End of VA program spurs protests
Posted: April 22, 2011
By Ann Marie Bush
THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
The elimination of a program at the Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center has some people concerned about the possibility of cuts to other veterans’ programs.
"The bottom line is the VA has closed some very important clinics," said Marvella Kreipe, of Tecumseh.
At issue in this case is the lapidary program, where rock cutting and polishing took place.
Kreipe and her husband, Bill, a Vietnam veteran, were two of six people protesting cuts outside of the VA hospital Thursday afternoon.
Georgia and James Bent, of Quenemo, also held signs protesting the closure of the lapidary program and the possible closure of other programs.
James Bent, who served in the Kansas National Guard, has had a lot of improvement during his time in the lapidary program, Georgia Bent said. James returned from Iraq a few years ago.
"My husband was in the military for over 20 years," Georgia wrote in an email. "He and I are both proud of that. What we are not proud of is the lack of care our vets are receiving now. My husband is not the same man he was prior to spending a year in Iraq. It has taken many, many months of counseling and treatment programs to get him where he is able to function normally."
read more here
End of VA program spurs protests
Sunday, April 24, 2011
"Not proud of lack of care our vets are receiving now"
There is only one "one size fits all" therapy for veterans and that is we do all we can to give them what they need. If a tiny program works for these veterans, do it. Don't find excuses to cut something that is helping them heal. Doing all we can is therapy for them because we prove they do matter. Cutting programs tells them they are not worth the price.
Female Army Vet, released from PTSD program, committed suicide at shooting range
TAYLOR: Iowa woman recently released from post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program
Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011
By Rene Cizio
TAYLOR — A 38-year-old Iowa woman killed herself Wednesday at Top Gun Shooting Sports, 16725 Racho Road.
Police said Army veteran Wendy Torrey had been released recently from a post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program at the Battle Creek Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Police said Torrey went to the range at about 1 p.m., rented a semiautomatic handgun and shot at targets for awhile. Surveillance video shows that she stopped firing at the target and shot herself in the head.
read more here
Iowa woman recently released
Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011
By Rene Cizio
TAYLOR — A 38-year-old Iowa woman killed herself Wednesday at Top Gun Shooting Sports, 16725 Racho Road.
Police said Army veteran Wendy Torrey had been released recently from a post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program at the Battle Creek Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Police said Torrey went to the range at about 1 p.m., rented a semiautomatic handgun and shot at targets for awhile. Surveillance video shows that she stopped firing at the target and shot herself in the head.
read more here
Iowa woman recently released
Ignored sacrifices
If you search Google images for Easter, there are 20,700,000 results to find. This was the first picture and up until page 11 in the results, it was all about colored eggs and the Easter Bunny.
Much like Christmas being all about Santa, Easter has been taken over and has taken away Christ. This image showed up on page 11.
If you go to church, Christmas is all about the birth of Christ. At least that's the day Christians celebrate it but when you look back to why they decided on December 25, discovering this day is not really a holy day to most of the world, is not that big of a shock. The trees, holly and celebrations were tied to old traditions of celebrating the Winter Solstice and had nothing to do with the birth of the Son of God. It was all about what was in it for the people. The early Christian church couldn't get the people to stop celebrating, so they decided to tie the celebrating to Christ.
Easter has been one more time during the year when people do more celebrating than honoring the willingness of Christ to sacrifice His life for the sake of humanity. We ignore His life, how He lived and what He did, pretend that the crucifixion was a failure instead of a known outcome predicted 700 years before it happened as much as we forget He had a choice that day to walk away or fulfill God's mercy. When plain humans have a choice of thinking of themselves or of others, we seem to find it easier to accept self interest above sacrifice. Most want to know what's in if for them.
We ignore sacrifices everyday. Volunteering is considered to be done by people not good enough to be paid for what they do. High school graduates entering into the military are thought of as doing it just because they can't find a job or can't afford college. Sacrifices for the sake of someone else are reasons to find excuses to dismiss what some do for the sake of others. It makes us feel better about ourselves when we do nothing for anyone else.
We ignore Christ and forget about God until we need something from them. We ignore the men and women serving in the military until we need them to do something for the country and what they do better end soon after it begins or we lose interests, then complain about how much what they are doing is costing us. We ignore volunteers until something is not being done and then we wonder why no one is showing up to feed the hungry, help someone in need or even hold a door for us when our hands are full.
When the world turns selfish, we wonder why, until another disaster hits and suddenly they show up again. It is not that they stopped doing things for other people. We stopped looking for them.
If you go to church, Christmas is all about the birth of Christ. At least that's the day Christians celebrate it but when you look back to why they decided on December 25, discovering this day is not really a holy day to most of the world, is not that big of a shock. The trees, holly and celebrations were tied to old traditions of celebrating the Winter Solstice and had nothing to do with the birth of the Son of God. It was all about what was in it for the people. The early Christian church couldn't get the people to stop celebrating, so they decided to tie the celebrating to Christ.
Easter has been one more time during the year when people do more celebrating than honoring the willingness of Christ to sacrifice His life for the sake of humanity. We ignore His life, how He lived and what He did, pretend that the crucifixion was a failure instead of a known outcome predicted 700 years before it happened as much as we forget He had a choice that day to walk away or fulfill God's mercy. When plain humans have a choice of thinking of themselves or of others, we seem to find it easier to accept self interest above sacrifice. Most want to know what's in if for them.
We ignore sacrifices everyday. Volunteering is considered to be done by people not good enough to be paid for what they do. High school graduates entering into the military are thought of as doing it just because they can't find a job or can't afford college. Sacrifices for the sake of someone else are reasons to find excuses to dismiss what some do for the sake of others. It makes us feel better about ourselves when we do nothing for anyone else.
We ignore Christ and forget about God until we need something from them. We ignore the men and women serving in the military until we need them to do something for the country and what they do better end soon after it begins or we lose interests, then complain about how much what they are doing is costing us. We ignore volunteers until something is not being done and then we wonder why no one is showing up to feed the hungry, help someone in need or even hold a door for us when our hands are full.
When the world turns selfish, we wonder why, until another disaster hits and suddenly they show up again. It is not that they stopped doing things for other people. We stopped looking for them.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Reporter ignores more important story
This is what the headline was.
Ex-Marine beats wife during divorce hearing
They focused on the fact this man was a Marine. Was that just an easier headline for them to use than the fact this woman tried to get a restraining order against her husband but it was denied before this even happened? Where was her protection?
When women are afraid in their own home, it is about as bad as it gets, but for too many the nightmare comes when they try to get someone to protect them. Why was it denied? Who denied it?
We cover a lot of stories on veterans but one that does not get enough attention is the simple fact that some of the veterans coming back are living on anger because they did not get the help they needed. This is a price being paid all too often.
When families are dealing with PTSD veterans, it makes it harder to live with some of them. Keep in mind that most do not abuse their families, but as we've read too many times, some do. The first thing families need to do is find a safe place to live and then try to get their spouse help from a distance.
I don't know if Gonzalez has PTSD or not but I do know this woman tried to get protection from him and this is the result of her not getting it. So why was this a bigger story as an ex-Marine beating his wife in court than the fact the court refused to help her be save in the first place?
Ex-Marine beats wife during divorce hearing
They focused on the fact this man was a Marine. Was that just an easier headline for them to use than the fact this woman tried to get a restraining order against her husband but it was denied before this even happened? Where was her protection?
Wife speaks about court attack
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A mother of two came on camera to talk about a brutal beating by her husband that unfolded in front of a judge.
The incident occurred at the Broward County Courthouse, last Friday.
Caty Scott-Gonzalez was at the final court hearing for her divorce from her husband, Paul Gonzalez. Scott-Gonzalez said her husband blind-sided her inside the private chambers of Judge Ronald Rothschild. As Gonzalez began beating his wife, a dozen bailiffs rushed in to subdue him.
The victim said, "They had to Tase him twice in order to remove him from me."
Scott-Gonzalez was beaten so badly, she fell unconscious. "The first blow to my face knocked me out, so I don't really remember anything," she said. "I just had a bad feeling, but I thought that the place that I was in, that there was nothing that could happen to me, and I was wrong."
Gonzalez has been charged with felony battery. The ex-Marine remains in jail on $1 million bond. During Gonzalez's appearance in bond court, the judge said, "Rarely in my career have I ever set a bond in this amount or even approaching it, but the allegations are indeed extremely serious and shocking."
According to Scott-Gonzalez, she tried to tell others that her husband could be violent at times. The battered wife said she attempted to get a restraining order against her husband; however, her request was denied.
click link above for more
When women are afraid in their own home, it is about as bad as it gets, but for too many the nightmare comes when they try to get someone to protect them. Why was it denied? Who denied it?
We cover a lot of stories on veterans but one that does not get enough attention is the simple fact that some of the veterans coming back are living on anger because they did not get the help they needed. This is a price being paid all too often.
When families are dealing with PTSD veterans, it makes it harder to live with some of them. Keep in mind that most do not abuse their families, but as we've read too many times, some do. The first thing families need to do is find a safe place to live and then try to get their spouse help from a distance.
I don't know if Gonzalez has PTSD or not but I do know this woman tried to get protection from him and this is the result of her not getting it. So why was this a bigger story as an ex-Marine beating his wife in court than the fact the court refused to help her be save in the first place?
Military faces challenge to malpractice shield Feres
Military faces challenge to malpractice shield
(AP)
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Veterans, military families and others who oppose a decades-old law that shields military medical personnel from malpractice lawsuits are rallying around a case they consider the best chance in a generation to change the widely unpopular protection.
The U.S. Supreme Court has asked for more information from attorneys and will decide next month whether to hear the case of a 25-year-old noncommissioned officer who died after a nurse put a tube down the wrong part of his throat.
If the law is overturned, it could expose the federal government to billions of dollars in liability claims. That makes it highly unlikely a divided Congress desperate to cut expenses will act on its own to change what's called the Feres Doctrine, a 1950 Supreme Court ruling that effectively equates injuries from medical mistakes with battlefield wounds.
The court case involves the death of Air Force Staff Sgt. Dean Patrick Witt, who was hospitalized in 2003 for what should have been a routine appendectomy at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif. Following surgery, a nurse anesthetist inserted a breathing tube into his esophagus instead of his trachea or airway, depriving his brain of oxygen. Witt, of Oroville, Calif., died once his family removed him from life support three months later.
The nurse admitted her mistake and surrendered her state license. Federal courts denied the legal claim by Witt's widow, saying their hands were tied by the Feres Doctrine. Witt's family appealed, aiming to help other service members who get hurt in military hospitals.
"We labored on this for a long, long time, and we decided that the right thing to do here was to protect the rights of other people who go into the military and are signing away their rights to get good health care in the military system," said Witt's brother-in-law, Carlos Lopez, of Salt Lake City. "So we're hoping, we're praying, that his case could be the one that changes everything."
The Feres (pronounced FEHR-es) ruling grew out of the Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946, which allowed lawsuits against the government for negligent acts under certain circumstances. Initially the law was interpreted to forbid lawsuits by military personnel and their families only for combat-related injuries and deaths, but the decision in Feres vs. United States — involving a soldier who died in a barracks fire — widened that exclusion to bar any lawsuits over injuries "incident to military service."
read more here
Military faces challenge to malpractice shield
(AP)
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Veterans, military families and others who oppose a decades-old law that shields military medical personnel from malpractice lawsuits are rallying around a case they consider the best chance in a generation to change the widely unpopular protection.
The U.S. Supreme Court has asked for more information from attorneys and will decide next month whether to hear the case of a 25-year-old noncommissioned officer who died after a nurse put a tube down the wrong part of his throat.
If the law is overturned, it could expose the federal government to billions of dollars in liability claims. That makes it highly unlikely a divided Congress desperate to cut expenses will act on its own to change what's called the Feres Doctrine, a 1950 Supreme Court ruling that effectively equates injuries from medical mistakes with battlefield wounds.
The court case involves the death of Air Force Staff Sgt. Dean Patrick Witt, who was hospitalized in 2003 for what should have been a routine appendectomy at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif. Following surgery, a nurse anesthetist inserted a breathing tube into his esophagus instead of his trachea or airway, depriving his brain of oxygen. Witt, of Oroville, Calif., died once his family removed him from life support three months later.
The nurse admitted her mistake and surrendered her state license. Federal courts denied the legal claim by Witt's widow, saying their hands were tied by the Feres Doctrine. Witt's family appealed, aiming to help other service members who get hurt in military hospitals.
"We labored on this for a long, long time, and we decided that the right thing to do here was to protect the rights of other people who go into the military and are signing away their rights to get good health care in the military system," said Witt's brother-in-law, Carlos Lopez, of Salt Lake City. "So we're hoping, we're praying, that his case could be the one that changes everything."
The Feres (pronounced FEHR-es) ruling grew out of the Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946, which allowed lawsuits against the government for negligent acts under certain circumstances. Initially the law was interpreted to forbid lawsuits by military personnel and their families only for combat-related injuries and deaths, but the decision in Feres vs. United States — involving a soldier who died in a barracks fire — widened that exclusion to bar any lawsuits over injuries "incident to military service."
read more here
Military faces challenge to malpractice shield
Friday, April 22, 2011
After over 60 years, Daytona Beach soldier's remains are coming home
Many people do not know how many were not accounted for after Korea.
Here is one more story I came across that will warm your heart a bit more. It is about the Vietnam War and a group of veterans, police and firefighters making a difference.
KOREAN UNACCOUNTED FOR
(Bodies not identified/bodies not recovered) 8,176
Prisoner of War 2,045
Killed in Action 1,794
Missing in Action 4,245
Non-battle 92
Total: 8,176
After over 60 years, Daytona Beach soldier's remains are coming home
By Jason Wheeler, Volusia County Reporter
Last Updated: Friday, April 22, 2011 2:58 PM
DAYTONA BEACH --
The son of a U.S. soldier, killed during the Korean War, is getting ready to lay his father to rest -- 61 years after he died.
Sergeant First Class James Caldwell's remains were were excavated from a mass grave by the North Korean government in the 90's, and turned over to the U.S.
DNA helped identify the remains at the POW-MIA Accountability Center.
Johnston Caldwell was a toddler when his father disappeared in 1950.
For Caldwell, he and his sister said their goodbyes years ago.
"I lost my dad when I was a kid, only 4 1/2 years of age," Johnston Caldwell said. "I never got to know that much about him except what my mother told me, so we kind of buried him a long time ago."
James Caldwell's remains are being flown to Volusia County on Monday. They will be met by a full military honor guard, as well as the president of the local Korean War Veterans Assocation, Robert McGuire.
According to McGuire, Caldwell's family is lucky. Many more families are still waiting for word of their loved ones.
read more here
Daytona Beach soldier's remains are coming home
Here is one more story I came across that will warm your heart a bit more. It is about the Vietnam War and a group of veterans, police and firefighters making a difference.
KIA Man’s Dog Tag Returned to Family by Nam Knights
Biker group returns fallen soldier’s dog tag
By AUDREY PARENTE, Staff writer
March 10, 2011 – DAYTONA BEACH — At 16, Darlene Woodruff looked up to her soldier cousin, Army Sgt. Robert Melvin Fletcher, who wrote letters to her from the jungles of Vietnam.
The thought of him not coming home never crossed her mind. But on Mother’s Day in 1968, she learned of his death.
“I remember thinking — wondering — what kind of things he had faced over there as such a young man,” Woodruff said. “I remember thinking he had done something far greater than I had done or would ever do.”
More than four decades later, as part of an annual Bike Week party Thursday morning, she learned how her cousin died.
At a special ceremony at the Veterans of Foreign War Post 1590, she watched her sister, Sharron Blais, clutch his dog tag and hug the soldier in whose arms he died.
The former soldier, retired steelworker Clifford William Searcy Jr., found his way to Daytona Beach and Fletcher’s family as part of a chain of events that began in 1998 when a Wall Street trader bought a sack of 100 dog tags from a Vietnamese peasant. The journey ended with Searcy telling Woodruff and Blais the story of their cousin’s final moments.
read more here
KIA Man’s Dog Tag Returned to Family by Nam Knights
JP Morgan and Chase will pay $26 Military Foreclosure Claims
Bank Settles Military Foreclosure Claims
April 22, 2011
Stars and Stripes|by Bill Murphy Jr.
Banking giant JPMorgan Chase and Co., which admitted earlier this year that it had improperly overcharged thousands of military families on their mortgages and foreclosed on the homes of servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan, will pay $26 million to settle the class action lawsuit that brought the activity to light.
Marine Capt. Jonathan Rowles and his wife, Julia, filed the suit, which accused Chase of ignoring the protections they were due under a federal law known as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
“We are sorry and regret the mistakes our firm made on mortgages for members of the military, and we’d like to thank Capt. and Mrs. Rowles for helping us address them,” Chase's chief administrative officer, Frank Bisignano, said in a statement announcing the deal. “We hold ourselves accountable and responsible for these mistakes, and fixing them is just the beginning of a new way forward with the military and veteran community as we make serving them a core part of how we operate our business every day."
“My family and I thank Chase for resolving this matter,” Capt. Rowles said in the same statement.
“It is our hope that this settlement will result in greater attention by the entire financial services industry to the nation’s laws that protect our military families."
read more here
Bank Settles Military Foreclosure Claims
April 22, 2011
Stars and Stripes|by Bill Murphy Jr.
Banking giant JPMorgan Chase and Co., which admitted earlier this year that it had improperly overcharged thousands of military families on their mortgages and foreclosed on the homes of servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan, will pay $26 million to settle the class action lawsuit that brought the activity to light.
Marine Capt. Jonathan Rowles and his wife, Julia, filed the suit, which accused Chase of ignoring the protections they were due under a federal law known as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
“We are sorry and regret the mistakes our firm made on mortgages for members of the military, and we’d like to thank Capt. and Mrs. Rowles for helping us address them,” Chase's chief administrative officer, Frank Bisignano, said in a statement announcing the deal. “We hold ourselves accountable and responsible for these mistakes, and fixing them is just the beginning of a new way forward with the military and veteran community as we make serving them a core part of how we operate our business every day."
“My family and I thank Chase for resolving this matter,” Capt. Rowles said in the same statement.
“It is our hope that this settlement will result in greater attention by the entire financial services industry to the nation’s laws that protect our military families."
read more here
Bank Settles Military Foreclosure Claims
Scientists make breakthrough in understanding stress related disorders again
Most enter into the military right out of high school. This region of the brian is not fully developed until the age of 25. So there you have part one of the reason so many young veterans never leave combat behind and why they grow old fighting battles in their minds.
The problem I'm having right now is this study was even done in the UK when it was already known years ago. This is one more reason why there has been no real new research done.
I've been involved with PTSD since 1982 when I met my Vietnam Vet husband. Over the years there isn't much I have not read simply because my life was involved as his wife. This wasn't just research to me. It was my life so it mattered a great deal. Over all these years I've gone to more conferences and taken training to the point where I cannot remember all of them unless I search my book case and storage boxes for the information I brought back home. I can tell you for a fact this information has been out there for several years but it did not come from studying members of the military. It came from research done on civilians.
What this does not include is the answer as to why the average rate of humans exposed to trauma and ending up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is one out of three and not 100%. The answer is in how we are all different.
Some people are selfish thinking about themselves and their own needs more than others. Some are compassionate enough that they put other people ahead of themselves. Some are in between these two groups. PTSD strikes those who are able to feel more deeply than others. They not only walk away with their own pain but they take upon themselves the pain of others.
They want to develop a drug that blocks proteins without ever understanding why PTSD strikes in the first place. They don't understand why the exposures to traumatic events increase the risk of PTSD even in the subjects that fall into the "self" group. They ignore the increased levels of police officers over firefighters and the military higher than anyone else. Police and military members are not only exposed to more events but they also participate in the events with violence. Their PTSD is much different than simply surviving the event itself. Firefighters respond after the fire and they develop PTSD as well but as with civilians, it is a different type of wound they carry with them.
Until researchers understand what is behind it, they will not make any real contributions to healing it. Repeating studies that were already done is a waste of time.
Scientists make breakthrough in understanding stress
A team of neuroscientists has made a breakthrough in understanding how the brain responds to traumatic events.
The discovery could lead to new treatments for stress-related psychiatric disorders.
Dr Robert Pawlak, from the University of Leicester, said: "It was known certain individuals are more susceptible to detrimental effects of stress.
"However, the reasons were not clear."
Researchers, led by Dr Pawlak, found that the emotional centre of the brain – the amygdala – reacts to stress by increasing production of the protein neuropsin.
This triggers a series of chemical reactions including activating a gene that determines the stress response.
Blocking those proteins reduced stress levels.
Dr Pawlak said: "We are tremendously excited about these findings. Our discovery opens new possibilities for the prevention and treatment of stress-related psychiatric disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder."
Scientists make breakthrough in understanding stress
The problem I'm having right now is this study was even done in the UK when it was already known years ago. This is one more reason why there has been no real new research done.
I've been involved with PTSD since 1982 when I met my Vietnam Vet husband. Over the years there isn't much I have not read simply because my life was involved as his wife. This wasn't just research to me. It was my life so it mattered a great deal. Over all these years I've gone to more conferences and taken training to the point where I cannot remember all of them unless I search my book case and storage boxes for the information I brought back home. I can tell you for a fact this information has been out there for several years but it did not come from studying members of the military. It came from research done on civilians.
What this does not include is the answer as to why the average rate of humans exposed to trauma and ending up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is one out of three and not 100%. The answer is in how we are all different.
Some people are selfish thinking about themselves and their own needs more than others. Some are compassionate enough that they put other people ahead of themselves. Some are in between these two groups. PTSD strikes those who are able to feel more deeply than others. They not only walk away with their own pain but they take upon themselves the pain of others.
They want to develop a drug that blocks proteins without ever understanding why PTSD strikes in the first place. They don't understand why the exposures to traumatic events increase the risk of PTSD even in the subjects that fall into the "self" group. They ignore the increased levels of police officers over firefighters and the military higher than anyone else. Police and military members are not only exposed to more events but they also participate in the events with violence. Their PTSD is much different than simply surviving the event itself. Firefighters respond after the fire and they develop PTSD as well but as with civilians, it is a different type of wound they carry with them.
Until researchers understand what is behind it, they will not make any real contributions to healing it. Repeating studies that were already done is a waste of time.
It took a Vietnam Vet 28 years to have VA claim approved
You may read this and say "it's great" but when you think about the hell they go through between filing a claim and finally seeing the day it is honored, you'd know how high the price was. It eats away at them when they see everything they have slip away and it seems no one gives a damn.
Local veteran wins 28-year-long battle for disability and medical benefits with the help of Sen. Gillibrand
Published: Thursday, April 21, 2011
By PAUL POST
ppost@saratogian.com
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Vietnam veteran Roger Lefco has finally won a 28-year battle to obtain disability and medical benefits.
The 68-year-old Stillwater resident has obtained $42,000 in retroactive benefits and will get an additional $2,600 in monthly Veterans Administration benefits going forward.
He was forced to leave his job 10 years ago because of war-related post-traumatic stress disorder and has been out of work ever since.
"There is hope for New York veterans," he said. "They should never give up and keep on fighting for what they deserve."
Lefco served in Vietnam from 1963 to 1966, where he picked up fuel, bombs and explosives for delivery to his own base at Phu Bai. In 1970, he went to work for New York Telephone Co. where he stayed until December 2001, when PTSD forced him to leave his job.
Lefco filed his first claim for VA benefits in 1983. However, at that time, veterans were required to document specific incidents that might have triggered the disorder.
read more here
Local veteran wins 28-year-long battle
Judge Robert Russell and Veterans Treatment Court Honored
Legislature Honors Judge Robert Russell and Veterans Treatment Court
By WKBW News
April 20, 2011
Updated Apr 20, 2011 at 2:00 PM EDT
Buffalo, NY – ( release) The Erie County Legislature honored Judge Robert Russell and his vision and leadership in creating the nation’s first Veteran Treatment Court in Buffalo.
Legislator Daniel Kozub drafted the Proclamation that was read on the floor of the Legislature at a regular session on April 14, 2011. In it he thanked Judge Russell for forming the first ever veterans treatment court in the nation in January of 2008. Since that time the program has been copied in counties throughout the United States.
read more here
Legislature Honors Judge Robert Russell
By WKBW News
April 20, 2011
Updated Apr 20, 2011 at 2:00 PM EDT
Buffalo, NY – ( release) The Erie County Legislature honored Judge Robert Russell and his vision and leadership in creating the nation’s first Veteran Treatment Court in Buffalo.
Legislator Daniel Kozub drafted the Proclamation that was read on the floor of the Legislature at a regular session on April 14, 2011. In it he thanked Judge Russell for forming the first ever veterans treatment court in the nation in January of 2008. Since that time the program has been copied in counties throughout the United States.
read more here
Legislature Honors Judge Robert Russell
As many as one-third of U.S. military veterans suffering
If you doubted the "one out of three" percentage I usually use, when you read about "experts" saying the figure is a lot less, here is more proof supporting the percentage that has been used for over 30 years by experts working on PTSD before it was "newsworthy" and the media only focused on Vietnam Vets going to jail.
They self-medicate because they are not getting what they need, not getting support enough to seek help still and yes, still being treated as if they "owe" us anything when they have to fight the VA for disability ratings and treatment.
Vets substance abuse, mental illness link
Published: April 20, 2011 at 11:17 PM
NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 20 (UPI) -- As many as one-third of U.S. military veterans who suffer from mental health disorders also have substance use disorders, researchers say.
Study leader Dr. Ismene Petrakis of Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., used data from the Department of Veterans Affairs to examine rates of substance use disorders among veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. They checked those who were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychiatric disorders.
Read more:
Vets substance abuse, mental illness link
They self-medicate because they are not getting what they need, not getting support enough to seek help still and yes, still being treated as if they "owe" us anything when they have to fight the VA for disability ratings and treatment.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Col. Parker Schenecker says "Wife was ‘sick’ when she killed kids"
Colonel: Wife was ‘sick’ when she killed kids
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 21, 2011 15:51:06 EDT
TAMPA, Fla. — The husband of a woman who admitted killing her two teenage children says his wife suffered from mental illness since before they were married and likely had substance-abuse issues.
Still, Army Col. Parker Schenecker said, he never suspected his wife Julie would harm their children. Schenecker talked to People magazine for an issue that will be on newsstands Friday.
Julie Schenecker, 50, planned and carried out the fatal shootings of her 16-year-old daughter, Calyx, and 13-year-old son Beau, in January, police said.
read more here
Wife was ‘sick’ when she killed kids
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 21, 2011 15:51:06 EDT
TAMPA, Fla. — The husband of a woman who admitted killing her two teenage children says his wife suffered from mental illness since before they were married and likely had substance-abuse issues.
Still, Army Col. Parker Schenecker said, he never suspected his wife Julie would harm their children. Schenecker talked to People magazine for an issue that will be on newsstands Friday.
Julie Schenecker, 50, planned and carried out the fatal shootings of her 16-year-old daughter, Calyx, and 13-year-old son Beau, in January, police said.
read more here
Wife was ‘sick’ when she killed kids
Army "promises" change in the way National Guards-Reservists are treated
Wyden: Army Vows to Improve Guard Treatment
Changes Outlined Involving irag, Afghanistan Returnees
From KTVZ.COM News Sources
WASHINGTON -- Responding to concerns raised over the past year, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.),said Wednesday the Army has announced changes aimed at improving the treatment of National Guard and Reserve troops returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The changes announced in documents provided to Wyden’s office include ensuring each soldier receives proper medical care, improving communication about entitlements and benefits and greater access to medical care following demobilization.
The changes also include keeping Guard and Reserve leaders with their units at demobilization stations until each soldier receives the care and resources they have earned
“For more than a year now, we have been concerned that the Army was treating National Guard and Reserve troops differently by sending them home too quickly following demobilization and not informing them or providing them with the medical care they needed and deserved following a combat deployment,” Wyden said.
“The Department of Defense has acknowledged that the treatment of these troops was not what it should be. Now the military has taken steps to improve the situation. They deserve a great deal of credit for recognizing these problems and taking steps to fix them.”
"Our National Guard and Reserve men and women have served this nation honorably and with distinction," said Schrader. "They deserve, and are frankly entitled to, the same consideration during and after demobilization as Active Component service members. Being provided misinformation two hundred miles from the nearest Military Treatment Facility is not acceptable."
Under the new policies, the demobilization process for Guard and Reserve soldiers will be extended to up to 14 days rather than the previous five- to seven-day limit. This change addresses complaints that troops were being rushed off active duty too quickly and before their medical issues were properly identified and resolved. Another change includes making it easier to admit Guard and Reserve troops into the Warrior Transition Unit for medical treatment.
read more here
Army Vows to Improve Guard Treatment
Changes Outlined Involving irag, Afghanistan Returnees
From KTVZ.COM News Sources
WASHINGTON -- Responding to concerns raised over the past year, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.),said Wednesday the Army has announced changes aimed at improving the treatment of National Guard and Reserve troops returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The changes announced in documents provided to Wyden’s office include ensuring each soldier receives proper medical care, improving communication about entitlements and benefits and greater access to medical care following demobilization.
The changes also include keeping Guard and Reserve leaders with their units at demobilization stations until each soldier receives the care and resources they have earned
“For more than a year now, we have been concerned that the Army was treating National Guard and Reserve troops differently by sending them home too quickly following demobilization and not informing them or providing them with the medical care they needed and deserved following a combat deployment,” Wyden said.
“The Department of Defense has acknowledged that the treatment of these troops was not what it should be. Now the military has taken steps to improve the situation. They deserve a great deal of credit for recognizing these problems and taking steps to fix them.”
"Our National Guard and Reserve men and women have served this nation honorably and with distinction," said Schrader. "They deserve, and are frankly entitled to, the same consideration during and after demobilization as Active Component service members. Being provided misinformation two hundred miles from the nearest Military Treatment Facility is not acceptable."
Under the new policies, the demobilization process for Guard and Reserve soldiers will be extended to up to 14 days rather than the previous five- to seven-day limit. This change addresses complaints that troops were being rushed off active duty too quickly and before their medical issues were properly identified and resolved. Another change includes making it easier to admit Guard and Reserve troops into the Warrior Transition Unit for medical treatment.
read more here
Army Vows to Improve Guard Treatment
Another insult to 9-11 first responders, screening by FBI
Before you hit the roof, you need to know who to thank on this one. Here you go.
For the last 9 years all we've heard them say is 9-11 this and that. They started two wars using 9-11. They used the troops, they ignored veterans, they made the first responders wait all this time for help after they voted against taking care of their healthcare needs and now this!
"The provision was added in an amendment by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) during the heated debate over the bill in the House Energy and Commerce Committee last May.
Sept. 11 responders in the committee room at the time mostly shook their heads at the move, which Democrats accepted on a voice vote after battling to bar other amendments on abortion and immigration that might have killed the bill."
For the last 9 years all we've heard them say is 9-11 this and that. They started two wars using 9-11. They used the troops, they ignored veterans, they made the first responders wait all this time for help after they voted against taking care of their healthcare needs and now this!
9/11 Responders To Be Warned They Will Be Screened By FBI's Terrorism Watch List (EXCLUSIVE)
First Posted: 04/21/11
Michael McAuliff
mike.mcauliff@huffingtonpost.com
WASHINGTON -- A provision in the new 9/11 health bill may be adding insult to injury for people who fell sick after their service in the aftermath of the 2001 Al Qaeda attacks, The Huffington Post has learned.
The tens of thousands of cops, firefighters, construction workers and others who survived the worst terrorist assault in U.S. history and risked their lives in its wake will soon be informed that their names must be run through the FBI’s terrorism watch list, according to a letter obtained by HuffPost.
Any of the responders who are not compared to the database of suspected terrorists would be barred from getting treatment for the numerous, worsening ailments that the James Zadroga 9/11 Health And Compensation Law was passed to address.
It’s a requirement that was tacked onto the law during the bitter debates over it last year.
The letter from Dr. John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, informs medical providers and administrators that they should begin letting patients know before the new program kicks in this July.
“This is absurd,” said Glen Kline, a former NYPD emergency services officer. “It’s silly. It’s stupid. It’s asinine.”
“It’s comical at best, and I think it’s an insult to everyone who worked on The Pile and is sick and suffering from 9/11,” said John Feal, a former construction worker who lost half a foot at Ground Zero and runs the advocacy group Fealgood Foundation.
read more here
9/11 Responders To Be Warned
Decorated Vietnam Vet sues Army over discharge
John Shepherd is not alone. He has plenty of company. When we acknowledge that it is still going on today, even with what we know about PTSD, you need to remember it was a lot worse for the Vietnam Vets when no one knew anything.
Vietnam veteran with Bronze star and 2004 PTSD diagnosis sues Army over discharge
JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN Associated Press
First Posted: April 21, 2011 - 11:02 am
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A Vietnam veteran who received the Bronze Star and later was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder filed a federal lawsuit Thursday trying to get the Army to modify his other-than-honorable discharge so that his sacrifice will be recognized and he can get disability benefits.
John Shepherd, a 63-year-old New Haven resident, says he battled alcoholism and struggled to stay employed for 40 years, but was not diagnosed with PTSD until 2004.
"My other-than-honorable discharge has made me feel deeply ashamed for many years," Shepherd said in a statement. "I hope this lawsuit can finally change that."
An Army spokesman says the service does not comment on pending lawsuits.
In 1969, Shepherd served a combat tour in the Mekong Delta, participating in patrols and search-and-destroy missions. The Army awarded him with a Bronze Star after his unit came under intense fire and Shepherd rushed toward an enemy bunker, entered it and threw a grenade that killed several enemy soldiers, according to the lawsuit.
Shepherd developed symptoms of PTSD after blowing up the enemy bunker and later witnessing the gruesome deaths of several comrades, according to his lawsuit. Shepherd also witnessed the killing of his commanding officer, who was reaching down to pull Shepherd out of a ditch when he was shot multiple times.
read more here
Vietnam Vet sues Army
Jonathan Shay to receive Salem Award for work with veterans
DR. JONATHAN SHAY: RECIPIENT OF THE 19th ANNUAL SALEM AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
DR. JONATHAN SHAY: ADVOCATING FOR VETERANS
Dr. Jonathan Shay’s work has been instrumental in building public awareness and acceptance of post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD as a serious and bona fide war injury, and his focus on how the military can reduce the incidence of such injury has been influential within the services.
From 1987 to 2008, he was a staff psychiatrist at the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Boston. Treating approximately 200 Vietnam veterans during that period, he became deeply knowledgeable about the psychological trauma that these men had experienced during the war and that they were still reliving.
In 1994 he published Achilles In Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character, and in 2002, Odysseus In America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming. The books form a comprehensive description of the specific nature of catastrophic war experiences, and how they combine with a number of other critical factors to produce PTSD in soldiers and veterans.
In particular, the books explore the effects on individual human character that disabling psychiatric wounds cause. PTSD can and does afflict anybody, including the strongest, bravest, and most capable among us.
Because of Shay’s work and the work of others, the more than six million troops who have served in combat since the beginning of the Vietnam War can now seek treatment for PTSD, though many continue to fear that the stigma will affect their careers.
Rigorous studies conducted in the late 1980’s showed that approximately 36 percent of male Vietnam combat veterans still suffered from PTSD. That translated to roughly 250,000 men with severe psychological injuries still alive in 1990.
Untreated PTSD results in on-going emotional pain and suffering, difficulty with families and jobs, self-destructive and criminal behavior, homelessness, and incarceration of veterans at rates disproportionate to their presence in the population.
Dr. Shay has worked closely with the military to implement reforms both in the training of soldiers and in the practices and policies used in actual deployment. He has collaborated with General James Jones, the past commandant of the Marines, and Major General James Mattis of the Marines.
In 1999 to 2000, he performed the Commandant of the Marine Corps Trust Study, and in 2001 he was Visiting Scholar-at-Large at the US Naval War College. From 2004 to 2005 he was Chair of Ethics, Leadership, and Personnel Policy in the Office of the US Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, and in the spring of 2009 he was the Omar Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership at the US Army War College. In 2007 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Like those who spoke out against the Witch Trials in 1692, it is Dr. Shay’s voice and the voice of others speaking out against injustice that have changed the way that both the public and the military treat a group of citizens, in this case American troops who suffer from PTSD, both while in active duty and after. Through his work, Dr. Shay has helped make it possible for those who serve in the military and others in the path of war with PTSD to be offered treatment so that they have an opportunity to lead a full life.
go here for more
Salem Award/
DR. JONATHAN SHAY: ADVOCATING FOR VETERANS
Dr. Jonathan Shay’s work has been instrumental in building public awareness and acceptance of post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD as a serious and bona fide war injury, and his focus on how the military can reduce the incidence of such injury has been influential within the services.
From 1987 to 2008, he was a staff psychiatrist at the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Boston. Treating approximately 200 Vietnam veterans during that period, he became deeply knowledgeable about the psychological trauma that these men had experienced during the war and that they were still reliving.
In 1994 he published Achilles In Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character, and in 2002, Odysseus In America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming. The books form a comprehensive description of the specific nature of catastrophic war experiences, and how they combine with a number of other critical factors to produce PTSD in soldiers and veterans.
In particular, the books explore the effects on individual human character that disabling psychiatric wounds cause. PTSD can and does afflict anybody, including the strongest, bravest, and most capable among us.
Because of Shay’s work and the work of others, the more than six million troops who have served in combat since the beginning of the Vietnam War can now seek treatment for PTSD, though many continue to fear that the stigma will affect their careers.
Rigorous studies conducted in the late 1980’s showed that approximately 36 percent of male Vietnam combat veterans still suffered from PTSD. That translated to roughly 250,000 men with severe psychological injuries still alive in 1990.
Untreated PTSD results in on-going emotional pain and suffering, difficulty with families and jobs, self-destructive and criminal behavior, homelessness, and incarceration of veterans at rates disproportionate to their presence in the population.
Dr. Shay has worked closely with the military to implement reforms both in the training of soldiers and in the practices and policies used in actual deployment. He has collaborated with General James Jones, the past commandant of the Marines, and Major General James Mattis of the Marines.
In 1999 to 2000, he performed the Commandant of the Marine Corps Trust Study, and in 2001 he was Visiting Scholar-at-Large at the US Naval War College. From 2004 to 2005 he was Chair of Ethics, Leadership, and Personnel Policy in the Office of the US Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, and in the spring of 2009 he was the Omar Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership at the US Army War College. In 2007 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Like those who spoke out against the Witch Trials in 1692, it is Dr. Shay’s voice and the voice of others speaking out against injustice that have changed the way that both the public and the military treat a group of citizens, in this case American troops who suffer from PTSD, both while in active duty and after. Through his work, Dr. Shay has helped make it possible for those who serve in the military and others in the path of war with PTSD to be offered treatment so that they have an opportunity to lead a full life.
go here for more
Salem Award/
A year after Deepwater Horizon explosion, 3 survivors still struggling
This happened after one traumatic event in their lives. For all the veterans out there still finding it hard to accept the reality of PTSD in them, count the number of times your life was on the line and then wonder no more. You were just a human before you went into combat, still human during it and still human after it. You saw more, did more and endured more hardship than anyone else, so there is nothing to be ashamed of unless you think your ability to feel things deeply is wrong.
A year after Deepwater Horizon explosion, 3 survivors still struggling
By Chuck Hadad, CNN
April 21, 2011 5:34 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Survivors say the scars from the disaster have taken their lives away
Medical records: Survivors have been diagnosed with multiple mental issues
One says he wakes up screaming from nightmares
Transocean says its focus is on providing support for employees
(CNN) -- For some survivors of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, escaping the inferno of the doomed rig made them feel like they'd cheated death.
But living with the scars of what they witnessed that night, and the memory of the 11 men who perished when the rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana a year ago, has in many ways taken their lives away.
"I remember feeling invincible when it first happened. I remember driving in my truck on the way home after the rig exploded and (I) pushed the gas (pedal) to the floor and never let off it," says Daniel Barron.
But the high Barron felt from surviving didn't last long.
"You have that guilty conscience of, 'Okay, I made it, that's great, but then these guys didn't.' Was there something I could have done to save more people?"
read more here
A year after Deepwater Horizon explosion
Life after war not easy for Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
Life after war not easy for Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
By Lauren Adkins
Contributing Reporter
Published: Thursday, April 21, 2011
When we think of soldiers who die in battle, we often think of those who die fighting for our country on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.
We usually don't think about soldiers who survive their tours only to succumb to internal battles caused by .
Suicide among United States military veterans increased by 26 p e r c e n t from 2005 to 2007 and have continued to rise. Of the 30,000 s u i c i d e s committed in this c o u n t r y each year, fully 20 percent of them are veterans. This means that on average about 18 veterans commit suicide each day, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
SHSU has a growing veteran's population, with about 600 students drawing VA college benefits and another 200 dependents who use benefits, according to Kathy Hudson, who is the coordinator at the Veterans Resource Center.
The VA states that the spike in the suicide rate can most clearly be attributed to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the high amount of veterans returning to the United States with PTSD.
Tri-County Services, a mental health service agency covering Walker County, received a grant in 2010 to form local support groups for veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Military veteran Ryan Leonard, who works for Tri-County Services, said that the groups are not led by professional counselors or psychiatrists. They are led by guys who have "been there." The groups meet for one hour on weeknights on the SHSU campus and in Conroe.
"We haven't had much success in the groups so far," Leonard said. "I mean the guys just don't seem interested in the groups. They will come right out and say that they have PTSD, but when asked if they're interested in support groups, they claim to be fine, but always seem to know of someone else who they think would benefit. Part of this is because of the way soldiers are trained today."
Leonard left for basic training in June 2003 and was thrown into a soldier's harsh reality. He was trained to forget about his problems and focus on the mission at hand. Things that would be viewed as necessities such as water, lunch and sleep were considered a "crutch."
While Leonard knew that he and his fellow soldiers were being trained to do what they volunteered for, he said he feels that veterans are all too often prepared for what they are going to face in battle but not what they will face when they enter back into life as a civilian.
The problems that were ignored for so long do not just go away. All too often they resurface, dramatically changing a veteran's life.
read more here
Life after war not easy for Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
By Lauren Adkins
Contributing Reporter
Published: Thursday, April 21, 2011
When we think of soldiers who die in battle, we often think of those who die fighting for our country on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.
We usually don't think about soldiers who survive their tours only to succumb to internal battles caused by .
Suicide among United States military veterans increased by 26 p e r c e n t from 2005 to 2007 and have continued to rise. Of the 30,000 s u i c i d e s committed in this c o u n t r y each year, fully 20 percent of them are veterans. This means that on average about 18 veterans commit suicide each day, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
SHSU has a growing veteran's population, with about 600 students drawing VA college benefits and another 200 dependents who use benefits, according to Kathy Hudson, who is the coordinator at the Veterans Resource Center.
The VA states that the spike in the suicide rate can most clearly be attributed to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the high amount of veterans returning to the United States with PTSD.
Tri-County Services, a mental health service agency covering Walker County, received a grant in 2010 to form local support groups for veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Military veteran Ryan Leonard, who works for Tri-County Services, said that the groups are not led by professional counselors or psychiatrists. They are led by guys who have "been there." The groups meet for one hour on weeknights on the SHSU campus and in Conroe.
"We haven't had much success in the groups so far," Leonard said. "I mean the guys just don't seem interested in the groups. They will come right out and say that they have PTSD, but when asked if they're interested in support groups, they claim to be fine, but always seem to know of someone else who they think would benefit. Part of this is because of the way soldiers are trained today."
Leonard left for basic training in June 2003 and was thrown into a soldier's harsh reality. He was trained to forget about his problems and focus on the mission at hand. Things that would be viewed as necessities such as water, lunch and sleep were considered a "crutch."
While Leonard knew that he and his fellow soldiers were being trained to do what they volunteered for, he said he feels that veterans are all too often prepared for what they are going to face in battle but not what they will face when they enter back into life as a civilian.
The problems that were ignored for so long do not just go away. All too often they resurface, dramatically changing a veteran's life.
read more here
Life after war not easy for Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sgt. Linda Lamou Pierre of Immokalee Florida among 5 killed in Afghanistan
5 soldiers killed in suicide attack identified
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Apr 19, 2011 19:48:35 EDT
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — The Defense Department on Tuesday released the names of five soldiers killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan last weekend.
The victims were:
• Capt. Charles E. Ridgley Jr., 40, of Baltimore, who was assigned to the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
• Sgt. 1st Class Charles Lewis Adkins, 35, of Sandusky, Ohio.
• Staff Sgt. Cynthia Renea Taylor, 39, of Columbus, Ga.
• Sgt. Linda Lamou Pierre, 28, of Immokalee, Fla.
• Spc. Joseph Brian Cemper, 21, of Warrensburg, Mo.
Adkins, Taylor, Pierre and Cemper were assigned to Fort Campbell.
The Army said that the soldiers were killed by an Afghan solider working as a Taliban sleeper agent who set off multiple grenades in the Nangarhar province.
5 soldiers killed in suicide attack identified
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