Saturday, February 2, 2013

Army suicides at all time record high, no one held accountable

They are still pushing "Resilience Training" and it appears no one has been removed from duty after this outcome. The Senate has not held anyone accountable. The Pentagon has not held anyone accountable. No one is accountable and all we get are excuses and claims every year they "get it" when families still have to stand at graves that did not have to be filled!
325 Army suicides in 2012 a record
By Tom Watkins and Maggie Schneider
CNN
Sat February 2, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The Army reports 325 suicides last year among active and non-active military personnel
"Our highest on record," says Lt. Gen. Howard Bromberg
The total for 2011 was 283

(CNN) -- The U.S. Army reported Thursday that there were 325 confirmed or potential suicides last year among active and nonactive military personnel.

"Our highest on record," said Lt. Gen. Howard Bromberg, deputy chief of staff, manpower and personnel for the Army.

The grim total exceeds the number of total U.S. Army deaths (219) and total military deaths (313) in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, according to figures published by the military's Defense Casualty Analysis System.

For all of last year, 182 potential active-duty suicides were reported, 130 of which have been confirmed and 52 of which remain under investigation, it said.

And 143 potential not-on-active-duty suicides were reported (96 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve), 117 of which have been confirmed and 26 remain under investigation.

The total for 2011 was 283 -- 165 confirmed active-duty suicides and 118 confirmed not-on-active-duty suicides (82 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve). No cases were under investigation.

The toll comes despite what the military touts as extensive support and counseling programs.

"The Army continues to take aggressive measures head-on to meet the challenge of suicides as every loss of life impacts our family," said Bromberg. "In spite of the increased loss of life to suicide, with calendar year 2012 being our highest on record, the Army is confident that through our continued emphasis in the services, programs, policies and training that support our Army family, we will overcome this threat to our Force."
read more here

Care for him who shall have borne the battle

Care for him who shall have borne the battle
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
February 2, 2013

This morning I opened an email about the number of military suicides and in the email a friend named Les added the thoughts that it is our job to "care for him who shall have borne the battle" and I responded adding in that while we talk about those numbers, we never seem to talk about the families left behind.

Did you know that a lot of family members end up with PTSD because of veterans coming home from combat? Did you know that family members suffer from the trauma, not from war, but from what the war did? Don't feel ashamed you didn't know. As bad as it is that we don't talk about our veterans or the troops, we talk about the families even less. Veterans are committing suicide with an average of almost one every hour.

Why? Because politicians and political zealots have taken sides and neither side is standing by the side of those who risk their lives.

Some want to blame President Obama while some still blame President Bush. The truth is, while the person in the Oval Office sets the agenda, it is members of congress writing and funding the bills including the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs.

The other ugly truth is, while Republicans claim to be pro-military, they are pro-military-contrators and have done a lousy job of taking care of the men and women serving in the military. The Democrats have been more pro-servicemen and women and less pro-contractos, but even with that, they have not been much better at doing things that will come close to getting this right for the sake of those who serve.

VA won't say how many veterans die waiting for disability benefits

President Lincoln said on March 4, 1865
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

In 2007 I put up this video onto YouTube. In 2009, I moved it onto Great Americans. I want you to watch it for a very important reason. The numbers. What we knew they were dealing with and then compare those numbers to what has been released recently as if any of his was new.

The truth is, many want to pretend this is all new. That way they can think something will actually be done to help all our veterans. The ugly truth is, nothing will really change until the Congress stops pretending they are doing something about all of this.

What did the news report on last month as if it was really "news" and new?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder cases overwhelm Veteran Affairs

There is yet another ugly truth no one seems to be tracking. When PTSD veterans are shot and killed by police. These are just some of the reports from January on Wounded Times.

Navy Medic Iraq veteran with PTSD shot by police in Arizona

Police shooting of PTSD soldier captured on video in Honolulu

While some get reported in newspapers around the country, some are kept quiet. That is the biggest thing we need to remember. For all the stories you read on Wounded Times, there are many, many more we do not read about. More suffering than you will ever know. Congress however knows more than any of us will know. After all, it is their job to know. The committees in the House and Senate cannot use the excuse they didn't know because it is their jobs to find out what is going on and figure out what to do about it.

These are the members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee right now.

Independent
Bernard Sanders, VT
Chairman

Democrat
John D. Rockefeller IV, WV
Patty Murray, WA
Sherrod Brown, OH
Jon Tester, MT
Mark Begich, AK
Richard Blumenthal, CT
Mazie Hirono, HI

Republican
Richard Burr, NC
Ranking Member

Johnny Isakson, GA
Mike Johanns, NE
Jerry Moran, KS
John Boozman, AR
Dean Heller, NV


House Veterans Affairs Committee
Republicans
Jeff Miller (FL), Chairman
Doug Lamborn (CO)
Gus M. Bilirakis (FL), Vice Chairman
David P. Roe (TN)
Bill Flores (TX)
Jeff Denham (CA)
Jon Runyan (NJ)
Dan Benishek (MI)
Tim Huelskamp (KS)
Mike Coffman (CO)
Mark E. Amodei (NV)
Brad Wenstrup (OH)
Paul Cook (CA)
Jackie Walorski (IN)

Democrats
Michael H. Michaud (ME), Democratic Ranking Member
Corrine Brown ( FL)
Mark Takano (CA)
Julia Brownley (CA)
Dina Titus (NV)
Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ)
Raul Ruiz (CA)
Gloria Negrete McLeod (CA)
Ann McLane Kuster (NH)
Beto O'Rourke (TX)
Tim Walz (MN)


They are the people in charge during the 113th Congress and we need to hold them accountable because we didn't hold anyone accountable before this and that is how we ended up where we are when it comes to taking "care of of him who shall have borne the battle."

Friday, February 1, 2013

Soldiers try to regain sleep patterns after return from combat zones

Soldiers try to regain sleep patterns after return from combat zones
By ADAM ASHTON
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
Published: February 1, 2013

TACOMA, Wash. — Army Capt. David Raines is home in Lacey, Wash., with his family, but he sleeps like he’s still deployed in Afghanistan. The 35-year-old officer manages only a few hours of rest each night.

That sleep pattern worked for him during the three years he spent in combat zones, where it paid to be alert around the clock.

It’s not as productive when he’s helping raise his three young children and juggling his stateside assignment supervising ill and injured soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

“I just want to sleep,” he said.

His experience struggling to find a healthy sleep routine at home is increasingly common for service members after a decade of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, said Lt. Col. Vincent Mysliwiec, Madigan Army Medical Center’s chief of sleep medicine.

Mysliwiec is the author of a study published today in the journal Sleep that breaks down ways that combat tours impact the rest service members are able to get when they return home.
read more here

Number of unemployed veterans up 150,000 in four months

Number of unemployed veterans up 150,000 in four months
By LEO SHANE III
Stars and Stripes
Published: February 1, 2013

WASHINGTON — The number of unemployed veterans rose above 800,000 in January, a spike that raises concerns about the long-term viability of efforts to find jobs for former military personnel.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the overall unemployment rate for veterans rose to 7.6 percent in January, more than 1 percent above where it was last fall but still below the national rate of 7.9 percent.

But the total number of veterans unsuccessfully looking for work rose to 844,000, almost 150,000 more than it was four months ago.
read more here

Veteran suicides almost one an hour

Will Congress finally figure out they have been funding the wrong programs and pushing what has not worked? If not, then this will just keep getting worse. This isn't news if you have been paying attention to the veterans committing suicide when they are supposed to be safe. If it is news to you then you should really be ashamed of yourself for not caring.
U.S. military veteran suicides rise, one dies every 65 minutes
WASHINGTON
Fri Feb 1, 2013 6:56pm EST

Feb 1 (Reuters) - The most extensive study yet by the U.S. government on suicide among military veterans shows more veterans are killing themselves than previously thought, with 22 deaths a day - or one every 65 minutes, on average.

The study released on Friday by the Department of Veterans Affairs covered suicides from 1999 to 2010 and compared with a previous, less precise VA estimate that there were roughly 18 veteran deaths a day in the United States.

More than 69 percent of veteran suicides were among individuals aged 50 years or older, the VA reported.

"This data provides a fuller, more accurate, and sadly, an even more alarming picture of veteran suicide rates," said Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington state, who has championed legislation to strengthen mental health care for veterans.
read more here

Fallen soldier's son gets wish to send letter to heaven

If you ever wanted to cry for a good reason, here it is. A soldier died and a son wanted to send a letter to him in Heaven. His wish was granted by an angel with the wings of Lt. Col. Brian Baldwin.
Pilot Delivers Letter To 'Heaven' For Little Boy's Fallen Soldier Dad
The Huffington Post
By Zoe Mintz
Posted: 02/01/2013

PHOTOS: Tech. Sgt. Dana Rosso
UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 1, 2013 3:34 p.m. EST

MacAidan Gallegos was just five years old when his father was killed in Afghanistan in 2009.

Four years later, 9-year-old ‘Mac’ had a special request in honor of his father’s birthday on Jan. 24 . He wanted to write his dad a letter that would be delivered to him in heaven, KTUU reports.

"I wanted to write a letter because I wanted to know more about my dad and to show that I didn't forget him and to show that I also love him," Mac, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, told the news outlet.

Amanda Marr, Mac’s mother, posted her son’s wish on Facebook and was soon contacted by Helping American Veterans Experience Alaska (HAVE Alaska), a nonprofit that organizes and funds fishing and hunting trips in Alaska for injured veterans. The organization connected Lt. Col. Brian Baldwin with the family to fly the letter as high as his F-22 aircraft would allow, according to ARPC.
read more here

Congress Targets Contractors and Overseas Crimes

Congress Targets Contractors and Overseas Crimes
Feb 01, 2013
Associated Press
by Eric Tucker

WASHINGTON -- With thousands of civilian contractors remaining in Iraq and Afghanistan, Justice Department officials want Congress to resolve a legal issue they say obstructs efforts to prosecute any such workers who rape, kill or commit other serious crimes abroad.

Scofflaw Pentagon employees and contractors supporting the American war mission overseas are subject to federal prosecution in the U.S., but a nonmilitary contractor who breaks the law may fall outside the Justice Department's jurisdiction. Lawmakers who have pushed in the past to extend the reach of U.S. criminal law plan to renew their efforts this session with bills to make civilian contractors and employees liable to federal prosecution for acts including murder, arson and bribery.

Federal prosecutors believe clearer and more uniform rules are needed to resolve a jurisdictional question made murkier by the end of the Iraq war and the ongoing reduction of troops in Afghanistan. The issue caused problems for authorities during the first prosecution of Blackwater contractors accused in 2007 shootings in Baghdad and could again be a stumbling block as prosecutors seek a new indictment in the case.
read more here

Standoff continues as man holds boy in underground bunker

Standoff enters third day as man holds boy in underground bunker
WTVR
January 31, 2013
by Nick Dutton

MIDLAND CITY, Alabama (CNN) — Somewhere underneath this red Alabama dirt is a little boy. A kindergartner, snatched from the safety of his school bus by a gunman and stashed in an underground bunker;
A boy who needs daily medication;
A child that this Bible Belt community of 2,300 is praying for.
Many details have been released about the boy’s abductor:
How he was supposed to have been in court to face charges that he’d shot at his neighbors over a minor property dispute;
How he boarded a stopped school bus Tuesday and allegedly shot dead the bus driver;
How he worked on the bunker in the middle of the night for more than a year.
But as the sun rose again on Midland City on Thursday, many more questions remain:
How deep is the bunker?
What’s in it beside the man and the boy?
How are they keeping warm when temperatures have dipped into the 30s in the area?
Is the boy safe?
And most importantly, why him?

The suspect
Authorities have not released the name of the suspected gunman. But neighbors and news outlets around Midland City identified him as 65-year-old (name removed), a Vietnam veteran and a retired truck driver.

Neighbor Jimmy Davis told CNN that (suspect) began digging a hole on his property soon after he moved in down the road from him.

Davis, who works a night shift, said (suspect) worked on his bunker in the middle of the night — every other night, between 2 and 3 a.m., for a year and a half.

He was friendly and welcoming and told Davis the hole would be a storm shelter.

But Tim Byrd, chief investigator with the Dale County Sheriff’s Office, told the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch that (suspect) had “anti-America” views.

“His friends and his neighbors stated that he did not trust the government, that he was a Vietnam vet, and that he had PTSD,” Byrd told the civil rights group. “He was standoffish, didn’t socialize or have any contact with anybody. He was a survivalist type.”
read more here

John McCain slams Chuck Hagel

UPDATE
I totally forgot about this part. McCain wanted Hagel when McCain wanted to be President and Hagel backed him up. What did McCain want Hagel for? Secretary of Defense! That's right and here it is out of McCain's own mouth.


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Too many people think Senator John McCain as a hero. While that was true a long time ago when he was captured and held as a POW in Vietnam, while serving in the Senate, his record has been one of voting against the best interests of the troops and our veterans.

Looking up his voting record has left many in shock. He has voted against Bills that passed and then accepted credit for them. The biggest one was the GI Bill. McCain and President Bush were against this Bill. McCain said it was "too generous" and "too expensive" but after President signed it, he gave credit to McCain among others.

That is why Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel proposed the new GI Bill, which would bring back WWII-style standards of providing vets with full tuition, room and board. And that is why 51 senators have signed on, including 9 Republicans like John Warner, giving this GI Bill tremendous bi-partisan support.

In 2010 he called the "Suicide Prevention Bill overreach" and blocked the Bill. He said this even though there was a report that in Portland Oregon Suicide Prevention hotline had rescued 5 veterans in a two hour period.

Now he is slamming Chuck Hagel even though, as history has proven, Hagel was right about Iraq. Hagel was part of McCain's campaign for the Presidency in 2008 but now he is not good enough for McCain. Chuck Hagel was not just a Senator, he is also another Vietnam veteran.
Hegal volunteered to join the Army and ended up serving a yearlong tour in 1968 during the Tet Offensive, considered the most violent period in that war. Because of a clerical error, he served side by side with his younger brother.

He earned two Purple Hearts, one of which was for saving his brother's life. The second Purple Heart was for shrapnel he took in the chest while on patrol with his brother; his brother saved his life by patching up the wound.

Veterans committing suicide at 22 a day, percentage higher for older veterans

Veterans suicides now at 22 a day was posted on Wounded Times Blog on January 9, 2013. I posted it after watching two interviews on the Washington Post, The Fold.

VA study finds more veterans committing suicide
Washington Post
By Greg Jaffe
Friday, February 1, 12:01 AM

Numbers according to the VA
29 and younger, non-veteran 24.4%, veteran 5.8%
30-39 non-veteran 20.0, veteran 8.9%
40-49 non-veteran 23.5, veteran 15.0%
50-59 non-veteran 16.9, veteran 20.0%
60-69 non-veteran 7.4, veteran 16.8%
70-79 non-veteran 4.2, veteran 19.0%
80 and older non-veteran 3.6, veteran 14.5%


Every day about 22 veterans in the United States kill themselves, a rate that is about 20 percent higher than the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 2007 estimate, according to two-year study by a VA researcher.

The VA study indicates that more than two-thirds of the veterans who commit suicide are 50 or older, suggesting that the increase in veterans’ suicides is not primarily driven by those returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“There is a perception that we have a veterans’ suicide epidemic on our hands. I don’t think that is true,” said Robert Bossarte, an epidemiologist with the VA who did the study. “The rate is going up in the country, and veterans are a part of it.” The number of suicides overall in the United States increased by nearly 11 percent between 2007 and 2010, the study says.

Bossarte said much work remains to be done to understand the data, especially concerning the suicide risk among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. They constitute a minority of an overall veteran population that skews older, but recent studies have suggested that those who served in recent conflicts are 30 percent to 200 percent more likely to commit suicide than their ­non-veteran peers.
read more here