Police Shooting

Funeral of Homeless Vietnam Veteran who Died in Police Shooting
Military Funeral of Thomas Higginbotham, 67, a homeless veteran who died in a police shooting after allegedly attacking them with a knife. Portland, Oregon. 01/02/2011
Thomas Higginbotham, 67, was buried at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon, with military honors. He had been homeless for an unknown period of time, and had been living in an abandoned carwash in Portland's southeast side.
He had been in the United States Army for approximately 2 1/2 years, and served at least one tour in Vietnam. His life after the service was troubled, and he had been arrested and imprisoned many times in California. At least one arrest was for assault. At the time of his death, he had neither relatives, money, nor address. The police, the Veteran's Hospital database, and even the FBI were unable to locate next of kin or connections. The Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program, founded in St. Louis in 2000, became involved.
read more here
Funeral of Homeless Vietnam Veteran who Died in Police Shooting

Grand jury reports: Portland police shot homeless veteran 10 times after he advanced holding a knife
Published: Friday, January 28, 2011, 7:58 PM

By Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian

Two Portland police officers fired 12 gunshots at Thomas Higginbotham on Jan. 2 when they say the homeless man inside an abandoned Southeast Portland car wash walked toward them holding a knife with an 8-inch blade.

Higginbotham, 67, was struck 10 times and died from wounds to the chest and abdomen, according to grand jury records released Friday. He had two other knives in his coat pocket, and a blood-alcohol content of .26.
read more here
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/01/portland_police_shoot_homeless.html

Ft. Riley charged with stalking soldier she was supposed to be helping

Ft. Riley therapist charged with stalking, sexually harassing soldier who was her patient

By Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A therapist who was treating a Fort Riley soldier for traumatic stress has been accused of sexually harassing the patient.

Rachelle Santiago was charged Monday in a federal criminal complaint with stalking the sergeant she was counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder and marital issues. An affidavit also alleges she sent him sexually explicit messages and pictures, and that she stalked the soldier and his wife.
read more here
Ft. Riley therapist charged with stalking

Man charged with wanting to blow up Islamic Center

The man is a Vietnam Vet with PTSD according to this report. It is not the first time he has been charged with something like this. Why? What kind of help did he get after the threat against President Bush? What kind of help has he ever gotten?

Man who threatend veteran's facilities faces new federal charges

Burlington, Vermont - January 31, 2011

A man who was charged with threatening the VA hospital in White River Junction, the Veterans Center in Colchester and President Bush back in 2002, has picked up new federal charges, this time in Michigan.

Police picked up 63-year-old Roger Stockham last week for allegedly planning to attack the Islamic Center of America. A psychiatric exam in 2004 found Stockham suffered from several issues, including personality disorder and post-traumatic stress.
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Man who threatend veteran's facilities