POSTED 4/27/08 MOVED 5/11/08

U.S. Senator: V.A. Lying About Number Of Suicides

The Veterans Administration has lied about the number of veterans who've attempted suicide, a senator charged Wednesday, citing internal e-mails that put the number at 12,000 a year when the department was publicly saying it was fewer than 800. "The suicide rate is a red-alarm bell to all of us," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington. Murray also said that the V.A.'s mental health programs are being overwhelmed by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, even as the department tries to downplay the situation.

"We are not your enemy, we are your support team, and unless we get accurate information we can't be there to do our jobs," Murray told Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield during the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing.

Mansfield told Murray and the other senators that he didn't think the V.A. had deliberately tried to mislead Congress or the public.

Murray remained skeptical, however, saying that the V.A. has demonstrated a pattern of misleading Congress about the increasing number of soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and are now seeking help and straining Defense Department and V.A. facilities and programs.

Murray said she's spoken with V.A. Secretary James Peake and demanded that he fire the man in charge of the department's mental health programs, Dr. Ira Katz. The senator said Peake has yet to respond to her request.

"I used to teach preschool, and when you bring up a 3-year-old and tell them they have to stop lying, they understand the consequences," said Murray. "The V.A. doesn't. They need to stop hiding the fact this war is costing us in so many ways."

The existence of the e-mails, uncovered as part of a class-action lawsuit filed against the V.A. in San Francisco, California, was first reported by CBS News on Monday.

"Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities," Katz wrote in a Feb. 13 e-mail to Ev Chasen, the department's communication director. "Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?"

Chasen responded: "I think this is something we should discuss among ourselves, before issuing a press release. Is the fact we are stopping them good news, or is the sheer number bad news? And is this more than we have ever seen before?"

CBS reported that the V.A. had provided it with data earlier that showed only 790 attempted suicides in all of 2007.

"How do we trust what you are saying when every time we turn around we find out that what you are saying publicly is different from what you are saying privately?" Murray asked Mansfield. "How can we trust what you are saying today?"

Mansfield responded that the situation was unfortunate and didn't "send the right message" to Congress or the public.

"I know Dr. Katz is a dedicated public servant," he said. "There isn't a lot the V.A. should be keeping secret."

Murray pointed to a RAND Corp. study released last week that found that 320,000 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from traumatic brain injuries and 300,000 troops suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression.

Of those with PTSD or depression, said Murray, only half have sought treatment, and only half of those have received treatment that was "minimally" adequate.

"I think we ought to be worried," said Murray, adding that, as with Vietnam-era vets, some of the more violent symptoms might not show up for 50 years.

"They can be walking time bombs for decades," said Murray. "I hope everyone in the V.A. understands this."

Mansfield said the V.A. is spending $3 billion on mental health programs this fiscal year and has 17,000 mental health workers.

"We want to make sure we take care of these individuals," he said.

Intellpuke: You can read this article by McClatchy Newspapers correspondent Les Blumenthal, reporting from Washington, D.C., in context here: www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042608A.shtml

IRAQ -- FIVE YEARS AFTER 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED,' WHITE HOUSE TRIES TO REWRITE HISTORY:  Five years ago, on May 1, 2003,  in what The New York Times that day called "a powerful, Reaganesque finale to a six-week war," President Bush landed aboard the U.S.S. Lincoln, stood under a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished," and declared, "major combat operations in Iraq have ended."

Since that day, more than 3,900 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq, representing more than 97 percent of total troop deaths there. Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said Bush was "well aware" that the banner "should have been much more specific," suggesting it should have read "Mission Accomplished For These Sailors Who Are On This Ship On Their Mission."

Last year, Perino insisted that "we did prevail" in Iraq, while former press secretary Tony Snow claimed Bush "said just the opposite" of "mission accomplished." But Bush's meaning was quite clear, considering that one month after that May 2003 declaration, he told a group of soldiers in Qatar, "America sent you on a mission to remove a grave threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been accomplished."

(From the Center for American Progress)     POSTED 5/4/08 MOVED 5/11/08)  

POSTED 4/23/08 at the request of Michael Ringler MOVED 5/3/08

(From Raw Story) SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Veterans of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere who say they have systematically been denied proper medical care will get their day in federal court starting on Monday in San Francisco.

The lawsuit before a judge in U.S. District Court for Northern California claims the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was unable to deal with the growing number of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, cases emerging from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Unless systemic and drastic measures are instituted immediately, the costs to these veterans, their families, and our nation will be incalculable, including broken families, a new generation of unemployed and homeless veterans, increases in drug abuse and alcoholism, and crushing burdens on the health care delivery system and other social services in our communities," the suit said.

Some of those in the suit say they have suffered from PTSD for many years, even before the most recent wars highlighted the fate of many Americans who served in difficult combat abroad.

Those saying the VA failed them include Barbara Bachmeier, 54, who reports she was sexually harassed and raped in South Korea in the 1980s while working in military intelligence for the U.S. Army, and then received insufficient care.

"I was having all these various flashbacks and nightmares," the Alaska resident said in an interview. "But the VA does not want to pay disability payments unless they really have to."

"Their attitude is not what can we do to help you," she said, explaining she once considered suicide. "It was very difficult to navigate the VA system."

In proceedings that could last through May 1, the court will hear testimony not from former service members such as Bachmeier, but from administrators and officials involved in the system.

"He (the judge) can't actually make decisions about individual issues and while having a veteran talking about their individual experiences is emblematic of the problem, it's not particularly useful for the judge because he needs to hear about systemic problems," said Kasey Corbit, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs.

U.S. Justice Department lawyers declined to discuss the case, but in a filing last Monday said the VA procedures had stood the test of time.

"Their attempt to force VA to overhaul its entire benefits systems under penalty of contempt must fail," defense lawyers wrote. "The specific remedies sought by plaintiffs are not within this Court's authority to grant."

Plaintiffs are hoping the judge will order broad changes in the administration of veterans' benefits or perhaps even appoint an outside administrator to oversee changes.

"We are hoping that there will be a few measures implemented pretty quickly such as immediate treatment of suicidal victims," Corbit said.

 There's More - Go to Raw Story article                       POSTED 4/23/08

POSTED 4/27/08

300,000 vets have mental problem, 320,000 had brain injuries

Study: 300,000 US troops from Iraq, Afghanistan have mental problems, 320,000 brain injuries

(From Raw Story) Some 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from major depression or post traumatic stress from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 320,000 received brain injuries, a new study estimates.

Only about half have sought treatment, said the study released Thursday by the RAND Corporation.

"There is a major health crisis facing those men and women who have served our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Terri Tanielian, the project's co-leader and a researcher at the nonprofit RAND.

"Unless they receive appropriate and effective care for these mental health conditions, there will be long-term consequences for them and for the nation," she said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The 500-page study is the first large-scale, private assessment of its kind — including a survey of 1,965 service members across the country, from all branches of the armed forces and including those still in the military as well veterans who have left the services.

Its results appear consistent with a number of mental health reports from within the government, though the Defense Department has not released the number of people it has diagnosed or who are being treated for mental problems. The Department of Veterans Affairs said this month that its records show about 120,000 who served in the two wars and are no longer in the military have been diagnosed with mental health problems. Of the 120,000, approximately 60,000 are suffering from PTSD, the VA said.

Veterans Affairs is responsible for care of service members after they have left the service, while the Defense Department covers active duty and reservist needs. The lack of information from the Pentagon was one motivation for the RAND study, Tanielian said.

The most prominent and detailed military study on mental health that is released is the Army's survey of soldiers at the warfront. Officials said last month that it's most recent one, done last fall, found 18.2 percent of soldiers suffered a mental health problem such as depression, anxiety or acute stress in 2007 compared with 20.5 percent the previous year.

The Rand study, completed in January, put the percentage of PTSD and depression at 18.5 percent, calculating that approximately 300,000 current and former service members were suffering from those problems at the time of its survey, which was completed in January.

The figure is based on Pentagon data showing over 1.6 million military personnel have deployed to the conflicts since the war in Afghanistan began in late 2001.

RAND researchers also found:

_About 19 percent — or some 320,000 services members — reported that they experienced a possible traumatic brain injury while deployed. In wars where blasts from roadside bombs are prevalent, the injuries can range from mild concussions to severe head wounds.

_About 7 percent reported both a probable brain injury and current PTSD or major depression.

_Only 43 percent reported ever being evaluated by a physician for their head injuries.

_Only 53 percent of service members with PTSD or depression sought help over the past year.

_They gave various reasons for not getting help, including that they worried about the side effects of medication; believe family and friends could help them with the problem, or that they feared seeking care might damage their careers.

_Rates of PTSD and major depression were highest among women and reservists.

The report is titled "Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery." It was sponsored by a grant from the California Community Foundation and done by 25 researchers from RAND Health and the RAND National Security Research Division, which also has done does work under contracts with the Pentagon and other defense agencies as well as allied foreign governments and foundations.

___

On the Net:

RAND Corporation: http://www.rand.org

Army studies: http://www.armymedicine.army.mil

Source: AP News  

  There's More - Go to Raw Story article                       POSTED 4/27/08

POSTED 3/18/08

Stabenow: Senate Budget Places Priority on Veterans Health Care Needs

WASHINGTON —U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, today announced Senate passage of the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Resolution, which for the second year in a row, will fully-fund veterans’ health care in order to make sure that our country keeps its promises to those who have served our country and will include two Stabenow amendments that put veterans first. One amendment prevents the Bush Administration from doubling the cost of prescription drugs copayments and implementing enrollment fees for our veterans. The other helps lay the groundwork to make the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration’s health record systems compatible, which means lower costs and improved care for those transitioning from active duty to veterans’ service. “Michigan is home to over 760,000 men and women who have worn the uniform in defense of our country,” said Stabenow. “Our veterans have always been there for us and our country needs to be there for them. Providing the necessary funding for our Veterans has been a long, hard fight, and the Senate’s Budget is a major step towards our goal. No one who has put their life on the line for their country should ever be forced to pay more for health care or fall through the cracks because there is a lack of resources.”

Senator Stabenow’s amendment, included in the budget, rejects the Administration’s proposed increase in health care costs for veterans. Currently, many veterans have an $8 per prescription copay for each 30 day prescription. As of October 1, 2008, the President's Budget would increase the copay to $15. Veterans, who make more than $28,429 dollars but less than 80% of the community’s median income, would be subject to copayment increases as well as enrollment fees. Stabenow’s amendment will help ensure that the brave men and women that have put their lives on the line in service to our country are not strapped with additional health care costs.

Senator Stabenow’s Health IT amendment, included in the budget, will help pave the way to fund the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration's effort to make their electronic health records compatible. The Wounded Warrior Act, which passed last year, requires that these systems be compatible. This will help ensure that soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan do not fall through the cracks.

As a member of the Budget Committee, Senator Stabenow has been a stalwart advocate for the needs of our nation’s veterans. Last year, veterans from across the country looked to Democrats to make their health care needs a priority, and Stabenow and the Democratic Congress delivered. While the current administration has consistently underfunded the Veterans Administration, Stabenow has fought at every turn for full funding of veterans health care and to eliminate the year-to-year uncertainties in funding the needs of our nation’s heroes.

POSTED 3/3/08

By Maya Schenwar t r u t h o u t | Report

(From Truthout.Com) Thirty-seven years ago, in the midst of a bitter-cold Michigan winter, 109 Vietnam veterans gathered at a Howard Johnson Motel auditorium in Detroit to tell their stories. For three days, they told of ransacking undefended villages, attacking civilians, mutilating bodies, torturing Viet Cong suspects, burning houses, destroying Vietnamese property and livestock and killing innocent children. At the conference, entitled Winter Soldier, the veterans accepted responsibility and mourned for their actions. But, taken collectively, their words incriminated a much larger culprit: the war itself.

This year, from March 13 to 16, about 300 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, gathering for a second Winter Soldier conference, in Silver Spring, Maryland. Organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) it will make up the largest gathering ever of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Their mission? To tell the story of the war in the terms of those who have actually lived it.

"This is a moment when veterans won't let anyone else speak for us," said Aaron Hughes, an Iraq veteran who initiated the new Winter Soldier effort. "We hear from the pundits, we hear from the politicians, we hear from the generals, but we don't hear from the soldiers who've walked the streets, who've been there and know what it's about. We're the ones who can bring out the cruelties and dehumanization in US foreign policy."

The event, which will accommodate about 700 veteran advocates, social workers, support staff and members of the media in addition to veterans, will combine soldier testimonies and expert panels. The panels are intended to provide a factual context for the personal stories, according to Perry O'Brien, one of Winter Soldier's organizers. Panels and testimony will be grouped into 12 categories, including killing and wounding noncombatants, mishandling of dead, torture and abuse, sexual assault, discrimination in the military, destruction of civilian property, veterans' benefits issues and GI resistance.

Some testimonies will address acts of large-scale violence and human rights violations, while others will zero in on incidents that are often overlooked, such as racism toward Iraqis, sexual harassment of civilians and the military's waste and destruction of environmental resources.

O'Brien hopes that, through the medium of veterans' firsthand accounts, the public will gain new insight into the concrete abuses perpetuated by what may seem to be abstract foreign policy decisions.

"More than just telling stories, our goal is to show what's going on in both countries that is a result of US military policies," O'Brien said. "When we say, 'this is what we saw, this is what we were ordered to do,' patterns emerge. The patterns show that what the US is doing in Iraq is immoral and in many cases illegal."

THERE'S MORE - GO TO Truthout.Com        POSTED 3/3/08

POSTED 3/6/08

PRESS RELEASE:  Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW)

Iraq Veterans Against the War to convene Winter Soldier as occupation enters sixth year 

Washington, D.C. – Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) is preparing to launch an event that will give veterans and service members a chance to speak out about the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan will feature testimony that will expose the human consequences of failed policy. 

From March 13-16 at the National Labor College just outside of Washington, D.C., veterans from across the country will be standing up to share their experiences. Their stories will show that wrongdoings in Iraq and Afghanistan are not isolated incidents perpetrated by “bad apples.”  

“We’ve heard from the politicians, we’ve heard from the generals, we’ve heard from the media – now it’s our turn,” said Kelly Dougherty, executive director of IVAW and a former sergeant in the Colorado Army National Guard, who served in Iraq as a military police officer. “It’s not going to be easy to hear what we have to say. It’s not going to be easy for us to tell it. But we believe that the only way this war is going to end is if the American people truly understand what we have done in their name.”  

The event has been named Winter Soldier to honor a similar gathering 30 years ago of veterans of the Vietnam War. Winter soldiers, according to founding father Thomas Paine, are the people who stand up for the soul of their country, even in its darkest  ours. 

Hundreds of veterans are planning to travel to Washington for the event, which will feature live testimony – along with supporting video and photographic documentation – as well as panel discussions that will focus on the human impact of the war as well as the continuing break down of the military. For those who won’t be able to travel to Washington, live video and audio feeds of the entire Winter Soldier weekend will be available – groups across the country are already planning to gather and watch the event. 

Iraq Veterans Against the War was founded in 2004 to give those who have served in the military since September 11, 2001 a way to come together and speak out against an unjust, illegal and unwinnable war. Today, IVAW has over 700 members in 49 states, Washington, D.C. and Canada and on military bases overseas. 

For more information or to register to attend: www.ivaw.org/wintersoldier/media

More information on our "Action Alert" page, click here.

POSTED 2/23/08

SOON TO BE GONE..... 
Written by a doctor, and very profound! This should be required reading in every school and college in our country. This Captain, an army doctor, deserves a medal himself for putting this email together. If you choose not to pass it on, fine, but I think you will want to, after you read it.

 

Soon To Be Gone -  From A Military Doctor

 
I am a doctor specializing in the Emergency Departments of the only two military Level One-Trauma Centers, both in San Antonio , TX and they care for civilian Emergencies as well as military personnel. San Antonio has the largest military retiree population in the world living here. As a military doctor, I work long hours and the pay is less than glamorous. One tends to become jaded by the long hours, lack of sleep, food, family contact and the endless parade of human suffering passing before you. The arrival of another ambulance does not mean more pay, only more work.
 
Most often, it is a victim from a motor vehicle crash.
 
Often it is a person of dubious character who has been shot or stabbed. With our large military retiree population, it is often a nursing home patient. Even with my enlisted service and minimal combat experience in Panama , I have caught myself groaning when the ambulance brought in yet another sick, elderly person from one of the local retirement centers that cater to military retirees. I had not stopped to think of what citizens of this age group represented.

I saw 'Saving Private Ryan.' I was touched deeply. Not so much by the carnage, but by the sacrifices of so many. I was touched most by the scene of the elderly survivor at the graveside, asking his wife if he'd been a good man. I realized that I had seen these same men and women coming through my Emergency Dept and had not realized what magnificent sacrifices they had made. The things they did for me and everyone else that has lived on this planet since the end of that conflict are priceless.
 
Situation permitting, I now try to ask my patients about their experiences. They would never bring up the subject without the inquiry. I have been privileged to an amazing array of experiences, recounted in the brief minutes allowed in an Emergency Dept. encounter. These experiences have revealed the incredible individuals I have had the honor of serving in a medical capacity, many on their last admission to the hospital.
 
There was a frail, elderly woman who reassured my young enlisted medic, trying to start an IV line in her arm. She remained calm and poised, despite her illness and the multiple needle-sticks into her fragile veins. She was what we call a 'hard stick.' As the medic made another attempt, I noticed a number tattooed across her forearm. I touched it with one finger and looked into her eyes. She simply said, ' Auschwitz.' Many of later generations would have loudly and openly berated the young medic in his many attempts. How different was the response from this person who'd seen unspeakable suffering.
 
Also, there was this long retired Colonel, who as a young officer had parachuted from his burning plane over a Pacific Island held by the Japanese. Now an octogenarian, he had a minor cut on his head from a fall at his home where he lived alone. His CT scan and suturing had been delayed until after midnight by the usual parade of high priority ambulance patients. Still spry for his age, he asked to use the phone to call a taxi, to take him home, then he realized his ambulance had brought him without his wallet. He asked if he could use the phone to make a long distance call to his daughter who lived 7 miles away With great pride we told him that he could not, as he'd done enough for his country and the least we could do was get him a taxi home, even if we had to pay for it ourselves. My only regret was that my shift wouldn't end for several hours, and I couldn't drive him myself.
 
I was there the night MSgt. Roy Benavidez came through the Emergency Dept. for the last time. He was very sick. I was not the doctor taking care of him, but I walked to his bedside and took his hand. I said nothing. He was so sick, he didn't know I was there. I'd read his Congressional Medal of Honor citation and wanted to shake his hand. He died a few days later.
  
The gentleman who served with Merrill's Marauders,
The survivor of the Bataan Death March,
The survivor of Omaha Beach,
The 101 year old World War I veteran,
The former POW held in frozen North Korea,
The former Special Forces medic - now with non-operable liver cancer,
The former Viet Nam Corps Commander.
 
I remember these citizens.

I may still groan when yet another ambulance comes in, but now I am much more aware of what an honor it is to serve these particular men and women.

I have seen a Congress who would turn their back on these individuals who've sacrificed so much to protect our liberty. I see later generations that seem to be totally engrossed in abusing these same liberties, won with such sacrifice.

It has become my personal endeavor to make the nurses and young enlisted medics aware of these amazing individuals when I encounter them in our Emergency Dept. Their response to these particular citizens has made me think that perhaps all is not lost in the next generation.

My experiences have solidified my belief that we are losing an incredible generation, and this nation knows not what it is losing. Our uncaring government and ungrateful civilian populace should all take note. We should all remember that we must 'Earn this.'

Written By CPT. Stephen R. Ellison, M.D. US Army

Below is a link to a video from the "Gratitude Campaign" Check it out!

--Jess

http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/fullmovie.php

(By Bob Egelko The San Francisco Chronicle -- From Truthout.Com) Veterans have no legal right to specific types of medical care, the Bush administration argues in a lawsuit accusing the government of illegally denying mental health treatment to some troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The arguments, filed Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco, strike at the heart of a lawsuit filed on behalf of veterans that claims the health care system for returning troops provides little recourse when the government rejects their medical claims.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is making progress in increasing its staffing and screening veterans for combat-related stress, Justice Department lawyers said. But their central argument is that Congress left decisions about who should get health care, and what type of care, to the VA and not to veterans or the courts.

A federal law providing five years of care for veterans from the date of their discharge establishes "veterans' eligibility for health care, but it does not create an entitlement to any particular medical service," government lawyers said.

They said the law entitles veterans only to "medical care which the secretary (of Veterans Affairs) determines is needed, and only to the extent funds ... are available."

The argument drew a sharp retort from a lawyer for advocacy groups that sued the government in July. The suit is a proposed class action on behalf of 320,000 to 800,000 veterans or their survivors.

"Veterans need to know in this country that the government thinks all their benefits are mere gratuities," attorney Gordon Erspamer said. "They're saying it's completely discretionary, that even if Congress appropriates money for veterans' health care, we can do anything we want with it."

THERE'S MORE - GO TO ARTICLE AT TRUTHOUT.COM        POSTED 2/18/08

UPDATE: For a short time, you can still drop-off your donations at the Democratic Office in Buchanan. Food Drive will end at the end of February.

Dennis Casto, Chair of the South County Democratic Club's Blue Tiger Committee, requests that all members attending the February 11, 2008, general membership meeting bring food items for the homeless veterans of Niles' Residential Services. Dennis reported, "When we delivered the Christmas dinners, we noticed that the shelves in the pantry of the group home were practically empty. During the summer we collected a pickup truck full of food supplies for these folks who have given to this country. Those supplies are now depleted and we must again put our Democratic values into action by collecting more. Canned food items and other items with a shelf-life are best, such as boxed dinners and snacks."

Anyone not attending our February meeting yet interested in making a donation may do so by dropping off their gifts at our office in Buchanan. We will have donation boxes or barrows at several local supermarkets in the area and we will post the names of these stores soon.

BY THE WAY, Bill O'Reilly said that if you're a homeless vet, it's because you're either crazy or on drugs. This goes to show the double standard that the "right" has with regard to "supporting our troops". If a Democrat had said the things that O'Lie-lly said, we'd be seeing round-the-clock news coverage. But when you're a conservative, you can say whatever you want about the people who defend your country and come out virtually unscathed. I'd call Bill O'Reilly a scumbag, but that'd be an insult to scumbags. See the YouTube Video of O'Lie-lly.

O'Reilly Says Edwards Owes Apology re: Homeless Vets