PTSD Awareness efforts failed. It is simple to see that. So why is Congress just repeating everything that has not worked? Why are thousands of new groups going around the country to "raise awareness" when they are not even aware of basic facts? How long are you going to be fooled into thinking that the outcome will change when nothing else does?
The National Center for PTSD promotes awareness of PTSD and effective treatments throughout the year. Starting in 2010, Congress named June 27th PTSD Awareness Day (S. Res. 455). In 2014, the Senate designated the full month of June for National PTSD Awareness (S. Res. 481). Efforts are underway to continue this designation for the third consecutive year in 2016.
Yes, you just read the year 2010. So how is it that they managed to just repeat the reason to have PTSD Awareness Month instead of making sure every veteran knew enough to get help?
This is from Congress about this year. They should have just copied and pasted what they had back in 2010. The only difference is the numbers are higher and not in a good way.
S.Res.512 - A resolution designating the month of June 2016 as "National Post-Traumatic Stress Awareness Month" and June 27, 2016, as "National Post-Traumatic Stress Awareness Day".
Whereas the brave men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States (in
this preamble referred to as the ``Armed Forces''), who proudly serve
the United States, risk their lives to protect the freedom of the people
of the United States and deserve the investment of every possible
resource to ensure their lasting physical, mental, and emotional well-
being;
Whereas more than 2,000,000 members of the Armed Forces have deployed overseas
since the events of September 11, 2001, and have served in places such
as Afghanistan and Iraq;
Whereas the Armed Forces have sustained a historically high operational tempo
since September 11, 2001, with many members of the Armed Forces
deploying overseas multiple times, placing those members at high risk of
experiencing combat stress;
Whereas, when left untreated, exposure to traumatic combat stress can lead to
post-traumatic stress disorder (in this preamble referred to as
``PTSD''), sometimes referred to as post-traumatic stress injury;
Whereas men and women of the Armed Forces and veterans who served before
September 11, 2001, remain at risk for PTSD and other mental health
disorders;
Whereas the Secretary of Veterans Affairs reports that, in fiscal year 2015,
more than 569,000 of the nearly 6,000,000 veterans who sought care at a
medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs received
treatment for PTSD;
Whereas many combat stress injuries remain unreported, undiagnosed, and
untreated due to a lack of awareness about post-traumatic stress and the
persistent stigma associated with mental health conditions;
Whereas exposure to military trauma can lead to PTSD;
Whereas PTSD significantly increases the risk of anxiety, depression, suicide,
homelessness, and drug- and alcohol-related disorders and deaths,
especially if left untreated;
Whereas public perceptions of PTSD or other mental health disorders create
unique challenges for veterans seeking employment;
Whereas the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, as
well as the larger medical community, both private and public, have made
significant advances in the identification, prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment of PTSD and the symptoms of PTSD, but many challenges remain;
Our veterans deserved better. So did the families left behind after they had to bury one of them. So do the families falling apart praying someone will do something that will actually make a difference in their lives.
VA medical pot gets booted from budget bill
Stars and Stripes
By Travis J. Tritten
Published: June 24, 2016
Veterans are also looking at it to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, which might affect about 20 percent of the 1.8 million servicemembers deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the National Center for PTSD.
Marijuana, along with nine other substances, is specifically prohibited under Article 112a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and penalties for its use can range from a general discharge to dishonorable discharge (for positive results of a urinalysis) and even imprisonment for possession.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
WASHINGTON — A proposal allowing doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs to prescribe medical marijuana to veterans appeared close to becoming law until Congress removed it this week from the agency’s annual budget bill at the last moment.
The legislation, sponsored by Oregon lawmakers, had cleared prior votes in the House and Senate but was nixed late Wednesday night during final closed-door negotiations on the VA bill. It would have lifted a prohibition on the VA recommending the drug to patients in states where it is legal.
The move was a blow to advocates of medical pot who have been trying to get the measure through a divided Congress and lowers the chances that a law might be passed this year.
“It’s outrageous that it was removed” from the annual VA budget bill, Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Sen. Jeff Merkley, both Democrats from Oregon, said in a joint statement Friday. “To add insult to injury, the legislation was released in the middle of the night, not even giving members of the House an opportunity to review the language before voting on it.”
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Service and Sacrifice
WBIR News
June 24, 2016
Throughout the month, we are sharing the stories of four veterans we followed aboard HonorAir Knoxville Flight 21. It was the first flight devoted to all Vietnam veterans. A total of 149 troops made the all-expenses paid trip up and back in the same day to Washington to see the war memorials.
After sneaking in his first solo flight at 13-years-old, Joel Pressburg was leading aerial missions in the Vietnam war by age 22.
He would skirt trees in the flight deck of a U-10 Helio Courier, going so low that on one mission he found bolts from an enemy crossbow stuck in the top of his small plane. Pressburg continues to remain humble about his service, though.
"I had it a lot easier than the guys who were down on the ground," Pressburg said. "They have my undying respect."
Pressburg is one of the veterans who received a free one-day trip to Washington D.C. to see the memorials built in their honor. HonorAir Knoxville Flight 21 said it was the first ever trip devoted solely to Vietnam veterans.
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First all Vietnam Honor Air flight back from DC
WBIR news
KNOXVILLE - To hearty cheers and waving flags, some 150 Vietnam veterans returned Wednesday night from their all-day trip to the Nation's Capitol to see monuments erected in their honor.
Wednesday's HonorAir flight was unique in that it was exclusively for Vietnam veterans, and it is the third of 21 HonorAir flights that have included Vietnam veterans.
At least 10 Purple Heart recipients were aboard Wednesday’s flight.
It returned about 8:30 p.m. to dozens of greeters at McGhee Tyson Airport.
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Some 150 Vietnam vets flew back into Knoxville on Wednesday night. It was the first trip that featured only Vietnam-era veterans.
Former sailors, Marines booted under gay ban urged to appeal
Navy Times
Meghann Myers
June 24, 2016
Since opening the service to gays and lesbians in 2011, the Navy has granted 123 discharge upgrades out of 413 requests, according to Defense Department data.
Navy Department leaders are encouraging thousands discharged under the repealed "Don't ask, don't tell" rules to appeal adverse separations. An estimated 5,600 LGBT sailors and Marines were kicked out while this policy was in effect from 1993 to 2011. WESTERN PACIFIC (June 20, 2016) - Logistics Specialist 3rd Class Luis Bermudez, from Orlando, Florida, speaks during a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride month celebration in USS John C. Stennis' (CVN 74) hangar bay. Bermudez displayed a shirt with the names of the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando, June 12. Providing a ready force supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific, John C. Stennis is operating as part of the Great Green Fleet on a regularly scheduled 7th Fleet deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kenneth Rodriguez Santiago / Released)
(Photo: MC3 Kenneth Rodriguez Santiago/Navy)
Navy Department officials are urging the thousands of sailors and Marines forced out of the military because of their sexuality in previous decades to come forward and appeal their discharge — in a step to restore benefits and right a historical wrong.
The Board for Correction of Naval Records can overturn a wide range of records, from counseling letters to detachments for cause, but recently they have been putting the word out to veterans who were separated because of the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy — and its previous across-the-board ban — that they can have their discharges upgraded and their reenlistment codes or reason codes changed to reflect a post-DADT world.
"If you were discharged under 'Don’t ask, don’t tell,' come in," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a June 8 speech at a Pentagon event for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. "The Board of Corrections for Naval Records will take a look at changing that discharge characterization … If you have colleagues that were discharged under that, ask them to come in — if it’s under the regulations, get that discharge characterization changed."
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U.S. Navy: Sailor dies of non-combat-related injury in Djibouti
UPI
By Shawn Price
Updated June 23, 2016
WASHINGTON, June 23 (UPI) -- A 38-year-old sailor in the U.S. Navy died from a non-combat-related injury in Djibouti, the Department of Defense announced.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew J. Clement, 38, of Massachusetts, died June 21while deployed to Camp Lemonnier. The incident is under investigation.
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Man accused of stealing from disabled Marine arrested
Kevin Lima accused in Yarmouth theft
WCVB News
Jun 23, 2016
YARMOUTH, Mass. —A man accused of stealing from a disabled U.S. Marine combat veteran and his wife who were vacationing on Cape Cod was arrested Thursday.
Kevin Lima, 36, of Acushnet, was arrested in Plymouth after he was identified as the person who stole hundreds of dollars, personal belongings, military identifications and specially made hearing aids from Robert Watson and his wife, authorities said.
The family was vacationing in Plymouth from North Carolina and took a day trip to the Cape Cod Inflatable Park, where their belongings were stolen.
"It’s a sigh of relief knowing he’s behind bars, but the after effect can stay with you forever,” Robert Watson said. “The way I see it is, if he's willing to do it to me after knowing my life as a Marine then there's no telling the next person he would have gotten.”
Lima is scheduled to face charges Thursday in Barnstable District Court.
At the time of the incident, the Watsons said they met a man and his young son at the park who befriended them and thanked him for his service as a Marine.
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More than a thousand chronic homeless veterans have housing
FOX 35 Orlando
June 24, 2016
Orlando has hit a milestone: the end of chronic homeless veterans. The Central Florida Commission on Homelessness and other leaders came together Thursday morning to acknowledge their accomplishment.
“There’s over a thousand veterans that got housing just in the last 24 months alone,” said the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness CEO Andrae Bailey.
The key: multiple agencies worked together to put a roof over a homeless person's head, one veteran at a time. “I’m really proud of our community," said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. "We set a goal to end homelessness, our chronically homeless veterans and we achieved that."
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Man convicted of murdering college student set free amid questions over guilt
Los Angeles Times
Richard Winston
June 23, 2016
Raymond Lee Jennings, right, flanked by his attorney, Jeffrey Ehrlich, was ordered released from state prison after prosecutors express doubts about his guilt. Jennigs was convicted in the 2000 murder of college student Michelle O'Keefe. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
An Iraq war veteran convicted in the 2000 slaying of college student Michelle O’Keefe was ordered released from state prison Thursday after prosecutors express doubts about his guilt.
"The people no longer have confidence in the conviction," Los Angeles Deputy Dist Atty. Bobby Grace told a judge, who ordered Raymond Lee Jennings released.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Ryan recommended that Jennings be released immediately from the courthouse but ordered electronic monitoring for Jennings because the case against him has not been dismissed.
Jennings, who worked as a security guard at the Palmdale parking lot where O’Keefe was found, smiled broadly as entered the courtroom.
"He was happy to know, after 11 years, his ordeal is over," his attorney, Jeffrey Ehrlich, said outside court.
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Man in Iwo Jima Flag Photo Was Misidentified, Marine Corps Says
New York Times
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
JUNE 23, 2016
“I said, ‘My gosh, Harold, you’re a hero.’ He said, ‘No, I was a Marine.’”
Dezreen MacDowell
A Marine Corps inquiry found that Harold Schultz, above, was one of the six men in the photograph of the flag raising on Iwo Jima. And it determined that a Navy hospital corpsman, John Bradley, was not in the image. Credit The Smithsonian Channel
WASHINGTON — An internal investigation by the Marine Corps has concluded that for more than 70 years it wrongly identified one of the men in the iconic photograph of the flag being raised over Iwo Jima during one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.
The inquiry found that a private first class named Harold Schultz was one of the six men in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph. And it determined that a Navy hospital corpsman, John Bradley, whose son wrote a best-selling book about his father’s role in the flag-raising that was made into a movie directed by Clint Eastwood, was not actually in the image.
Why Mr. Schultz apparently never disclosed that he was in the famous picture remains a mystery.
Many Marines who had fought on Iwo Jima suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, but little was known about the condition at the time. To cope, many Marines simply never talked about their military experience.
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Yale Study: Clinicians Often Overlook Veterans' Mental Health Disorders
Hartford Courant
CARA ROSNER
Conn. Heath I-Team Writer
June 23, 2016
"All physicians, regardless of their specialty, should be questioning their patients regarding their experiences in war," he said, adding that is not done often enough. "It's such a complicated issue."
Nationally, at least one in five military veterans who experience trauma are at a heightened risk for depression, suicide or substance abuse but are often overlooked in clinical settings because they don't fit the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a Yale University-led study.
The research, published June 1 in the World Psychiatry journal examined sub-threshold PTSD, which occurs when someone experiences trauma-related symptoms that aren't severe or long-lasting enough to warrant a PTSD diagnosis.
The study, which included 1,484 veterans nationwide, found 8 percent were diagnosed with PTSD but more than 22 percent met criteria for sub-threshold PTSD. Also, in addition to 4.5 percent of veterans diagnosed with PTSD within the last month, 13 percent had sub-threshold symptoms, the study reported.
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"sub threshold" from the VA
