After Duty, Dogs Suffer Like Soldiers
By JAMES DAO
Published: December 1, 2011
SAN ANTONIO — The call came into the behavior specialists here from a doctor in Afghanistan. His patient had just been through a firefight and now was cowering under a cot, refusing to come out.
Apparently even the chew toys hadn’t worked.
Post-traumatic stress disorder, thought Dr. Walter F. Burghardt Jr., chief of behavioral medicine at the Daniel E. Holland Military Working Dog Hospital at Lackland Air Force Base. Specifically, canine PTSD.
If anyone needed evidence of the frontline role played by dogs in war these days, here is the latest: the four-legged, wet-nosed troops used to sniff out mines, track down enemy fighters and clear buildings are struggling with the mental strains of combat nearly as much as their human counterparts.
By some estimates, more than 5 percent of the approximately 650 military dogs deployed by American combat forces are developing canine PTSD. Of those, about half are likely to be retired from service, Dr. Burghardt said.
Though veterinarians have long diagnosed behavioral problems in animals, the concept of canine PTSD is only about 18 months old, and still being debated. But it has gained vogue among military veterinarians, who have been seeing patterns of troubling behavior among dogs exposed to explosions, gunfire and other combat-related violence in Iraq and Afghanistan.
read more here
Friday, December 2, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Half of Iraq war veterans will be homeless
This is not entirely out of the "possible" when you factor in what they come home to. Combat PTSD and families that don't understand it. A backlog of claims leaving them with no income when they can't work. When they can work, the jobs are not there yet. Substance abuse because they can't get what they need from the VA.
Study: Half of Iraq war veterans homeless
Jacksonville veteran gets help; Sulzbacher Center serving more vets
Published On: Dec 01 2011
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -
Some men and women who have put everything on the line to fight for our country say they now feel betrayed by the country they were sworn to protect.
A study just released by the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans shows that more than half the men and women returning from Iraq will be homeless for at least two years.
Robert Brown, a 13-year veteran of three different branches of the military, is one of more than 100,000 homeless veterans in America. He says he feels like coming home was the biggest battle he's faced.
"I feel betrayed," Brown said.
Brown said his wife left him during his deployment, so he had no home to return to. He said it took him nearly a year to get his disability check, and he would lose his benefits if he got a job.
read more here
Iraq Vet wrote "donate organs please" before suicide
A final request from Iraq vet who took own life
Sean Alexander Dacus, 31, wrote on his arm that he wanted his organs donated
According to a police source, he wrote on his arm “Donate organs please” shortly before fatally shooting himself outside the emergency room at Altru Health System in Grand Forks. Dacus served two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
By: Chris Bieri, Grand Forks Herald
Sean Alexander Dacus, a veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote out a final request Tuesday morning before fatally shooting himself in the chest outside the emergency room at Altru Health System.
According to police, the 31-year-old Grand Forks resident walked into the Altru Clinic just before 11:30 a.m. and borrowed a marker at the coffee shop.
He wrote on his arm “Do not resuscitate” and below that, “Donate organs please,” a police source said. To the right of those lines, he wrote “A-,” which police believe was his blood type.
Alone, Dacus sat on park bench outside between the clinic and emergency room and shot himself in the chest with a .380-caliber handgun. Police believe he was not targeting Altru or any person.
read more here
Sean Alexander Dacus, 31, wrote on his arm that he wanted his organs donated
According to a police source, he wrote on his arm “Donate organs please” shortly before fatally shooting himself outside the emergency room at Altru Health System in Grand Forks. Dacus served two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
By: Chris Bieri, Grand Forks Herald
Sean Alexander Dacus, a veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote out a final request Tuesday morning before fatally shooting himself in the chest outside the emergency room at Altru Health System.
According to police, the 31-year-old Grand Forks resident walked into the Altru Clinic just before 11:30 a.m. and borrowed a marker at the coffee shop.
He wrote on his arm “Do not resuscitate” and below that, “Donate organs please,” a police source said. To the right of those lines, he wrote “A-,” which police believe was his blood type.
Alone, Dacus sat on park bench outside between the clinic and emergency room and shot himself in the chest with a .380-caliber handgun. Police believe he was not targeting Altru or any person.
read more here
Washington Army and Air Guard suicides increased
When will they wake up to the fact that while it is great there are "saves" with suicide prevention programs, it should never get so bad that suicide is their only "hope" of ending their pain? These programs do in fact save lives but as the numbers prove, they cannot be the only answer when everything else the DOD is doing has failed.
WA Guard suicides rise even as prevention efforts pay off with interventions
Post by Adam Ashton
The News Tribune on Nov. 30, 2011
The Washington National Guard is seeing mixed results from an “all hands” effort to halt service member suicides, military leaders told state lawmakers in a briefing Wednesday.
The number of suicides among Washington Army and Air Guard service members increased from 0 in 2010 to four so far this year. Seven Washington National Guard soldiers took their own lives in 2009.
But leaders are taking heart in multiple successful suicide interventions that they attribute to enhanced awareness about behavioral health concerns in the military.
“These efforts are saving lives,” Washington National Guard commander Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg said. “We have effectively intervened and prevented suicides form occurring because of this all-hands engagement.”
The saved lives in 2011 include a senior officer who posted on Facebook that he was ready to kill himself. Fellow service members spotted his plea and helped law enforcement officers find him before he could act.
read more here
Hidden App Installed On Smartphones Causes Change in Army
UPDATE on this
From Yesterday
Army may Change Standard for Classified Info on Smartphones
December 01, 2011
Stars and Stripes|by Chris Carroll
WASHINGTON -- The Army may take another look at how it decides what information is classified as it looks to ease the integration of popular mobile devices like iPads, iPhones and Android-based smartphones.
The only popular smartphones now approved for widespread use on DOD computer networks are Blackberries, and only for unclassified email. But an Android-based phone from Dell was recently approved for use in testing and pilot programs, and many experts say the Pentagon is likely to open the door wider in coming months.
read more here
From Yesterday
One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of servicemen and women use these phones. Do you really want them tracked?
Carrier IQ: Researcher Trevor Eckhart Outs Creepy, Hidden App Installed On Smartphones (VIDEO)
A security researcher has posted a video detailing hidden software installed on smart phones that logs numerous details about users' activities.
In a 17-minute video posted Monday on YouTube, Trevor Eckhart shows how the software – known as Carrier IQ – logs every text message, Google search and phone number typed on a wide variety of smart phones - including HTC, Blackberry, Nokia* and others - and reports them to the mobile phone carrier.
The application, which is labeled on Eckhart’s HTC smartphone as "HTC IQ Agent," also logs the URL of websites searched on the phone, even if the user intends to encrypt that data using a URL that begins with "HTTPS," Eckhart said.
The software always runs when Android operating system is running and users are unable to stop it, Eckhart said in the video.
read more here
VA hospitals swamped as more than 200,000 have been treated
Local veteran waited nearly two years for PTSD treatment
VA hospitals swamped as more than 200,000 have been treated
Jeff Van Sant
Q13 FOX News reporter
5:25 p.m. PST, November 30, 2011
SEATTLE—
New figures show VA hospitals are becoming overwhelmed by cases of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
More than 211,000 U.S. veterans of the 1.3 million who have served in the Iraq and Afghan wars have been treated for PTSD. One of them is Joshua Simpson, an Iraq war veteran.
While on a mission in Iraq, he saw an Iraqi get killed and he had to search the body for intelligence.
“I could see like blood starting to pool out from under him and … I was thinking to myself, like this doesn`t bother me anymore. And that's kind of when I realized that like I was suffering from something,” Simpson said.
It’s a memory he can’t shake. Simpson is now an antiwar activist and also helps other veterans cope with PTSD.
read more here
VA hospitals swamped as more than 200,000 have been treated
Jeff Van Sant
Q13 FOX News reporter
5:25 p.m. PST, November 30, 2011
SEATTLE—
New figures show VA hospitals are becoming overwhelmed by cases of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
More than 211,000 U.S. veterans of the 1.3 million who have served in the Iraq and Afghan wars have been treated for PTSD. One of them is Joshua Simpson, an Iraq war veteran.
While on a mission in Iraq, he saw an Iraqi get killed and he had to search the body for intelligence.
“I could see like blood starting to pool out from under him and … I was thinking to myself, like this doesn`t bother me anymore. And that's kind of when I realized that like I was suffering from something,” Simpson said.
It’s a memory he can’t shake. Simpson is now an antiwar activist and also helps other veterans cope with PTSD.
read more here
Returning vets can face more problems from people wanting to help
Returning vets can face more problems from people wanting to help
by
Chaplain Kathie
Good intentions can make things worse if the people don't understand what they are doing. It has been going on for years. Charities spring up so fast I can't keep up with them. Most of them really want to help and they do all they can but when they admit they are clueless about veterans, that has the hairs on the back of my neck shaking.
For almost 30 years, this has been my life and I don't welcome anyone to my world lightly. I get emails all the time from college students thinking about going into mental health so they can work with veterans. First I ask them why they want to do it. If they tell me they were in the military or related to someone, that is one thing but if they say they want to do it for job security, I'll tell them to focus on civilians.
Being there to support them is one thing but well meaning people can do more harm than good if they do not offer the right kind of help.
I've heard Chaplains telling them if they not convert, they will go to hell. Mental health professionals tell veterans that the programs like Battlemind are better than nothing. Psychiatrist say that medications are all they need. I've even heard some "helpers" tell them they are selfish and only thinking of themselves. If you care about them, then why on earth would you want to make things worse?
Here are some tips if you want to work with veterans.
First, learn everything you can about where they were. Know the difference between Iraq and Afghanistan, when the Gulf War was and where just as you learn about when the Vietnam War actually ended claiming lives. (Hint: 73 it was officially over The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973 but The Mayaguez incident between the Khmer Rouge and the United States from May 12–15, 1975, was the last official battle of the Vietnam War.) but the number of deaths tied to the Vietnam War are still happening today. Deaths tied to Agent Orange and suicides keep claiming lives.
When you read something like the recent report every 80 minutes another veteran takes his/her own life you need to be aware that those "reported" deaths are just from what they bothered to track within the VA system. If a veteran did not have an approved claim, but committed suicide, the VA does not track them. When you read about numbers coming out about military suicides, the Marines keep their own numbers and so does the Army, with National Guards and Reservists coming in in other totals. In other words, they keep their own numbers. If a serviceman or woman is discharged, they don't track those deaths either.
When you talk to them you have to ask about their families so you have an idea what kind of support they are getting at home. If they have a strong family or close friends, you have to get them involved. If they have a messed up family, that is something else you'll have to help them overcome.
Face the fact that while text books are great to give you a clinical understanding, they do little good when it comes to knowing who these men and women are or what makes them so different.
After 30 years, I still don't know everything and I live with PTSD everyday. Never get to the point in your career where you think there is nothing left to learn.
Last piece of advice is, never be afraid to admit that you are not the one that can help them the best. Know who is. Many times I will refer them to someone else when their needs are more than I am capable of meeting.
by
Chaplain Kathie
Good intentions can make things worse if the people don't understand what they are doing. It has been going on for years. Charities spring up so fast I can't keep up with them. Most of them really want to help and they do all they can but when they admit they are clueless about veterans, that has the hairs on the back of my neck shaking.
For almost 30 years, this has been my life and I don't welcome anyone to my world lightly. I get emails all the time from college students thinking about going into mental health so they can work with veterans. First I ask them why they want to do it. If they tell me they were in the military or related to someone, that is one thing but if they say they want to do it for job security, I'll tell them to focus on civilians.
Being there to support them is one thing but well meaning people can do more harm than good if they do not offer the right kind of help.
I've heard Chaplains telling them if they not convert, they will go to hell. Mental health professionals tell veterans that the programs like Battlemind are better than nothing. Psychiatrist say that medications are all they need. I've even heard some "helpers" tell them they are selfish and only thinking of themselves. If you care about them, then why on earth would you want to make things worse?
Returning vets can face problems
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
By BRAD GASKINS / Staff Writer
When Jenny Camp became executive director of the DreamPeace Foundation in April 2011, she thought she knew what to expect.
The grassroots, non-profit provides free counseling to veterans and their families. Since Camp grew up in a military family, she thought she had a handle on veterans’ issues.
She thought wrong.
“What this job has shown me is how clueless we really all are,” Camp said. “If you haven’t actually gone and been in combat, you really don’t get it. We don’t understand. We’re not going to. But we can listen, and we can start paying attention.”
Of the 14,000 veterans in Shelby County, about 3,500 – or 25 percent – are 9/11 veterans who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. When those veterans return home, they can face many challenges.
At the very least, experts say, it will take time for returning veterans to assimilate back into the society they left behind. At the very worst, the experts say, returning veterans can suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and have extreme trouble finding jobs.
“We as a society are not doing a good enough job of transitioning them back,” Camp said. “Most of us want to help. It’s hard to know how.”
read more here
Here are some tips if you want to work with veterans.
First, learn everything you can about where they were. Know the difference between Iraq and Afghanistan, when the Gulf War was and where just as you learn about when the Vietnam War actually ended claiming lives. (Hint: 73 it was officially over The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973 but The Mayaguez incident between the Khmer Rouge and the United States from May 12–15, 1975, was the last official battle of the Vietnam War.) but the number of deaths tied to the Vietnam War are still happening today. Deaths tied to Agent Orange and suicides keep claiming lives.
When you read something like the recent report every 80 minutes another veteran takes his/her own life you need to be aware that those "reported" deaths are just from what they bothered to track within the VA system. If a veteran did not have an approved claim, but committed suicide, the VA does not track them. When you read about numbers coming out about military suicides, the Marines keep their own numbers and so does the Army, with National Guards and Reservists coming in in other totals. In other words, they keep their own numbers. If a serviceman or woman is discharged, they don't track those deaths either.
When you talk to them you have to ask about their families so you have an idea what kind of support they are getting at home. If they have a strong family or close friends, you have to get them involved. If they have a messed up family, that is something else you'll have to help them overcome.
Face the fact that while text books are great to give you a clinical understanding, they do little good when it comes to knowing who these men and women are or what makes them so different.
After 30 years, I still don't know everything and I live with PTSD everyday. Never get to the point in your career where you think there is nothing left to learn.
Last piece of advice is, never be afraid to admit that you are not the one that can help them the best. Know who is. Many times I will refer them to someone else when their needs are more than I am capable of meeting.
Deputy's son killed in Fort Myers shooting
Deputy's son killed in Fort Myers shooting
Posted: Nov 30, 2011
By Joe Roetz, NBC2 Reporter
FORT MYERS, FL -
A man is dead after a shooting near Dunbar High School Wednesday.
Police say brothers Sharod and Keamon Hayes were in the backyard of 3759 Minnesota Drive when a car drove down Dupree Street, which dead-ends at the backyard.
A man got out, fired multiple shots, and then got back in the car and took off, according to police.
"I started hearing gunshots. At first I thought it was firecrackers," said neighbor Shirley Whitmore.
Sharod Hayes, 20, was killed, Keamon Hayes, 19, was wounded and was expected to survive.
The men are the sons of a sheriff's deputy, according to Fort Myers police.
read more here
Posted: Nov 30, 2011
By Joe Roetz, NBC2 Reporter
FORT MYERS, FL -
A man is dead after a shooting near Dunbar High School Wednesday.
Police say brothers Sharod and Keamon Hayes were in the backyard of 3759 Minnesota Drive when a car drove down Dupree Street, which dead-ends at the backyard.
A man got out, fired multiple shots, and then got back in the car and took off, according to police.
"I started hearing gunshots. At first I thought it was firecrackers," said neighbor Shirley Whitmore.
Sharod Hayes, 20, was killed, Keamon Hayes, 19, was wounded and was expected to survive.
The men are the sons of a sheriff's deputy, according to Fort Myers police.
read more here
Funeral for fallen Danville Marine draws nearly 1,800 mourners
When I tell a young veteran that people do really care about them, they are shocked. After all, they never see their stories on cable news. They hardly ever see anything about them. It's one of the reasons this blog is here. Their stories come out across the country but usually on local news stations and in their newspapers.
When they ship out, spend their days in Iraq or Afghanistan, they wonder if anyone really cares about what they are doing other than their own families. When they come home they wonder even more when no one wants to talk to them about anything. When they are wounded and have to fight for benefits, face financial hardships because they can't work, they stop wondering and start believing no one really gives a damn.
Yet they still do things like reenlist. They still want to serve. Even when they can't stay in the military anymore, they end up joining groups giving back to others.
Well, here's a story about a Marine dying in Afghanistan at the age of 19. This story shows that the men and women serving today are not only dedicated, but they are appreciated. 1,800 people showed up for the funeral of Lance Cpl. Joshua "Chachi" Corral. If you know a veteran or someone deployed right now thinking no one cares, pass this onto them so they will know while they never see their stories on major news stations or read about them in big newspapers, most people have not forgotten about them.
When they ship out, spend their days in Iraq or Afghanistan, they wonder if anyone really cares about what they are doing other than their own families. When they come home they wonder even more when no one wants to talk to them about anything. When they are wounded and have to fight for benefits, face financial hardships because they can't work, they stop wondering and start believing no one really gives a damn.
Well, here's a story about a Marine dying in Afghanistan at the age of 19. This story shows that the men and women serving today are not only dedicated, but they are appreciated. 1,800 people showed up for the funeral of Lance Cpl. Joshua "Chachi" Corral. If you know a veteran or someone deployed right now thinking no one cares, pass this onto them so they will know while they never see their stories on major news stations or read about them in big newspapers, most people have not forgotten about them.
Funeral for fallen Danville Marine draws nearly 1,800 mourners
By Paul Thissen
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 11/30/2011
DANVILLE -- It was barely two months after he arrived in Afghanistan and just a few weeks before his 20th birthday. Lance Cpl. Joshua "Chachi" Corral died a Marine; it was what he had long dreamed of becoming.
He excelled at it. At the Marine boot camp, he got a perfect score on his physical fitness test and ran the fastest time among 300 recruits -- despite having a stress fracture.
When he got to the Helmand Province, one of Afghanistan's most volatile, Corral was a "sweeper," a Marine who walked in front of his squad, looking for improvised explosive devices or other trouble.
He died while conducting combat operations, according to the Defense Department.
Nearly 1,800 mourners packed every available seat at the East Bay Fellowship on Wednesday for his funeral.
"Chachi was the name of a real-life hero," said Don Busboom in his tearful eulogy, using the nickname bestowed by Corral's older brother, when he was too young to correctly pronounce Joshua.
"By living for others, Chachi lived well, because he lived for something bigger than himself," said Busboom, a teacher at San Ramon Valley High School, where Corral graduated in 2010.
He wore his Marine uniform proudly, and he showed his faith in God with the ink under that uniform.
"He was tatted up," Busboom said.
read more here
Wounded Marine ‘He would do anything for his friends’
‘He would do anything for his friends’
Community responds to story of local boy-turned-Marine injured in Afghanistan
By Lloyd Nelson
La Grange Suburban Life
Posted Nov 30, 2011
La Grange, IL —
When Ryan Kelly, Matt Scheef and Jim Williams first walked into Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland to see their childhood friend, they didn’t know what to expect.
Josh Misiewicz, 23, of La Grange Park, was severely injured in July while on patrol in Helmond Province in Afghanistan after stepping on a landmine. He lost both his legs and shattered his eardrums.
But they had a surprise for him.
Misiewicz couldn’t grow facial hair, but he was a big supporter of the mustache, so when his three closest friends walked into the hospital room, they “rocked the ‘stache” in his honor.
“He smiled,” 23-year-old Kelly, of Wheaton, said of his friend’s reaction to seeing them with their new mustaches.
It was a much-needed moment for his three buddies who’d spent months worrying about the guy they grew up with.
But they weren’t the only ones concerned. Upon hearing about Misiewicz, the community responded with a plethora of fundraisers, including the latest at Bella Banquets on Friday.
A former Illinois State Hockey League all-star and student at Lyons Township High School, Misiewicz was always in great shape. He was, his friends admitted, the best hockey player with them on the ice — a winger with a real knack for scoring.
“He could stick handle through anybody,” Kelly said. “He was untouchable.”
read more here
Community responds to story of local boy-turned-Marine injured in Afghanistan
By Lloyd Nelson
La Grange Suburban Life
Posted Nov 30, 2011
La Grange, IL —
When Ryan Kelly, Matt Scheef and Jim Williams first walked into Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland to see their childhood friend, they didn’t know what to expect.
Josh Misiewicz, 23, of La Grange Park, was severely injured in July while on patrol in Helmond Province in Afghanistan after stepping on a landmine. He lost both his legs and shattered his eardrums.
But they had a surprise for him.
Misiewicz couldn’t grow facial hair, but he was a big supporter of the mustache, so when his three closest friends walked into the hospital room, they “rocked the ‘stache” in his honor.
“He smiled,” 23-year-old Kelly, of Wheaton, said of his friend’s reaction to seeing them with their new mustaches.
It was a much-needed moment for his three buddies who’d spent months worrying about the guy they grew up with.
But they weren’t the only ones concerned. Upon hearing about Misiewicz, the community responded with a plethora of fundraisers, including the latest at Bella Banquets on Friday.
A former Illinois State Hockey League all-star and student at Lyons Township High School, Misiewicz was always in great shape. He was, his friends admitted, the best hockey player with them on the ice — a winger with a real knack for scoring.
“He could stick handle through anybody,” Kelly said. “He was untouchable.”
read more here
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