Are They Worth Learning About How To Help Them?

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
April 22, 2017

When something is important to you, you learn all you can about it. You had to learn how to use a computer. You had to learn how to use your upgraded cell phone, take selfies, shoot video and all the text short cuts. If you have kids, you had to learn how to take care of them. You had to learn how to do your job by going to college and getting hands on training. So with everything worth learning about, why didn't you do that when the person you decided to share your life with came with a job that could kill them?

Isn't it time someone asked you that question?

Members of the military today, police officers, firefighters, first responders or veterans of past services, had jobs that they knew could have killed them. They were willing to do it with an abundance of courage, as well as compassion, otherwise known as love.

It is a part of them that we fell in love with. At a time before technology allowed instant communication and answers, I managed to learn about Vietnam and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder over three decades ago after I fell in love with my veteran. We're still married simply because he was important enough in my life, to be part of my life and I, a constant part of his.

Part of his life was struggling to heal from what his service did to him. Oh, sure I could have excused myself for not learning back then because no one was talking about it, but I could not justify myself if I did.

For almost as long as there has been fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, I've been trying to help families learn the easy way by writing a book For The Love of Jack, His War My Battle. That came out in 2003. I started learning and working on helping them heal in 1982.

So what is your excuse? Why has it been all so easy for you to just jump on stuff that is popular but doesn't work like "raising awareness" or taking walks or sharing stupid push-up videos because everyone else is doing it? None of it has worked. Wouldn't it be better for you spend your time actually learning about PTSD and how you can help someone you love heal? Didn't you ever wonder if they are so worthy of the publicity, why didn't anyone learn how to help them heal instead of just talking about how many decided they'd rather die?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.1 Corinthians 13:4-8New International Version (NIV)

How about you start to treat them as on your list of what is important to you today? The person you loved enough to want to share your life with is still in there under all the pain and scars their jobs caused. It's up to you to help them heal.

Here are some videos for you to start with,

Canada VA Office Reopened After Three Year Wait for Veterans

Veterans Affairs office re-opens in Windsor after 3-year wait 
CBC News 
Posted: Apr 21, 2017

Veterans had to go to London for help before office opened

A new Veterans Affairs office officially opened Friday to meet the needs of about 2,700 men and women who served as soldiers. (Stacey Janzer/CBC)

Veterans in Windsor no longer face a two hour journey to voice their concerns and access services.

After three years, a new Veterans Affairs office officially opened Friday to meet the needs of about 2,700 men and women who served as soldiers.

The federal government has hired 15 people to work at the office.
go here for more

Stolen Valor: Brandon Blackstone Goes to Prison

Ex-Marine from Arlington gets prison for lying about an Iraq war injury to make money
Dallas Morning News
Kevin Krause, Federal Courts Reporter
April 21, 2017

A federal judge on Friday called Brandon Blackstone's actions in faking a war injury to profit financially "shameful, shameful conduct" before sentencing him to 21 months in prison.

Blackstone, 35, a former U.S. Marine from Arlington, also will have to pay the Veterans Affairs department $322,654 in restitution for monthly disability payments he received from November 2006 to December 2015, according to the ruling from U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn.

He also lied about receiving a Purple Heart and used the fake story to obtain a free house from a veteran's charity.

The Blackstone scheme is the latest in an increasing number of stolen valor cases. Experts say it's rare, however, for veterans who actually served in combat to lie about their wartime experiences for financial or other gain.

And the case achieved some notoriety due to Blackstone's multiple media appearances in which he gave details on camera of being blown up in Iraq by a land mine that were strikingly similar to that of fellow Marine, Casey Owens. In fact, Blackstone left Iraq after a month for a non-combat medical issue and never returned.

Owens, a Houston native, was critically injured and lost his legs when his Humvee hit an anti-tank mine in 2004 in western Iraq, on the Syrian border. He killed himself in 2014 after a decade of suffering from numerous surgeries, brain injury and severe pain.
read more here

PTSD Presumption For Canadian First Responders?

Attitudes evolving toward PTSD, police chief says
Sudbury.com
Darren MacDonald
April 21, 2017

“The team provides immediate peer support and access to resources for members who have been involved in potentially traumatic events,” the report said. “The goal is to monitor members post event and off support services where identified.”

Attitudes toward post-traumatic stress disorder and policing have changed considerably since he began his career, Greater Sudbury Police Chief Paul Pedersen said this week. (File photo).

Attitudes toward post-traumatic stress disorder and policing have changed considerably since he began his career, Greater Sudbury Police Chief Paul Pedersen said this week.

"I've been in the profession a very long time,” Pedersen said. “There was a time when these types of things were not only unrecognized, but were hidden. There was a stigma associated with mental illness that suggested there was a weakness of character."

The chief was speaking after a police services board meeting this week, in which the force outlined its policies for helping front-line workers with PTSD.

Police had until April 23 to do so under the Supporting Ontario's First Responders Act, passed in the Ontario Legislature this month. It creates a presumption that PTSD diagnosed in first responders is work-related.
read more here

Veteran Documents Lives of Others with PTSD

Phoenix Veteran Uses Photography to Document PTSD
SCOTTSDALE, AZ, UNITED STATES 
DVIDS 
Story by Alun Thomas U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion - Phoenix 
 04.21.2017

“One of the veterans is my nephew, who’d contemplated suicide. Before he sat down to work with me, five of his fellow Marines had previously committed suicide,” he said. “A year after I photographed him he came up to me and said ‘thank you.’ I asked him ‘for what’? He said if I hadn’t taken those photos of him he would not have gone out and gotten help.” 

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – There’s a noticeable tremble in the voice of Christopher O’ Shana as he recounts his experiences dealing with veterans afflicted with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Christopher O’ Shana, waiver analyst, Phoenix Recruiting Battalion, talks about his photographic project ‘The Invisible Scar’ at a Community Action Committee meeting, April 12, Scottsdale Marriott Old Town, Scottsdale, Ariz. For the last three years O’ Shana has, has been documenting the struggles of veterans traumatized by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, with a series of photos intended to bring awareness to those afflicted by PTSD. (Photo by Alun Thomas, USAREC Public Affairs)

For the last three years O’ Shana, a waiver analyst for the Phoenix Recruiting Battalion, has been documenting the struggles of those traumatized by PTSD, in a photographic project titled ‘The Invisible Scar.’ 

He recounted the story behind his project at a Community Action Committee meeting, held by the Phoenix Rec. Bn., April 12, Scottsdale Marriott Old Town, Scottsdale, Ariz. O’ Shana said he developed a passion for photography upon leaving the Navy and pursued it through a variety of courses, leading to being awarded a grant and working space at a studio called The Monorchid in Phoenix.  

“I was looking for something unique to use as a subject when a lightbulb went off in my head,” O’ Shana said. “What about PTSD? 

Very few know what PTSD looks like. That’s when I developed the ‘Invisible Scar’ concept.” O’ Shana said he was overwhelmed initially, having to find veterans for his project and learning to how use a studio correctly, in order to enhance his photos for public release. “It was a daunting task. I was going to school and married with five kids,” O’ Shana continued. “But I began the project and its one that continues today.” read more here

PTSD on Trial: Former Police Officer, Veteran Marine

Former Norfolk officer testifies he had PTSD when he shot the man who's suing him

• By Jonathan Edwards 
  The Virginian-Pilot
• 2 hrs ago

The ex-officer being sued by the man he shot more than four years ago testified Friday that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time and struggles to deal with stressful situations in which he doesn’t have control.

Robertson, a Marine who served in the Middle East, was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder for symptoms that had been happening before that day. Because of his PTSD, he struggled when he wasn’t able to move freely. 

Robertson, who worked as a Norfolk officer for six years, quit the force in December 2015. His lawyer, Alan Rashkind, said his client had to retire because of how badly he was hurt when Mitchell dragged him, which required two shoulder surgeries and fusion of two vertebrae in his neck. read more here

The question is, when do we actually prove we are a grateful nation?

This morning I got into an email exchange with Rick Stacy over at 105.9 FM. I listen to his show everyday and he never fails to make me laugh. He's the type of guy who can insult you and you end up hugging him for it. That is, other than this morning when he was talking about POTUS extending the privatization of veterans healthcare like it was a good thing.

Ok, I'm sure you know that made my head explode! I tried to call the station but they didn't answer the call. I collected my senses, sort of, and let my blood pressure almost go back to normal, before I fired off an email.

I didn't expect and answer, but he answered it when he was off the air. It took a couple of tries but he understood what I was trying to say and I understood where he got his information from. I told him I still think he's smart and a couple of other things and have no regrets being a daily listener.

I'm sure you can see this got to me but not for the reasons you think. I know he cares about our troops and our veterans. So why would he think treating veterans like civilians was acceptable? Why would he think that sending veterans into the same mess the rest of us deal with was worthy of their service?

This is the thing that gets to me all the time. Folks seem to think this is the best this country can do for our veterans? Seriously?

So why do we have a Congress? Why did they want to serve on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and produce these disgusting results? Yet, we the people, electing these yahoos simply let them pull off this crap all the time.

They show up at the DAV, VFW and American Legion conventions, make their speeches while begging for votes instead of begging for forgiveness? 

Revolutionary WarThe next morning on June 20, the State House was mobbed by as many as 400 soldiers demanding payment. The soldiers blocked the door and initially refused to allow the delegates to leave. Alexander Hamilton, then a delegate from New York, persuaded the soldiers to allow Congress to meet later to address their concerns. The soldiers did allow the members of Congress to peacefully adjourn that afternoon.^[3] That evening, a small Congressional committee, headed by Hamilton, met in secret to draft a message to the Pennsylvania Council, asking them to protect Congress from the mutineers. The letter threatened that Congress would be forced to move elsewhere if the Council did not act.^[2]

Civil WarIt wouldn’t be until the Acts of 1818 and 1832 that full remediation of pensions would take place. Fraudulent claims abused the provisions of these Acts as enough time had elapsed to make it difficult to prove (or disprove) that a claimant had qualifying service.The Civil War wasn’t much better. Confederate soldiers had to rely on state-level pensions, while Union soldiers didn’t get much better treatment from the federal government. It wasn’t until the 20th Century that many of the pensions were paid to Civil War veterans and their widows.

WWIAs many as 20,000 former soldiers and their families had converged on Washington in the summer of 1932, the height of the Great Depression, to support Texas Congressman Wright Patman’s bill to advance the bonus payment promised to World War I veterans. Congress had authorized the plan in 1924, intending to compensate the veterans for wages lost while serving in the military during the war. But payment was to be deferred until 1945. Just one year earlier, in 1931, Congress overrode a presidential veto on a bill to provide, as loans, half the amount due to the men. When the nation’s economy worsened, the half-bonus loans were not enough, and the unemployed veterans now sought the balance in cash. Known as Bonus Marchers, they came in desperation from all across the nation, hopping freight trains, driving dilapidated jalopies or hitchhiking, intent on pressuring Congress to pass the legislation. The administration vehemently opposed the measure, believing it inflationary and impractical given the $2 billion annual budget deficit.

Getting the idea, you can look up more of the stuff Congress forgot to put on their "to do list" after they sent men and women to fight the country's battles.

Congress had been given the jurisdiction over all of it back in 1946 when the first Veterans Affairs Committee was putting their butts in their chairs and have been sitting on that awesome responsibility ever since.

Jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

1. Veterans' measures generally.
2. Pensions of all the wars of the U.S., general and special.
3. Life insurance issued by the government on account of service in the Armed Forces.
4. Compensation, vocational rehabilitation, and education of veterans.
5. Veterans' hospitals, medical care, and treatment of veterans.
6. Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief.
7. Readjustment of servicemen to civilian life.
8. National Cemeteries.

But why would they want to actually do their jobs? Why would any of us actually demand accountability from any of them? Why would we when the press fails to even mention any of the history military families have been dealing with since the Patriots were not just fighting off the best military in the world but had to hide from their fellow citizens wanting to keep things just they way they were?

Easy, because if you are not part of a military family, it is all too easy to forget these men and women are willing to pay any price for defending this nation and dying for each other but the one price they should never, ever, have to pay is our finding any of this acceptable.

The question is, when do we actually prove we are a grateful nation?

Seven Homeless Veterans Laid to Rest With Honor

 7 homeless veterans buried with military honors


All seven served in United States Army with duty spanning the World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War eras. 

Private First Class Steven E. Womack, age 67, born in Knoxville, Tennessee on February 26, 1949.

Staff Sergeant William Donald Good, age 55, born September 16, 1961, home of record is Gardena, California and enlisted in service at Los Angeles, California

Sp4. James D. Wood, age 68, born March 23, 1948, in Knoxville, Kentucky, passed away November 15, 2016. Sp4 (T) Wood served in Vietnam. He enlisted in 1968 and served multiple tours in Vietnam while serving in the United States Army.

Sp4 Glendon Llewellyn Swift, age 67, born March 23, 1949 in Norfolk, Virginia passed away August 23, 2016. Sp4 Swift served with Co B. 1/38 Infantry, 2d Infantry Division and Company A, 1/14 Infantry 25 Infantry Division; stationed at Camp Howze, Korea. He was a former resident of Williamston, North Carolina.

Ronald Eugene Pollock, age 81, of Knoxville, born March 8, 1935, passed away April 9, 2016. Ronald served honorably in the United States Army in the 1950s.

Private First Class Claude R. Petree, age 88, born October 15, 1927, of Maynardville, Tennessee passed away July 26, 2016.

Specialist 3rd Class Benny Burton Solomon, age 83, born May 29, 1933 served with the United States Army in Korea from October 22, 1953 to October 21, 1955. Sp3. Solomon passed away November 13, 2016.

Shadey Scandals New Release By Afghanistan Veteran Addresses Combat PTSD

VIDEO: Afghanistan veteran Alex Askew from Crayford releases Just Another Week song with band Shadey Scandals to help others through tough times
This Is Local London
Giulia Crouch
April 20, 2017

Now Alex has a full-time job as a sign-maker, a house in Heath Road and a 20-month-old baby daughter with Lisa. He attributes much of his recovery to playing music and would encourage others to do the same.

A military veteran who suffered PTSD and became homeless after a tour in Afghanistan has written a song to help other ex-servicemen going through difficult times.

Photos by Lisa Askew

Alex Askew, a keen guitarist from Heath Road in Crayford, struggled to cope when he left the armed forces three years ago.

The 34-year-old said: “I did six months in Afghanistan and when I came back I was so frustrated.

“I suffered a bit of depression.”

Alex struggled to find work when he returned to south-east London and became homeless.

He ended up living in his car with his wife Lisa who he met online when he was in the RAF in Afghanistan.

Together they spent three years living with friends, family and at B and Bs as they couldn’t afford anywhere else.

It was during this time he penned the song Just Another Week which he has since recorded with his band Shadey Scandals.
read more here

Another Veteran Charity Scammed Donors?

Fake Carmel horse rescue, veteran charity scammed donors, AG says
KSBW
Caitlin Conrad
Apr 19, 2017

The Gregory's charities raised $782,434 between 2014-2015. None of the money was ever used for equine therapy, saving horses' lives, or supporting veterans, the lawsuit states.

CARMEL, Calif. — California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a civil lawsuit seeking to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars from two Carmel charities that claim to rescue horses and support wounded veterans with therapeutic riding.

Becerra said both charities are fake.

Matthew G. Gregory, his wife, Danella J. Gregory, and their adult children, Matthew J. Gregory and Gina D. Gregory, operate Central Coast Equine Rescue and Retirement (CCERR) and Wounded Warriors Support Group (WWSG), Becerra said.

The Attorney General's Office says the Gregory family is a group of con artists.

"CCERR and WWSG run raffles purportedly to support veterans and horses, but instead spend the donated proceeds for personal use," the AG's Office wrote in a press release.

Personal uses included spending $10,000 at a hunting store, buying cars, shopping at Victoria's Secret and Nordstrom, paying off personal credit card debts, traveling, and restaurant bills, according to the lawsuit.

The two charities accept donations through a Carmel-by-the-Sea mailbox, but don't have a physical location. Matthew Gregory also appears at car shows across the state to hold raffles.
read more here