Issue Forum w/Frank Avila: YearlyKos, ePluribus Media and Citizen Journalism

Coming together in Chicago for the YearlyKos Convention earlier this month, ePluribus Media's Tanya Harned, Kay Shepherd and Ilona Meagher were invited to appear on a local cable access program, Issue Forum with Frank Avila.



Twice in September, Chicago Access Network, or CAN-TV's Channel 19 ("seen by the 400,000+ Cable-TV households in the City of Chicago"), will air the interview recorded on August 3. Avila, an Army Reserve Captain, was a super host. Thanks to the whole CAN-TV crew for showing us a good time and having us on to talk about citizen journalism and new media.

Kay scooped me by two weeks, and sets the scene:

One of the extracurricular activities we undertook at YearlyKos 2007 was a trip to Green Street and the Chicago Access Network studios, a production facility for the area's five-channel public access television network. We learned a great deal about their citizen programming as well as their outreach to at-risk youth.

Watch it online now, or see it on channel 19 next month:

Friday, September 21 at 9:30 pm CDT [streaming online]
Sunday, September 23 at 4:30 pm CDT [streaming online]

CBS Evening News Reports on Virtual Reality Therapy for Combat PTSD

CBS News' Katie Couric recently discussed one new treatment, virtual reality therapy, that may help many veterans returning home from Iraq.



Click on 'Article Link' below tags for related posts...


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Comings and Goings, Sightings and Disappearances

My greatly-anticipated Atlanta Journal Constitution Decatur Book Festival stint is this weekend. Tomorrow, I'll be signing books at 3pm in Fellowship Hall at Decatur Presbyterian. Sunday I'll give a brief Moving a Nation to Care presentation at noon on the City Hall Stage. Please come out if you can!



Additional upcoming events to pass along:

• 780 AM WBBM News Radio interview today at 11:30am; airs over the weekend in Chicago. [online stream]
• Bulldog and the Rude Awakening Show/WOCM 98.1 FM (Ocean City, MD) spot, Sept 5; 9 am EST [online stream]
• In the Valley of Elah screening, Sept 6 at 7pm
• Talk Star 840 AM (Titusville, FL) “Your Health Comes First” interview, Sept 8, 10:13-10:43 am EST [online stream]
• KMNY 1360 AM (Dallas, TX) 30-minute interview taped on Sept 10 at 10am CST; air date TBA [online stream]
• Second Life interview on Sept 27, 6pm PST/9pm EST

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for much, much more...



[Will be adding snippets throughout the day' more coming]

From Healing Combat Trauma (a blog with some great reading resources I'd recommend anyone check out):

It's heartening to see a few more books published on a topic near and dear to our heart: healing combat trauma and/or PTSD (see sidebar for titles; scroll all the way down). War and the Soul: Healing Our Nation's Veterans from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, by Edward Tick. And (great title!) Moving a Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and America's Returning Troops, by fellow journalist/blogger, Ilona Meagher. The first book looks like it was published several years ago, so isn't new, but the second book is new. Let's hope this heralds a (re)surgence of interest in this vital topic!

I'm partial to the title myself, too. [wink]

Jonathan Schulze "I Can't Hear You" Foundation Established in Honor of Minnesota Veteran

From the Associated Press:

Robert Herubin knew his friend Jonathan Schulze [in the bottom front photo of the three to the left; Joshua Omvig is in the middle, Jeffrey Lucey at top], after a tour of combat duty in Iraq, was on a downward spiral. Depressed, drinking heavily and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, nobody was able to reach the troubled Marine before he killed himself in January.

Herubin and others close to the Purple Heart recipient wondered what more could have been done. An answer has since emerged in the form of the Jonathan Schulze "I Can't Hear You" Foundation, which aims to pair veterans returning from combat with other veterans who have experienced war. ...

The group is launching its first chapter at a VFW post in suburban Prior Lake, where Herubin first met Schulze after he returned from Iraq and a grueling tour that included door-to-door combat in the city of Fallujah.

Schulze died at his New Prague home, at the age of 25, on Jan. 16, about two years after he came home. His family has said that in the days prior to his death, Schulze was placed on a waiting list after telling workers at the St. Cloud Veterans Administration Medical Center that he was suicidal, a claim the VA denied after an investigation.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

In the interest of education, article quoted from extensively.

From the foundation's website:

Through charitable donations and various support organizations, we will move forward to establish this mentoring program with veterans service organizations. We will continue to explore partnerships with other organizations to serve our veterans and active and reserve service members. ...

The Jonny's Lounge Mentoring Program [pdf] will be part of the process.

Jonny's Lounge will be a discreet place that combat veterans and active duty service members may go for support, without any duty of disclosure. Mentors will also provide a comprehensive listing of viable options: private and public sector assistance programs.

Continuing from AP:

[T]he foundation believes mentors would provide veterans with a long-standing personal connection that the VA or most social services can't provide. Moreover, such an approach would encourage communities -- through their VFW or American Legion posts -- to care for their own veterans, Herubin said.

The initial mentors are being recruited through the Prior Lake VFW, with plans to reach out to veterans at their service organizations in other cities across Minnesota. The mentors will be trained to be confidants as well as guides who can navigate the complex social services network and make sure the veterans are following through with the care they need. Sometimes, they'll just be there for dinner or a movie.

The Rev. John Morris, a chaplain who oversees the [Minnesota National] Guard's reintegration program, called the idea behind the Schulze foundation "a neat synergy." "When they first started, the VFWs and Legions were sort of doing this by bringing veterans together, but before we knew much about the psychology part of it, before we knew much about what returning soldiers are dealing with," he said.

In Schulze's case, he was OK for a few months after returning to Minnesota in January 2005 (his 10-month tour in Iraq ended in the fall of 2004). But flashbacks, nightmares and depression began to take their toll, and Schulze began drinking more than he should, said his mother, Eileen Carlson.

He found a measure of solace at the VFW, where he attended some weekly meetings and served on the post's honor guard for funerals. He also met several times with VA health workers for help with PTSD, but he remained troubled, she said, with his family unsure how to break through. "I was his mother, so I wasn't over there when his buddies were killed beside him and he was killing people, so it's hard to understand what he was going through and dealing with," she said. "Just to have someone who has been in something like that to talk to, that's important."

My greatest admiration to military families like the Schulzes who have worked so hard to improve benefits and services for returning troops.

Contact "I Can't Hear You" to offer or receive support.


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• Thirteen Active Duty/Discharged Soldiers Committed Suicide Since 2003 in Minnesota Alone
• As Another Suicide Occurs, Minnesota Leaders Urge DoD to Revise Post-Deployment Contact Rules
  
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ABC World News Looks at Combat Stress Care

Those helping our soldiers cope with what they see and do on the front lines are performing some of the most vital -- and challenging -- work with troops being deployed as long as they have been. In 'The Mental Battlefield,' ABC World News with Charles Gibson features the reflections of Jay White, a counselor who served in Iraq on a combat stress control team. h/t to Jim.



Click on 'Article Link' below tags for a deeper look into combat stress...

The following is from the Marine Corps News:

Reproduced in full for educational purposes.

Understanding stress in a combat environment
Submitted by: 13th MEU
Story by: Sgt. Andy Hurt
Story Identification #: 200781444025

NEAR KARMAH, Iraq (Aug. 14, 2007) -- We live in the electronic age. The added comfort of phone and internet capabilities in forward areas can ease strain on personal relationships and business matters “back home.” During the brief contact service members have with their loved ones, generally only the most important words are exchanged: “How’s the baby? Really, her first tooth?” or “I’m safe, I love you.”

Our phone calls “back home” are a great break from the reality of everyday life here. Rest assured, when a Marine hangs up the phone, he goes right back to scratching heat rash. He can smell his dirty body, feel his sore shoulders and hear IEDs in the distant night. While making a phone call can be the best part of the week, hanging up is the worst.

Stress is a big factor in a combat environment.

Navy Lts. Stephen Staub and Alan Bates are the Chief and Assistant Battalion Surgeons, respectively, for Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines. Both agree that explaining stress factors and solutions to cope often brings factors to the table. Untreated stress, for example, can cause frequent headaches. A million things can cause headaches, so how is stress the automatic diagnosis? Explaining the science behind stress, the doctors say, is the key to identifying and coping with it.


A Day in the Life

A day in a combat zone seems to last a lifetime. The environmental factors (relative to your location) alone can bring a man to his wit’s end. Dust, wind, heat, dust, bugs, dust … did we mention dust?

“Just being here is way more stressful than a day back in (the U.S.),” said Bates. “You’re away from your support system, your friends and your family … and you don’t have normal stress reducers like fast food, bars and clubs. Here, there’s no avenue of escape.” Everyday things like showers and cold water disappear once a unit goes “outside the wire” for patrolling and sweeps, which Bates’ says increases stress exponentially.

“Now we’re talking about life-threatening situations. You’re out there on a fourteen hour patrol, and every step you take could be on a pressure plate or something … you’re sleeping on dirt and drinking hundred-degree water.”


The Price We Pay

For the “Docs,” the cost cause results of stress are obvious and everywhere. “Look around you,” said Staub, “everyone around here has lost ten to fifteen pounds … that’s the most obvious indicator of stress and you can see there is a negative balance here.” Bates added: “I can see it in some of my corpsmen even. They came here as baby-faced nineteen-year-olds, and now that they’ve been in the sun everyday for sixteen hours on patrols, their skin is all leathery, they look older, some of ‘em got the ‘thousand yard stare’ or whatever. It’s stress.”

Sometimes stress is not so obvious, the two explained. When the initial symptoms of weight loss and visible fatigue have become commonplace, a keen eye and compassionate ear are needed to pinpoint excessive stress. “When you’re under stress,” Staub began, “your body produces more stress-related hormones that cause high blood pressure, raised metabolism and increased blood sugar.

“The other thing we see is when stress gets to a level Marines can’t handle and it causes psychosomatic illnesses,” Staub said. “They subconsciously turn their problems into something they can deal with like headaches, back pain, knee pain or stomach problems.”

“It’s usually some kind of pain,” Bates said. Staub added, “But it’s based on psychological manifestations.” “So,” continued Bates, “we can treat the pain, but if you remove the stressor, the pain will go away.”

The two explained that pain comes from two places: nerves and emotions. When a Marine is physically hurt, Tylenol and Motrin can treat the pain. When there are emotional factors involved, pain, or a manifestation thereof (i.e. stress), can be very difficult to treat. “That’s why morale is so important,” said Staub. “If you’re in a good state of mind, the little things won’t seem as bad.” Quoting NFL quarterback Brett Favre, Staub added, “Pain is an issue of ‘mind over matter.’ If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

In basic training, Staub said, service members are taught to fight through stressful pain by executing on order countless push-ups, sit-ups and other rigorous physical activities. When the body is forced to perform, the mind learns it can perform. For combat-experienced Marines, the reaction to stress contrasts with that of Marines on their first deployment.

“The young guys may not have the consciousness for what’s going on,” Bates said. “They think ‘this hurts, but my platoon sergeant said keep going so I will.’ The sergeants, gunnery sergeants and first sergeants realize what’s going on inside themselves, and they know that stress does not equal shutting down.”


The Science of Stress

Stress and its symptoms boil down to a chemical release and reaction, synaptic relays and sensory input. There is an explanation for everything, but the truth is nothing short of pure magic, keeping Marines on the move. “When you’re under stress,” began Staub, “your body produces more stress-related hormones like cortisol. They raise your blood pressure and metabolism, and basically get you ready for a meeting with a Saber-Tooth Tiger. It’s very primal.”

Staub continued: “On an evolutionary level, stress was created to get you running down the road, ‘fight or flight’ or ‘duck and cover,’ but it wasn’t meant to sustain you at this level for long periods of time.”

Said Bates: “The adrenaline rush you get is for a period of minutes, or an hour. Out here, we’re patrolling for four days.” The prolonged high-intensity experiences on the battlefield take their toll on normal human stress reactions. After a few days, said Staub, “You don’t respond as effectively to the short bursts. When someone is so stressed for so long, there may be a big blast – and you’re numb to it.”
“It could take something really catastrophic to get a normal stress response,” Bates added.

It is the long durations of chaotic experience, combined with geographic factors (the dust, wind and heat), combined with human factors like isolation, frustration and adrenaline bursts that begin to take a serious toll on health.

“In ‘normal life’ back home, your cycle is regulated,” said Bates. “The release of cortisol usually happens when you sleep and can help your body recover from stress. Here, the extended release of these hormones causes more negative effects, and Marines are more prone to infections, canker sores and depressed immunity.”


Sweet Relief

The spectrum of techniques for managing stress is enormous. Both doctors agree there is no “one size fits all” method, but there are eclectic methods Marines engage in every day – some of which they would normally condemn.

“We always talk about the benefits of exercise back home, but here there is nothing better than coming back from a patrol and sitting in your tent for awhile,” said Bates. “And as a physician I would never encourage someone to smoke or dip (chewing tobacco), but here it’s all we have, and it’s a social thing.”

“Some people need to be on their own,” Staub said, “but some people need a group. Some people need a book or movie to escape into and lose touch with reality, and some people need a physical challenge. The internet café is a great connection to ‘the real world’ and it acts like a light at the end of the tunnel.

“Guys that have been here two or three times know what their coping mechanisms are,” said Bates. “The key is you have to have more than one,” Staub said, “If your only mechanism gets taken away, you won’t know what to do.”

When stress levels are balanced, however, Staub says the little bit of normal stress is effective in keeping Marines’ killer instinct in tact. “We don’t want the whole camp Zen’d out like a Buddhist temple where everyone is fat and happy, but …”

“ … You don’t want the scales to tip, either,” Bates finished.

Scientifically speaking, the Doctors also agree that, while it may be undesirable, exercise is possibly the best way to cope with stress. “If you look at long-endurance athletes who have sustained adrenaline, their body releases endorphins, like natural opiates,” said Bates. He explained that the “natural opiates” interact with pain receptors in the nervous system, causing the mythical “runners high.” Bates continued: “So your body is releasing all these chemicals that tell you the pain is going away, which makes physical fitness effective stress relief, not only physically, but mentally.”

In a combat environment, all methods of stress relief share one common goal: War fighting effectiveness. “If you’re physically fit, you’re going to be a better warrior,” Bates said. “When you’re out on a sixteen-hour patrol and you’ve already mimicked that stress (with exercise) you can get over that ‘wall.’”

“The wall,” said Staub, “is when someone starts exercising, they’re burning sugar in their muscles called glycogen. When it’s all used up, you feel exhausted like you can’t go anymore, and that’s when the body shifts gears and releases other types of energy – you get your second wind.”

“The Marine who’s physically fit is always better prepared to cope with stress,” Bates said. “Stress is a see-saw. When stress response worsens some aspects of health, exercise can make it better.”


Unanswered questions

Through exercise, reading or smoking, Marines in a combat environment have an effective means of stress management; but the question remains: Is stress turning us into perfect warriors through exercise and focus or is it slowly destroying us?

“In our country,” said Staub, “we work harder and take less vacation than most other countries. We’re the richest and most powerful country in the world, but we have more mental health issues and preventable issues like hypertension and diabetes. Is it worth it? It’s not for us to decide.”

The bottom line is this: Marines are warriors, first and foremost. For nearly 232 years, they have proudly excelled in situations similar to the perilous battlefield in Iraq. It is our hallmark to “adapt and overcome,” and by keeping watchful eyes on our brothers and sisters in arms, we will continue to fight our nation’s enemies in an effectively managed, stressful world.

For more information about the warriors of Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, or the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, visit the Unit Web site at http://ww.usmc.mil/13thmeu.

The philosophical questions pondered at the end are provocative and refreshing. It only seems natural to consider cultural issues when looking at the cause and effect of stress.


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Texas A&M Researchers Set to Study Biological Components of PTSD

From the Bryan-College Station [TX] Eagle:

Over the next year and a half, a team of Texas A&M professors and other researchers are expected to follow troops who recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan - trying to gain insight into why some people seem to be more susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder than others.

The team, led by associate professor Keith Young, received $3 million from Congress earlier this year to start the study. And if the current incarnation of the 2008 fiscal year budget is approved by the Senate, the group will receive an additional $3.4 million.

The idea for the project - which will include ongoing interviews with 1,400 troops from Fort Hood set to begin this winter - was sparked by research Young completed in 2004. During that study, researchers were surprised to find that the brain's thalamus was abnormally large in people who had experienced major depression, he said.

They then detected a gene variant that caused the enlargement in some people.

The thalamus is used by the body to interpret threatening visual stimuli, facial expressions and fearful emotions, Young said. So those with the heightened "automatic threat detection system" could be more vulnerable when dealing with stressors that lead to PTSD, the team has theorized.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

Details on the team's original findings:

In 2004, Drs. Young and Hicks, along with collaborators at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, published a paper that described substantial changes in the anatomy of the brain in people suffering from major depression.

“It was the first time that findings like this were shown,” Dr. Young said. “In the brains of people that experienced major depression, the thalamus was larger. At the time, most scientists were focusing on neurochemical reasons for depression, not anatomical factors, and almost all of those studying anatomy were looking for brain defects, not enlargements.”

Based on their findings, Drs. Young and Hicks followed up with a study that sought to discover if a genetic alteration was responsible for the change. What they found was remarkable.

The inheritance of a common serotonin transporter (SERT) gene variant was found to be involved in enlargement of the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus, which is involved in interpreting threatening visual stimuli, facial expressions and fearful emotions. The enlarged pulvinar may enhance the brain’s “automatic threat detection system,” making some people more vulnerable when exposed to stress and trauma.

Back to the Eagle for what's to come:

The study is critical, Young said, "because we really don't understand what brain changes predispose people" to PTSD. "Once we understand, I think we're going to do a much better job at treating and determining which people are at risk for PTSD," he said.

In addition to the in-depth interviews, the study will include brain scans to look for possible post-combat changes in the brain structure and examination of cadaver brains from donors who had PTSD. Young said the group also plans to develop an animal model to test new ways of treatment. Rats can be subjected to extreme stressors using a "forced swim test." Trauma from the procedure tends to cause changes in the rats' neurochemistry that make the animals look like they're depressed, Young said, explaining they can become more easily startled and have an exaggerated response to loud noises.

Troops returning from combat zones often report similar responses.

The group also hopes to conduct a large clinical trial for fluoxetine, a drug commonly known as Prozac that has been widely used for depression. It's also used somewhat for PTSD, but it has never been tested on active-duty troops, Young said. "Particularly, we're looking to see if we can intervene very early after PTSD symptoms appear," he said, explaining that researchers hope early use of the drug could help prevent onset of the disorder.

The study isn't expected to result in people being screened or barred from combat, Young said. "Perhaps what we can do is identify a profile of someone, [and] if they become initially ill we can know how to treat them," he said. "Maybe we can know someone needs to be watched more carefully."

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'Moving a Nation to Care' Featured in Northern Today

Northern Illinois University runs a blush-worthy piece on the journey I've been on since Moving a Nation to Care published last May.

Photos, credited to NIU/ Scott Walstrom, were taken on campus last Wednesday -- in front of the Castle above and the lagoon below -- on the wilting-in-the-heat summer afternoon just before Thursday's storms and Friday's flooding. From Northern Today:

Summer didn’t exactly provide a break for NIU’s Ilona Meagher.

Since the spring semester closed, Meagher published a new book, embarked on a cross-country speaking tour and cemented her reputation as a leading voice for combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Meagher has been quoted widely in the media, ranging from The New York Times to Pat Buchanan’s magazine, The American Conservative. In August, she served as a panel member, along with Gen. Wesley Clark, at the annual convention of the popular liberal blog, the Daily Kos. She even received a phone call one morning recently from presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, who said he was moved by her book.

These would be heady accomplishments for any faculty member. But Meagher isn’t a professor, she’s a student at NIU – a junior studying journalism. “It’s been an incredible journey,” Meagher says from her home office in small-town Caledonia, northeast of Rockford. A 41-year-old former flight attendant, Meagher is not a traditional student nor is she a traditional journalist.

Her work would best be described as “citizen journalism” – the use of blogs and new media by people at the grassroots level to collect, report, analyze and disseminate news and information. ...

In the spring of 2006, her work drew the attention of Ig Publishing in New York, which asked her to write a book on the plight of returning veterans. Meagher devoted herself to the project, reading all she could on PTSD and interviewing veterans, their family members, veterans’ advocates and medical experts.

“Moving a Nation to Care” was published in late May 2007.

“The whole point of the book is to bring the average person, just like me, up to speed on the issue of PTSD,” Meagher says. “I also wanted to provide a resource for veterans and military families while pointing out why average citizens should care about the issue and what they can do about it.”

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

Continuing:

The book frames present-day debates over PTSD in the context of history. Meagher found mentions of combat stress in ancient Greek writings and eventually chronicled 80 different names for the disorder, including nostalgia, hysteria, shellshock, buck fever, combat fatigue, battle reaction and disorderly action of the heart. Her studies at NIU helped as she researched and wrote the book – and worked to publicize it.

“So many of my professors went out of their way to help me,” Meagher says. “They gave me opportunities to practice my presentations and broadcast news of my work to others. And they gave me personal assurances that I could accomplish my goals.”

In Communication Professor Jeff Chown’s class, Meagher studied films on Iraq, learned about Middle East history and participated in intense discussion about representations of the war. In an honors class taught by English Professor Steve Franklin, her work would crop up in discussions about the great thinkers throughout history and their views toward war. Franklin, himself a veteran, took an interest in her work outside of the classroom as well.

“Ilona is really engaged in life, in terms of politics, policy and contemporary and moral issues,” Franklin says. “She provides an exemplary example for students and citizens.”

Thanks to everyone at NIU. What a great welcome back!

Please read the rest (and the accompanying sidebar), which includes news of Walter Reed's plans to distribute copies of 'Moving a Nation to Care' to all chaplains and chaplains assistants attending next month's North Atlantic Regional Medical Command (NARMC) conference. Ever aware that my work has been blessed by the great help of many hands and hearts.

Thank you, one and all.


Related Posts

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Returning Vets, Families Must Have Access to Critical PTSD Treatment

Caution and advice in a San Antonio Express-News opinion piece submitted by a former Army Medical Corps major and psychiatric physician at Brooke Army Medical Center:

Over the past few years I have talked with nearly 2,000 Vietnam-era and Iraqi veterans about their experiences in combat and the problems they face at home. Surveys confirm what I have seen and diagnosed. One in six veterans returns with combat- related stress problems, and yet less than one-third report their symptoms. Fewer still receive necessary treatment, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Many do not report their symptoms because they fear it may impact their employment or chance for promotion. They fear loss of high-level security clearances or the stigma of being thought of as crazy, imbalanced, weak or incompetent. And, sadly, they are probably right.

As a result, many veterans suffer in silence as they experience difficulties at home and work and in day-to-day activities. Many are confused about their conflicting emotions and turn to alcohol and/or drugs. They self-medicate, and self-medication can lead to even greater disaster. Family relationships suffer, friends are lost, and self-esteem plummets, sometimes leading to suicide. Indeed, according to a recently released Department of Defense report, suicide rates are 35 percent higher in veterans of Iraq than in the general population.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

Continuing:

PTSD symptoms do not diminish over time. Even 40 years later, many Vietnam veterans suffer from worsened symptoms, which have become habitualized and much more difficult to treat.

Most received no diagnosis or treatment until recently. A more timely diagnosis and treatment of returning Iraqi vets should go a long way toward preventing many of the problems faced by Vietnam veterans.

What should we be doing?

We need more research to identify treatment techniques that work and are accepted by veterans, such as Operation BATTLEMIND, developed at Walter Reed, which converts a "combat mind-set" to more appropriate civilian thoughts and behaviors.

Most important, successful treatment involves offering accessible care, with adequate and properly trained staff, to veterans and their families. ...If the experience of Vietnam veterans taught us anything, it is that the brave men and women we send to fight our wars deserve and require our support and encouragement. ...

They and their families — and, ultimately, society — are adversely impacted if veterans miss out on critical PTSD treatment. Don't we owe them that, and more, for the sacrifices they make on behalf of our country?

Is the Army 'Spinning' its Increase in Suicides?

From the Army Times:

Some veterans organizations, soldiers’ relatives and psychiatrists are raising questions about an Army report that says no direction connection has been found between long troop deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and the army’s highest suicide rate since the first Gulf War.

The Army report, released Aug. 16, said love and marriage problems were the main reasons for the highest rate of suicides since 1991. Nearly a third of the 99 who committed suicide in 2006 were in Iraq or Afghanistan.

“This is yet another example of the administration hiding the true costs of this war,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee. “From our troops to their spouses to family advocates — everyone agrees that extended deployments put added strain on families,” Murray said. “To say that the strain of deployment is not a cause of (post-traumatic stress disorder) and suicide is the same kind of head-in-the-sand logic we’ve seen from this administration since the war began.”

Army spokesman John Boyce said that researchers “could not document that long deployments” were directly behind the suicide rate. Col. Elspeth Ritchie, psychiatry consultant to the Army surgeon general, did tell a Pentagon news conference when the report was released that although the military is worried about the stress caused by repeat deployments and tours of duty that have been stretched to 15 months, it has not found a direct relationship between suicides and combat or deployments.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

Continuing:

The Army’s fourth mental health review of Operation Iraqi Freedom found some gaps in tracking suicide attempts, which were originally designed for use in garrisons, not on the battlefield. For example, while the survey “contains general questions about the deployment, questions regarding the relationship of the suicide or suicide attempt to key deployment events/experiences are missing.”

The report, completed in November and released in May, said there is no mechanism for tracking the accuracy of suicide attempt reports. It also said “the multi-dimensional aspects of suicides and the rarity of suicides” makes it impossible to determine the causes.

Nancy Lessin, co-founder of the five-year-old Military Families Speak Out, said its 3,600 members include many families whose spouses suffered from stress — and a growing number who have committed suicide. “From the very earliest, we started hearing about suicide effects and psychological effects from the war, and it has always been about what servicemen see and do in this war. It is not getting ‘Dear John letters,”‘ Lessin said.

April Somdahl, a member of Lessin’s group, said her brother, Brian Jason Rand, was determined to be unfit for combat after his first deployment to Iraq because he had been traumatized. But he was deployed a second time, and he killed himself in February after returning. She said the Army declined to investigate his death when the family inquired. “The main thing was that he was so traumatized. And it traumatized him to see what he and the other troops were going through,” Somdahl said. “When the human voice is screaming out ‘I’ve PTSD or brain damage,’ they need to listen,” the Trenton, N.C. resident said.

Related Posts

• VA Reports Nearly 300 Estimated OEF/OIF Veteran Suicides
  
• More than 50% of Army's 948 Suicide Attempts in 2006 Sought Help First
  
• OEF/OIF Vets Seeking PTSD Care from VA Jumps 70%, Mental Health Counseling Tops 100,000
  
• Fort Campbell: 9 Suicides in 2007, 3 in Last 2 Weeks Moves Commanding General to Act
  
• Last Year's 99 Army Suicides Highest in Recorded History
  
• As Another Suicide Occurs, Minnesota Leaders Urge DoD to Revise Post-Deployment Contact Rules
  
• Family Sues VA for Iraq Veteran Son's 2004 Suicide
  
• Flash Video Remembers 100+ OEF/OIF Veteran Suicides
  
• Returning Veterans and Suicide: Alaska's Perfect Storm?
  
• Family 'Respectfully Disagrees' With VA Report on Son's Suicide
  
• Montana Iraq Vet Suicide Reflects VA, Military System Failure
  
• PTSD Timeline: The Latest Incidents
  
• 20 War Zone Suicides So Far in 2006
  
• WUSF 89.7 News: Report on Combat Zone Suicides
  
• Combat PTSD Timeline: 41 Stateside OEF/OIF Suicides
  
• Combat PTSD: Incident Database for Reporters, Researchers
  
• Army: 83 suicides in 2005, 67 in 2004
  
• Marine Corps Suicides Spiked 29% in 2004

Chicagoans Discuss 'In the Valley of Elah' and the Plight of Our Returning Troops

"The kind of great movie that rivets you as entertainment at the same time it carefully sets about saying something deeper about the present time...a brave risk." -- Gregory Kirschling, EW.com

Defying intense thunderstorms, micro bursts and even an area tornado or two, Chicagoans trekked out to AMC River East Thursday night to catch a special screening of the new Paul Haggis ("Crash") film starring Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron.

As hinted at in the quote above, 'In the Valley of Elah' drills down to how our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq affect the warriors who deploy, the families who hold down the fort while they're away, and the society undoubtedly intertwined -- no matter how little they may know it or own up to it -- in it all.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for reflections on the evening...

Warner Independent Pictures arranged time and space for a post-screening Questions & Answer session on PTSD and invited me to participate (see my schedule for remaining Chicago screenings/Q&A's). A good portion of the audience stayed behind to voice their own comments, concerns and questions making for a good discussion following the show. (Seeing as the weather was so bad that evening, that so many seats were taken in the first place was a good sign for the film and the topic we tackled.)

'In the Valley of Elah' (visit the film's website, and/or read its production notes) explores a violent post-combat episode -- indeed, one of the more tragic -- that engulfed a group of soldiers who'd only days earlier returned from Iraq. Stellar acting by the principals and supporting cast and a solid script result in something informative, entertaining and valuable beyond its two-hour run on screen. I've seen the film three times now; twice via an advance studio copy (the more intense chase scene music from this earlier version has been changed in the newer version and toned down) and the third time at the River East screening.

Repeated viewing hasn't dulled its power.

While the film is immediately entertaining, its lasting value can come from what we choose to do with it. 'In the Valley of Elah' is a vehicle in my view, able to drive us to deeper discussions we should be having around the country and in our communities on combat PTSD. The talks will be ongoing in the years to come as we eventually bring more of our troops home; so, any attempt to bring us together to start figuring out how to support them once they're home is a good thing. I enjoyed opportunities like that on my book tour, and applaud the filmmakers for their effort in creating these, too.

Questions the film raises include:

• How is the war affecting the troops?
  
• What does war do to warrior and society?
  
• And, after the fighting ends (if it ever ends), who is responsible for ensuring the right -- and enough -- supports and resources are in place for returning troops and their families?

Joining me on last Thursday's panel were Ray Parrish (Viet Nam veteran, tireless advocate and vets' counselor) and Josh Lansdale (Iraq vet, veterans' coordinator and area Iraq Summer organizer). Ray spoke about the veterans he sees, those of his generation and those returning home today. There's a lot of frustration, understandably. One generation watches the next go through the same senseless carnage of war. Where is the peace that they fought and bled for?

At the same time, there are glimmers of light in all the dark.

Seated on studio chairs in front of the audience, Josh and Ray spoke about their respective combat tours, their feelings about wars past and current, and shared news of the work they do today following those awesome experiences. They had a unique energy when they spoke to the audience. War, spanning decades, is what tossed them -- and the rest of us -- together.

While their return was woefully neglected by society and former veteran alike, Viet Nam vets are working hard to make sure that we don't repeat that same mistake this time around. Overlooking, or perhaps healing, their scabbed-over wounds by reaching out to their newest combat brothers and sisters, these older vets have become indispensable in helping today's returning soldier, sailor, airman or Marine process their experience.

In answering an audience question on the special affinity they have for one another, Josh said, "We understand each other. They're the only ones who really understand what we've been through." While civilians can't ever really understand the experience of someone who's seen combat, they do well to seek out the experience through storytelling sessions or art. Americans seem more eager to hear and discuss -- and act on -- these stories now.

One audience member spoke of reading an article on the therapeutic effect animals (like dogs or birds) have on people who have seen and been through life-changing experiences. Another reminded us, quite dramatically, that seeking peace and removal of the troops is not the same as seeking to heal all involved. Still another asked about the changing roles women find themselves in now that they are fighting and dying side-by-side with the men on the battlefield.

The evening closed with a female Viet Nam veteran speaking of the difficulties she faced in folding back into society, sharing her feeling that every time she did something even a little bit peculiar in her life (at work especially), people would treat her as if she was one of those "crazy veterans." It was clear from these comments and those of others that returning troops often feel "other" than the rest of us who've stayed home. Is this a good thing? Should we care if returning troops feel alienated from the nation they put their lives on the line for? Can we, should we, do anything to change this?

From a May 1956 report on vets' benefits by the 84th Congress:

The Government's obligation is to help veterans overcome special, significant handicaps incurred as a consequence of their military service. The objective should be to return the veterans as nearly as possible to the status they would have achieved had they not been in military service...

Particular emphasis should be placed on rehabilitating the service-disabled and maintaining them and their survivors in circumstances as favorable as those of the rest of the people...War sacrifices should be distributed as equally as possible within our society. This is the basic function of the veterans' programs.

With physical injuries, it's clear to see where our obligations lie.

With psychological injuries, however, we are more hesitant when providing care -- and sometimes even outright neglectful. In the opening years of war especially, this lack of clarity coupled with a failure to plan for the post-war period across-the-board led to a lack of necessary supports and resources. We -- military, government, society -- were not adequately responding to something that should have been expected: PTSD episodes of returning troops.

We would do well as a society to use lessons found in vehicles such as 'In the Valley of Elah' or the PTSD Timeline or any number of stories shared in Moving a Nation to Care to help shape the way we prepare our troops for war and help them navigate their way home.

We need to keep doing better by our vets.


Related Posts

• 'In the Valley of Elah' Opens Nationwide -- A Selection of Reviews and Clips
  
• Stand Downs and Stops In the Valley of Elah, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution Decatur Book Festival
  
• New York Times Explores 'In the Valley of Elah' -- And Mentions 'Moving a Nation to Care'
  
• 'In the Valley of Elah' Coming September 21
  
• Playboy (Un)Covers The Real Cost of War
  
• At the Movies: Film and PTSD

Keith Olbermann Discusses Combat PTSD with 2-Tour Afghanistan/Iraq Veteran

A clip from last week's Countdown show well worth a look.

Olbermann's guest was recent panel mate Brandon Friedman, an OEF and OIF vet, gifted blogger and author of the new book, The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War -- A Screaming Eagle in Afghanistan and Iraq. A thoughtful reflection on the suicide figures recently released by the Army.

Study: 1-in-5 Combat-Deployed Air Force Women Show Symptoms of PTSD

From the Air Force Times:

About 20 percent of Air Force women who have deployed since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 are experiencing at least one major symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a survey of 1,114 service women conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan.

The study, by the university’s Institute for Social Research, found that in the Air Force women surveyed, work-family conflict is a significant predictor of PTSD, according to a news release posted on the American Psychological Association’s Web site.

“This finding is important because there are things we can do to help minimize work-family stress and the toll it is taking on women in the military,” Col. Penny Pierce, a reservist who is running the study, said at the association’s annual meeting. The findings are preliminary and have not yet been published in a scientific journal.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

Continuing:

Nearly half the women surveyed said their home lives rarely or never interfered with their work.

But the researchers found that women who experienced higher levels of family-work conflict were more likely to have symptoms of depression and anxiety, according to the APA Web site. ... About 62 percent of the 1,114 who participated had deployed in a war theater, according to the news release. Seventy-four percent were enlisted, and 26 percent were officers.

The Washington Post adds a few more details:

"Since the Gulf War, the role of women in combat has been a subject of heated debate. This study is the latest attempt to assess the impact of deployment-related stressors, including family separation, on military women, who now comprise 13 percent of our nation's armed forces," said Pierce. ...

Another study presented at the meeting found that almost half -- 42 percent -- of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan said they now felt like a "guest in their own home," and one in five felt their children did not respond warmly to them, or were even afraid of them. In many of these cases, depression or PTSD played a major role, the researchers reported.

Other female service member-related news, from CNN:

A U.S. soldier killed in Baghdad last week marked the fourth death of an American female service member this month, a toll that hasn't been topped since June 2005.

Eighty-two service women have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to the Pentagon. In 1994 the U.S. military began allowing women to serve in posts other than front-line infantry, special operations and artillery units. The highest monthly death toll -- four troops and a Defense Department civilian -- came in June 2005.

The Thursday death of Spc. Kamisha J. Block, 20, of Vidor, Texas, from a "nonbattle-related cause" was the fifth time that four female service members have been killed in a month, the Pentagon reported. It also happened in October 2003, November 2003, September 2006 and January 2007.

Block's death came the day after two female soldiers with Multi-National Division-Baghdad -- Sgt. Princess C. Samuels, 22, of Mitchellville, Maryland, and Spc. Zandra T. Walker, 28, of Greenville, South Carolina -- were killed by indirect gunfire during combat operations in Taji.

The first death of a female soldier this month came August 9. Sgt. Alicia A. Birchett, 29, a Multi-National Division-Baghdad soldier from Mashpee, Massachusetts, died in "noncombat-related circumstances," according to the U.S. military.

Sixteen female service members have died in Iraq this year, which puts 2007 on track to top the previous record of 20, set in 2005. Death tolls in other years are 12 in 2003, 19 in 2004 and 15 in 2006. Sixty-eight of those were from the Army. Six were Marines, five were from the Navy and three were from the Air Force.

The number of U.S. military deaths in the war stands at 3,700. Seven civilian Defense Department employees also have been killed.

Related Posts

• Female Vets 4 X, Male Vets 2 X as Likely to Become Homeless Vs. Non-Vets
  
• Military Sexual Assault: 'The Other PTSD'
  
• New York Times Magazine Reveals the Double Dose of Danger in The Women's War
  
• Female Fort Lewis AWOL Soldier Has PTSD
  
• One-Third of OEF/OIF Women Vets Suffer Psychological Injury
  
• A Look at the VA's Women Veterans Health Program
  
• Study: 'Prolonged Exposure' Therapy Superior Treatment for Female PTSD
  
• Women in Combat: Females and PTSD
  
• Psychological Bulletin from APA: Females Have Higher Rates of PTSD
  
• Combat, Women, and PTSD: Details and News on Upcoming VA Retreat
  
• One Female Soldier's Struggle with PTSD

Bob Woodruff Updates on February TBI Story

Last week Bob Woodruff filed an update on his stellar February traumatic brain injury, or TBI, reporting. This ABC World News clip is from last Thursday, August 16, 2007:



Click on 'Article Link' below tags for related posts...


Related Posts

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• IL Chief of Vets Affairs Tammy Duckworth Testifies on TBI and PTSD
  
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• Traumatic Brain Injury: IAVA's Rieckhoff and VA's Nicholson Square Off
  
• ABC News Tuesday: Bob Woodruff Returns
  
• On CCN: Purple Hearts, Broken Bodies
  
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• Newsweek Covers Combat PTSD and Brain Trauma
  
• Cuts to Vet Brain Trauma Funding Planned
  
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Stand Downs and Stops In the Valley of Elah, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution Decatur Book Festival

Lots of interesting things I'll be attending, and I wanted to be sure to share them with you. Hope to see you out and about!

Coming events...

* August 23, 2007 - Chicago, IL: In the Valley of Elah screening followed by combat PTSD Q&A. Location: River East, 322 E. Illinois Ave. Show time: 7:00 p.m. Ilona appears on the combat PTSD discussion panel and will have a limited number of Moving a Nation to Care copies avlb for $15; bring your own copy, and have her sign it for free (a $60 value)!

* September 1, 2007 - Decatur, GA: Atlanta Journal Constitution Decatur Book Festival Moving a Nation to Care signing, 3pm.

* September 2, 2007 - Decatur, GA: Atlanta Journal Constitution Decatur Book Festival Moving a Nation to Care reading and signing, 12:00 pm.

* September 6, 2007 - Chicago, IL: In the Valley of Elah screening followed by combat PTSD Q&A. Location: River East, 322 E. Illinois Ave. Show time: 7:00 p.m. Ilona appears on the combat PTSD discussion panel and will have a limited number of Moving a Nation to Care copies avlb for $15; bring your own copy, and have her sign it for free (a $60 value)!

* September 13, 2007 - Chicago, IL: In the Valley of Elah screening. Location: Kerasotes Webster Place, 1471 W. Webster, Chicago. Show time: 7:30 p.m. [Show will go on; post-screening Q&A has been canceled.]

*October 5, 2007 - Cedar Rapids, IA: 2-Day Stand Down. TBA.

*October 16, 2007 - Amherst, MA: Food for Thought Books, 7pm.

*October 8, 2007 - Algonquin, IL: 2-Day Stand Down. TBA.

Check full appearance schedule and latest news for more.

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Hears From Vets on VA Care

From the Associated Press:

At a field hearing of the U.S. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, two generations of combat soldiers painted a picture of a mental health system unable to handle the stresses of a military entering its sixth year of global counterterrorism conflicts.

The hearing came a day after the Pentagon said 99 Army soldiers committed suicide last year -- the highest rate in 26 years of record-keeping and the largest total in 15 years, despite Army efforts to strengthen mental health care.

Madigan Army Medical Center psychology chief Col. Gregg Gahm, who worked on the suicide report, told Murray that unsuccessful suicide attempts likely outnumbered suicides by about seven to one. "That was astounding to me," said Murray, a senior member of the committee. "That should be the biggest alarm bell to all of us, that we are bringing men and women home from this conflict that are not getting the help and care and support they need."

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

Continuing:

Among the veterans testifying Friday was Brandon Jones, an Army National Guard soldier who was deployed to Iraq beginning in November 2003. When wartime stress spurred a sleep disorder, Jones said he was offered sleeping pills but no help with his underlying problem. Instead, he faced discipline when his disrupted sleep began interfering with military duties.

Other soldiers with stress problems fared worse, he said, from alcohol and drug abuse to suicide. That included a close friend of Jones who took his own life last year. "He was supposed to have been receiving help and intervention in the form of counseling and medication. He was sent home alone," an emotional Jones said. "Obviously, there were not enough resources, training, or information. Otherwise, he might be here today, instead of me telling his story," Jones said.

One more bit:

Max Lewis, director of the VA's Northwest Health Network, told Murray the veterans' testimony was "disturbing." "Despite the improvements we've made, it's quite clear the system is still failing," Lewis said.

The Seattle Times adds:

As thousands of soldiers return to Fort Lewis south of Tacoma from 15-month-long combat tours in Iraq, military and VA facilities in Puget Sound are expected to be at the forefront of dealing with the emotional fallout from these extended deployments. "It is clear that the fighting has taken a tremendous toll," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who organized the hearing. "We are facing serious challenges."

Murray has been a key figure in a congressional battle to ramp up mental-health services. Those serviceswere spread thin in the early years of the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq by staffing cuts and what VA officials — in a 2004 report to Congress — said were insufficient budgets to deal with expanding demand from veterans of previous wars and new veterans.

Murray has helped fashion increases in the VA's health-care budget. An extra $100 million was targeted for mental-health care for this fiscal year. In the 2008 fiscal year, VA health-care spending will be increased by $3.6 billion.

At the hearing, VA officials from the Pacific Northwest said they have expanded mental-health program staffing by 20 percent since 2005, with 63 new positions in Washington state. The VA also is expanding services, opening a regional center in Seattle for treating traumatic brain injuries from bomb blasts. A new veterans center is scheduled to open in Everett.

Additional details on those who attended the hearing:

Those testifying at the hearing said many veterans still balk at seeking mental-health treatment, and much can be done to improve access.

Kathy Nylen, an American Legion representative in Washington state, said that in recent years funding for substance-abuse treatment has declined. She also said some veterans were disturbed by a shift from individual to group counseling.

Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg, head of the Washington National Guard, said new legislation was needed to authorize the Guard — which is on wartime footing — to hire its own mental-health-care workers to treat its soldiers.

He also said medical and mental-health coverage needs to be extended for at least a year after deployments to help Guard veterans, who often struggle in the shift from combat to civilian life without the support network offered active-duty soldiers. ...

Among those [veterans who testified] was Daniel Purcell, of Spokane, who said he was bounced between the VA and the Army health-care system as he sought treatment for a wartime foot injury he suffered while he served in Iraq with the Washington National Guard. Along the way, he battled depression.

"Sadly, I, like so many of my fellow veterans, have lost faith with the business-as-usual attitude of our current system," Purcell testified. "We went to war and were changed. Why can't our bureaucracy change, too?"

Indeed.

Newman's Own and Pentagon Honor Returning Troops, Their Supporters

From the DoD's Daily Digest/America Supports You newsletter:

Several America Supports You homefront groups were honored during last Friday’s eighth annual Newman’s Own Awards Ceremony at the Pentagon, with ASY homefront organization Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation winning the top $15,000 award. Ten organizations, of ninety-nine groups that submitted entries, won grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000.

A panel of judges determined the winners based on the organization’s community impact, creativity and innovation. Representatives from the three organizations that sponsored the event and the grants - Newman’s Own, the Fisher House Foundation and the Military Times Media Group - joined Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the ceremony.

Mike Conklin, who represented Sentinels of Freedom, called the award a “tremendous honor,” noting the money will help put more wounded servicemembers through their four-year program that includes housing, furniture, a vehicle and employment at a major corporation.

Other ASY homefront groups that were honored included: the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, Hope for the Warriors, Operation Support Our Troops, Soldiers’ Angels, Operation First Response and Operation Homefront. Tom Indoe, President of Newman’s Own, thanked all the organizations for their work. “My experience working with charities is that the (volunteers are the backbone) of these charities…They are the threads that hold the fabric of these charities together. It is these volunteers that bring good value and goodness to this country.”

Read more, then view the related photo essay.

Editorial Chimes in on Psychological Kevlar Act and Virtual Reality Therapy

From The Day (New London, CT) editorial board:

As in all wars, loss of mental health has been a common injury for those who have seen combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The largest study on that point, conducted by researchers at the University of California and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, both of San Francisco, Calif., found that one-third of returning veterans treated at V.A. facilities between 2001 and 2005 were diagnosed with mental illness or psychological disorders.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and clinical depression were the most common problems, and more than half of those seen suffered from multiple disorders. Returning with a mental illness is three times more likely for younger combatants, under the age of 24, than for those over 40.

Getting these returning soldiers the therapy they need as soon as possible is critical. Multiple studies have shown that those who recognize their mental problem, and seek and receive prompt treatment, have dramatically better outcomes than those who try to suppress their feelings and forestall getting help.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

In the interest of education, editorial quoted from in full.

Continuing:

In a speech at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Providence this week, Rhode Island Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy sought support for legislation he has introduced to make troops “battle mind ready.”

Among other things, he calls for military training to include instructing soldiers about mental diseases associated with combat experience to better prepare the combatants to self-diagnose emerging problems and get help.

A more debatable part of the bill is a proposal to subject soldiers to virtual-reality technology intended to expose them to the strain of combat, a form of desensitization meant to reduce the potential for mental health damage when soldiers are subjected to the pressure of actual warfare.

The use of this technique remains under study. Researchers at the Virtual Reality Medical Center in California have been conducting stress inoculation training research under a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an arm of the Pentagon. Virtual reality games and techniques were used to expose Marines to war-time experiences. The next step will be to compare rates of PTSD among troops that received the experimental training versus groups that did not.

Virtual reality scenarios are also being tried to treat soldiers already suffering from PTSD.

The intent of the bill — called the Psychological Kevlar Act — is good. The Department of Defense needs to do all it can to protect the mental health of those who serve the nation through military service. But experts, not politicians, are in the best position to decide on appropriate prevention and treatment. The responsibility of the nation, through its Congress, is to assure the money is available to pay for it.

Research and initiative when it comes to combat PTSD is very much welcomed; The Day's editors, however, have a valid concern when it comes to how we should be using virtual reality -- as therapy or as desensitizer?

I don't know the answer to that one, but the question is one that should be considered as we move forward with finding ways to best prepare and care for our troops as they go to war -- and as they work their way back home.


Related Posts

• CBS Evening News Reports on Virtual Reality Therapy for Combat PTSD
  
• Online Combat Stress Counseling for Troops Coming in July
  
• Combat Stressed? Virtual Reality Therapy May Help

Last Year's 99 Army Suicides Highest in Recorded History

From the Associated Press:

Repeated and ever-longer war-zone tours are putting increasing pressure on military families, the Army said Thursday, helping push soldier suicides to a record rate. There were 99 Army suicides last year _ nearly half of them soldiers who hadn't reached their 25th birthdays, about a third of them serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. ...

The 2006 total _ the highest rate in 26 years of record-keeping and the largest raw figure in 15 years _ came despite Army efforts to set up new programs and strengthen old ones for providing mental health care to a force stretched by the longer-than-expected conflict in Iraq and the global counterterrorism war entering its sixth year.

The Army has sent medical teams annually to the battlefront in Iraq to survey troops, health care providers and chaplains. It has revised training programs and bolstered suicide prevention, is trying to hire more psychiatrists and other mental health professionals and is in the midst of an extensive program to teach all soldiers how to recognize mental health problems in themselves and others _ to overcome a culture that attaches a stigma to seeking help.

"I am deeply concerned but not surprised" by the new report, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee. She cited the stresses of longer and repeated tours of duty and her suspicion that many in the military don't understand how to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I think there is just an inner denial among some that PTSD is 'you're just not tough enough,'" she said.

The Army has been working to overcome the stigma associated with getting therapy for mental problems after finding that troops were avoiding counseling out of fear it could harm their careers.

Among findings in the new report:

_ Of the 99 suicides, 30 were soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan at the time of their deaths, 27 of them in Iraq.

_ 69 were committed by troops who were not deployed in either war, though there were no figures immediately available on whether they had previously deployed.

_In a half million-person Army, the toll translated to a rate of 17.3 per 100,000, the highest since the Army started counting in 1980.

The rate has fluctuated over the years, with the low being 9.1 per 100,000 in 2001. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the suicide rate for U.S. society overall was about 11 per 100,000 in 2004, the latest year for which the agency has figures. The Army said that when civilian rates are adjusted to cover the same age and gender mix that exists in the Army, the rate is more like 19 to 20 per 100,000.

_The 99 suicides compare to 87 in 2005 and are the highest total since 102 were reported in 1991, the year of the Persian Gulf War, when there were more soldiers on active duty.

Investigations are still pending on two other deaths and if they are confirmed as suicides, the number for last year would rise to 101.

_About a quarter of those who killed themselves had a history of at least one psychiatric disorder. Of those, about 20 percent had been diagnosed with a mood disorder such as bipolar disorder and-or depression, and about 8 percent had been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, including post traumatic stress disorder _ a signature injury of the conflict in Iraq.

_Firearms were the most common method of suicide. Those who attempted suicide but did not succeed tended more often to take overdoses and cut themselves.

One can only imagine what the total military figure is, and what the total figure would rise to if it included stateside post-deployment suicides.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for related posts...


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• 2007 Another Record-Breaker for OEF/OIF Troops Identified with PTSD
  
• Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Bill Signed by President
  
• VA Reports Nearly 300 Estimated OEF/OIF Veteran Suicides
  
• More than 50% of Army's 948 Suicide Attempts in 2006 Sought Help First
  
• OEF/OIF Vets Seeking PTSD Care from VA Jumps 70%, Mental Health Counseling Tops 100,000
  
• Fort Campbell: 9 Suicides in 2007, 3 in Last 2 Weeks Moves Commanding General to Act
  
• Is the Army 'Spinning' its Increase in Suicides?
  
• As Another Suicide Occurs, Minnesota Leaders Urge DoD to Revise Post-Deployment Contact Rules
  
• Family Sues VA for Iraq Veteran Son's 2004 Suicide
  
• Flash Video Remembers 100+ OEF/OIF Veteran Suicides
  
• Returning Veterans and Suicide: Alaska's Perfect Storm?
  
• Family 'Respectfully Disagrees' With VA Report on Son's Suicide
  
• Montana Iraq Vet Suicide Reflects VA, Military System Failure
  
• PTSD Timeline: The Latest Incidents
  
• 20 War Zone Suicides So Far in 2006
  
• WUSF 89.7 News: Report on Combat Zone Suicides
  
• Combat PTSD Timeline: 41 Stateside OEF/OIF Suicides
  
• Combat PTSD: Incident Database for Reporters, Researchers
  
• Army: 83 suicides in 2005, 67 in 2004
  
• Marine Corps Suicides Spiked 29% in 2004

Charlotte Talks Discusses Combat PTSD

Thanks, Jim, for your work and the head's up on this show:

The following is an hour show on 'Charlotte Talks', the local daily NPR radio show on PTSD, its effects and one treatment being used.

Monday August 13, 2007

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Once again, we visit with a member of the UNC Charlotte Iraq War Veterans Club. We'll explore the impact of PTSD on returning soldiers.

Guests:
Ross Medlin - Sergeant, USMC, Iraq War veteran
Bobby Bodenhamer - Minister and PTSD counselor

Contact the show: 704-926-9323, 800-603-9323 or charlottetalks@wfae.org.

Listen to show (brings up Windows Media Player).

Study: Wounded Vets Navigating VA Claims Process Alone Receive 1/3 Fewer Benefits

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

A recent study by the Institute for Defense Analysis shows that wounded veterans who approach the V.A. without professional assistance receive on average about one-third of the compensation that those who are represented by a lawyer or service organization like the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) get.

"That's not surprising at all," said Eric McGinnis, the DAV representative who helped Messick get appropriate compensation for his injuries after the V.A. initially rated his long-term disabilities at 0 percent. "If you know the proper vernacular, a few simple phrases, it makes things a lot easier. But you'd be hard-pressed to find a vet who knows exactly the right things to say and do."

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

Continuing:

Complicating matters further, McGinnis said, is a compensation process that requires veterans to approach the V.A., openly advertising their own physical and psychological wounds in order to receive benefits. "These aren't always people who are comfortable advocating for themselves," McGinnis said. ...

State Department of Veterans Affairs Director Terry Schow...said it would be nice if the system weren't so adversarial and complex that veterans needed help from outside groups to obtain just compensation for their wounds. "But it is the way it is," he said. "The process is so involved and complicated, that I think it's just wise to do that. And so we encourage everyone to get assistance from a service organization."

Journey Home with the Soldiers of Troop A, 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry

Today's Omaha World-Herald delivers a rich piece of journalism, recounting the adjustments that local troops have had to make after returning home from Iraq one year ago.

Numbering 63 when they left and 63 when they returned, they racked up more than 1,600 combat missions — more than four a day — and saw more action than any Nebraska Army National Guard unit since World War II.

They were part of a 4,000-soldier brigade sent to the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi in western Iraq. Eighty-one of the brigade's soldiers were killed in action — the most of any National Guard brigade that has served in Iraq.

First Lt. Matt Misfeldt of Omaha, who commanded the 16 soldiers of Troop A's 1st Platoon, tracked how many times insurgents shot at him. The final tally: 92.

In their primary mission protecting Marine bomb-disposal teams, Misfeldt's platoon encountered roadside bombs — exploded and unexploded — 295 times.

Homecoming on June 22, 2006, was euphoric. For most of Troop A, the celebration lasted for months.

While most have been succeeding at adjusting to civilian life again and living with families vs. battle buddies, others have had a harder time of it. Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

Continuing:

But as that joyful return to Lincoln faded into memory, nearly every soldier also realized he'd been changed by Iraq. Many have encountered some problems readjusting to civilian life. They acknowledged those problems to one another last winter during a weekend drill that turned into something of a group counseling session. About half described serious problems in their lives.

At least six have been formally diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder; many others say they have experienced some PTSD symptoms. Seven have been arrested for driving under the influence. Another spent a month in alcohol rehab. At least two marriages fell apart.

One soldier spent nearly three months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury inflicted by repeated roadside bombings. Another young soldier nearly died in a motorcycle accident.

But in interviews, soldier after soldier also voiced a kinship with his comrades and said he came back from Iraq with new leadership and coping abilities. "For the most part, the guys are doing all right. We all have been doing our best to stay in close contact and take care of our own," said Staff Sgt. Chad Rowe.

The unit's experiences illustrate the challenges faced by thousands of men and women returning from Iraq — challenges that often are more intense for National Guard citizen-soldiers, who jump from civilian lives almost directly into combat, then return home just as suddenly. "While they were there, they have to kill, they have to be in danger," said Dr. S. Pirzada Sattar, the Omaha VA Medical Center's top expert on alcohol and drug abuse. "The expectation is they will come back and be normal. They can't be normal. They have changed."

The remainder of the piece gives a brief but thorough explanation of the following challenges returning troops face:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
  
• Struggling to readjust
  
• Alcohol abuse
  
• Looking for excitement

Please head over to learn more about each of them. And consider thanking the World-Herald for covering this important issue with such grace and class.

Combat Zone-Wounded DoD Civilian Employees Slip Through Health Care System Cracks, Too

From Friday's NBC News In Depth, this segment explains the frustration felt by some civilian employees working alongside the military who are injured in the combat zone.



Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

In the interest of education, article quoted from extensively.

Last month, the Washington Post also reported on Mike Helms' journey as an Army civilian caught up in the red tape and indifference that waited for him after he was injured in Iraq in the second year of the war:

Traveling through Sunni insurgent territory north of Baghdad, the U.S. military convoy was nearing a base when a roadside bomb ripped into the lead Humvee, leaving its gunner, Mike Helms, bleeding and swaying from a strap in the open back.

Helms, 31, a civilian counterintelligence expert with the Army's 902nd Military Intelligence Group, had been sent to Iraq in 2004 to help fill a critical intelligence gap in the area known as the Sunni Triangle. While in Iraq, he lived with soldiers and ate military rations, took fire from mortar rounds and small arms, and clocked hundreds of miles manning a machine gun on the back of a Humvee.

Then, on June 16, 2004, came his IED blast injury.

What followed was a three-year battle with a system where common sense and decency seem to have been trumped by insane bureaucracy and jurisdiction rules. Rules that are clearly outdated in a war where thousands of government contractors, state department diplomats, 'weekend warriors' of the National Guard and Reserves, and civilian workers like Helms in addition to the 'regular' fighting force, our military's active troops.

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan strain the U.S. military, the Pentagon is sending civilian workers such as Helms into war zones to provide critical support to the troops, raising questions about their status and treatment.

Several thousand Defense Department civilian employees -- with about 3,300 of them from the Army -- are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Pentagon data. Since 2001, about 7,500 DOD civilians have worked in those combat zones or in anti-terrorism capacities elsewhere, including seven who died there and 118 who were injured. "We must use government civilians . . . to fill out the force or we could not do our job right now," said Gary J. Motsek, assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for program support. He called the civilians "unheralded patriots."

How is it that Helms -- who was not a combat soldier -- was manning a machine gun on the day his convoy came under attack?

[H]aving served three tours in the Balkans from 1996 to 2001, he thought that he could help inexperienced soldiers. "We were going into combat, and we had guys who had never shot these weapons," he said. Because the 902nd task force was not part of a scheduled deployment, it lacked such basic equipment as Humvees and rifles. "I needed to train them as best I could," Helms said.

A civilian colleague of Helms's who previously spent 20 years in military intelligence on active duty explained: "Civilians went out because we were experienced. The young soldiers had no experience with radios, with weapons." As a result, Helms and other civilians took turns manning the M-60 on convoys. On June 16, it was his turn.

A new nightmare was waiting for the man who would receive the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom (the civilian version of the Purple Heart) for his combat zone injuries.

Evacuated to the U.S. military base at Landstuhl, Germany, Helms was improperly coded as a civilian contractor, so he was turned away from Walter Reed after he arrived there. "They wouldn't admit me or give me a room," said Helms, who moved in with the wounded sergeant who was driving his Humvee. "They left me sitting in the waiting room." After about a month of ad hoc care, the sergeant moved out and Helms also left.

"This was the first in a series of problems resulting in Mr. Helms being denied timely treatment within military treatment facilities in the U.S.," according to a November 2004 memo by Kimmons. It found "systemic failures in the provision of medical treatment to civilian employees who are injured in the line of duty."

Under Pentagon policy, DOD civilians evacuated to a military medical facility in the United States because of injury or illness "may receive medical treatment in the military medical system or they can be transported to a civilian medical treatment facility of their choice."

That choice -- and so many others -- was out of Helms' reach.

Care has been slow and uncoordinated, as civilian doctors with little experience treating combat wounds have handled his ear injuries, broken tailbone and nerve damage. "There is no consistent care at all," he said.

Doctors at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center later diagnosed Helms's brain injury, but overall he has received limited care from military facilities. The Army declined to discuss his case, citing privacy laws, but said that "the Army assists injured Army civilian employees, and helps them seek the care and benefits they are entitled to as Federal employees." It said that in the case of an IED injury, a case worker at Walter Reed should coordinate civilian care, which Helms says never happened. ...

"I am on Month Six waiting to see a behavioral specialist and internal medical doctor, and on the first month of waiting for a sleep doctor," he said, adding that the person who approves his workers' comp claims at the Labor Department "works only on Thursday and does not have voice mail, e-mail or fax."

Helms wears hearing aids and suffers from short-term memory loss, irritability and post-traumatic stress disorder. He said that he survives mainly on maple-flavored instant oatmeal and Gatorade because his medication-racked system cannot tolerate anything else.

He pulled out a laminated card that he uses to keep track of seven medications he takes for sleep, nausea, depression, anxiety and PTSD. "No one will change my meds," he said, because he lacks a primary-care doctor capable of managing all his injuries and ailments.

One can only hope that this saga is no longer replaying itself.

Have these problems been worked out of the system by now? Are there any new Mike Helmses just embarking on the ordeal that he has had to endure the past three years?


 Related Posts

• Blackwater Employee PTSD Care Questioned
  
• Government Contractors: Hidden Casualties, PTSD
  
• State Deptartment Diplomats Join Troops in Suffering From Combat-Zone Stress
  
• San Francisco Chronicle: Civilian Contractors Tell of Insurance Co. PTSD Denials

Looking for Something to Do? Attend an Upcoming Veterans' Event...

A quick look at some of the many upcoming veterans' events taking place around the country. Be sure to check the 'Events and Actions' section in the right hand column for the full list (lots more going on). Here are a few to share -- this first one is just too fun:

New York [Source]

Calling all smoochers: Your services are needed in New York City’s Times Square at 1 p.m. Tuesday [August 14, 2007]. On that day, the fourth annual Times Square Kiss-In takes place, and the first 200 smoochers will receive a free Dixie cup-style sailor’s hat and roses.

The event, first held in 2004, celebrates the anniversary of the end of World War II and recreates one of the signature moments in the famous square the day victory was declared over Japan — Alfred Eisenstaedt’s famous photo of a sailor bending back a nurse and planting one on her.

The event actually is meant to honor the entire armed forces. It purports to “Pucker up for Peace” — furthering the ideals of peace, love and hope — all of which, of course, is captured in that famous photo.

The event will take place on “Military Island” — the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, when the Times Square Alliance invites couples from all generations to gather for a “smoochfest,” to include veterans of World War II as well as returning veterans of the Iraq War, and couples in costumes commemorating the original 1945 kiss.

Participation is free. A raffle will offer multiple prizes, with the grand prize a night for two in a Times Square Hotel, two tickets to a Broadway show and dinner for two. You can register online at for prizes. You must be present to win.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

Georgia [Source]

The Georgia Department of Labor's Athens Career Center and several local veterans' organizations will sponsor a job fair for veterans, personnel recently separated from active duty and other job seekers in the area. The job fair will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday [August 15, 2007] at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2872, 835 Sunset Drive in Athens.

The event will feature about 50 employers looking to hire people to fill current job openings. In addition, some employers will discuss possible future employment opportunities and civic organizations will provide educational and other resources. Other event sponsors include the Athens-Clarke County Veterans Council and the Ladies Auxiliary. Job applicants should bring résumés and be prepared to fill out company applications and interview for available job openings.

For more information call the Athens Career Center at (706) 583-2550.

Colorado [Source]

Hear Winter Park and the Fraser Valley come alive as more than 40,000 motorcycles roar to life at the 15th annual Salute to American Veterans Rally and Festival from August 17-19.

The Winter Park area will be honoring those who have served our country with “The Oldest Veterans Motorcycle Ride/Rally in the West.” The event will feature the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall, a veterans’ poker run, veterans parade, POW/MIA remembrance ceremony, and many more fun activities.

The Rally is host to Colorado’s largest procession of motorcycles, with thousands of veterans and patriots from around the country riding in honor of those killed in action, active duty members of the armed forces, US veterans, POW’s, and MIA’s.

The festival will feature the 12th annual High Altitude Tattoo Competition, an outdoor beer garden, live music featuring New Riders of the Purple Sage, and a variety of vendors for guests to check out.

Minnesota [Source]

Jeff Gay, a Minnesota Family Assistance Center director, and Carmen Brunsvold, who works with family assistance programs and is mother of Iraq veterans, have planned an honorary and welcome back event from 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at Mattke Field at Southwest Minnesota State University.

The welcome back is extended to all veterans, such as those from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada and others. “It’s for all veterans for all wars,” Gay said. “We want to honor them.” Brunsvold and Gay encourage the public to attend the Aug. 18 event.

The event includes a short program with speaker Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall. Seifert will present recently-returning Iraq veterans with individual certificates to thank them for their service. Brunsvold said they’d like to receive the names of those veterans who have recently returned so she can submit them to Seifert as soon as possible. Those with names can contact Gay at jeff.gay@us.army.mil or 530-8378.

The new 34th Infantry Division Red Bulls band the Red Bull Rider country band and the rock combo Red Devil will perform that day. National Guard members comprise both bands. Participants include the Patriot Guard motorcycle club and honor guards of local American Legion and VFW clubs.

Florida [Source]

Nearly 300 military veterans are expected Saturday [August 18, 2007] at the Twin Rivers Golf Course in Oviedo for the fifth annual Thank You Veterans Golf Tournament. That's a day of free golf for veterans, courtesy of Don Hodgskin, who set up a nonprofit organization to sponsor the event. His brother, Jimmy, was killed in Vietnam in 1969

Hawaii [Source]

The U.S. Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee will hold hearings in Hawaii this month on health care and benefits for veterans, and its chairman, Sen. Daniel Akaka, will also hold informal town hall meetings on four neighbor islands.

The town hall meetings are open to public comment, and staff members from the VA will be available to answer questions. Under Senate rules, testimony at the formal congressional hearings is limited to invited speakers, but Akaka will remain after the Oahu hearing to hear from the public.

Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearings:

» Oahu: "VA Care and Benefits in Hawaii"; Aug. 21, 10 a.m.; Oahu Veterans Center, 1298 Kukila St., Honolulu.

» Maui: "VA Health Care on Maui"; Aug. 23, 10:30 a.m.; Kalana O Maui Building, Maui County Council Chambers, 8th floor, Wailuku.

» Big Island: "Access to VA Health Care and Benefits and Outreach to the Guard and Reserve"; Aug. 27, 1 p.m., Keauhou Bay Sheraton, Keauhou II Room, 78-128 Ehukai St., Kailua-Kona.

Town hall meetings hosted by Akaka:

» Lanai: Aug. 22, 10 a.m., ILWU Hall.

» Molokai: Aug. 24, 2 p.m., DHHL Kulana 'Oiwi complex, 660 Maunaloa Highway, Kalamaula.

» Big Island: Aug. 28, 10 a.m., Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi St.

» Kauai: Aug. 30, 4 p.m., Kauai Veterans Center.

Wisconsin [Source]

The Between the Lakes Chapter of Muskies Inc. will host its third Veterans Muskie Fishing Outing on Sunday, Sept. 23, an event to honor the men and women who have served the U.S. The event, sponsored by Martin Pontiac, features a day of muskie fishing on Random Lake.

Veterans, male and female, who have served the U.S. during wartime and peacetime are welcome to participate in the free event. The outing begins at 6:45 a.m. at the Random Lake boat landing and picnic area.

Between the Lakes members will act as guides and provide boats, rods, gear and hot coffee and bakery to start the morning. A fry out lunch will be held at noon. Veterans who wish to participate need to have a current Wisconsin fishing license. Space is limited. To reserve a spot, call Ted Scharl at (920) 564-3226 or Jody Booth at (920) 458-4195.

Maryland [Source]

Hampstead plans to honor local veterans with a night out on the town. The Sons of the American Legion Squad 200 has been sending care packages to soldiers overseas, and now members hope to honor those who have returned to the United States. The Sons of the American Legion are grandsons and sons of veterans. Members work with the Hampstead American Legion Auxiliary Unit 200 and the American Legion Post to raise funds for scholarships, events and local projects supporting patriotism.

While the SAL supports veterans from all previous wars, this celebration dinner will be held for veterans since Sept. 11, 2001, said Mike Mandish, commander of Hampstead’s SAL. “A lot of them don’t get recognition,” Mandish said.

The dinner will start with a 15-minute program, then turn into a casual event with door prizes and possibly a money wheel, Mandish said. The 50 invited veterans are asked to wear either a shirt or cap to show which branch of the military they belong. Invitations for veterans and their guests will be sent when all details are worked out, Mandish said. The dinner is not just for Hampstead vets, but for veterans from surrounding areas as well.

Helping fund the event is Hampstead’s Wal-Mart, which has been involved in the veterans’ care packages by giving SAL discounts and donating goods. SAL will also be holding a fall dance to help fund the dinner.

The dance will be Oct. 6 at the Hampstead Fire Hall and will feature music from the Poison Whiskey Band, said Charlie Bevard, executive committee member for the SAL. Ticket prices still have to be worked out, but they will probably be around $15 each, Mandish said. While the dance is open to the public, the celebration dinner will be strictly for veterans and their guests. The dinner will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 27. “It should just be a fun night out,” Mandish said.

If you have an event you'd like to share, please email me (it does take me a matter of days at times to get back to all emails, but I do try to answer them all within my available time limits to help spread the word on your event).

Convention, Conference and Confluence

Apologies for lagging behind in updates.

Unlike better online writers, I'm not an on-the-fly type who churns things out easily while on the road. From Chicago to Washington, D.C., I've been busy absorbing a lot of information and talking with a lot of people these past 10 days. From last week's seat on a YearlyKos Convention panel with none other than General Wesley Clark to this week's Journalism That Matters Conference and visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, it's been a busy August.



A few notes on my comings and goings, disappearances and sightings before getting back to the more important work of covering issues that concern the state of post-combat reintegration in our returning troops.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

The highlight for me at last week's YearlyKos Convention was the opportunity to meet and talk with veterans of today's wars and those previous. Some of those vets (clockwise, below) included Gen. Clark and Brandon Friedman (my fellow panel mate and author of The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War -- A Screaming Eagle in Afghanistan and Iraq, flanked by me and The Ground Truth director Patricia Foulkrod), Sally Westgate, Calvin Williams (technically not a vet himself, but one that works with and for those returning today) and Lt. Col. Charlie Brown.

(Warning: There's a lot of Ilona in the next collage :o)



Unfortunately, the lion's share of the media coverage of the panel I took part in focused on a few moments of controversy rather than the discussion itself, though one person did include a few lines beyond it:

I attended a session on why progressives and the military have in common this morning and there was a dust-up on the dais between panelist John [Soltz] of VoteVets and a uniformed questioner. (an Army captain) John took issue with the fact that he was at the conference in uniform (his question was pretty innocuous) but this is a sign of things to come. ...

Another panelist, Ilona Meagher, said that after the war, the hard work for the civilians has just begun...how do we welcome our troops back and let them know that their experience was meaningful...across the board, from the protesters to the yellow flag crowd...we all need to agree on this.

Vets Steve Young, Eric Massa, Jon Powers, Jay Buckey (a NASA astronaut), Jon Soltz, Rich Noriega, Josh Lansdale and other military family members and veteran supporters were also a real joy to have a chance to share a few words with. The only downside? Not enough time to chat at length with (and photograph) them all!



Other highlights included hanging out with my publishers and fellow authors at the Ig Publishing booth, and my colleagues at the ePluribus Media booth.



While the convention was in full swing we learned that The New Republic had requested a download of the incidents we've tracked in the ePluribus Media PTSD Timeline (far too many have yet to be entered, as the work involved with Moving a Nation to Care has temporarily taken me off of the project; however, a number of new incidents have been fact-checked and will be available online tomorrow). On Monday, TNR included a link and nod to our work in an article exploring the death of Jeffrey Lucey, a Marine whose story appears in Moving and whose parents have just recently initiated a lawsuit against the VA:

But whether Lucey's memories of what he did were of real or imagined events, what remains striking about his story is the degree to which the fear and anxiety that are normal to war are mixed from the start with a searing guilt. Lucey may never have killed two unarmed Iraqi soldiers, but he did witness the carnage in Nasiriyah and perhaps elsewhere, and that may have fuelled his later delusions.

This toxic combination of anxiety and guilt may be a factor in the high incidence of mental illness and of suicide among Iraqi veterans. According to a study published last March in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 19.1 percent of the soldiers who returned from Iraq "met the risk criteria for a mental health concern," compared with 11.3 percent from Afghanistan and 8.5 percent from other locations. One website has tracked over 150 cases of severe mental illness that have led, among other things, to suicide and even murder by returning vets.

On Tuesday, as I fittingly prepared to head out to Washington, D.C., for my third turn in the Media Giraffe Project/Journalism That Matters collaborative sessions, an interview that I'd recently given Buzzflash appeared. From its introduction:

Ilona Meagher doesn't have a degree in journalism (although she is working on one, even though she's already proven that she doesn't need one), but she's far ahead of all those D.C. stenographers who wouldn't know a scoop if they were ordering a cone in an ice cream store. As a self-starter, former flight attendant, she has become one of the national experts on the epidemic of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome among our GIs returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

What started as an area of personal interest became a vital book on a major problem facing our combat veterans (which of course the Busheviks would prefer to ignore), Moving a Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and America's Returning Troops.

After interviewing Meagher, we recently met her at the Yearly Kos conference in Chicago. She's enthusiastic, impassioned, immersed in her subject matter, and enormously knowledgeable about what she writes about. Now, isn't that what you would expect of a mainstream journalist, let's say, writing for the Washington Post on national issues, but don't get?

If our media is going to be reformed and restructured to remove it from the narrow corporate frame of the mainstream media, which keeps so many issues out of the news because they might make the powers that be punish them by cutting back on tax breaks or not granting favorable regulations, it will come from citizen journalists like Ilona Meagher.

Be sure to head over to read the full interview.

The problems noted in that last paragraph were just the topic of conversation at this week's Journalism That Matters session. Many good hearts and minds working to find a new model of news gathering and reporting; clearly, judging by my journey and that of so many others, today's mainstream media is not meeting our needs.

In my case, if traditional news organizations had been covering the issue of combat PTSD back in 2005 in a way where my initial questions could have been easily answered, perhaps I wouldn't have been spurred to act to find the answers myself. Perhaps many of us 'citizen journalists' would have been more than happy to leave the reporting of serious issues to the 'professionals.' It sure would have made for a more leisurely life for this gal.

Perhaps not as fulfilling or meaningful, but certainly more leisurely.

In addition to the decay of hard-hitting investigative journalism once voraciously practiced by American media, the top-down, one-way communication model that the field of journalism has been built on these past decades is also crumbling, with many in traditional media camps stumbling and a few grumbling. Some are clearly taking the lead in changing their news organizations (not always for higher purposes; some admittedly doing it merely as a bottom-line or self-preservation concern), and I applaud those efforts.

Indeed, making contact with those in the mainstream, no matter how good their work may be or how important the need for that connection may be, is quite difficult if initiated from the outside.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a business owner interested in donating hundreds of high-quality speech therapy DVDs to returning troops coping with traumatic brain injury, or TBI. After trying to contact a high-profile member of the mainstream media who has done remarkable work in this area with no success, he contacted me.

His concern was that the donation go directly to the troops, that they weren't diverted inadvertently or accidentally. I replied to the gentleman that I was shortly attending a conference in Washington, D.C., and would make an effort to get them into the hands of someone at Walter Reed Army Medical Center if he would like.

He enthusiastically agreed.

I wish to thank Chaplain Kristi Pappas for agreeing to meet with me, a stranger, at such short notice (and I thank Dudley and Dean Evenson for sharing this contact with me) on Thursday afternoon to accept delivery of the first of those important donations. I was also honored to drop off copies of my book to be given to those who might have a need or wish to have one.

Of all the things done this past 10 days, that WRAMC meeting was the most fulfilling. Clearly, I'm not a traditional journalist, as such an action is not something that those in the field consider a part of their job description. Fortunately, new media journalism has created a new brand of journalism, a new breed of journalist. And I'm proud to call myself a member of that class.




Related Posts

• Buzzflash Review of 'Moving a Nation to Care'
  
• Back from Memphis - Journalism That Matters
  
• Why Citizen Journalism? Panel 6/30/2006

Proactive Reintegration Suggestions for Military Family Members

Recently I was interviewed by Tranette Ledford for Operation Homefront's CinC House "Of Special Concern" series on PTSD. The result is now online. Here's a snippet:

Casie’s husband has not been medically diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. But his behavior mirrors the symptoms. “He still goes to work, but I don’t think anyone knows how he’s really doing,” she said. “He comes home, he drinks, he gets mad and then he loses it.”

Casie, like many military spouses, has a tremendous challenge. Without a formal diagnosis, her husband is not getting help. She feels paralyzed, afraid to contact his commander because it might hurt his career and afraid to contact his family — or hers — because it might make things worse. “My family said I jumped into marriage too quickly,” Casie said. “But this isn’t about how long I knew him. And his family, well, if he knew I talked to them, he’d kill me.”

Casie’s situation — and that of her husband — are at the heart of Ilona Meagher’s new book, “Moving a Nation to Care.” It is a comprehensive look at the prevalence and stigma of PTSD among returning veterans and a call for society to get upfront and personal about it. The book includes interviews with veterans and experts and a host of resources for help. It’s also a reminder that more help needs to be available. “There were once cultural rituals in place to help warriors when they returned,” Meagher said. “Our society has lost this.”

To get it back, Meagher believes the nation has to understand what veterans and their families are facing — then work together to find solutions. It is slowly beginning to happen. Meagher cites organizations and ongoing programs. She also offers ideas for military spouses heading down the long road paved by the consequences of combat.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for more...

The article lists a few ways to find help and take action, and I would highly recommend having a look at those areas. A few more ideas:

Proactive reintegration ‘action ideas’ for military family/service members

Shore up your own reserves
Begin by getting professional support for yourself so that you are able to do a lot more – and do it with more success and satisfaction – for your family and for your community. Don’t be shy about this. You don’t have to have a ‘problem’ to seek out support/suggestions from a neutral and knowledgeable professional.

• Check out free counseling sources, of which there are many. Operation Comfort, for example, has a database of over 450 professionals from across the country who are offering pro-bono services.
• If there aren’t any pro-bono services in your area, add this to the list below.
• Gather with as many in your area who have similar concerns. Some organizations may already exist (like Soldier’s Heart groups), making it easy to band together to work on making your own community as prepared as possible for the needs of returning troops and their families.

Get help from community leaders
Contact Mayors’ and city council offices and ask them for help with organizing community action. If they aren’t motivated, contact the following groups on your own, asking each what responses they have put in place to deal with the specific needs of military families:

• Law enforcement/emergency responders/fire stations: How will they deal with a domestic dispute if the soldier/loved one is having a PTSD episode? How will they deal with a police stand-off (some localities use more lethal force than others). Have they trained their personnel in dealing with the special situations that may arise after troops return to the community? Have they considered reaching out to military families (since they have some commonalities, they are in an especially good position to connect w/veterans) by organizing a monthly BBQ or bowling or other sporting event – or whatever else they might come up with? Veterans may want to enter these fields, and so are more inclined to accept an invite from them; this will also give law enforcement, etc. and opportunity to get to know who the vets are in their community, which may help in stemming a future PTSD episode.
• Emergency rooms/hospitals: Do they have any special care practices/emergency responses that deal solely with issues of PTSD outbursts/episodes? Have they trained personnel to know what the symptoms of PTSD or TBI are?
• Religious institutions: Have they trained their chaplains/priests, etc. to assist with the special needs of military families?
• Employers: Are they aware – and have they made their employees aware – of the need for understanding and supporting the special needs of returning troops have? Are they reaching out enough to help veterans get back on their feet?
• Art museums/galleries/music venues: Are they willing to host poetry readings, plays, concerts, shows that might appeal specifically to the military community? Art is a great tool in helping vets and their families process their experiences – it also allows them to receive some much-needed attention (and even adoration in some cases) from civilians who are naturally curious about and drawn to war stories. Perhaps tie some of these events to fund-raising to send care packages to troops who are deployed – a hesitant vet may be more willing to go out and mingle with a crowd if he/she knows that by their doing that they can help their battle buddies who are still in harm’s way.
• Community colleges: Would they be willing to create and deliver a class/section specifically teaching reintegration/coping skills to military families for free or at a reduced rate? Even an online section would be beneficial and give a worried family member access to someone knowledgeable to ask questions of, and online classmates to interact with.
• Counselors: If not pro-bono services are offered in your area, approach professionals in your area and ask them if they might consider providing such services.

These are just a few ideas to springboard from. Sservice members and military families themselves are even better equipped to come up with many more. Please add any of your own in comments.


Related Posts

• A Look at the Unease of Transitioning to Homefront Living Following Combat
  
• Increased Deployment Tempo Strains Military Family Ties
  
• Lifelines Online PTSD Video Series for Military Families


• Activities and Programming for Military Kids and Their Parents
  
• Do's and Don'ts List for Interactions with Returning Troops
  
• Military Families: Preparing for Your Troop's Return Home
• Reconnecting with Your Kids After Deployment
  
• DefenseWatch: Post-Deployment Stressful for Many Veterans
  
• Families: Recommended Reading
  
• Military Family Resource: MarineParents.com
  
• Weekend Australian: PTSD Effects the Entire Family