Sergeant Nicholas Horner and his Wife Tragedy and war-inspired Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can meet like a head on crash when the nation's care providers at the Veterans Administration, notorious for lies and deceit, deny our combat veterans the care they need.
This story of deadly, senseless shootings in Altoona, Pennsylvania April 6th is possibly the most tragic story I have ever reported, and if it isn't, it is among the very worst.
A close friend of Nick's, Tina Zahurak, wrote to Salem-News.com asking if I would pay attention to this case and help people understand how this veteran was part of the system that is designed to, yet fails to, adequately treat the unique and varying needs of combat vets.
She wrote, "This man was a good man, not a monster or murderer. He saw and was involved in situations that he should've never been in. This is the other side of PTSD, the dark side, the side where one is not treated suitably and fell through the cracks. I was hoping that maybe you or somebody could share his story, so those victims he killed and injured did not die in vain."
A short list of reading materials I posted recently
That some may find very helpful, others should find to be useful in the educational quality of understanding and research, and not only for combat veterans but civilian suffers of:
This website is dedicated to helping Sgt. Nicholas Horner and all other soldiers who are slipping through the cracks of our military system. This story is a tragedy from all angles and our mission is to show you Sgt. Horner's. After 3 deployments to Iraq, Nick, a highly decorated war veteran, came back a changed man. He was officially diagnosed with PTSD yet he had to fight to get any kind of treatment for it. Sadly, many of our soldiers are not getting the mental help that they desperately need. Doctors in the military are being told not to diagnose PTSD in an effort to deny our soldiers benefits. Because of this, soldiers are being released back into society with severe problems. In Nick's case, he knew that he needed help and he actively sought help. However, he was told he simply had an anxiety disorder. Yet this was so severe that the army discharged him early, even sending him home from Iraq.
The number of soldier suicides this year is most likely due to the redeployment of soldiers with psychiatric illnesses, a U.S. researcher says.
David Rudd, Texas Tech University professor and author "The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide, said the more a person is exposed to violence or death, the more that person loses anxiety about death. This specifically applies to soldiers living in a war zone because the interaction with death makes it more probable that these people will kill themselves when they get depressed or anxious. >>>>>Rest Here
As many as 13 soldiers are believed to have killed themselves in March, bringing the number of reported soldier suicides this year to 56, officials announced April 10.
None of the March cases under investigation have been confirmed, but about 90 percent of deaths involved in such investigations typically are ruled to be suicides.
The March total marks a decrease in suicides compared with the first two months of the year.
As many as 24 suicides were reported in January, but on March 4 officials removed one case because it was determined that the soldier was no longer on active duty when he died. Of the 23 remaining cases, 14 are confirmed suicides; nine are pending a determination. >>>>>Rest Here
For Chelsea Tanous, a sophomore social work major and member of the Army ROTC, Young's speech exemplified what she would like to do in the future.
"I've never talked to someone who's done social work in the military," said Tanous. "It's something I've only read about in books. This is what I could do potentially so it was great to hear it firsthand."
Martha Ortmann, professor of sociology at UNH, has made the social work issues of the military the forefront of her classes. She used "Moving a Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and America's Returning Troops" by Ilona Meagher to illustrate the need for social workers in and around the military. According to Ortmann, the need is stronger than ever.
Chairman Ben Nelson (D-NE) is holding a Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcmte. hearing examining suicide prevention programs in each of the armed services. Defense Dept. representatives are discussing areas for improvement of access to mental health care and other initiatives that might help reduce military suicides.
A new song just released by American folk artists Wes and Victoria hopes to raise awareness of and increase action around the issue of combat PTSD in our returning veterans. As Victoria gently plays her harmonica, Wes strums a guitar and sings:
Ilona has this posted up at her site, the top link takes you there, with backlinks to their site with a host of information and ability to download the song and video's.
How one Marine's death is prompting a closer look at PTSD Charlotte Sun-Herald - Charlotte Harbor,FL,USA The constant state of alertness began to wear on the young Marine. Becky Hall noticed small differences when he returned in September. Eric would sleep ...
Marine recounts war within Charlotte Sun-Herald - Charlotte Harbor,FL,USA Shaughnessy turned to the other Marine and instructed him to provide covering fire. Shaughnessy never met Eric Hall, but he knew what the troubled Marine ...
I did a series on Eric as soon as I caught the report he was missing, when visiting a site where my older sister, and her family, lives. Right till his burial after they found his body in a drainage pipe when he ran off having a 'flashback'of his Iraq Tour!
For those who've been around for the past 2+ years, you've been right there with me as I started advocating for our returning troops and military families coping with reintegration problems and PTSD. We've done an enormous amount of work, and now we're taking it to the next level.
Since being asked to write Moving a Nation to Care by my publisher, I've been sidetracked from adding new incidents I've continued to collect; this info is now needed more than ever as I'd like to add it to the Congressional Record with my testimony but don't have time to complete it alone.
As well as gather a list of Incidents Ilona has listed in the Comment Sections. If you Google "PTSD" or "TBI" - "Traumatic Brain Injuries" you will get a number of already known cases and suspected cases not yet resolved.
Sergeant Nicholas Horner and his Wife
