How Much Time Should Army Brass Get in Confinement?

Army Got Away With it Long Enough Yet?
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 3, 2015

The more reports come out about how the Army really treats soldiers it is a wonder why anyone would still want to serve. There is yet another report about how the Army is kicking out wounded instead of doing the honorable thing. How do they continue to get away with all of this? How do they keep getting away with spending billions on "prevention" as the number of suicides go up just as the number of enlisted go down? Is anyone paying attention to any of this?

Fort Knox, Sgt. Gerald Cassidy died alone from a prescription drug overdose at the Army's Warrior Transition Unit

Cassidy's family also provided to The Star key documents from the Army's investigation of his death that had not previously been released and shared some notes Cassidy wrote at Fort Knox about his anxiety over loud noises and lack of sleep and his concern for the impact of his illness on his family.

The family says it is speaking out in hopes that greater public awareness will help other soldiers get better treatment.

The family found an ally in Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, who is calling for numerous changes in the way the military handles mental health services for wounded soldiers.

"The pain is never going to go away," said Cassidy's mother, Kay McMullen, Carmel. "You've got to do something then to change the outcome for other people."

Sounded good at the time but when the news broke about how wounded in those same units were being mistreated it pretty much proved that claim back in 2008 by Senator Bayh didn't really mean very much. Dallas Morning News reported last year "Injured Heroes Broken Promises" along with NBC about how it was not just still the same as usual but even worse six years later. They followed up that report with this in February "Army to investigate mistreatment claims by injured, ill soldiers at Fort Hood" Far more wait than hurry up in Army mental care

Even as combat winds down, demand for mental health care remains high and number of staffers too few, forcing long waits.

But the problem with that is, it wasn't new either. Shortages had been reported all along. Congress knew but while they held hearing after hearing no one turned on a hearing aid loud enough so they actually did something to fix any of it. This is really stunning considering that soldiers were actually cheating to stay in the Army back in 2007. Yes, you read that right.

USA Today Gregg Zoroya reported that on November 7, 2007 "Troops in Iraq and elsewhere have tried to avoid being pulled out of combat units by cheating on problem-solving tests that are used to spot traumatic brain-injury problems, military doctors say." But don't remind anyone how long all of this has been going on or the fact they are now reviewing discharges of Vietnam veterans from over 40 years ago.

Let's not talk about how there was a 40% rise in crisis calls in 2008, also reported by Gregg Zoroya. And for sure don't talk about what VA Watchdog reported on "The Army alone has a backlog of 1,890 veterans seeking corrections on their discharge papers, and some have been waiting for three years, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Many other veterans probably have faulty discharge papers but don’t know it because they have not sought benefits."

We sure as hell can't talk about how over at Fort Carson there was this piece of news reported by The Denver Post.

A Court of Inquiry is composed of at least three high-ranking military officers and can subpoena civilians. Geren can refuse the request.

"It's very important for the Army and very important for my clients. This is an investigation that is long overdue," said Louis Font, a Boston attorney who represents Currie and Spec. Alex Lotero, 21, a Fort Carson soldier from Miami.

The request says the Court of Inquiry should "investigate the extent to which the (generals) have been derelict in failing to provide for the health and welfare of wounded soldiers."

So it all still goes on and on. While everyone is doing a whole lot of promising to fix everything that is wrong, the only ones doing their jobs are the soldiers that get wounded and then shafted.

Army To Review Pattern Of PTSD, Brain Injuries Discharges
Colorado Public Radio
BY NATHANIEL MINOR AND MICHAEL DE YOANNA
DEC 3, 2015

The Evans Army Community Hospital in Fort Carson, Colo.

The U.S. Army says it will conduct a "thorough" review of how it discharges soldiers who were diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder or brain injuries.

In November, CPR News and NPR reported that the Army has kicked out 22,000 soldiers since 2009, who served in Iraq or Afghanistan, for "misconduct." The soldiers had also been diagnosed with mental health issues or traumatic brain injuries. Some served at Fort Carson near Colorado Springs.

Soldiers who are discharged in this way are in danger of losing their benefits, including long-term health care for disabilities that may have been caused by combat.

In the wake of that report, a group of U.S. senators, including Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet, demanded the Army investigate itself. Earlier this week, the Army sent Bennet a letter saying it was doing just that. Bennet gave the letter to CPR News on Thursday.
read more here

Point Man Making a Meaningful Healing PTSD Awareness for Decades

In the early 90's several VA hospitals and clinics were discovering the benefits of spiritual healing for PTSD. That's when they researched what Point Man International Ministries did, how they did it, but above all, why they did it.

They did it because it worked for them as veterans themselves as well as their families. Point Man started in 1984 and by the 90's had enough years of proving it works as peers.

While some want to think that "peer support" is new, it isn't new at all. Nothing on what combat does to those we send is new especially to those veterans on the frontline of actually doing something about it.

David Briggs wrote Coming Home: How Religion Can Be a Healing Balm for Veterans on The Huffington Post today

"The case study from new research on religion and veterans reveals the potential powerful impact faith can have on the lives of service members."

Korean and Vietnam War veteran prays during ceremonies at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Hmm,,,new? Seriously?

Take a look at this.

That is the back of my motorcycle vest. It is for Point Man International Ministries.

It was a new group BACK IN 1984!

"And just how much the right type of spiritual support matters.

Veterans who are able to find a resource in faith in a loving God who cares for them appear to be better able to work through the stresses of combat.

Those who continue to struggle with images of a judgmental God who is responsible for senseless suffering are more likely to take their own lives, research indicates."

Over and over again it never fails to surprise me of exactly how little research is done on something as serious as life and death for those willing to put their lives on the line for someone else, yet fall when they cannot find a reason to live back at home.

If you live in Florida I'd love to talk to you about joining this fabulous group of dedicated leaders in restoring lives. Call me at 407-754-7525. We need leaders to step up and run small groups so if you are more interested in making a meaningful difference than you are jumping on the "awareness raisers" we need you.

Marine Reservist in Hot Water For Wearing Uniform at Trump Event

Marine Rebuked for Performing at Donald Trump Rally in Uniform
Military.com
by Hope Hodge Seck
Dec 01, 2015

The Defense Department allows troops to participate in political and campaign activities as private citizens, but does not allow them to represent the military or associate the Pentagon with any specific candidate, issue or cause. Participation in political activities in uniform is prohibited.

A Marine who recently performed the national anthem at a Donald Trump presidential campaign rally has been told to cease further uniformed campaign activities. Cpl. Jason Perkins, a reservist with Combat Logistics Battalion 451 out of Charlotte, North Carolina, awed crowds at a Nov. 21 campaign rally for the Republican candidate in Birmingham, Alabama, with a booming rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," which he performed in his dress blue uniform.

But when a video of the performance began circulating online, members of the military quickly pointed out that he was in violation of regulations prohibiting troops from wearing their uniforms to political events.

Marine Forces Reserve spokesman Capt. Andrew Chrestman said the command had reached out to Perkins after his campaign performance.

"Cpl. Perkins is now aware that his conduct violated long-standing DoD policy," Chrestman said in an email. "[He] has been informed of the appropriate ways to participate in the political process as a member of the Marine Corps."
read more here

Active Shooters in San Bernardino "Heavily Armed"

Developing Up to 20 people shot in San Bernardino; 'active shooters' sought
LA Times
Veronica Rocha and Joseph Serna
December 2, 2015

UP to 20 people were shot Wednesday at a social services office in San Bernardino, and officials said they were looking for one or more "active shooters."

The San Bernardino Fire Department said the shooting took place in the 1300 block of Waterman Avenue, near Orange Show Road.

Sgt. Vicki Cervantes, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino Police Department, told reporters at the scene up to three shooters were reported inside the Inland Regional Center. Officers have not secured the building and are going door to door.

The suspects, she said, are heavily armed and were possibly wearing body armor.

“It’s a very active scene,” Cervantes said. “It’s very fluid.”

Television news footage showed police officers and firefighters at the scene as well as people being escorted out of the area.
read more here

LA Times is live streaming as this story unfolds.

Orlando Shine Up Those Cars for Gary Sinise Foundation

Orlando Car Show for Heroes is an independent Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser benefiting the Gary Sinise Foundation.

If you think I'm busy in the Veterans Community, this came to be because one of the unsung fabulous women in Orlando did it! If you've ever been to the Orlando Rocks events, it is all due to Mary's efforts.

2013
SFC. Josh Burnette Green Beret

2014
Orlando Navy SEAL Bo Reichenbach Day

2015
Orlando Rocks For Wounded Marine Cpl. Adam Devine

Iraq Veteran Died In Custody After Help Was Refused

'Very, Very Disturbing': Native American Veteran Dies in Police Custody
Indian County
Simon Moya-Smith
12/1/15

Less than 20 minutes later, Murphy is seen pacing the cell; he drops to his knees, pats his chest, falls and dies only 12 hours after being booked, KTOO reported.

Photo courtesy Ed Irizarry
Joseph Murphy, center and kneeling, died while in a holding cell at a correctional facility in Juneau, Alaska. Murphy was being held on non-criminal charges.

A Native American man died in holding cell in Juneau, Alaska, after prison staff there allegedly told him "You could die right now and I don't care," according to a newly released report reviewing the state's department of corrections.

Joseph Murphy, 49, of the Yup'ik people, was booked at 7 p.m. August 13 for intoxication at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center and was placed in a holding cell for the evening, Lisa Phu of Juneau's KTOO Public Media reported. A video reviewed by the state shows a sober Murphy at 5:20 a.m. the next morning, but he appeared sweaty and and complained of chest pains to jail staff.

Murphy allegedly denied medical assistance.

According to the report, Murphy had begun to bang on the cell door when one of the jail staff members responded. Murphy and the guard then engaged in a heated verbal exchange with each other. The staff member allegedly told Murphy "I don't care. You could die right now and I don't care."
read more here

For Heaven's Sake! Tell Researchers Mice Don't Have Souls!

You'd think that TIME would give a damn about their reputation but apparently they decided to just go the easy way out and talk about a "new" study on what has been done and dumped years ago.

Turning Off One Gene Blocks PTSD in Mice: Study
TIME
Mandy Oaklander
December 1, 2015

A new study on older mice finds that fear responses can permanently disappear when this gene is blocked

A new study on mice, published Tuesday in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, could help pave the way for a more effective way to treat post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in humans.

Using an animal model for human PTSD, in which researchers conditioned mice to feel fear and then attempted to reverse it, the scientists found that blocking a single gene in mice could turn off their chronic fear response.

In the study, the researchers conditioned a fear response in adult mice by putting them in a box, where they received shocks every time they heard a certain tone. The mice learned to associate that tone with the painful shock, and when they heard it, they became afraid and froze in their tracks, whether they were being shocked or not. “When we played a tone, they stopped moving, expecting something bad to happen,” says Dr. Stephen Strittmatter, professor of neurology and neuroscience at the Yale School of Medicine and senior author of the study.
read more here

This is from 2008

The protein, called beta-catenin, transmits early signals in species ranging from flies to frogs to mice that separate an embryo into front and back or top and bottom. It also acts like Velcro, fastening a cell's internal skeleton to proteins on its external membranes that in turn connect them to other cells.

This is from 2009

University Studies Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury

Recently, the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) School of Medicine received a $60 million dollar grant for a five-year study to determine better prevention and treatment methods of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) among American victims and war veterans/soldiers.

The study, which is funded by the Department of Defense Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program (DoD PH/TBI), will test new therapies to “prevent illness and enhance recovery in individuals at risk for adverse psychological, emotional and cognitive outcomes” caused by TBI and PTSD, according to UC news release.

And then this is from 2009 as well when I put together a list of just how wrong, wrong, wrong and stupid all this is. Note to Pentagon:PTSD? It's only human stupid!

But none of this stopped anyone from getting a lot of money to redo what had been dumped after being paid for as well. I could keep going but you get the point.  They actually think that rats grieve? Feel a loss or survival guilt? That they risk their lives everyday for other rats? They still don't understand the basis of PTSD or how to heal it but hey, there's money to be made pretending they can prevent it all again?

Six Year Old Cared About Homeless Veteran Standing in the Rain

Rain-drenched homeless veteran inspires 6-year-old to give back
Tulsa World News
By BILL SHERMAN
Faith and Values Writer
December 1, 2015

Heather Andrew and her son, Cooper Andrew, 6, sit next to boxes full of donated items at the entrance of McAuliffe Elementary School. Cooper was inspired to collect goods for the homeless after seeing a homeless man standing in the rain. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World

He was an older man, soaked to the skin, standing on a street corner in a heavy rain near Memorial Drive and U.S. 169. His sign read: “Veteran. Can’t find work. Anything will help.”

Six-year-old Cooper Andrew studied his face from the dry security of his mom’s car and started to ask her questions she was reluctant to answer.

“How do people become homeless?”

“Why can’t he get his job back?”

“Cooper is 6,” Heather Andrew said. “I didn’t want to take away his innocence. But he was curious.”

And then Cooper asked his mother: “How about we help them, instead of talking about them?” It could have ended with that encounter last month, but it didn’t. Out of it came Cooper’s List, a project to collect and deliver goods to the homeless, inspired by a 6-year-old.

Heather Andrew was so moved by her son’s compassion that she told the story on her Facebook page that night.

Retelling the story to a reporter, she had to pause to compose herself.

“I get teary-eyed just talking about it because he’s just 6, and he has such a big heart,” she said.

Amanda Gruenberg, Cooper’s first-grade teacher at McAuliffe Elementary School, read the Facebook post that night and decided to get involved.
read more here

Homeless Veteran "Riddled with Gunshot Wounds"

Police: Investigation into homeless vet's death continuing
Houma Today
By Maki Somosot Staff Writer
November 30, 2015

“He was truly a kind soul. It’s hard to read the path his life had taken him.” James Inman

Police are continuing to make headway in their investigation of the Nov. 13 shooting that killed a homeless veteran, Houma Police Chief Dana Coleman said.

The body of Edward Crowley, of Kirkglen Loop, was found riddled with gunshot wounds in a field near the 2600 block of Truman Street.

“We’re making progress, interviewing witnesses and analyzing our evidence, but we haven’t identified a suspect yet,” Coleman said.

Crowley's death marks the fourth shooting death in Terrebonne Parish over the past two months, preceded by Ernest Simms, 38, Corey Butler, 18, and Robert Swan, 24. Suspects have been arrested in connection with these three deaths.

Tri-Parish Veterans Shelter director and local Disabled Americans Veteran chapter president Roger Songe said that Crowley became homeless since filing for veterans benefits late last year. He did not notice any signs of drug or alcohol use on the Vietnam Era vet.
read more here

Army "New Data" PTSD Study Forgot It Isn't New At All

Remember the old comedy line with "thats my story and I'm sticking to it" made you laugh? It isn't so funny when the Army is sticking to their story with "resilience" no matter what the outcome has been. Well folks, it looks as if they are still blaming the soldiers with this piece of news.

“Now we’re trying to take a more holistic [approach], which is going to really get a more complex view of how the different factors start to interact,” Lane said. “The alcohol and substance abuse, the risk that our soldiers and their families undergo, the stresses, everything that goes into that picture, [and] trying to get a more complex interaction.”

Substance abuse and relationship problem are caused by PTSD but it shouldn't have taken decades to discover what was already known back in the 70's. Looks like the Forgotten Warrior Project was forgotten about.

As for "new" data" everything old is new again.

Army suicide prevention takes on new, data-driven form
Federal News Radio
By Nicole Ogrysko
November 30, 2015

The Army says it’s found a way to use data it already has to learn more about its soldiers and the stressors that might affect their readiness and resilience.

In June, the service finished a roughly five-year project as part of the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS), which looked at the characteristics of suicide and other mental and behavioral health issues.

Army STARRS collected and organized 40 different datasets, mostly administrative information the Army already had about its soldiers. Data scientists studied demographic information, medical and law enforcement history, in addition to military characteristics like a soldier’s rank, deployment location, number of tours and when a soldier moved up a rank.

To protect soldiers’ identities, the Army STARRS team detached individual names from the actual data.
read more here