It aired this morning on NPR's Morning Edition-Saturday, at the end of this post about Andrew there's another short inteview with Tammy Duckworth.
Any reading this, click through to listen to the reports and read the reports. The traffic will show that many care forcing the MSM to follow through with that which is important, Understanding what War's are and what they do to those participating and living in the Theaters of operations, especially War's Of Choice, not Need!
Former Soldier Helps Others Fight Army for Help
by Daniel Zwerdling
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Former soldier Andrew Pogany, shown in his home basement office, gets dozens of calls a day from soldiers with serious mental health problems who need help dealing with the Army.When Jason Harvey came back from Iraq to Fort Carson, Colo., two years ago, he started having screaming nightmares. His records show he told the medical unit he thought about killing himself.
Andrew Pogany {center} finishes up a breakfast meeting with Fort Carson soldier Ryan LeCompte and his wife, Tammie. They contacted Pogany because they say supervisors punished LeCompte instead of helping him get treatment for PTSD. Since then, LeCompte has been getting help."No one at Fort Carson was there for Jason," she recalls. "They take children and they send them to war. And then they don't take care of them."
One night last year, Harvey slashed his arms and wrists and was rushed to the hospital. Today, both he and his mother will tell you there's one main reason he's still alive: Andrew Pogany.
As NPR reported last year, numerous soldiers from Fort Carson who have come back from Iraq and Afghanistan with serious mental health problems have been kicked out of the Army with few or no benefits. Those reports prompted a bipartisan group of U.S. senators, as well as officials at the Pentagon, to investigate Fort Carson. In turn, the public attention pressured commanders to pledge that returning soldiers would get better treatment.
The Case of Billy Talley
Andrew Pogany is working as an advocate for Fort Carson soldier Billy Talley. Pogany has studied Talley's Army files, which show that his commanders hailed him for "unmatched bravery" while he was fighting in Afghanistan. But after Talley came home on leave, he started shaking uncontrollably and crying, and he didn't get on the plane to return to combat. Although Talley was diagnosed with chronic PTSD and depression, his commanding officers charged him with a military crime and demoted him in rank. Talley has appealed, and Pogany is meeting with Talley's officers at Fort Carson. {Highlights in documents are NPR's.}
His case drew national headlines, and Pogany says that at one point, he nearly gave up. But then, he decided to fight back, using the counterintelligence techniques the Army had taught him. "Once I figured out that they're just not going to tell the truth, then I said to myself, 'Well guess what, then I'm gonna tell the truth.'"
He gets dozens of calls a day, from people like soldier Billy Talley and his wife, Natasha.
"If we hadn't met Andrew, we wouldn't have known very much about PTSD because the Army, even the Behavioral Health Center, is not telling us a whole lot," Natasha Talley says.
The interview closes with the following:
The inquiries have also spread beyond Fort Carson. The Government Accountability Office has announced that it's examining how bases across the country treat soldiers in emotional trouble.
That's encouraging news for Andrew Pogany.
"The soldier's creed says 'I will never leave a fallen comrade,'" Pogany says. "At the end of the day, when I put my head on my pillow, I can say that the yellow ribbon is not just a magnet that I put on my car. I actually put my yellow ribbon into action."
And then Pogany poses a question. "What have you done to support troops?"
Related NPR Stories
June 15, 2007 Pentagon Report Cites Mental Health Concerns
May 26, 2007 Return to Fort Carson Raises More Questions
May 24, 2007 Gaps in Mental Care Persist for Fort Carson Soldiers
May 24, 2007 Checking In on Fort Carson, Part II
April 19, 2007 Senators Call for Inquiry into Mental Care for Troops
March 6, 2007 Military Mental Health Care Under Scrutiny
Dec. 28, 2006 Army to Court-Martial Soldier Featured in PTSD Story
Dec. 21, 2006 Pentagon Holds Mental Health Treatment Hearings
Dec. 8, 2006 Pentagon to Investigate Mental Health Treatment
Dec. 6, 2006 Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish
Mental Health Care at Fort Carson
MAIN REPORT PAGE
Pentagon Report Cites Mental Health Concerns
Return to Fort Carson Raises More Questions
Gaps in Mental Care Persist for Fort Carson Soldiers
Web Resources
Veterans for America
Report from the Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health, June 2007
More By Daniel Zwerdling
Pentagon Report Cites Mental Health Concerns
Return to Fort Carson Raises More Questions
More »
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Philip Goodrum and Andrew Pogany both served in Iraq. They're both. being treated
now for post-traumatic distress disorder. Thank you for joining us tonight-transcript
frontline: the soldier's heart: transcript | PBS
NARRATOR: In late September, 2003, Staff Sergeant Andrew Pogany arrived in Iraq.
Andrew was a military interrogator and a member of the U.S. Army special
The Pogany Case
Richard Travis Pogany's attorney at Anderson & Travis in Colorado Springs, Colorado
and Georg-Andreas Pogany Army Staff Sergeant, formerly charged with cowardice says the anti-malarial drug Lariam caused his breakdown in Iraq
Listen
And Tammy is doing a great job for you Illinois Veteran's, present and past.
Illinois to Screen Its Vets for Brain Injuries
Illinois is to begin testing all of its National Guard returning from Iraq and Afghanistan for brain injuries. The number of brain injuries among veterans has increased with the use of roadside bombs and other explosives. Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, speaks with Scott Simon.
Download and Listen
None of this should be left up to the states to take care of the Veterans who Served this Country, this should be the Sacrifice the Nation Makes for Waging the Wars of Choice, and Cheering those on!!
Right now I don't care who gets elected to the Presidency, this should have already been taken care of, in the 2008 coming election, or in congress. I'll take either Andrew or Tammy as head of the Veterans Administration, and there are a few others out there as well, but these two are High on My List!!
1 comment:
Andrew Pogany, I am a disabled veteran living in the Rockrimmon area of Colorado Springs. If I could figure out how to get ahold of you, I would love to work with you in your mission to help people with PTSD, something I have as well.
I experienced a heat stroke at Fort Sill, OK. while in the service, something that left me with Epilepsy for the rest of my life, complete with mixed forms of seizures. Medication control has taken years to achieve, along with a 40% rating. PTSD caused in part by having seizures in public - everywhere from on the sidewalk to university campuses and city buses, finds me very highly sympathetic to your work.
You can find me at: www.disabilitywriter.com.
I have a Masters, Bachelors, and two Associate degrees; need a hand? My home office window looks right out at the Air Force Academy. I am sitting here with a desktop and a laptop computers, both of which are dual-boot Windows/Linux systems.
Hope to hear from you.
Tom.
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