Subject: Disabled Vets- "Too Expensive"

Disabled Veterans Deemed "Too Expensive" by House GOP

"House Republicans have revealed themselves as hypocrites to America's veterans by refusing to sign a petition to bring concurrent receipt legislation (H.R. 303) to the Floor for a vote. H.R. 303 would authorize full payment of both retirement pay and disability compensation to half a million disabled military retirees#133;The concurrent receipt bill has 336 sponsors, including well over 100 Republicans, but has been blocked by House GOP leaders who believe providing full retirement benefits to America's disabled veterans is too expensive."

[Release, 6/18/03]

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"We're more angry at the generals who are making these decisions and who
never hit the ground, and who don't get shot at or have to look at the
bloody bodies and the burnt-out bodies, and the dead babies and all that
kinda stuff."

  ---US Army Specialist Anthony Castillo, quoted in London Evening
Standard, 19 June 2003.

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PTSD, addiction will be casualties of Iraq war

Being in combat is like being on a different planet," said Don Elverd, a psychologist at Hazelden and a veteran of the Vietnam War. "You're in an entirely different culture with a new set of rules, behaviors, and expectations. Typically, civilians don't have a sense of the incredible level of stress a soldier has been under. We try to dress it up with parades and music, but soldiers often feel disconnected and different when they come home."

It is normal for combat forces or others who have experienced some trauma to have difficulty managing feelings afterward and to experience stress reactions such as fear, depression, sleeplessness, anger, or emotional numbness. However, if stress symptoms worsen, go on for long periods of time, or interfere with job performance or other aspects of life, it is important that soldiers get professional help and be evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events.

The National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (NCPTSD) estimates that 31 percent of male Vietnam veterans and 27 percent of female Vietnam veterans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. PTSD has also been detected among veterans of the 1991 Gulf War, with some estimates running as high as 8 percent. Many experts think the PTSD rate for veterans of the Iraq war could be higher than that, because combat was longer and, in some cases, more intense. And U.S. troops face ongoing fear and trauma in Iraq. PTSD also occurs among survivors of natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or violent personal assaults like rape.

According to the NCPTSD, post-traumatic stress and alcohol problems often occur together. People with alcohol use disorders are more likely than others to experience psychological trauma, and being diagnosed with PTSD increases the risk of developing an alcohol use disorder. For example, 60 to 80 percent of Vietnam veterans seeking PTSD treatment have alcohol use disorders. Dr. Michael Dieperink, medical director of the PTSD Team at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Minneapolis, said that people with PTSD are often binge drinkers because they seek to suppress their PTSD symptoms when something reminds them of their trauma. This might be a loud noise, a plane overhead, or an overwhelming thought or memory.

Although alcohol can provide a temporary feeling of distraction and relief, it also reduces the ability to concentrate, enjoy life, and be productive. Excessive alcohol use can impair one's ability to sleep restfully and cope with trauma, memories, and stress. Alcohol use and intoxication also increase emotional numbing, social isolation, anger, depression, and hyper-vigilance. It can make PTSD symptoms worse and reduce the effectiveness of treatment.

"Most symptoms of PTSD get better for most people relatively quickly," Dieperink said. He recommends: "Don't drink to escape. Talk it over, and don't isolate yourself. Establish as normal a routine as you can, and get regular hours of sleep. If symptoms persist for more than a month, seek professional help." Loved ones should do their homework about trauma, stress and addiction so they can have necessary resources in place if needed. The National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Web site at www.ncptsd.org contains extensive information about trauma, grief, stress, and related problems with alcohol dependency. It offers a list of helpful resources for clinicians, survivors of trauma, and families. In addition, specific information is available on how to help returning Iraq War veterans.

"Research shows that individuals can undergo high levels of stress if they think someone cares," said Elverd. "If a returning vet can't talk to you, encourage them to talk to an older veteran, a chaplain, or a professional who works with veterans."

When Elverd works with veterans in addiction recovery, he likens the AA model to their experiences in the military. "They know how to fit into a group of people who 'get it.' They know they don't have to like all of them. They know what it's like to fight for their lives with a group of people who are often disparaged."

--Published July 14, 2003

"Research shows that individuals can undergo high levels of stress if they think

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Contra Costa County

Posted on Wed, Mar. 26, 2003

Iraq war awakens veterans' memories
By Rebecca Rosen Lum
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Former Marine Steve Nichols fought most of his Vietnam battles at night, sleeping in two-hour increments between guard shifts.

About a year and a half ago, he began waking up every two hours. He would drive around aimlessly to shake off wartime flashbacks, nightmares and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Nichols has found support at a weekly group for vets at the Concord Veterans Center. When he watches night strikes over Iraq on CNN, it all comes back.

"The high you get in combat is almost an out-of-body experience," he said. "The terror, the fear, lifts you, then you come back down. You go up, you go down. You see a friend killed, you see a helicopter go down, it stays with you.

"We had a lot of suicides. They didn't know what was wrong. Hopefully, these kids will have more support when they come back."

The war in Iraq has sent veterans of past conflicts running for help, said Richard Talbott, who, as Pacific Western regional manager of the Veterans Centers, oversees 31 clinics in California, Hawaii and Guam.

"Many of them are spending way too much time watching the TV," he said. "It increases that sense of loss of control they experienced in combat. It's immediate and intense, and many vets are finding themselves experiencing a whole constellation of symptoms."

Since many are not in favor of this war, they also are anguishing between their beliefs and their identification with, and loyalty to, young enlisted men and women in Iraq, Talbott said.

Therapist Denver Mills, who directs the Concord Veterans Center, likened stress disorder to asthma.

"The flare-ups can be really disabling," he said. "The memory of events in combat keep coming back over time, and people keep hyper-reacting to things that might remind them. The Persian Gulf War flared up the Vietnam vets, and this is flaring up the Persian Gulf vets."

Post-traumatic stress disorder is not unique to Vietnam- and post-Vietnam-era veterans. Researcher Joseph Boscarino, a senior scientist with the New York Academy and epidemiologist for the New Jersey veterans health care system, says clear signs of stress disorder appear in the journals of American Civil War combatants.

According to the National Vietnam Veterans Adjustment Study of 1983-84, almost 40 percent of those who served developed PTSD. More than 500,000 suffered psychiatric collapse in World War II, compared with 292,000 Americans killed in combat and 670,000 wounded in battle.

Nichols is consumed with fear and empathy for young enlisted men and women, who he said will face the same demons upon their return to civilian life he did without help.

Nichols has good reason for fear, Talbott said. "It's unavoidable, with the overwhelming, traumatic events that happen within a war," he said.

And recent studies suggest along with the symptoms of terror that can make havoc of a veteran's life, there may be health consequences more severe than previously thought, he said.

Boscarino sent a sobering message through the health care profession with a recent study showing a definite link between PTSD and coronary heart disease.

After looking at the electrocardiograms of more than 4,000 male veterans collected during the mid-1980s by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Boscarino discovered the risk of heart disease nearly doubled for those treated for stress disorder.

"In combat your body is at a high state of arousal," Talbott said. "Shouldn't that also stress your circulatory system and your heart? Many studies are suggesting they do."

Other studies show those who suffer from PTSD are three times as likely to develop auto-immune disorders.

According to the National Center for the Study of PTSD, a program of the Veterans Administration, 60 percent to 80 percent of Vietnam veterans with PTSD also struggle with alcohol abuse. That many are binge drinkers suggests to researchers the veterans drink when they are visited by traumatic memories.

Mills, himself a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War, said that when he watches televised coverage of the war, he feels it "in my heart."

"It strikes those same chords," he said. "Anybody who has been in a war never wants to see war again. We have to remember to comfort those who suffer."

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Brothers and sisters, take good care of yourselves in these times.   The war change from one we did not know to one that we know all to well.  Seek help – talking with a friend can help soothe the soul as our memories are brought out by the new war(s).    And pray for our brothers and sisters who are in the middle of the battles and the guerilla attacks.   Let us hope they do not return home to suffer with PTSD and be forgotten like the rest of us.

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Troops Who Speak Out

To the Editor:

Writing as a veteran of the United States Navy, I can understand the dissatisfaction of Gen. John P. Abizaid, the Central Command's senior officer, with troops speaking out against the war and against Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld (front page, July 17).

As anyone in a military uniform knows, service people protect democracy without being able to enjoy the liberty of free speech. So the fact that the soldiers risked almost certain punishment by publicly complaining reveals the level of their frustration and disillusionment.

I suppose that if President Bush can use military groups for carefully crafted political rallies and carrier landings for photo opportunities, military personnel on the ground should be able to set the record straight for the American people.

BUCK RUTLEDGE
Knoxville, Tenn., July 17, 2003

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These are recent emails I received from a girlfriend of an Iraq soldier.

Greg, I just wanted to thank you for your site. It has been the most
realistic site that I have seen in my research of PTSD. My boyfriend just returned
home from Iraq, and it truly has been hell. There are so many things I don't
understand. We were talking about marriage before he left, and now he has
completely pushed me out of his life. He is a different person. Your site helped me
understand a little bit. Thanks.

Thanks Greg for your encouragement. I don't really think my giving up is the
issue anymore though. I would never have given up, that's just the way I am.
Steven, however, has made it abundantly clear that he does not want me around at
all. It's strange too, because he is the one that pushed the relationship so
much before he was deployed. I didn't really fall for him until I began
reading his letters. That's what really got me. He was so afraid that I wouldn't be
here when he got back. But I am, and he has used all these excuses for pushing
me away that don't make any sense. They seem like cop outs, like he is afraid
of me or something because I am one of the few people that really knows him. 
What's worse is that my friends and family just think he is a jerk. Even his
family has made comments like he's a fool and I deserve better. But I know
that something is very wrong. I told his father the kinds of things he was saying
to me and about the strange behavior, but I don't really know what else to
do. I have not spoken to my boyfriend in two weeks, and I am kind of afraid to
call. The rejection has been horrible, and very confusing. I want to be here
for him, but he says all kinds of mean things to me. And then an hour later, he
misses me and wants me to come and see him. We are both young, in our early
twenties, and everyone keeps telling me to move on. But I am stuck, stuck
because I keep hoping he will wake up and remember. I gave him his letters back,
because he couldn't remember what he wrote to me. It was like talking to a
different person. I feel like the man I loved died over there, like I should be
going to a funeral. And then, I see this new person, this really hateful person,
trapped inside his body. It makes me mad. I guess I am writing to you because I
want to understand. As of right now, Steven and I aren't talking, and I am
afraid to call him. I want to be prepared. I don't know if he really doesn't
care about me anymore, or if he is just sick.

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I am working on a new book that I hope you will all consider contributing to and pass it on to others who can contribute.   The following is what I am asking:

REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE

A new book project by

Gregory A. Helle.

Most of the public has not heard of PTSD much less understand what it is like to live with the illness.  It not only affects the veteran, it also has a tremendously negative impact on those that love them - mothers, wives, sons, daughters, friends, etc.

This secret needs to be exposed.

Book Outline

1.     This is a book about PTSD, not the battles or heroes of the war.  

2.     This is about PTSD from all wars.   I would love to have contributions from WWII to Iraq.

3.     The contributions are to be about the affect of PTSD on lives.

4.     The nature of the trauma is not my concern but I am mainly looking for traumas that occurred in the military.

5.     I would like stories from veterans (male and female), mothers, wives, sons, daughters, etc.  All those who have been affected by PTSD have a story to tell.

6.     Articles can be typed, handwritten, dictated, etc., whatever is the easiest for you.

7.     The contributor will control whether a real or fabricated name is used on the story.

8.     If acceptable to the contributor, a picture would enhance the story.

9.     No personal information will be released without the contributor’s written permission.

10. All contributors will need to sign a release.  All contributors will get a copy of the book.

Contact Information:

Gregory A. Helle

PO Box 1181

Ankeny, IA 50021

Email:  gahelle@mchsi.com

Telephone:  515-965-7822; cell 515-979-3189; fax 866-381-9762

PTSD is now officially an Iowa non-profit corporation.   I have applied for the federal 501(c)3 status.   I am spending time setting up the web page.  By next month I will be able to let you know where it is.  I intend moving most of the “informational” documents from www.awalkinhell.com to the new web site.  We have a good friend who has put together a computer at cost and set-up the new site on his own web at no cost to us.  Already getting help and it has not even started.   I am very enthusiastic about this organization and the effect we can have on lives across the country.  I hope you will all contribute whatever you can to make this effort a success.  

-- Wilma Askinas