PTSD

In a recent story on NPR a soldier that spoke to his command that he needed help for PTSD is going to be Court Martialed. The offences the soldier shows a man crying out for help from a growing problem. When he took action to get help his command made it difficult to get that help.

Before and during his service in Iraq he was called a stellar soldier now his command has turned its back on this man. What the Army does in this trial will send a message Army wide. If they punish him it will say to others that if you have PTSD we will not help you.

Our nation has always held in high regard our veterans that served in war. I saw a bumper sticker that said "If you read thank a teacher, you read English thank a veteran".

The military is not the military we knew when we served or even the same military of a few years ago. It was many years after Viet Nam did the government acknowledge that PTSD was a problem with those vets.

Again the military is creating the same problem and does not believe it exists. Why do they do this to the men and women that bravely served in its ranks?

There are those that say it is a sign of weakness. Others do not believe it is a real medical problem. Good people are having their lives destroyed by because the military will not own up to a problem it created. The soldier if found guilty will be stripped of all his VA and military benefits to seek help for PTSD. This has happened to other and depending on this trial will happen to a lot more who think of seeking help.

I know of several soldiers from Fort Hood that have been discharged for as their command called it "Personality disorders" not PTSD and gave them less than honorable discharges. As long as the soldier carries on with no complaints they praised but soon as they show a problem they are denied help and are characterized as a bad soldier.

Perry Monroe

From Dorothy Mackey

I have two deadlines: 1st deadline:

NEED AIR NATIONAL GUARD WOMEN OF SEXUAL ABUSE AND HARASSMENT: I am dealing with a reporter (TV) from Houston, TX. who is helping an Air Guard woman be heard. The Air Guard member and her mother has discovered numerous charges(currently being investigated ) at Ellisworth AFB on sexual harassment, abuse, etc. The TV investigator is willing to give 100% immunity and anonymity to anyone interested in speaking with him on the issues of how the system of the AIR NATIONAL GUARD is failing. A recent report surfaced to state that sexual harassment and abuse is rising in the Guard units. This TV investigator is wanting to speak with women who have 1st hand knowledge of loop holes, problems with the reporting, prosecution, investigation and or outcome of their cases. You may call me and leave your name and number - please know at this time this is for AIR NATIONAL GUARD PERSONNEL ONLY.

2nd DEADLINE: ALL MILITARY SERVICES MEN AND WOMEN OF SEXUAL ABUSE, HARASSMENT -SYSTEM FAILED THEM.

HOLLYWOOD TV PRODUCER: SEEKS Case of Abuse of men or women military. I need a mix of cases on this one. Please provide me with a short summary of the cases: Name, current location, and good phone number. I need your rank, service, location at time of assault, year of assault, summary of what happened and what you did to seek help. redress and outcome. All information will be held in confidence and will not be released without your consent.

My number is 602.374.7375
Rev. Dorothy Mackey, Exec Director STAAAMP International
Advocate, former USAF Captain and Commander
Multiple US Military Rape and Abuse Survivor

A Different Christmas Poem

A Different Christmas Poem
By Michael Marks

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night." "It's my duty to stand at
the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

------------
Submitted by Laura Kent

Response to Story on Ft. Carson

Re: Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish
by Daniel Zwerdling

To my friends that have followed the National Public Radio coverage of Fort Carson soldiers returning from Iraq and the obstacles they face in getting mental health care for PTSD, I would like to state
the following:

According to my friends in upper levels of army mental health care,
they are very aware of the problems covered in the NPR report. They
feel the report was well done and more could have been added.

Yesterday, we exchanged emails about the NPR report when I pointed out
it's my belief the negative attitudes about mental health care are
formulated in basic training with the "unit watch" program that
killed my son. One of my friends, a doctor who is involved in
research for the army, listed the following problems:

-Overcoming the stigma about mental health care, particularly among
young male sergeants, including drill sergeants.

-The army is facing a big shortage of Mental Health providers
resulting in soldiers waiting weeks just for assessment before proper
treatment can be started. This, according to my friend, is totally
unacceptable.

-The connection between the Department of Defense and the Veteran's
Administration is poor, resulting in soldiers not getting treatment
when they leave active duty.

Other problems my friend felt the NPR report didn't cover is the
difficulty the army has detecting delayed onset PTSD in reservists
and guardsmen facing reemployment and those who are malingering for
secondary gains, such as avoiding another deployment, tying up the
services that are available.

I know another major problem the army faces that my friend didn't
mention is working with an insufficient budget. This is the reason
for the shortage of the mental health care providers. Most of the
money is being spent elsewhere in support of the war effort in Iraq
and Afghanistan. I have personally met several army doctors who
dropped out of the service before finishing their twenty-year
retirement because of restrictions placed on them in caring for their
patients and the opportunity of a more lucrative career in the
civilian market.

Thought this information might be of value to members of our group.

Singe
-------------
Submitted by Richard Stites

Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish

Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish

by Daniel Zwerdling

PTSD Timeline

Review Finds Army Mishandled Friendly Fire Case -- Washington Post

"I feel like I gave them my son and they've done nothing but dishonor him."
Peggy Buryj, who lost a son in Iraq and is distressed by the botched investigation of his death

Review Finds Army Mishandled Friendly Fire Case

Here is an example of a non-combat death case in which the family was initially told that their son was killed in a vehicle accident. Actually, he was killed by gunshot.

Hanged Soldier "Let Down by the Army" -- The Herald

Hanged Soldier "Let Down by the Army"