Iraq War Inquiry, Day 15, Breaks for 'Merry Christmas'

We lead off with the ending of the first part of the Chicot {British} Iraq War Inquiry, as we will shortly celebrate the day of the birth of the 'Prince of Peace' around the World, or at least that's the now myth I was taught all these years. Myth because apparently with the birth of Jesus as well as in other religious beliefs Religious Ideology is invoked and we ask to be protected and blessed by God as we all Blow Each Other Up when ever possible and when reasons can be fixed to engage our War Machines. For modern christians?, just like those of old, the religious ideology has been turned on it's head, Jesus son of God can't be a 'Prince of Peace' not to believers of who cheer on destructive Wars and Occupations of others, for any reason, as they raise the rhetoric of Intolerance, sounds exactly like the other major religious ideologies doesn't it, coming from the ones who are on the extremist fringes of them preaching their cherry picked religious quotes to justify their hate and intolerances, non religious, towards others they fear, so much for Peace!

A damning picture painted by the Chilcot inquiry

From politics to planning, the invasion of Iraq was a disastrous business

The mandarins have spoken. The first evidence-gathering session of the Chilcot inquiry into the disastrous Iraq war has come to an end after three weeks of testimony from senior civil servants, generals, diplomats, advisers and intelligence chiefs. Some of that testimony has been self-serving; an attempt to deflect blame for the shambles that occurred after the invasion. But valuable information has emerged too.

Snip

Of course we need to be sceptical of attempts by British generals and diplomats to pin the blame for the disastrous fate of the Iraq occupation on American stupidity, a line that handily absolves them of responsibility for the disaster that unfolded....>>>>>

In the above we find this sentence: "Predictions that this inquiry would yield nothing of any worth" which hasn't been the case especially if on this side of the pond and looking for the little pieces of the criminal intent puzzle, conspiracy among the players civilian and military who would give the orders for, War Crimes, never mentioned in a public forum and that fit well into what was thought and spoken by many starting before the invasion, and not only much has been proven since but none has been disproved, and over these years of the occupations of two countries not just Iraq.

Chilcot says Iraq war inquiry is not entertainment

Chairman responds to critics by says he was not out to 'ambush witnesses or score points'

The chairman of the Iraq inquiry today defended the way he has conducted the hearings, saying he was not out to "ambush witnesses or score points". He added: "We are not here to provide public sport or entertainment."

In a statement issued as he and his panel held the last session before a Christmas break, Sir John Chilcot also said he would seek the publication in the new year of highly classified documents during questioning of former and serving ministers, most notably Tony Blair....>>>>>

Waging War On The Brain: Psycho Neurological Consequences Of War

War is hell, as the old saying goes — with loss of life and limb, destruction of infrastructure and the environment, and devastating costs. Recent biomedical research has shed light on another pernicious consequence of military conflict: psychological and neurological conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. At the same time, researchers have worked to uncover some of the motives and meanings of war.

The 89th Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease (ARNMD), organized by the ARNMD in collaboration with New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and held today at The Rockefeller University, examines the psychological and neurological aspects of war from a variety of perspectives — from the experience of a Marine colonel during wartime and a presentation on “the mind of the terrorist,” to a lecture on preventing mass violence given by Weill Cornell Medical College’s Dr. David A. Hamburg, a leading expert on genocide....>>>>>

The travails of the young war criminal

That may seem a bit harsh, for never has an alleged war criminal seemed more sincere, more open, even more innocent. As he said about his 2003 decision to involve Britain in the American invasion of Iraq in his resignation speech four years later: "Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right." But EVERYBODY does what they think is right.

They may mean pragmatically right, or morally right, or even ideologically right, but one way or another people will find ways to justify their actions to themselves: Even Pol Pot believed that his actions were justified. When people's choices lead to the deaths of others, they must eventually be judged by more objective criteria than mere sincerity. That is now happening to Tony Blair.

Snip

Yet the mere existence of the Chilcot inquiry has so shaken Blair that he has made an extraordinary admission. He admitted on December 13 that he would have invaded Iraq even if he had known at the time that the "intelligence" about weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq was wrong.

Now, I realize that you must be wondering why I am devoting all this space to a discredited ex-leader whose country once played a minor role in the invasion of a middle-sized Arab country. The war is mostly over now, the dead cannot be brought back to life, and we have lots of new things to worry about. The point is that there is a law, and they deliberately broke it. Since 1945, it has been a crime to invade another country: That was the main charge brought against the Nazi leaders at Nuremberg. The new rule was written into the United Nations Charter, principally at the behest of the U.S., and there are virtually no exceptions to it.

You have the right to defend yourself if another country attacks you, but you are not allowed to attack another country on the grounds that it has a wicked ruler, or follows policies you disapprove of, or even because you think it might attack you one of these days. No unilateral military action is permitted, and even joint action against a genuinely threatening country is only permissible with the authorization of the UN Security Council....>>>>>

That 'wicked ruler' was installed with our help and then supported for many years as he waged destruction on his own people as well as waged war on a neighbor! Those 'policies' held and practiced by that 'wicked ruler' were given a wink and a nod and excused as they were brought into the meme of helping our National Security!

More than six years later, what was the aim of invading Iraq?

Although Britain tried desperately to get some kind of authorization from the UN Security Council as a legal basis for armed action, its efforts to do so failed

Before the Iraq War was launched in March 2003 the world was given the impression by the US and Britain that the goal was to eradicate weapons of mass destruction.

Recent comments by former British prime minister Tony Blair suggest, however, that regime change was the essential aim. He would have thought it right to remove former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein even if he had known that there were no weapons of mass destruction (WMD), he said, but he would obviously have had to “deploy” different arguments.

Must we not conclude that the WMD arguments were “deployed” mainly as the best way of selling the war? Blair’s comments do not exclude a strong — but mistaken — belief in the existence of WMD even when the invasion was launched. However, given that hundreds of inspections had found no WMD and evidence had fallen apart, such a belief would have reflected a lack of critical thinking....>>>>>

Britain Under Bush: Chilcot Inquiry

In an early leading article on the Chilcot inquiry, the Guardian observed:

"What is already clear from the first week alone is that the decisions, secret or otherwise, that led to war were the product of systemic failure. Intelligence analysts, diplomats, in fact the entire machinery of the British government, proved supine against Washington's will. Under that pressure, almost everyone buckled." (Leading Article: Iraq inquiry: Dancing to American drums,' The Guardian, November 28, 2009)...>>>>>

Snip

Buckling Under Bush

Unfortunately, almost no-one had cared to study anything. Former chief UN weapons inspector, Scott Ritter, put the issue in perspective last month:

"As of December 1998, both the U.S. and Britain knew there was no 'smoking gun' in Iraq that could prove that Saddam's government was retaining or reconstituting a WMD capability. Nothing transpired between that time and when the decision was made in 2002 to invade Iraq that fundamentally altered that basic picture.

"But having decided on war using WMD as the justification, both the US and Great Britain began the process of fabricating a case after the fact. Lacking new intelligence data on Iraqi WMD, both nations resorted to either recycling old charges that had been disproved by UN inspectors in the past, or fabricating new charges that would not withstand even the most cursory of investigations."

He added:...>>>>>

Blair accused over WMD evidence

Tony Blair faced fresh accusations that he covered up evidence that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction before invading Iraq.

The father of a serviceman killed in the conflict alleged that the former prime minister used WMD as a "way in" to the war despite being told by former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix that the weapons did not exist.

Richard Green urged members of the Iraq Inquiry to look closely at how arguments about WMD were used in the run-up to the March 2003 invasion.

His son, Royal Navy Lieutenant Philip Green, 30, from Caythorpe, Lincolnshire, was one of seven personnel killed when two Sea King helicopters collided over the northern Arabian Gulf two days after the start of the war.

Speaking at a special session of the inquiry in central London for bereaved families, Mr Green said: "It is the weapons of mass destruction that this centres upon. I believe that Blair used this as a way in. He couldn't do it with regime change because that would not have been allowed."...>>>>>

Witnesses for the prosecution: how Blair is suffering trial by Chilcot

As the Iraq inquiry pauses for the Christmas break, Michael Savage reviews the growing evidence against the former PM

Yet, as its first four weeks of public hearings draws to a close, Sir John Chilcot's inquiry into the decision to invade Iraq has already exposed a string of failings within the British Government during the 70 hours of testimony given by the 38 witnesses that have appeared so far. One theme has emerged above all others.

"This time, in contrast to previous inquiries, where it becomes essential, they are prepared to leave Blair in the firing line,"

Snip

Though Mr Blair has been left exposed by his decision to back the US-led invasion, the early weeks of the inquiry have laid bare that both he and his Government were given precious little influence in return. Sir Christopher Meyer, the former ambassador in Washington, said Britain had gained almost nothing, save for the "applause factor" it garnered Mr Blair and British diplomats. "It is wonderful stuff being applauded wherever you go," he said. "I said to London, 'The key thing now, quite apart from Iraq, is to translate this popularity into real achievements'. We failed."

Snip

Five questions that Blair needs to answer

* When did he decide that he would back the US in any military action? Was it as early as his meeting with President Bush in April 2002?

* Does he accept that his foreword to the September 2002 dossier, which said that Saddam Hussein's possession of WMD was "beyond doubt", was overstated?

* Why did he appear to throw away the influence he had over President Bush as his main ally in the war?

* Why did he not delay the invasion after the warning from Maj Gen Tim Cross, two days before the invasion, that post-war planning wasn't ready?

* Did he receive any intelligence that contradicted his claims in the 2002 September dossier on Iraq's WMD? It's alleged that he did in March 2003...>>>>>

Former PM 'will give evidence in public'

Speaking at the end of the first session of public hearings, Sir John also said that "most witnesses" had been "open and candid". Sir John Scarlett, the former head of MI6, has been accused of being misleading over the reliability of intelligence on Iraq.

He attempted to quash speculation that Mr Blair would be allowed to give evidence behind closed doors. "Evidence will only be heard in private in the narrow circumstances we have set out in the protocols on our website," he said. "But I would like to be absolutely clear about this – evidence sessions with key decision-makers, including the former Prime Minister, will be in public."

The hearings will resume in the New Year, when Mr Blair, Geoff Hoon, former Defence Secretary, and Clare Short, former International Development Secretary, will appear....>>>>>

Sir John Chilcot's closing statement, 17 December 2009

The Inquiry has now completed its first four weeks of public hearings, examining 38 witnesses over 23 sessions. Since July we have received more than 40 thousand Government documents (more than 12,000 from No.10 alone); and have held two public seminars, six meetings with families and veterans with a further one tomorrow.

This is no more than the end of the beginning. We expect to hold five more weeks of public hearings in the New Year: a further week to complete the narrative, covering the period 2007 to 2009, and then four weeks in January and February with the most senior decision-makers. This will mark a new phase to this round of public hearings but in subject matter we will be returning to examine more closely many of the issues that have been raised in the past few weeks....>>>>>

Watch the Inquiry Live when in Session

Written Transcripts by Date

Oral: The Video's by Date

See how the Inquiry is unfolding on the Sky News Timeline

BBC Iraq inquiry - day by day timeline of evidence given

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate the Birth of The Prince of Peace, not of War, and Holiday Wishes to others who actually not only believe in but try to live their lives by the ideologies of their religious beliefs and not the fanaticism of extremist religious ideology under the recognized main religions on this planet, Peace and Tolerance to All!!

For You 'wacky!' 'fundy!' christian's?

Of the late 20th and now 21st century, under the politically correctness of the day and season of 'Merry Christmas', the Crucifixion thus the Cross Have Nothing To Do With The Celebration of the 'Birth' of Christ!!!

"Trooper"

Murphy OShea, an Iraq Veteran, has a hard time re-adjusting to society upon his return from a long tour. His world crumbles when he discovers his father, Bill, a Vietnam Veteran, is dying. Trooper is a story of a father and son, two veterans from two very different Wars, helping each other to get through each day, and heal the wounds of War.

Trailer

“Finally, a film producer that gets it right! Trooper may serve well to educate an unaware public about the epidemic level of emotional trauma that today’s young warriors are living with. It is a dark journey and this film captures its pain—and also gives us a glimmer of hope.” Rev. Bill McDonald Founder The Military Writer’s Society of America.

MOVIE REVIEW: TROOPER

Violation of Disability Rights

Protest of McDonalds over Violation of Disability Rights

Capt. Luis Montalvan was joined by supporters to protest his mistreatment by McDonald's employees when he went there to eat with his service dog, Tuesday.

Protest of McDonalds over Violation of Disability Rights

Luis Carlos Montalván's Facebook Page for more on this.

Veterans Day 2009

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 Longer a Soldier, Shinseki Has a New Mission

But the visit also underscored Mr. Shinseki’s current mission: to modernize his problem-plagued agency, which was struggling to care for aging veterans even before the flood of young ones from Iraq and Afghanistan began.

For months, Mr. Shinseki has been crisscrossing the country as President Obama’s pinstriped evangelist for veterans’ care, raising concerns about a coming tide of post-traumatic stress cases, traumatic brain injuries and other physical and psychological scars of battle.

Having led soldiers in Vietnam as a young West Point graduate, until a mine tore off part of his right foot and nearly ended his Army career, he can speak about the “baggage” of war with deep feeling.

“All of us who went through combat, we were carrying a little bit of baggage from the experience, the stress,” he said in an interview before the Fort Hood shootings...>>>>

Honoring Our Service Members

A By-the-Numbers Look at Difficulties Facing America’s Veterans on Veterans Day 2009

This Veterans Day, we at the Center for American Progress once again honor the millions of brave men and women in the active and reserve components of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard who have made great sacrifices to protect our country and our freedoms—especially those who have given their lives. We also honor the families, friends, and loved ones who made their service possible...>>>>

Many Veterans Are Without A Health Insurance Plan

Doesn't the Veteran's Administration provide health insurance and medical to veterans? That is largely the case. However, many veterans uninjured in combat are--surprisingly--considered ineligible for VA insurance. The post-military income levels deemed too high to receive benefits are surprisingly low; a veteran with no dependents can only take advantage of the government's health insurance plan if he or she earns under $29,400 per year, while one with four dependents can earn around $41,300 before losing eligibility for VA benefits. Such incomes aren't quite poverty level, but are the domain of working-class Americans (including civilians) unable to afford private insurance if their employer doesn't offer it. Troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are also struggling with unemployment, and are a disproportionate percentage of the nation's homeless. Many are working low-paying jobs that push them just above Medicaid and VA eligibility. This makes it even harder for them to become insured...>>>>

Veterans Day, A look back and one forward

This year, we are struck by an additional sentiment, the solemn duty that falls to all citizens to make sure that the nation never sends its men and women in uniform into harm's way without sure and certain justification. We write this as two U.S. wars grind on in Asia, and the president weighs the advice of one of his highest commanders to escalate the war in one of those theaters, Afghanistan/Pakistan, by an additional 40,000 troops...>>>>

Reid: Coburn move 'illogical'

{this is an automated voice read of the short article written}

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) “illogical" for holding up a veterans care bill Tuesday, criticizing the Oklahoma Republican for supporting war funding while blocking health care funding for veterans...>>>>

In this report below the following is stated:

"I don't think we've really cracked the nut on how to really get at PTSD and TBI," said the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Danny Dudek. "This is the most complex job I have ever had. Being in a battalion where people are going through the most difficult thing they've ever had to deal with."

Well for some four decades Veterans, starting with us 'Nam Vets which opened up and brought forth our Korean and WWII brothers, and some really dedicated civilians who did hear us, have been yelling into the Winds of a Country that didn't want to Listen. That Country hires it's representatives who weren't forced to pay attention, and the Circle Comes Back Around adding this time not just serving but serving Multiple Times under the extreme stress of Conflict adding to lives stress!!

Army strain, recovery at Fort Lewis

Veterans Day traditionally has been set aside more to honor those who have served rather than those still serving. But eight-plus years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq have created a huge class of combat veterans who still wear the uniform, many of them with two or three or more deployments under their belts and perhaps more in their futures.

Ballard, for example, is determined to rejoin his unit in Afghanistan. He is a medic in a Stryker brigade and was injured on one of the unit's first missions after deploying to northern Afghanistan a few months ago.

"We ran over an [improvised explosive device]," Ballard said. "I remember the floor coming up very quickly, and it forced me straight down to the ground, and then there was that brief second in time where I was sort of floating as the vehicle dropped and I was still in the air."...>>>>



Vice President Biden speaks at a Fort Lewis memorial ceremony to honor seven Stryker brigade soldiers killed in Afghanistan. June 24, 2009

Sen. Jim Webb: Critical to keep promise to veterans

Each year on this day, Americans take a pause from school and the workplace to commemorate the service of our nation's veterans. With one of the largest populations of veterans and active-duty military service members, Virginia plays a vital role in our nation's defense.

As the son of an Air Force officer, the father of a Marine and a Marine combat veteran myself, I understand the value of having leaders in Congress who know firsthand what it's like to be deployed, to have close family members deployed and, ultimately, to join the ranks of my fellow veterans...>>>>

Veteran-led Peer Support Combats Suicide

Last month in Washington, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki made a staggering announcement: more veterans have committed suicide since 2001 than have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Coming within weeks of the release of the US Army's suicide prevention guidebook, the VA Secretary's statement underscores the commitment to teaching service members and veterans the methods for overcoming combat stress.

While for many the manual will be an important tool, veteran-to-veteran peer support is often the best way to stay mentally healthy during and after wartime service...>>>>

Iraq, Afghanistan veterans need more help at home

More resources may be needed to help care-givers cope with a rising caseload of damaged or suicidal veterans in need of counseling.

Floyd Meshad, Vietnam vet, was in a Ralphs supermarket in Westchester when his cellphone rang at 9 o'clock one evening not long ago.

It was Meshad's suicide hotline, and a soldier was being patched through.

Meshad, a psychiatric social worker, walked outside the store so he could concentrate while trying to talk the soldier out of killing himself. He gets lots of calls like this from all over the country, more now than ever, and he knew one thing:

This soldier, calling from Florida, was serious...>>>>

Impossible Dream - A Tribute to Native American Veterans



When I was discharged back in '71, after my four years of duty in the Navy, all shore bases, I didn't expect nor even look for this Country to welcome me nor give much back, been in for four and once joining the community of soldiers then veterans it's quickly seen and known what real support there is for those who serve once out. My last year of service was in country Vietnam which for us 'Nam Vets compounded the known of payback, what with the coming results of our countries use of Defoliants, Agent Orange plus, as it started not only affecting many of those who served in the area's where sprayed from our planes but the Vietnamese civilians as well. Then we finally started to understand what always has been as to extreme traumatic events and stress on the human mind, Post Traumatic Stress, and for many the life long nightmares of a war that never goes away, and for civilians replying their own traumatic life tragedies that have been done to them. And so much more.

I came out unscathed, not wounded physically but having served in a occupation conflict with the knowledge not only had I changed but so had everyone else who served as well as those we occupied, the trauma of wars. While not having flash backs nor nightmares I did feel that we all are now wounded with post traumatic stress, most not having more then our memories every once in awhile but not so as to be debilitating nor effecting our daily lives.

I, like many many of my brothers and sisters, became an advocate for the care of those physically and mentally wounded in our Wars of Choice, advocates that for the most part weren't listened to. Until Now, and that has been brought about by once again a Nation accepting the failed policies of the few who controlled the leadership and easy to come to them lies and propaganda sending our soldiers into not one but two long running occupations, we're still in both!

KPBS: "How Does Stress Of War Affect Military Families?"

September 23, 2009

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.

War Comes Home: San Diego Military Families

September 25, 2009, Above: KPBS Reporter Alison St John, who produced the series "War Comes Home", talks about special challenges faced by military families in San Diego. Transcript for Video.

Additional 28 New Community Vet Centers

August 14, 2009

Secretary Shinseki Announces Expansion of Counseling for Combat Veterans

Today, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced that combat Veterans will receive readjustment counseling and other assistance in 28 additional communities across the country where the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will establish Vet Centers in 2010.

“VA is committed to providing high-quality outreach and readjustment counseling to all combat Veterans,” Secretary Shinseki said. “These 28 new Vet Centers will address the growing need for those services.”

The community-based Vet Centers -- already in all 50 states -- are a key component of VA’s mental health program, providing Veterans with mental health screening and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) counseling.................

Super Patriots? Super Military Supporters??

If you haven't been following all that has been going on at the VA when you visit the link to read the rest of this check out the Press Release List and releases on what has been happening in just the few months Shinseki has headed the agency!

Ask yourself why wasn't much of this brought up while the Drums of War were Beating Louder and Louder, not only Not brought up but Never Mentioned, by Congress then Nor their talking heads and magnetic ribbon base of those in Control at the time and Beating Those Drums!!

By The Way

Most of that same Base are the ones Now Obstructing Democracy at these Townhall Representative Meetings, and those same party reps who held power then are the ones spinning the lies now!!

"Searching for Home"

Searching for Home:Coming Back from War {facebook site page}

A moving film from Director Eric Christiansen and Executive Producer Anthony Edwards

Tell your friends!

Please become a fan, at facebook, to keep up to date!

Trailer


Official "Searching for Home" website, which is still under construction as they just released the trailer, above, on their facebook page on 8.13.09

About the Film pdf

Alaska Summit on Veterans Issues

Summit tackles issues surrounding returning vets

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Although Alaska has one of the highest numbers of people serving in the military per capita, Thursday's summit on veterans' issues was the first of its kind.

It was hosted by the state Legislature's Veterans' caucus, made up of lawmakers and legislative staff who want to bring more attention to veterans' issues.

Snip

This year the Veterans' Caucus was instrumental in getting legislation passed to restore benefits to Alaska Territorial Guard veterans who lost them due to a glitch in federal policy. The state will pay these benefits until the federal government straightens out the problem.............

This is the type of News, from Alaska, we should be following!!

Wars of Choice - Multiple Tours - TBI - PTSD - Suicides - Murders

Multiple Bombings Slowly Destroy US Soldier's Brain - He Commits Suicide

CNN has a heartbreaking report of a U.S. soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was subjected to multiple bombings.........

Iraq, Afghanistan vet saluted in burial

Retired Army Reserve Lt. Col. Raymond Trejo Rivas, 53, of New Braunfels was buried six days after his death outside Brooke Army Medical Center's emergency room, and nearly three years after a mortar blast in Iraq.........

And yet another as well, happening last year but still hanging over a community and the country.

Soldiers' emotional battle scars put doctors in dilemma

The suicide of an Iraq war veteran in Eastern Washington has highlighted an ethical dilemma confronting the Department of Veterans Affairs and the military: how far to go in protecting patient confidentiality as troubled veterans are called back to front-line duty.

Snip

His biggest worry, according to notes taken by the VA psychiatrist, was a looming call back to active duty by the Washington National Guard. The order would have sent the specialist back to Iraq.

Snip

In early March 2008, Juneman hanged himself in his Pullman apartment. His body was discovered some 20 days later, The Spokesman-Review newspaper reported.........

Man held in mom's death went from AWOL to hotel to jail
Police ready for shoot-out but arrest man without incident

Knowing that the 22-year-old had gone AWOL from the Army about two weeks before, and that he'd already sold a shotgun at a local pawn shop, San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez said SWAT team personnel were prepared for a possible shootout.

A chain of decisions led Baczewski to that moment, and all eyes and guns were on him, waiting for his next big decision.

Snip

On July 10, Baczewski went AWOL from his post as a Humvee mechanic with the 598th Maintenance Company at Fort Benning in Georgia, a U.S. Army spokeswoman said. He had joined the Army in 2007 and had not been deployed overseas........

Many reports have surfaced over the last few years about the many problems many of those serving, once again in Wars/Occupations or Choice. But these reports don't cover how deep the problems really are nor the numbers that are being sent back into these theaters.

Without the ability to search them out or having someone living in the region, as most are local not national, reporting or posting on this technology, most of the rest of the country wouldn't know they happened, and continue to happen. Just like when we returned from 'Nam, the only way those were reported were the very few that made National News, usually connected to a crime, no cable back then nor these personal computers, or through the Military/Veterans grape vine of communication. One of the reasons Combat PTSD, that's been around since War or Battles between man existed, were easily ignored by the masses, who many within suffer same from negative traumatic life experiences.

Some even come out and argue that soldiers are faking, even still in this the 21st century with much advanced technology and studies, coming from the aftereffects of 'Nam, that can weed out anyone trying to. Why do they try and debunk, easy, the Country doesn't want to pay for the results of cheering on their Wars of Choice!

We've had many reports of soldiers diagnosed with PTSD and mild TBI being sent back into theater for another tour, many on medication! We've had the growing number of reports of the suicides of those suffering from TBI and PTSD, known and diagnosed! We've had reports of soldiers committing murders, many times senseless and not in the character of these soldiers prior to in country duty, who have returned from one or more tours! We've had the reports of soldiers trying to seek help and the benefits after a diagnoses being told 'no way' that it was a preexisting condition! We have many reports of soldiers finding the help needed and learning how to live a more comfortable and productive life after what they've lived through and many helping others. We don't get much in reports on the people who live in the occupied countries where few have a way of escaping the death and destruction even with the numbers of refugee's number in the millions!

This is why this Country needs to place the Results of War right up next to 'War as a Last Resort!', before we choose to follow failed policies of Wars of Choice, or if we follow those failed policies Pony Up The Cost Of The Results Of These Wars of Choice!!

A Vet that Inspired a Congressional Bill, Long Overdue!!

Sen. Franken's Service Dog for Vets Bill Passes Senate

Valley Forge Village

This comes from Nadia McCaffery who's son Patrick was killed in Iraq. Her campaign to Honor her son, and all that serve:

Patrick McCaffrey Foundation

Sgt Patrick Ryan McCaffrey
May 26 1970 * June 22 2004



In Central Minnesota, there is a 244 acre facility with a history of providing healing and training to those in need. For ten years, it has been waiting for a new vision. Valley Forge Village is a vision of a place of peace and beauty for Veterans to heal. Either alone or with their families, they can allow the spirit of nature to soothe and heal, while learning new training skills in a rapidly changing workplace. We desperately need funding to keep this vision alive. Please visit us at Valley Forge Center for more information and/or to make a donation.

Veterans' courts provide a second chance

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that of the 1.6 million people arrested last year, 10 percent had served in the military. Many of them are veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Now the judicial system is trying to save a generation of soldiers.

"All I know is before I joined the marines I never got in trouble, never got arrested, never even got a speeding ticket; I come back not even a month, I get a DUI," Iraq veteran Mariano Vazquez said. "I still feel like there's something wrong. Sometimes I think I'm crazy."

With the studying that has preceded these conflicts, though not enough has still been done nor enough people paying attention and now we have multiple tours in these theaters, more is understood about PTS and can be better diagnosed, as well as TBI. These Vets need help first, not condemnation and lockup!

Military,VA and PTSD Around the Country: Vets Urged To Seek Treatment

A number of reports have sprung up in the last few days following the very tragic shooting by one soldier in killing five of his fellow soldiers at an in country military stress clinic, of which he himself was receiving care.

Military training alone starts the process of the change needed from how most are brought up and what they are taught and told to be able to serve and defend, if needed, this country.

Place these now trained soldiers in a War Zone creating the Occupation of same lasting many years and now in these times many tours being served and not only in one but two and for many the stress of war, what they experience, their individual incidents, what they see, feel, and just know, is overwelming!

They aren't the only ones, think of those who live in these occupied countries! It also isn't only a war that creates the traumatic nightmares, individuals that experience trauma in theirs lives also can suffer, most silently, from those traumas!

Below is a number of recent reports, this subject should have been takin seriously many years ago after finally realizing what War and Trauma can do to a Human Being!

Local Veterans Affairs Boosts Treatment for PTSD Patients - Video

After a shooting killed five U.S. Soldiers at a Military Clinic in Iraq, U.S. officials are saying the incident is an isolated situation.
The local Veterans Affairs clinic is taking all the steps they can to make sure our local veterans are getting the treatment they need.
They say they've seen close to 300 people for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The V.A. also says they've seen a high success rate for those soldiers who come in for help for PTSD.
If you would like to find out more about the programs the Veterans Affairs office offers, visit their website at: VA.gov

Amarillo VA Hospital treating combat stress disorders

Coworkers say he was doing exactly what he wanted to be doing.

Amarillo psychiatrist Matthew Houseal was killed while treating soldiers at the combat stress control clinic in Camp Liberty, Baghdad.

Houseal volunteered for Operation Iraqi Freedom and was activated about four months ago, according to coworkers.......

Soldiers' Don't Receive Proper Mental Health Care, Local Army Wife Says - Video

Days after a U.S. soldier shot and killed five other American servicemen, some local families said they too have concerns about mental health care for their loved ones overseas.

Officials said Sgt. John Russell was in the process of being debriefed at a stress clinic when he opened fire.

The shooting is not a confirmed case of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but officials said Russell was on his third tour of duty in Iraq at the time.

A Wheeling woman said her husband suffers from PTSD, but continues to serve overseas. In an e-mail from the U.S. Army, officials assured her that mental health professionals are giving her husband support, but when she talks to him on the phone, her husband said that is not the case..........

'John Wayne' attitude cited in military mental health issues

Hundreds of local veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq are receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. But many more remain untreated and undiagnosed, because they don't want to appear weak or unfit for military service, say local military health officials and veterans.

The stigma attached to mental health treatment may have played a role in Monday's deadly shooting at a U.S. military base in Baghdad. Army Sgt. John M. Russell, accused of killing five fellow troops, may have become nervous that the Army was setting him up for discharge after he was ordered to undergo counseling, his father said.........

Veteran Talks About PTSD in Hopes of Helping Others

Iraq War veteran Luke Nielsen says there are things he’d rather not remember about fighting in the war. Nielsen served in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. He says, “There’s always s pressure in a war zone. That’s just a fact.”

Nielsen’s wife Melanie said she was just grateful when her husband came home. “They are home. We’re just so happy to have them home and in our arms.”

When Nielsen returned from war, his family was together, but he had changed. Noises and crowds upset him. He easily became angry and was withdrawn and depressed. His children had to be careful. “The kids can’t run and jump in the house. You had to be careful not to have loud noises, or you would get him in defensive mode,” Melanie said..............

Lab helps veteran cope. Hill says Frankie aids in his battle with PTSD

An Iraq war veteran and the Muskingum County dog who is helping him with his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are going to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday.

Sgt. Allen Hill, of Kansas, is crediting Frankie, a dog who came from Shannon Valley Labs in Frazeysburg, with giving him the treatment he needs to deal with his PTSD.

Frankie, a beautiful golden lab, helps Hill through his nightmares, in crowds and with his claustrophobia on a daily basis.........

The war off the battlefield

BENEATH THE shadow of Antenna Hill, which sits at the center of the camp and is used as a radio tower for military communications, Camp Liberty is a sprawling forward operating base that houses thousands of soldiers conducting combat operations in Baghdad and the surrounding suburbs. It is part of a larger base called the Camp Victory Complex, which includes the military section of Baghdad International Airport.

As an infantryman with the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division, I was stationed at Camp Liberty from August 2005 to July 2006. When I heard the Army's version of the incident, I was reminded of the living conditions I experienced there, which the military conveniently left out of its reports to the media...................

Disabled vets find relief through yoga

Suzette Byrd served as a registered nurse in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era, and then again in the Navy during the 1980s.

Forty-four-year-old Mitch Morales is a Gulf War veteran who survived a helicopter crash but now has degenerative disc disease and experiences pain in his lower back and shoulder.

Jenna Sena was a linguist with the Army Security Agency at the Defense Language Institute during the Vietnam era.

David Cornes, 37, said he’s planning to re-enlist soon after 10 years in the service because he’s been offered a $10,000 signing bonus.

They all have service-related disabilities....................

Record High Army Suicides Prompt Action : NPR

A U.S. soldier is now more likely than a civilian to take his own life, and the situation is getting worse, not better. To combat suicides, the Army is taking new steps, such as using an interactive video game in which soldiers role play with an imaginary buddy in crisis. >>>>>Rest Here {along with the audio feed}

Or click this link to bring up their player.

There was another recent report about even civilian workers on military bases have numbers of suicides on the rise, the military structure is broken, the stress, across the board, is extremely high!

And this recent video report:

Military Suicides at a 30-Year High


Study: Communities must do more for vets

If local organizations do not reach out proactively to the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments to become more engaged in treating the veterans returning to their communities, they can expect the veterans’ pain to affect their families, their ability to contribute to society, and even their ability to care for themselves, said Audrey Burnam, senior behavioral scientist at the Rand Corp. think tank.

Burnam said vets returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq represent a “historic opportunity” for communities to learn more about PTSD, educate others about the illness and come together to deal with it.

Burnam, who spoke at a Health Affairs Journal panel May 5 in Washington, is the lead author of a new Rand report, “Mental Health Care for Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans,” that makes a case for a broad reform of services that looks beyond VA.

A Full List From Rand

NH hopes to help its veterans for long haul

Dave Clark remembers all too clearly that February day in 1968 when the transport truck he was driving in Vietnam was hit by enemy fire, and all the troops he was carrying were killed. He recalls, "I grabbed my weapon after I got thrown from the truck and i joined the marines in a firefight until a grenade ended it for me."

And from one veteran to another, Clark sends a message that it's more than OK, it's essential to ask for help. "They're gonna be scarred. They're gonna be scarred and they're gonna have to have somebody to talk to.

Linda Blimes Book
The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict

In Their Boots: Episode Two 2009; Fractured Minds

Four soldiers navigate the difficult path to recovery from traumatic brain injury (TBI), the signature injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Season 2, Episode 2: In Their Boots: Fractured Minds



Related Organizations

Disabled American Veterans

TIRR Foundation / Project Victory

Wounded Warrior Project

HomePage, In Their Boots: Watch the first and second episodes of this years series, second is the one above. And watch the episodes from last year at the site, as well as all the referring links for veterans, military, military families and civilians.

Faces of Combat: PTSD & TBI

Faces of Combat: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury

Tune in to Voice America.com, Health and Wellness channel on April 20, 2009 to hear Eric Newhouse’s interview.

One Hour at a Time with Mary Woods airs Mondays at 3pm EST, with all previous shows available for download at any time. Have a question during the show? The listener call in number is 1-866-472-5792.

Newhouse won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for "Alcohol: Cradle to Grave" a 12-part series of stories that were published once a month throughout 1999. It was also honored by the NAADAC, the Society of Addiction Professionals; the Research Society on Alcoholism; and the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers.

A second book, "Faces of Combat, PTSD and TBI: One Journalist's Crusade to Improve Treatment for Our Veterans" was published by Issues Press in the fall of 2008.

Officials, veterans celebrate step forward for Waco PTSD center

About 100 dignitaries and veterans braved Friday’s storms to celebrate the Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital’s increased role in treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Once scheduled to be closed, the Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital is instead receiving a $9.8 million boost to help it become a Center of Excellence for war veterans suffering from psychological trauma. >>>>>More

Stimulus funds advance VA projects

The Tomah Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) will receive $5.8 million in stimulus money through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which has bumped up the timeline for several expansion and renovation projects at the VAMC.

Projects to renovate the Urgent Care facility and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services are two of several projects that will be taken on by the VAMC with stimulus dollars, beginning this spring.

“These projects were in our plans, and the stimulus money made it a lot easier and faster to get to them,” >>>>>More

Same is happening around the country, but true to form the now known as 'teabaggers' rally against. Most who cheered on or were silent as they're supposed fight against taxes was no where to be seen, nor their now found concern for the future generations, as their tax dollars blew up in their wars of choice they loudly and obnoxiously support, killing and maiming and destroying. But they are really silent when it comes to spending on Veterans Care, from these occupations, as they wrap themselves in the flag and hide behind lapel flag pins!!

What motive does the Army have to misdiagnose PTSD?

So asks the two Salon writers, Mark Benjamin and Michael de Yoanna, following their recent series starting with the incriminating evidence, an audio recording by a Veteran suffering from PTS. Recording his visit because his wife couldn't be there so he needed a way to remember what took place in his session with his army psychologist.

A reluctance to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder could be about the money, and about the need for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The subject title and the blockquote above are what they use in their forth of four reports from last week. That all started with this audio from a session with Sgt. X and his army psychologist:

April 10, 2009 | In two stories published this week, Salon has described how a soldier secretly taped a psychologist saying that the Army was exerting pressure not to diagnose soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychologist Douglas McNinch of Fort Carson, Colo., twice states on the recording that the Army discourages PTSD diagnoses.

If what McNinch says on the tape is true, why is it happening? Why would the Army purposely diagnose soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder with something other than PTSD? Combat stress is as real as your big toe. Why would the Army want to deny, or at least minimize, a known consequence of combat? The truth might rest in math.

This is their first report:

"I am under a lot of pressure to not diagnose PTSD"

A secret recording reveals the Army may be pushing its medical staff not to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder. The Army and Senate have ignored the implications.

Editor's note: Last June, during a medical appointment, a patient named "Sgt. X" recorded an Army psychologist at Fort Carson, Colo., saying that he was under pressure not to diagnose combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

April 8, 2009 | FORT CARSON, Colo. -- "Sgt. X" is built like the Bradley Fighting Vehicle he rode in while in Iraq. He's as bulky, brawny and seemingly impervious as a tank.

In an interview in the high-rise offices of his Denver attorneys, however, symptoms of the damaged brain inside that tough exterior begin to appear. Sgt. X's eyes go suddenly blank, shifting to refocus oddly on a wall. He pauses mid-sentence, struggling for simple words. His hands occasionally tremble and spasm.

The Audio with above initial report is the one above or at that site page.

The next day Mark Benjamin and Michael de Yoanna wrote a follow up article:

Tale of the secret Army tape

After a soldier taped a psychologist saying he'd been pressured not to diagnose PTSD, the Army launched an investigation. Read the details of how the Army declared itself innocent.

Editor's note: Read about Sgt. X's tape -- and listen to a segment of it -- in the first story in this series, "I Am Under a Lot of Pressure to Not Diagnose PTSD." Read a summary of the Army's internal investigation, in which it determined that it was not exerting such pressure, here

"This report does not find pressure to change clinical diagnoses"
A summary of an Army investigation says some soldiers with PTSD may not get the diagnoses they deserve -- but nobody in the Army did anything wrong.

April 9, 2009 | In a story published yesterday, Salon reported on a surreptitious tape recording of an Army psychologist telling a patient last June that he had been pressured not to diagnose soldiers as having post-traumatic stress disorder. The soldier, whom Salon dubbed Sgt. X to protect his identity, recorded the Fort Carson, Colo., psychologist, Douglas McNinch, twice describing pressure to label soldiers with "anxiety disorder" instead of PTSD. The diagnosis of anxiety disorder could result in improper treatment and lower disability payments if the Army discharges a soldier from the military. "It's not fair," McNinch said on the tape. "I think it's a horrible way to treat soldiers."

That night, the 9th, on MSNBC HardBall they had this discussion:



Now to just break in, on the Salon reports, here this was known about, or at least suspected, from reports many of us Veterans or Advocates of had been hearing about or in talking to the returning soldiers from these two theaters. But on May 15th 2008 VoteVets and CREW {Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington} broke it open with a press release:

15 May 2008 // Washington, DC – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and VoteVets.org released an e-mail obtained from a Veterans Affairs (VA) employee directing VA staff to refrain from diagnosing soldiers and veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

And in searching out a bit of information I came across this CNN Video from a month before:

Post traumatic stress stigma Sun, March 8, 2009
Army generals hope to remove the stigma that keeps many soldiers from getting help for stress. CNN's Barbara Starr reports.

These two Generals had recently come out about their own PTS and the counciling and help they received, and their want to help their fellow soldiers to seek out the help needed themselves.

On the day of the second Salon report there was another discussion at CNN:

Veterans and PTSD Thurs. April 9 2009
Veterans groups talk about post-traumatic stress disorder to CNN's Kyra Phillips
.

Now in the CNN discussion, in the beginning, Kyra makes the point that they've been contact the new Veterans Administration Director General Shinseki and that he hadn't returned their contacts for this report. I'm not going to fault Kyra for whatever point she wanted to make, as she clears that up later in the discussion by pointing out this all happened under the previous administration in 2008. But will say that the General has only been in the lead a very short time, and would not want to speak about all that is coming out finally until he has all the facts, so Kyra think before speaking please!

Salon followed up the first two reports with the following:

"I believe that I did have PTSD"

Matthew Marino was sent back to Afghanistan for a second tour of duty after the Army diagnosed him with "anxiety disorder" instead of post-traumatic stress disorder.

April 10, 2009 | Matthew Marino served five years in the Army and was deployed to fight in Afghanistan twice. He began to suffer from symptoms typical of post-traumatic stress disorder following his first tour. After returning to Fort Drum, N.Y. in late 2004, he couldn't lose the hyper-alertness he'd developed in Afghanistan. He had thoughts of suicide, was nervous, had nightmares, couldn't sleep, and stayed away from family and friends.

Despite his symptoms, however, the Army diagnosed the first lieutenant with anxiety disorder instead of PTSD. He was also diagnosed with depression and given antidepressants. The Army then "stop-lossed" Marino, to prevent him from leaving the Army although his time was up. He was shipped back to Afghanistan for a second tour in 2006. A diagnosis of PTSD might have kept him from being redeployed and sent back into combat; a diagnosis of anxiety disorder did not.

While searching I found a few more reports, following the Salon report, like this one:

Wartime Mental Health, Scandal and Stigma

Posted on April 9th, 2009 by Kelley Vlahos

Nearly a year ago, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that eliminating the stigma of mental health from the military culture would be a Pentagon priority. Seeing that some one-third of soldiers returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are reporting mental health symptoms, particularly those associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), hearing him say, “We have no higher priority in the Department of Defense, apart from the war itself, than taking care of our men and women in uniform who have been wounded — who have both visible and unseen wounds,” was at the very least, an institutional acknowledgment of the problem.

Good intentions and politically correct language aside, like most of what we see and hear in Washington, his words papered over and have yet to affect a cruel reality, one with which only a small percentage of Americans have any real familiarity. Perhaps with the help of investigative reporters Mark Benjamin and Michael de Yoanna, who have been producing some amazing work for Salon.com, we can all get up to speed.

I would like to make a couple of points to Kelley on an otherwise needed article. First: when Gates made his call he was relatively new in an administration that, while starting two long running occupations, all that is coming out now happened under their watch and with a congress of the same political ideology. Second: we could have all "gotten up to speed" if many had been listening to those of us, in the previous administration labeled "focus groups", had been saying all along, not to mention all of us Veterans who have been saying for years, but welcome to the reality now!!

WWP Concerned by Stigma of PTSD and Mental Illness in Military

In response to recently released information, http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/Wounded Warrior Project again cited their grave concerns with the manner in which mental health and PTSD are perceived and dealt with within the military. One specific article on Salon.com highlighted concerns that military doctors are being pressured to not diagnose PTSD in returning military personnel and specifically brought to light such a situation in Fort Carson, Colorado.

"Post traumatic stress disorder is very serious," said Nardizzi. "We call on the military to prioritize the reduction of this stigma against seeking care and to foster unfettered access to mental health services, regardless of cost."

VA psychiatrist orchestrates services for increased PTSD patients

Some veterans got proper treatment 20 or 30 years after the issue should have been recognized, he said.

Many returning Vietnam veterans sought refuge from PTSD with addictive behaviors. They were frequently misdiagnosed with schizophrenia and other psychological abnormalities, Otero said. In reality, they were driven to those addictions to mask the increasing severity of flashbacks to horrific combat experiences.

"One of the differences between the current war and the Vietnam conflict is that current vets are receiving counseling and education (about PTSD) before they go and immediately after they return, he said.

"We are trying to catch PTSD early - undiagnosed, it becomes a much more disabling condition," he said.

While the VA mental health community is much more in tune to the workings of PTSD for the new group of veterans, these veterans face some stress issues the Vietnam era combatants did not.

As many Vietnam-era veterans were drafted, they served in the combat zone for a year and were discharged back to civilian life, Otero said.

Now this is for the Veterans and residents of Maryland but others may want to study what they're doing and submit to their state legislators to follow the example, if you don't have similar in your states.

Veterans Network Of Care Portal
Lt. Governor Brown Launches Maryland Veterans Network Of Care Portal

Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Press Release:

ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 31, 2009) - Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown today joined representatives of the public mental health industry and veterans affairs as Maryland became the first state in the nation to launch a "Network of Care" Website devoted to the state's veterans. The Maryland Veterans Network of Care portal is an on-line resource that provides simple and fast access to information on local, state and national behavioral health services available to veterans. The portal is part of Network of Care online community.>>>>>Rest Here

And those who may be seeking a new profession, have kids looking for a rewarding profession, or are returning Veterans of these conflicts seeking to continue your service to country and citizens of, you may find this worthy to research further.

VA Announces New Nursing Academy Sites
April 9, 2009

To provide compassionate, highly-trained nurses to serve the health care needs of the nation’s Veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is establishing new partnerships with five of the country’s finest nursing schools. With these new partnerships, the VA Nursing Academy will expand the number of collaborations between the department and nursing schools from 10 to 15.

“The expanded role of the Department of Veterans Affairs in the education of nurses will ensure the department has the nurses needed to continue our world-class health care for Veterans,” said Dr. Linda D. Johnson, director of VA Nursing Academy. “The VA Nursing Academy expands the teaching faculty, improves recruitment and retention, and creates new educational and research opportunities.”

The VA Nursing Academy is a virtual five-year pilot program with central administration in Washington. It expands learning opportunities for nursing students at VA facilities, funds faculty development of VA staff for additional faculty positions to competitively selected school partners. The five-year, $59 million program began in 2007.

The names of the newly added schools, as well as those participating already in the program, can be found at the site link.

VA: A Bureaucratic Mess, DeJa-Vu

We've seen this before, especially us "Nam Vets as we returned, tens of thousands, and those needing and seeking the care from their service in a war became backlogged, or just plain denied. Many of us veterans were trying to be heard, over the rising drum beat of war, of what was coming especially if invading a country that did absolutely nothing to deserve that invasion and occupation. We were one of those groups politically labeled, by our hired administration, as a 'focus group' that they didn't listen to. But it wasn't only the administration not listening it was the greater majority of this country, they don't mind spending billions upon billions upon billions........... on the war machine and waging war with same, but when the soldiers start returning and the system gets overwhelmed the country doesn't want to hear anything about that, or if they hear they most certainly don't want to pay..

The Veterans Administration has really never been perfect, nothing is, but in a once supposedly rich society it always could have been better, much better. During the years of basically no conflicts it ran fairly well but than the country got what it deserved, for eight years a totally incompetent administration and congress, the proof has been witnessed over and over, more than willing to show the countries might and in doing so, with the drums of war beating louder and louder, never once mentioning nor acting on enhancing the agencies that will be taking care of not only the active wounded but the veterans of two invasions and occupations even as the problems started surfacing. It wasn't only the political leadership but also the country as a whole, No Sacrifice!

Under the leadership of the previous Commander in Chief of the Military Forces, the President, with a willing Congress and the Country, more and more is coming to the surface of the total incompetence and apathy!

Veterans Department A Bureaucratic Mess

CBS Evening News: Missing Files, Unopened Mail, Deliberately Misdated Forms Revealed By Inspector General

Iraq War veteran Jason Scott is one of thousands who have endured disastrously poor health care coverage from the Veterans Affairs Administration, which lost his health files, and, according to an inspector general's audit, is sitting on 16,000 pieces of unopened mail in a single office.

All too often, our veterans feel like they're David battling Goliath, when dealing with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In the latest outrage involving the VA, it turns out thousands of claims for benefits weren't even opened, reports CBS News correspondent David Martin.

Jason Scott is one of nearly 350,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who depend on the VA for health care. When CBS News met him two years ago, he was already worrying about what would happen after he was discharged from the army.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Joint Hearing of Oversight and DAMA Subcommittees “Document Tampering and Mishandling at the VBA”

DAV calls for prosecution of VA employees who fraudulently withhold benefits or destroy records: "The message must be clear...you will go to jail."

House Subcommittees Probe Mishandling of Veterans Disability Claims

“In the last few months, we have tracked a problem brought to our attention with misdating of claims information at the New York Regional Office,” said Chairman Hall. “This situation was a clear attempt by managers to fudge performance numbers. The incorrectly entered data made the regional office look like it took fewer days to process claims than in actuality – yet still beyond acceptable levels to me, or to most veterans. Although veterans were not directly harmed by this practice, since the effective date of a claim was logged correctly in a different system, perpetrators of this kind of dishonestly impact the entire veteran community’s ability to trust the institution charged with its welfare. This is shameful!”

National Council on Disability Says More Needs to be Done for Service Members and Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury

WASHINGTON—The National Council on Disability (NCD) today released a report recommending changes in the continuum of health care provided to service members and veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

The report, Invisible Wounds: Serving Service Members and Veterans with PTSD and TBI - doc, addresses those concerns and makes 10 recommendations.

Unopened claims letters hidden at VA offices

A new report about Veterans Affairs Department employees squirreling away tens of thousands of unopened letters related to benefits claims is sparking fresh concerns that veterans and their survivors are being cheated out of money.
VA officials acknowledge further credibility problems based on a new report of a previously undisclosed 2007 incident in which workers at a Detroit regional office turned in 16,000 pieces of unprocessed mail and 717 documents turned up in New York in December during amnesty periods in which workers were promised no one would be penalized.
“Veterans have lost trust in VA,” Michael Walcoff, VA’s under secretary for benefits, said at a hearing Tuesday. “That loss of trust is understandable, and winning back that trust will not be easy.”

Kathryn Witt of Gold Star Wives of America said survivors trying to receive VA benefits have long complained about problems getting accurate information and missing claims. “When they call to check on the status of the claim, they are often told that the VA has no record of their claim and that they should resubmit their paperwork,” she said.
In one case, a woman claimed she had to submit paperwork to VA three times to prove she was married and had three children, Witt said.
And having to resubmit the same claim, she added, does nothing to reduce the backlog that already forces survivors to wait six to nine months for simple claims to be approved.
The Congressional Hearing Yesterday, brings up the video player.

Wartime brain injuries could reach 360,000

About 20 percent of troops suffer head trauma, Defense Dept. doctors say

WASHINGTON - The number of U.S. troops who have suffered wartime brain injuries may be as high as 360,000 and could cast more attention on such injuries among civilians, Defense Department doctors said Wednesday.

The estimate of the number injured - the vast majority of them suffering concussions - represents 20 percent of the roughly 1.8 million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where blast injuries are common from roadside bombs and other explosives, the doctors said.

Wartime brain injuries could reach 360,000

About 20 percent of troops suffer head trauma, Defense Dept. doctors say
WASHINGTON - The number of U.S. troops who have suffered wartime brain injuries may be as high as 360,000 and could cast more attention on such injuries among civilians, Defense Department doctors said Wednesday.

The estimate of the number injured — the vast majority of them suffering concussions — represents 20 percent of the roughly 1.8 million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where blast injuries are common from roadside bombs and other explosives, the doctors said.

"Holding On"

Joy's original thought was that it was a song for mothers of challenged children, particularly single moms, like her. While in the process of getting the music transcribed on the computer in June of '07, it occurred to her that it also might appeal to the wives and mothers of veterans returning from war with TBI and PTSD.

Kristian Lei - Holding On


The full story of how the song came to be is on Joy's blog: Joy Dawning

There's a short writeup, where I found out about the video, at the Honolulu Advertiser

Music Video by Kristian Lei singing Holding On with Joy Dawning [words and music] and Henry Mochida [Director]. Produced by HDology, LLC. (C) 2009 Joy Dawning Publishing, LLC