I just can't think of anything more to add, as not only myself but many others have stated over and over thousands of times in these years, to the three reports and link to the study then are stated within them!
This is a 10MB, 370page pdf download, you can visit the Army site by click the graphic or the link.
July 29, 2010 With suicides at an all-time high, the U.S. Army released a report today blaming "a permissive unit environment" for high risk behavior.
"For some, the rigors of service, repeated deployment, injuries and separations from family resulted in a sense of isolation, hopelessness and life fatigue," Army Vice Chief of Staff Peter Chiarelli says in a letter accompanying the report.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is the signature injury of the post-9/11 combat veteran. For years, as Veterans returned home with the invisible wound, VA red-tape has made it difficult to obtain a disability rating for the condition. Strange rules make it nearly impossible to prove the affliction. For example, Veterans have had to prove the existence of a "stresser" in order to qualify for a rating.
Most service members weren't whipping out their iPhones in the middle of firefights to get a video of them being shot at while holding up a copy of that day's edition of the New York Times, or obtaining certificates of having seen a child blown up by a suicide bomber.
To make matters worse, many women find their claims rejected with the VA assuming that they could not have been in combat when females on the front lines are theoretically prohibited. While women might not be carrying an M-249 in an infantry squad, female medics certainly are at the spearhead, female logistics Soldiers drive supply convoys on treacherous, IED laced roads, and female linguists, such as VetVoice's own Kayla Williams, have become an invaluable part of the force.
Even if a Soldier never encounters an IED, firefight or other defined "stresser", certainly walking patrols, running convoys or door-gunning a Chinook helicopter requires a state of long term hyper-vigilance that undoubtably effects the mind.
After already increasing VA funding and signing a bill to insure advanced funding for the Department, President Obama's Department of Veterans Affairs plans to announce next week that it is removing the speed-bumps that hindered PTSD afflicted Vets from obtaining a disability rating:
The government is making it easier for combat veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder to receive disability benefits.
The Veterans Affairs Department plans to announce Monday it will no longer require veterans to prove what might have triggered their illness. Instead, they would have to show that they served in combat in a job that could have contributed to post-traumatic stress disorder.
The nearly 20 percent of Veterans who return with signs of PTSD will now find it easier to obtain what they earned when they bravely defended their country. Making the process for obtaining benefits as smooth as possible is the least we owe these heroes. This decision to streamline the process for PTSD claims illustrates a commitment to our Veterans from this Administration that was absent for eight years under previous leadership.
For example, even with all the previously mentioned hurdles, Vets wishing to obtain a PTSD rating had even more impediments under the President's predecessor. As VoteVets uncovered in 2008, the VA of those days deliberately misdiagnosed Veterans to reduce the cost of treatment and disability payments:
On March 20, 2008 a VA hospital's PTSD program coordinator sent an e-mail to a number of VA employees, including psychologists, social workers, and a psychiatrist stating that due to an increased number of "compensation seeking veterans," the staff should "refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out" and they should "R/O [rule out] PTSD" and consider a diagnosis of "Adjustment Disorder" instead.
This doesn't even address the Bush Administration's under funding of VA and general lack of concern for Veterans and caring for them. The treatment received by Vets from George W. Bush was shameful, but President Obama has raised the bar and set a new standard for the way we care for Vets.
July 5, 2010 Orrin Gorman McClellan is among the war casualties that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has just begun to track - young men and women who served in the post-9/11 military, and killed themselves after struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and other war wounds.
Meant to inform of this day, to send you to one extremely dedicated individuals own post, to hopefully send some to search out even more {if you haven't followed the real issues}, for the trolls who won't see these issues on conservative blogs or news? sites, and we probably won't hear a peep on any of the Sunday Morning empty blab shows or news outlets.
Staff Sgt. Rachel Martinez, USAF Photo by SSgt. Matt Davis, USAF NTM-A
31 May 2010 As the sun set over Camp Eggers on Memorial Day, hundreds of coalition members gathered to pay tribute to comrades lost in battle - not just U.S. fallen heroes, but fallen heroes from every nation.
During the coalition memorial remembrance ceremony, service members who gave their life in support of Operation Enduring Freedom were honored with a moment of silence and a roll call of their names during a candlelight ceremony.
"Those that have given their last full measure for this mission are as varied as those that serve here today," said Army Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan and Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan commanding general. "Privates to chief warrant officers to lieutenant colonels - from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Latvia, the United States and from Afghanistan - they are members of all services, from National Guard, Reserve and Active components."
While many countries have their own dedicated day set aside to remember the fallen members of their armed forces, special effort was made to include all coalition countries into the Memorial Day remembrance as a sign of the joint effort and sacrifice happening in Afghanistan. Representatives of many coalition nations were present at the ceremony, raising flags, lighting candles and paying their respects. Continued
Iraq, Rapidly becoming the Forgotten War!! There have been 4,719 coalition deaths -- 4,402 Americans, 2 Australians, 1 Azerbaijani, 179 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, 1 Czech, 7 Danes, 2 Dutch, 2 Estonians, 1 Fijian, 5 Georgians, 1 Hungarian, 33 Italians, 1 Kazakh, 1 South Korean, 3 Latvian, 22 Poles, 3 Romanians, 5 Salvadoran, 4 Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, 2 Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq as of May 5 2010, according to a CNN count. { Graphical breakdown of casualties }. The list also includes 14 U.S. Defense Department civilian employees. At least 31,790 {31,762 last month} U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. View casualties in the war in Afghanistan
Charles Huff, the brother of Jesse Huff, who committed suicide last week on the steps of Dayton VA Medical Center last week, has stated that the family is satisfied with the level of care Jesse received from VA:
Charles Huff, 37, of Dayton - a nurse at the VA and a staff sergeant in the Army Reserve - said Monday, April 19, that he and his father met with Dayton VA Director Guy Richardson on Sunday to review his brother's medical records, specifically focusing on the events of his last visit to the emergency room.
"Jesse was not denied care," Charles Huff said. "In fact, I am impressed with the actions of the medical staff that evening. Without going into detail, to protect Jesse's privacy, I can say as a fellow Iraq war veteran, as a medical professional and as his brother, I am in agreement with the decisions made by the hospital staff during Jesse's last visit to the ER."
Why is it in all these speeches the press seems to think are so important, like those of the shrill voiced hockey puck mom, who's son served or is still serving, and anyone attached to this so called 'tea party', as they rail against taxes and more, do we not hear mention of the funding nor sacrifice as to those serving or have served!
Seems the only time the military soldier and veterans of, are mentioned is when a meme needs to be added as flag is wrapped around their 'patriotism?'!
Many are the same that never mention defense budgets, except wanting them to grow even more, nor gave any mention to military and veterans care as they beat the drums of war louder and louder, and still do!
AlJazeeraEnglish - April 08, 2010 - Out of two million US soldiers who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq, psychiatrists estimate that one in three may, at some point, develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is the story of five American soldiers stricken with PTSD. One is on trial for murder, two committed suicide and two others are still in the army, struggling to get treatment.
Anecdotally, marijuana has been a successful treatment for PTSD. The AMA has shown interest in conducting a 'controlled' study of using pot in this manner. What better place than the VA could be found to run those tests?
The VA can prescribe lots of pain killers including morphine and anti-psychotics. Unfortunately, the VA is governed by federal law which does not allow for the use Medical Marijuana.
14 States now have varying laws legalizing the use of Medical Marijuana [MM]. New Mexico is the only state that specifically allows for its use in treating PTSD. It is the largest single category used in New Mexico. MM also is used to treat pain, twitching and spasms caused by nerve damage as well as seizures.
A recent Military Times article explains the process to obtain a license to use Medical Marijuana in New Mexico. The VA prohibits their doctors from signing medical statements verifying the Vet's diagnosis and treatment, forcing the Vet to seek and pay for a duplication of this in the private sector.
Barthwell is a former Deputy Drug Czar with a background in addiction medicine. Her objection is that scientifically valid research is impossible since "pot" does not afford a controlled dose. Given her background, I would guess that she has a strong bias against any legalization of pot.
Marinol is the synthetic form of THC produced by big PhRMA that delivers a controlled dose but only of THC. Use and cost here:
In this interview at the 1:00 point, Dr Nancy Snyderman of MSNBC says patients say marinol is not very effective. [the discussion is about legalizing and taxing pot in CA, but I am only using this vid for its reference to the use of marinol] Since using marinol to treat PTSD is not a FDA recommended use, there would be no reliable statistics related to such use.
I picked up the Barbie pieces as quickly as I could, including the head. There was no way she was still alive, but I tried to put her back together before he could see. I think he might have seen that her head was off, but I don't know. He was so willing to hear my reassurances that she was okay that he put that image away for later. I got us all back into the vehicle and put her into a seat, she looked like she was sleeping, and that's what I told him. Except, one of her hands refused to go back on, I tried to sit close enough to her that he wouldn't be able to tell. I just had to keep her together until we crossed the border and were safe and then I would tell him that his mother was dead.
I can't remember so much movement in the Veterans Administration in such a short time, Gen Shinseki has only been the Secretary coming in just under a year. Sure there's been some burps along the way, reason why, much of what he's trying to do should have been done and especially as the previous congresses and administration were charging into Wars, not War!!
For some of our war heroes, the pain and suffering doesn't always go away after returning home from combat. In some cases that can lead to a very tragic end. But now families of veterans who have committed suicide are turning their tragedies into stories of hope. >>>>>
This isn't rocket science, if the country had paid attention as we were returning from Vietnam and recognizing what that did to many of our brothers, thousands then, as we tried for decades to push the issues into the public conscious we'd be much more advanced in the understanding of what war and extreme trauma does to the human mind, especially from wars of choice. And it wasn't only as to our brothers! There also would have been a better understanding as to the civilian populations of these conflicts as well as those anywhere who live through the extreme trauma's, of many descriptions, that affect individuals in their own lives
Shoshana Johnson poses for a picture in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010. Johnson, the nation's first female black prisoner of war, was shot and captured in Iraq along with Jessica Lynch.
Shoshana Johnson survived gunshot wounds to both legs and 22 days as a prisoner of war in Iraq. Life wasn't so easy when she came home, either.
In a new book out this week, the 37-year-old single mother describes mental health problems related to her captivity and tells how it felt to play second fiddle in the media to fellow POW Jessica Lynch, who was captured in the same ambush.
"It was kind of hurtful," the former Army cook said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "If I'd been a petite, cutesy thing, it would've been different."
Snip
Johnson's book, I'm Still Standing", is being released in time for Black History Month. Johnson said she hopes that by telling her story, she can set the record straight and bring attention to mental health issues affecting veterans. >>>>>
This past week a conference opened, from the 10th to the 14th of January 2010, to discuss the growing suicide rate among our military and veterans community.
This is an extremely important issue, the Mental Injuries and Post Traumatic Stress as to War, that should be right up there along side never starting one except as a Very Last Resort when all else fails and to always plan an exit strategy as we should have done in Afghanistan after 9/11. Bringing in any and all support functions, promised rebuilding monies, NGO's, government agencies gear to help rebuild including those in the military, in Afghanistan's case after toppling the government that supported the criminal terrorist who carried out the devastating attacks on our country. Iraq should never had been allowed to happen!
Vietnam Vet Tells ABC News' David Muir: 'I Went Down Into Almost a Death Spiral'
As a young Army platoon leader in Vietnam, Max Cleland sent hours of audio dispatches home to his parents not knowing just how true his words would become.
"I'm definitely coming back a little bit differently than when I came here," he said on tape.
On April 8, 1968, just days from the scheduled end of his tour in Vietnam, Cleland spotted a hand grenade in the grass as he jumped off a helicopter. It had been dropped by another soldier, and Cleland reached for it, not knowing it was live.
In a flash of fire, Cleland lost both legs, his right arm and, almost, his life.
So that Army is saying that this year will top 2008 as the highest year on record for Army suicides. I'm sure this will be discussed at length in the papers and by the pundits. Invariably, they will try to link that story with Major Hasan. I can't see a logical connection, but it links it to another recent big story, so it cells paper. Whatever.
We're also going to hear a lot about how a large amount of the suicides are due to PTSD or stress of repeated deployments and time away from family, and I'm sure a good deal of them are. But an interesting stat in the article linked above is that about one-third of those suicides were by Soldiers who had never deployed. So what is the problem?
If I had to guess, I'd say leadership. I'm not arguing that these Soldiers' officers and NCOs are responsible for their suicides, or that they somehow drove their Soldiers to take their own lives.
This is anecdotal, but the same problem I saw in my unit before I separated has been repeated to me by Vets and Soldiers from units all over the country. The last few months I spent in Afghanistan and Fort Bragg, nearly 60% of our unit was stop-lossed and not reenlisting. Every company commander in my battalion except one and every primary staff officer except one submitted their voluntary REFRAD packet before leaving country. When our stop-loss was lifted, junior NCOs left en masse. Hell, I even knew a couple E-7s that got out rather than riding it out to retirement. I don't pretend to speak for any of these people, but I think its a safe assumption to say that repeated deployments and time away from their families was a major part of a lot of their decisions.
It's pretty easy to guess what happens when junior officers and NCOs leave the Army in a tsunami of separations. It creates a leadership vacuum in the ranks that work the closest with young Soldiers. Soldiers who are too inexperienced to lead are then promoted too soon and given the charge of teaching, coaching and mentoring junior enlisted Soldiers.
I saw this happen in my unit. Soldiers who were E2s when we arrived in Afghanistan were Sergeants by the time we left. If the Army looks close enough, I'm confident they will find that a good portion of that third who never deployed, and some of those that did, had leaders who were young, inexperienced and didn't know how to properly take care of their Soldiers. Being a leader isn't solely giving orders and teaching your subordinates how to shoot, move and communicate. It's also about knowing your Soldiers, knowing what makes them tick, knowing what stresses them in their professional and personal lives so that you know how to best address their concerns and lead them to be the best Soldiers they can be.
Without quality, experienced leaders who have the faith of their subordinates, those subordinates will have no one to turn too. They will not have confidence in the ability of their chain of command to help them. They will not feel comfortable taking their problems to their first line supervisor. They will hold whatever their issues are close until the bottle breaks. Sometimes, this happens in the form of discipline issues are AWOL. In other cases, it leads to an incohesive and inefficient team. I'm willing to bet that if you scratch the surface, extreme cases lead to increased suicide numbers within the ranks. Simply put, when leaders don't know how to lead, things turn out badly.
The U.S. Army says it expects the number of suicides among active duty soldiers to top last year's numbers, although it says progress is being made in addressing the issue...>>>>
They just made a quick comment at the end of the PBS News Hour, saying "The pace was slowing." the Army's response to the higher numbers of suicides!
Troop morale down in Afghanistan with the 2nd half of the deployment showing a significant increase in poor unit morale.
Forward troops in Afghanistan have no access to mental health care professionals. This does not meet the Army goal of 1 mental health care professional for every 700 troops.
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 11.11.09, I caught a couple of important discussions in the continuing known by us veterans are the results of wars and occupations of choice, or any war and occupation, as to the veterans and military personal once they've been sent to serve in and then return home, most being discharged from their service obligation after serving the time they signed up for, all at that point or later becoming the veterans of their service.
This first one is just a news report I happened upon but hits on the issue many of us are long time advocates of and adds to the rest posted below it.
Below is just a small group of articles and reports coming in on this Veterans Day 2009. Some about Veterans Day, some about Veterans older and to the present, some about todays Veterans and Soldiers. Much will be said today, much seen, some will even think about, some.
While important it isn't so much about what will be said or done by our political leaders, it's really more about how the greater majority in this country who don't serve, don't want to really sacrifice, but are quick to use those who do, and their families, then quickly move away from their false meme's when it comes time to actually heed the calls for the funds to pay for the results of our occupations of choice. And as always by not heeding those calls for sacrifice it ends up causing more suffering by those who've suffered enough for country and much much more in the costs of the results of their service!
No one is trying to find excuses nor defend what the Major did at Ft Hood to his fellow soldiers, but what he was doing for his service career, whether it helped push him over the edge or not, is of major concern for what this country faces for it's support of it's extremely failed policies.
Ilona Meager met many of us, especially us veterans, through using this technology, especially in research and posting on interactive community boards, and her awaking interest in a subject she had never thought much about until reading reports about suicides by returned veterans of the Afghan and Iraq occupations well into the start of both conflicts. Her interest caused her to start researching the why these were happening, joining her were other online researchers, many like her who might have heard about but never really thought about an extremely important issue, we veteran advocates have been fighting to get much more recognition for from the masses since especially our occupation Vietnam. That issue is Combat PTSD.
Writing at the White House blog, some obscure bureaucrat named Brandon Friedman notes the efforts by VA and DoD in their joint summit on PTSD:
The problem of post-traumatic stress is new for neither Veterans, nor for the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. However-from "soldier's heart" after the Civil War to "shell shock" to "combat fatigue"-the services have typically handled PTSD only to the point that it doesn't boil over into a major social or political problem. And while that's been good enough for many, it hasn't been good enough for America's combat Veterans.
However, that's why DoD and VA are now coming together to not only seek practical solutions to mental injuries, but to de-stigmatize them as well. This week, for the first time, the departments are holding a joint national summit meant to harness "the programs, resources and expertise of both departments to deal with the aftermath of the battlefield."
The joint PTSD summit is a major step in the right direction for recognizing and treating the problems associated with PTSD. For many decades, the VA has been underfunded and mismanaged (by executives and legislatures of both parties), particularly when it comes to helping Veterans afflicted with post traumatic stress disorder. Right now the VA in this administration, especially in its partnership with DoD, is finally righting the course.
However, the VA is the nation's second largest executive agency with DoD being the largest. You can't turn a battleship, much less two, on a dime. The progress will come surely but the process will require patience. From my perspective, though, the change is already measurable.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) are hosting a first-of-its-kind national summit to address the mental health care needs of America's military personnel, families and Veterans, harnessing the programs, resources and expertise of both departments to deal with the aftermath of the battlefield.
"This is about doing what is best for those who serve this country and using every federal, state and community asset to do it," said Secretary Shinseki. "We're proud of the people and the organizations who have stepped up today to make sure everyone who fought for this country gets a fighting chance for a sound mind and an independent life."
The summit, which opened today at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., invited mental health experts from both departments, Congress, the president's cabinet and more than 57 non-government organizations to discuss an innovative, wide-ranging public health model for enhancing mental health for returning service members, Veterans, and their families.
Snip
VA operates the largest mental health program in the nation. VA has bolstered its mental health capacity to serve combat Veterans by adding thousands of new professionals to its rolls in the last four years. The department also has established a suicide prevention hotline (1-800-273-TALK) and Web site available for online chat at Suicide Prevention Lifeline-Veterans....>>>
The leading scorer on his high school basketball team in a small Georgia town, and a young man with political ambitions, Max Cleland's early life seemed promising.
Later, he headed the Veterans Administration, served in the U.S. Senate and today heads the American Battle Monuments Commission, founded in 1923 to manage overseas cemeteries and memorials honoring our veterans.
Cleland almost died in Vietnam when an exploding grenade destroyed both his legs and part of his right arm....>>>>
Yesterday, the fifth of October, I posted up a Parade Magazine article I found on Max Cleland and his new book {on my site and a few open threads etc.}. This morning I heard a short, but real good, interview on NPR's Morning Edition {below with links}, that should be added to the Parade article. This, while short, was a pretty good interview as Max hit's on a number of issues but unable to delve deeper. Here's hoping as he has started to promote the book that we get to hear and see longer more in depth interviews, I for one hope so, not only because of the brotherhood of us 'Nam Vets and the whole Veterans community, but because Max doesn't hold back, never did, and speaks with feeling and conviction.
MAUREEN CAVANAUGH (Host): I'm Maureen Cavanaugh, and you're listening to These Days on KPBS. When the tour of duty is over, some veterans find the battle to regain their normal lives has just begun. This morning, the KPBS series "War Comes Home," focuses on the challenges that face veterans and their families as these former warriors transition into civilian life. Some vets are dealing with invisible wounds. Traumatic brain injury has been called the signature combat injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, post traumatic stress disorder, if not treated, can last for years and tear relationships apart. The good news is there is a lot of help available for returning veterans and their families. And, we're about to speak to several guests who know both the challenges and the support that exists for military families. I'd like to welcome my guests. Benjamin Karney is associate professor of psychology at UCLA, and an adjunct behavioral scientist at the Rand Corporation. Ben, welcome to These Days....>>>>rest of Audio Transcript found here of show in player below, also can be heard at site.
I've been back for about 5 months now and a lot of the guys I deployed with are beginning to have that five month I want to pull my guts out feeling. They have been asking me a lot about how I deal/get by on a day to day basis. I guess they think I know some magical secret because I've gone and come back so much.
Well first let's dive deeper into what I'm talking about. For many of you who have deployed know the time frame of redeployment I speak of. It's about five months after returning to home station. When you redeploy you are full of wonderful feelings. You are surrounded by friends, Family, Friends family, and everybody in-between. Words like "hero" are used .They shower you with affection and you feel like this is the greatest time in your life. That warm bath feeling on a cold day, a first embrace of a love and Holding your newborn all wrapped into one. Euphoric.
Month's role by. The combat stress of returning home has begun to set in. You start getting the feeling like somebody threw a toaster in your warm bath; your love is cheating, and your newborn just shit in your cereal. The walls close in and the silence and calm becomes so evident that it claws at your soul. You get angry and agitated for no reason. This.....is.....bad.
The worst situations come at his time. It can be triggered by just about anything, and nothing. As poignant as infidelity of your spouse while you were gone or as small as forgetting where you left your keys. Anger turns to rage, rage to violence or the worst case scenario........Suicide. You start to wonder if you are only comfortable when people are trying to kill you.
The real problem is that you now have time to think. You go over all the good and bad of your deployments. Things you did or should have done. Things you did or didn't accomplish. Grief from lost friends or questions of morality in some things you may have done to others. Was I right to do what I did? The thoughts of how close you came to facing death.
So they ask me.... "Sergeant how do I make it stop?" "Sergeant what do you do?". The truth is that there is no magic cure. No pill you can take. No counselor will understand. The best thing we can do is find something to occupy our minds. Nothing will let you reach that adrenaline induced high that combat provides. You just take it one foot in front of the other. Take the dreams and nightmares one at a time. Deal with your anger and understand what it really is. It's you. Your own mind is playing tricks on you. Get away from the idea that you want to get "better". You are not sick. This is you. This is who you are from now on.
It all gets easier as you learn to cope. Don't get hung up in answers to questions that don't need to be answered or even asked. It is what it is. WAR.
Hang in there my friends, Brothers and sisters. Remember I've got your back.
Now 62 years old, slightly stooped with thick reading glasses and pasty skin, he looks far removed from the wild-eyed loner who snapped in a violent, bloody spree 14 years ago.
And he looks far removed from the tanned, wiry young man who traded an abusive home life for two tours in the jungles of Vietnam - and a chunk of shrapnel that still throbs in his thigh when the weather turns cold.
All of that past, all of that horror and hurt, stared through thick reading glasses at Jim Johnson as the retired Fayetteville therapist tried to discover who James Davis was.
McClatchy Washington Bureau continues their extremely stellar reporting on the effects of Wars and Occupations of others on those that serve in these theaters of operations, especially as to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder {PTSD} with the following report printed in their Kansas City Star:
For those that Still don't get what War does to a Human Being, and not only those fighting, nor understand the same happens to civilians who experience extreme trauma, like the recent reports about the young girl kidnapped and now found almost two decades later, Read This Short Article!!
Here is the video of the panel on PTSD I sat on at Netroots Nation a couple weeks ago. As an aside, it seems like a rule that when a panel is being recorded, no one will sit in the path of the camera, which is why it looks likes no one is in the room. I assure you, this was not the case.
Daniel Zwerdling, of NPR, continues his outstanding research into and reporting on the Army's, and the Military's, care of returning soldiers suffering from PTSD and other possible mental problems developed as to serving in these wars and occupations.
Besides some quick google searches of the Doctor' s work, hearing him speak on a foxnews report and listening to his youtube TED talk, have never heard of the man.
Why questions are basic and not judging the doctors work but some are:
a. 117MIL on resiliency training 1500 soldiers by next summer? (approx. $78,000 a sergeant)
b. a fitness program
designed to build resilience in soldiers, family members and Army civilians by developing five dimensions of strength: physical, emotional, social, spiritual and family.
c. what kind of experience does the doctor have working with veterans returning from War?
d. can we really teach someone here how to be mentally & physically tough, send them to War & honestly expect that through some extended fitness training they won't return with PTSD?
Just curious if anyone had any more info. on the Doctor's work. To me in theory it sounds great if you could teach a human brain through "comprehensive fitness" to not suffer stress under incredibly stressful situations. Logically though wouldn't one have to experience extreme stress to know how a whole group of soldiers are going to come out of it?
(Always good to see success stories about the VA reaching out to meet Veterans' needs. - promoted by Richard Smith)
It's been a few years since I attempted to make an appointment at the VA, and I had all but given up on the organization as a viable healthcare option. I started to reconsider, though, when I saw other female veterans pointing out discrepancies in the VA system. I was privileged to see my best friend, Kayla Williams, speak on behalf of all female veterans at a Senate hearing a couple months ago. It was encouraging to see so many people gathered in one room with the same goal: improve the care for female veterans at VA hospitals and clinics.
With that in mind, I contacted a local Veterans Center a couple of days ago and inquired about getting an appointment to see a doctor. I was transferred to several different offices, and spoke with a few individuals who didn't know the answer to my questions. It appeared there was no one who could get me the appointment I needed at a time that worked for my family and me.
Rather than give up, I went back to the VA website and located the "contact us" page. At
this point, I didn't know if I really was the only woman facing these obstacles, but I couldn't believe that was actually the case. I wrote a long, detailed suggestion and submitted it, fully expecting my proposal to be thrown out or overlooked.
You know what, though? It wasn't.
A few days ago, I received a phone call from a field agent working for the VHA (Veterans Health Administration.) I really wish I could remember her name. She stated that she worked for Dr. Patty Hayes, Chief consultant for Women Veterans Health, and that she was calling to follow up on a suggestion I made on the VA website. I was amazed to get a phone call rather than some generic-email response: "Please do not respond to this email. This is a courtesy letter to thank you for your input, etc." Instead, I heard from a real person. This awesome lady gave me the number for the director of the women's clinic in my area, and thanked me for my service. She went on to say that the VA was looking into the possibility for drop-in child care in some of the larger hospitals, the two obstacles at this time being liability and funding issues. She said that there were other veterans like me, and that there was no excuse for the VA not meeting the needs of a growing population of veterans.
Needless to say, it was good to hear that I wasn't alone.
And today I heard from the team leader at the local Vet Center (These are centers that provide care for combat vets and veterans who have suffered Military Sexual Trauma.) Mr. Tim Davis called to apologize on behalf of the Veteran Center. Mr. Davis was extremely helpful, and explained that the Veteran's Center does, in fact, have evening appointments. He stated that he would give my number to his clinician, and that I would be getting a call from her later that day. I did get that call, and after 3 ½ years, I was able to make an appointment after 4:30 pm. Amazing what a difference one little suggestion can make!
So, if you think that you're the only one dealing with an issue, I can almost guarantee that you aren't. Use the suggestion box on the VA website or keep calling until you reach someone that does have the answer. Don't ignore the fact that you need care. If you ask a question or make a suggestion on the website, in my experience someone will get back to you and get you the help you need.
I just wanted to write about how I feel about how I'm being treated for all my medical conditions that I have occured since my deployment to Iraq. About 4 or 5 months after I returned from Iraq in July of 2004 I became very angry towards everyone including my family. I hated everyone because they were trying to find out what was wrong with me. For some reason I told my wife(were divorced now) that I hated her and to pack all her stuff and my kids stuff and leave and go home. In reality I felt they were in danger because the nightmares and visions and thoughts I was having was driving me crazy and all I wanted to do was unleash on something or somebody. Since Iraq I have had so many health issues it crazy. I will list some of them: 1.bloodshot eyes to the point where they ache doctors say my pores in my eyes are clogged 2. heart palpitations to the point where it takes my breathe and I cough and sometimes It feels like it stops but the doctor says oh your fine 3.chest pains i have everyday but the doctor says it just due to anxiety ok my question is what if it is a heart attack because if I went to the doctor everyday my chest hurts I would go everyday 4. Anxiety Disorder is the worst thing I have ever had to deal with some days I feel like I'm going to die but they put me on medication which works sometime 5.PTSD all I can say about this is sometime I either get very angry and want to break stuff or hurt someone and sometime I just do stuff that I shouldnt do but I do it anyway its like I dont care 6. Nightmares come and go and I had the VA Hospital in Walla Walla tell me that the malaria medicine I was taking in Iraq is the reason for it I mean the dreams are to realistic sometimes I wake up not knowing where I'm at and sometimes I wake up all scared and nervous with my heart beating out my chest
OK these are just a few of the issues I deal with on a daily basis but it seems all the Army wants to do with Soldiers these days is over medicate and I'm getting fed up with it all to the point where I'm going to do a Congressional. I mean I read all the reports on burn pits which I spent a lot of time around and the depleted uranium which I've read all the reports about also. I just want to be fixed and live a normal life like I use to without taking all this medication and having uneducated military doctors tell me I'm fine when I know I'm not.
Sen. Franken joined with Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) to introduce the Service Dogs for Veterans Act. Sen. Isakson saw firsthand what the love and comfort of a companion animal can do for someone suffering. Before his mother, Julia, died of Alzheimer's disease in 1998, one of the few things that brought her noticeable joy was her interaction with service dogs at an Alzheimer's facility where she spent her last years. Their bill was rolled into the Department of Defense Authorization Bill, which was passed by the Senate.
I'm crazy about dogs, and I think that their power to heal and comfort is unsurpassed. I never really considered the impact of companion animals on our wounded warriors until I read Jay Kopelman's book From Baghdad to America: Life Lessons from a Dog Named Lava. Kopelman, a Marine veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, writes about his transition back to civilian life with help from Lava, who is not an "official" service dog. Needless to say, I cried like a baby nearly the entire time reading his story. Luckily, I was in Chicago's O'Hare airport when I picked up his book and reading it while flying on a large jet, so it's not like anyone saw me.
When Sen. Franken introduced his bill, I started doing some more research on service dogs for veterans, and I came across this Time article and this Wall Street Journal article. The WSJ article told the story of Capt. Luis Carlos Montalvan, an Army veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and now suffers from severe PTSD and other war-related ailments. Capt. Montalvan was the inspiration behind Sen. Franken's proposed legislation, and he is also the proud recipient of Tuesday, one of dogs from Puppies Behind Bars' Dog Tags program.
Besides tugging on my heartstrings for my love of dogs and our military, I am most impressed by the recognition of these charitable organizations and Sen. Franken's bill of the disabling effects of PTSD and other mental health disorders as a result of war. Our minds are such powerful organs, and when they are damaged, they too need to be treated and given time to heal. Unfortunately, the damage is not visible like the loss of a limb, but the pain and suffering is just as real.
This morning I came across a friend's post of facebook that troubled me. A friend of his, who is also a vet, was sending him messages about taking pills and drinking to kill himself. I immediately went into freak out mode. I have been on the edge before, like we all have, so I know the feeling and I know someone needed to reach out to this individual and talk to him, but I also knew that the best thing to do is to get some professional help to people who are suicidal.
I sent this vet an email to make sure that he knew that people were out there and that people care and can help. I gave him the phone number for the VA suicide hotline (1-800-273-TALK (8255)) in hopes that he would call and get some professional help. He replied that since he was in Italy he couldn't call the number, it is a US number so I can understand that difficulty. I looked all over the internet for a way for him to call and reach out but I couldn't find anything. I knew something had to be done so I emailed a friend at the VA to ask for some advice and float some ideas about overseas outreach.
After a few emails and phone calls I was put in touch with someone from the VA suicide hotline (1-800-273-TALK (8255)). The situation presented quite a few obstacles, I only had facebook contact with this vet and he was in Italy and I didn't have a phone number. Not the best way to help someone get in contact with someone. The gentleman on the phone took the little bit of information and is reaching out to this vet by email so they can get him some help. This proves to me that the VA is an organization that is trying to do the best it can to take care of us, even when they don't have all the assets that they should.
I am not sure of the fate of this veteran yet since he has not responded to me in a while and I hope that he makes it through these tough times and that he returns the email from the VA hotline. One thing is for certain, the VA suicide hotline employees take their jobs very seriously and are trying any means to reach out and help any veteran who is having a tough time and needs some help. If you are having issues or know of someone having issues please do not hesitate to contact the hotline (1-800-273-TALK (8255)) so that we can continue to take care of our brothers and sisters in arms.
Update I have spoken to this young vet and he seems to be doing ok for now. We are going to work together to get him the help he needs.
Last week the Colorado Springs 'The Gazette' had another very disturbing report, in two parts, following up previous reports of soldiers of OIF and OEF who committed murders. These, from all I can find out, were just regular teens, no trouble out of the ordinary prior to their military service. But once sent to these occupations, sometimes more then once, they returned like many of our brother 'Nam Vets, very troubled and not getting the help needed or not seeking because of the nature of military service, added to their situations of multiple tours, longer tours then we served and little down time between, their nightmares caught up to them by abusing drugs and alcohol, by acting out in rage, by loosing control.
"The welcome mat for memoirs by veterans of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom might never wear out so long as they write with the savvy of Brandon Friedman . . . Friedman's take is vivid, frank, precise and dramatic."--Military Times
"Add Brandon Friedman's The War I Always Wanted to the ranks of outstanding non-fiction produced by officers from elite combat units in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Always truthful, often excruciatingly so, The War I Always Wanted rises at numerous points to the level of literature."--Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire
"A Time To Lead confirms the rewarding benefits of military service at a time when such service is experiencing considerable strain. It also includes a comprehensive description of America's current national imperatives, which deserve serious consideration."--General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., former Secretary of State
"This is a primer on leadership forged in battle and by decades of experience. . .This isn't just a book; it's a manual for leading people and living a good life."--Barry McCaffrey, General, USA (ret.)
"Whip smart, sassy, with a mouth as foul as a sailor's, 28-year-old Sergeant Kayla Williams. . .tells what it's like to be a female soldier in Iraq."--Booklist
". . .echoes military memoirists from Julius Caesar to Ernie Pyle."--Publishers Weekly
". . .a shocking, on-the-ground view of one military woman's experience in Iraq."--Bookmarks Magazine
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Iraq, Rapidly becoming the Forgotten War!!
Shoshana Johnson poses for a picture in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010. Johnson, the nation's first female black prisoner of war, was shot and captured in Iraq along with Jessica Lynch.
Vietnam Vet Tells ABC News' David Muir: 'I Went Down Into Almost a Death Spiral'
James Floyd Davis would never know freedom again.
