Sat May 17, 2008 at 02:23:50 AM EDT
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| We have recently had the honor of acquiring Pamela Stokes-Eggleston as our Executive Vice President. Her husband is a recovering wounded warrior at WRAMC.
We are working on drafting and finding a sponsor in Congress for a piece of legislation that we are calling the Returning Warriors Mental Health Protection Act. You can read more about it here: http://www.militaryspousesforc...
We will be featured on PBS's news magazine NOW on June 13th for our work on behalf of wounded warriors who were wrongfully discharged.
Last, below the fold you can read our three main action areas: |
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Sat May 17, 2008 at 01:33:15 AM EDT
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May 9th was Military Spouse Appreciation Day. As a military spouse, I decided to look at what Congress is doing to show its appreciation for military spouses; i.e., what Congress is doing to alleviate the hardships associated with loving and supporting your servicemember, particularly after nearly seven years at war (OEF/OIF).
Being a military spouse (like being a servicemember) is uniquely challenging and uniquely rewarding; but when the challenges outweigh the rewards, the military risks losing a servicemember more than the servicemember will risk losing his (or her) spouse. As we take steps to improve conditions for our servicemembers, we need to also take steps to improve conditions for their spouses (as more than half of them are married). |
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Fri May 16, 2008 at 14:29:23 PM EDT
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| We are making history,slowly,but one political step at a time, and everyone involved is changing the military world as we know it. I jumped up and cheered(the best I possibly could !) when I got the press release this morning regarding the new GI Bill. For those who haven't been keeping track of what has been going on here's the run-down. |
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Thu May 15, 2008 at 22:44:34 PM EDT
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| Infuriated? Disgusted? Ashamed? What word would best describe what you are feeling right now? How about for the last couple of years as all of these secrets, lies, manipulation, neglect, have been finally reported on?
Do you fully understand what this all means? It means that what the veterans have been saying, what their families have been saying while watching them die a slow agonizing death, burying them after their suicides, that it has all been one gigantic lie after lie. It means this government, under the high and mighty Bush, the man who I and everyone else in the country has been attacked for reporting on what he's been doing along with the help of his faithful servants in the Senate and the House, have been doing against the troops at the same time they have been using them to do as they damn well please!
VA e-mail: Save money, do not diagnose PTSD
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 15, 2008 17:17:30 EDT
Two veterans advocacy groups have asked for copies of all documents relating to the Veterans Affairs Department's post-traumatic stress disorder policies after an e-mail surfaced asking VA doctors to keep costs down by giving diagnoses of adjustment disorder instead.
Veterans diagnosed with PTSD are eligible for health benefits and, in some cases, disability retirement pay. Adjustment disorder, on the other hand, is considered a short-term diagnosis, and does not qualify veterans for benefits, said Brandon Friedman, vice chair of VoteVets.org, one of the advocacy groups.
"They can say, 'Ah, you've got something temporary, it'll go away, so we don't need to pay you for the rest of your life,' " Friedman said.
He said several veterans have told him they were diagnosed with adjustment disorder rather than PTSD, and that they felt they had received the wrong diagnosis.
"We hear anecdotal evidence all the time that VA is trying to cut costs by not diagnosing PTSD," said Friedman, a former infantry officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "But we've never actually seen proof that it was being done in an organized way."
The e-mail, which Friedman said came from a VA hospital's PTSD program coordinator, was apparently sent to several VA employees at that hospital. A psychologist from the hospital in turn sent it to VoteVets.org, Friedman said.
"Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out," the e-mail states. "Consider a diagnosis of adjustment disorder, r/o [rule out] PTSD. Additionally, we really don't ... have time to do the extensive testing that should be done to determine PTSD."
The e-mail also states veterans are appealing their compensation and pension ratings based on diagnosis from his staff.
VA Secretary James Peake acknowledged in a statement that the e-mail did come from a VA facility, but said it's not official policy.
"A single staff member, out of VA's 230,000 employees, in a single medical facility sent a single e-mail with suggestions that are inappropriate and have been repudiated at the highest level of our health-care organization," he said. "The employee has been counseled and is extremely apologetic."
VoteVets.org and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a Freedom of Information Act request May 14 asking VA for all documents relating to PTSD, said Naomi Seligman Steiner, spokeswoman for the latter group.
"We're not head-hunting," Friedman said. "There are a lot of great people who work at VA who have helped me and my friends. We had to file the FOIA to get to the bottom of this. Is it from the head of the VA? The presidential administration? Or individual hospitals? I would like to know where this directive is coming from."
Peake said his staff "works hard" to make sure mental health issues are accurately diagnosed.
"VA's leadership will strongly remind all medical staff that trust, accuracy and transparency is paramount to maintaining our relationships with our veteran patients," he said. "We are committed to absolute accuracy in a diagnosis and unwavering in providing any and all earned benefits. PTSD and the mental health arena is no exception." http://www.armytimes.com/news/...
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Thu May 15, 2008 at 19:44:32 PM EDT
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Happy One Year since he left from...
Vicenza-->Aviano-->Kuwait-->Uzbekastan-->Bagram-->Orgun-E
So this year... could have been worse!! Haha... today is not one of those days where I feel giddy and ready to write... but I feel like it's been so long since I have contributed to the cause.
A year in review:
1. Left Italy for California
2. Sat around a little.
3. Sat around some more... cellphone by my side.
4. Started school again.
5. Was scolded for not working.
5. Got a job.
6. Got a second job!!
7. Quit both, got another.
8. Wrote letters every day.
9. Sent packages every week (or 2).
10. Got busy with school and work.
11. Sent packages every... month?
12. Missions, missions, missions.
13. "Poor me" phase. (No letters, no emails, etc.)
14. "Why me" phase.
15. "I need you" phase.
16. "This is REALLY starting to suck!"
17. Anxiety because the 12 months are up. THREE more to go!!
18. Planning... cruises, air fare, vacation, budgeting.
19. BUDGETING!!! (Soldiers apparently like to buy everything they can, because, at the end of deployment... THEY CAN!!)
20. Waiting to buy a plane ticket... then... Space A adventure. (So scared!)
And that would bring me to today... |
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Thu May 15, 2008 at 16:34:31 PM EDT
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"A Tradition of Heroes"
Armed Forces Day History
On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department -- the Department of Defense. Each of the military leagues and orders was asked to drop sponsorship of its specific service day in order to celebrate the newly announced Armed Forces Day. The Army, Navy and Air Force leagues adopted the newly formed day. The Marine Corps League declined to drop support for Marine Corps Day but supports Armed Forces Day, too.
In a speech announcing the formation of the day, President Truman "praised the work of the military services at home and across the seas" and said, "it is vital to the security of the nation and to the establishment of a desirable peace." In an excerpt from the Presidential Proclamation of Feb. 27, 1950, Mr. Truman stated:
Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America's defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense.
The theme of the first Armed Forces Day was "Teamed for Defense." It was chosen as a means of expressing the unification of all the military forces under a single department of the government. Although this was the theme for the day, there were several other purposes for holding Armed Forces Day. It was a type of "educational program for civilians," one in which there would be an increased awareness of the Armed Forces. It was designed to expand public understanding of what type of job is performed and the role of the military in civilian life. It was a day for the military to show "state-of-the-art" equipment to the civilian population they were protecting. And it was a day to honor and acknowledge the people of the Armed Forces of the United States.
According to a New York Times article published on May 17, 1952: "This is the day on which we have the welcome opportunity to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces ... to all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world. Armed Forces Day won't be a matter of parades and receptions for a good many of them. They will all be in line of duty and some of them may give their lives in that duty."
http://www.defenselink.mil/afd...
While the neglect from the DOD and the VA for medical treatment has been on the front pages of most newspapers, these are not the only issues our Armed Forces have to deal with that they should never, ever have to deal with at all.
Did we live up to it when they had to go on food stamps? |
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Thu May 15, 2008 at 11:52:44 AM EDT
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| As you may (or may not) know, I have recently taken on a role that is near and dear to my heart: Executive Vice President of Military Spouses for Change (MSC). I took the role because I believe in the cause, our cause, to be heard and to affect change. I accepted the challenge in part because of my frustration in dealing with my husband's injuries and the bureaucratic BS we have gone through as a result. In doing so, I recognize that there are some that would silence MSC, and would have us vanquished from existence. On the contrary, the bright, shining light of MSC cannot be dimmed. The voices of the military spouses cannot be silenced. We should expect that some cannot understand our purpose, our motive, our dedication. In the midst of all present and future adversity, we must still push ahead to ensure the rights of our soldiers and our servicemen. And, we must strive to ensure that the military spouse is heard, not just seen.
MORE BELOW THE FOLD... |
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Wed May 14, 2008 at 21:41:53 PM EDT
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International Calling Cards. I hate them. And tonight they are the epitomy of my relationship. He calls me. I hear him fine. I call him back. Busy signal. I call again. No connection. I call again. Again, no connection. I call once more. Connected. But unclear. I have to guess not only at his words but at their meaning. So even though our language is the same I know it will be yet another conversation lost in translation.
I want to scream. Past the static and past the noise and past the three second delay. I want to scream loud enough for him to hear me begging him to tell me what's really going on. Loud enough for him to know that I can't read a book with a closed cover. Loud enough for him to understand that I want to cheer him up when he says he's fine using the most monotone voice he has.
I hate these cards. I hate dialing the numbers and entering the pins so I can hear the words, You have 44 minutes remaining to make a difference. You have 29 minutes to make him smile. You have 12 minutes to sit in silence because neither of you know what to say. You have 8 minutes left to understand.
And yet these all seem better than hearing, You do not have enough minutes remaining to complete this call.
I don't hate that he sees things he can't tell me or that he probably wouldn't tell me if he could. But tonight I hate whatever they are having him do that makes us feel worlds apart. I hate the war and I hate that he's there and in every sense imaginable I the cost of using International Calling Cards. |
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Wed May 14, 2008 at 23:22:21 PM EDT
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| This article is the third in a three-part series.
I was recently asked by a reporter about my experiences as a working military spouse. Most of the questions were expected, except one: I stated that the choice to leave the military was an agonizing one for families who felt they could no longer serve. He asked, "Why is it agonizing?" I suspect he knew the answer, but the question reflects an attitude among many in this country that is reflected in our government's policies toward its military.
The answer? Because military families are first and foremost public servants who love their job, their lifestyle and their country. But increasingly, this country's policies (or lack thereof) toward modern military families are making it untenable to stay. So they leave. And the civilian economy's gain is this country's loss. It is time for us to start some thoughtful deliberation about how to invest smartly in our military. A moderate commitment in money and leadership by lawmakers would help many of those families avoid that agonizing decision. And the entire country would benefit from a stronger, more stable and more diverse military.
To begin with, the federal government must modernize its policies regarding America's military families. A concerted new effort is needed to help our military's dedicated men and women achieve a quality of life that is commensurate with their ingenuity and ambition, while protecting the unique lifestyle that they have earned through their service and sacrifice.
The goal is to help lawmakers break from an outdated mindset: namely that America's military consists mostly of young, unmarried soldiers and officers with stay-at-home spouses. It's time to reshape the way we think about the term "military benefits," focusing not only on traditional goodies like pensions, bonuses and educational benefits for soldiers, but also providing relief from those economic burdens that uniquely degrade the quality of life for modern military families. In summary I suggest:
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Tue May 13, 2008 at 23:05:28 PM EDT
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(I just thought this was so well written, and so poignant that I had to promote it. - promoted by inSANEmom)
Tonight I went to the movies with some friends and probably laughed consecutively for a good ninety minutes. What Happens In Vegas, in case you're wondering. But despite the fact that I was with good friends and did enough outloud, fall-off-your-seat laughing to last me an entire week, when I got into my car to drive home I could feel only one thing. Emptiness. Not the kind of emptiness you feel when you are in those places of your life when you forget where you're going or who you really are, but the kind of emptiness that you feel when someone isn't sitting in their favorite chair or one of your childhood landmarks is taken down. I hate this emptiness. It follows me and I can't escape it's shadow. It doesn't find me when I'm busy, but it's there waiting... when I get out of work, when I'm in my car, sometimes after church, usually when I'm in bed, and now apparently, it finds me the moment I stop laughing.
But you know who else emptiness follows? My soldier... who comes back from following other people's orders to spends his nights in a bed that's not his, who isn't missing one thing familiar, but all things familiar... and I think to myself that I would take all of his emptiness if it meant he could experience soft fingertips on his forehead or sheets that felt like home or the smells of Greek cooking. But I can't and I am continually aware of my powerlessness. So I make a daily, if not hourly, choice to believe that out of all of our emptiness will come an appreciation for each other's arms that surpasses the ooey, gooey feelings of dating and developes into a deeper and more mature love than we could have known without absence.
And then I think to myself, that was a great movie... I can't wait to watch it with him when he comes home. |
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Tue May 13, 2008 at 21:38:22 PM EDT
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| KOREA, THE ASSIGNMENT OF CHOICE???
This week, I have been a little bit introverted. I've been taking a hard look at my life, and the experiences that have led me to this point. The experiences that have brought my family to where we are today, and how they have evolved me, my marriage, and my family.
My husband was sent to Korea straight out of flight school.... We played by the rules for that first year. My husband came to Korea, did his thing, lived his life. We stayed behind in the states like we were supposed to.
That first year almost destroyed my marriage.
(the rest of the story is below the fold) |
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Tue May 13, 2008 at 10:35:44 AM EDT
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I've been struggling lately with what I would feel comfortable putting down here- whether I would reflect BACK on how I felt while my husband was deployed or if I would open up the journal I kept while he was gone and put down what I wrote then.
I decided to open the book that I kept close to my heart- the book that was my salvation through sleepless nights and long days. I'd like to post these things now because if nothing else, if only one person can read it and say "Wow, I know exactly what she means- I feel/felt the same way"- then my mission was accomplished. Most of my entries were not dated. here's one from the halfway point-
"I just finished a book called 'The Long Road Home.' I can't believe I was able to make it through a whole book about the war in Iraq- but I did. I did stop a few times because I couldn't see the words through my tears. But I do feel that it brought me closer to understanding what a "soldier" really is and how much they are willing to sacrifice.
I wonder all the time about what kinds of things he has seen. What some of his missions have been like. How many people he has seen die. What goes through his mind when he's out flying. What will he be like when he gets home.
I think about being a "military wife" or a "soldier's wife" a "Pilot's wife"- so many titles. Still unsure what they all really mean.
I hope that what I can give to my girls is the peace of mind that comes with being the family of a soldier who you miss all the time- but you are also endlessly proud of. I try not to cry when someone asks about him. Because I don't want anyone to think I'm not doing okay.
It's hard- dear God, sometimes I can't even express how hard it is. Every nights brings a fresh set of worries- my day is just winding down as his is beginning. And every morning I breathe a sigh of relief that we are one day closer to the end of the deployment.
There are a million ways I thought things might go during this year- I'm not sre that I could have guessed I'd ever feel this lost. This empty. This lonely and sad. How can families sustain these things? I didn't think there was anything I couldn't handle- but this is so very, very difficult.
7 months in. Five more to go? I'm almost afraid to believe that." |
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Mon May 12, 2008 at 15:00:00 PM EDT
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| 12 May 2008, Edition 3 (Amy Van Riper)
As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country - Proverbs 25:25
Another great week full of positive news from the military world. Enjoy!
3,500 Troops Coming Home
http://newsblaze.com/story/200...
"Despite what you may read in other places, the fact that the commanders on the ground have decided to send some troops home, proves that the surge has worked. There are good things happening in Iraq every day; progress IS being made. Period. And that has to be great news, for the Iraqis, for our troops, and for our military families, AND for the people of America."
Fort Bliss Center Creates "Little Miracles" when Treating PTSD
http://www.defenselink.mil/new...
A revolutionary treatment program at Fort Bliss is demonstrating "little miracles" as it gives new hope to soldiers afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder who want to stay in the Army.
More Good News Below the Fold! |
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Mon May 12, 2008 at 10:46:55 AM EDT
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May. 12, 2008
Tracking down answers to combat-stress illness
Philadelphia Inquirer - Philadelphia,PA,USA
By Tom Avril
Inquirer Staff Writer
When Joseph Boscarino returned from Vietnam in 1966, it seemed as if the war came home with him.
Many of his fellow veterans in his New Jersey hometown battled drug problems and nightmares. Some committed suicide. He says his own twin brother, who went to war the following year, came back a changed person - debilitated by anxiety and delusions.
"We were expected to soldier on," Boscarino says. "We did the best we could."
Today, those symptoms are well-known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And Boscarino, 62, has made it his life's work to understand the problem.
Now an epidemiologist, he is among the organizers of a national conference to be held tomorrow on the still-mysterious illness, at Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pa.
The event's focus is on getting the best care for veterans from rural areas, where there are fewer mental-health services available and where family doctors may be less familiar with the symptoms of combat stress. Rural vets are well-represented among the National Guard troops and reservists serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But misunderstandings about the illness persist in rural and urban areas alike, say Boscarino and other experts who are slated to speak tomorrow.
Some still see the problem as the result of a weakness in character, or perhaps a lack of self-discipline, says keynote speaker Charles Figley, director of the Florida State University Traumatology Institute. It is neither.
"It's an injury," says Figley, himself a Vietnam vet. "Its effects can be permanent unless something is done pretty quickly."
Just what should be done is a matter of debate.
In a review of medical literature completed last year, an Institute of Medicine committee found no evidence that drugs have been effective against the disorder. Some forms of psychotherapy also remain unproven, the committee members found - though they emphasize that with more careful scrutiny, some of these current therapies may indeed turn out to be beneficial.
Boscarino, who grew up in working-class Paterson, N.J., and served with an Army artillery unit in Vietnam, is determined to find the biological underpinnings of the disease.
There is evidence that genetics play a role. Other research suggests that those with higher intelligence are less likely to succumb to PTSD. Still other scientists contend that some cases of the disorder are in fact a different condition defined by several of the same symptoms: mild traumatic brain injury.
Last year, Boscarino reported a curious finding: Vets are more likely to suffer from PTSD if they are ambidextrous. The results, from a study of 2,490 men who served in Vietnam, were published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
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Sun May 11, 2008 at 13:20:20 PM EDT
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Do you remember playing dress up and "house" and planning your wedding? Remember playing MASH or some other similar game of chance to pick your perfect spouse? Well the one thing I don't remember was dreaming of single life while in a relationship. Now don't get me wrong, I've always really enjoyed being single. Partly because I like the care free side of things, but also because it's taken me quite a while to get to the place I am now, the place where I am discovering all of the wonderful sides of a relationship with true intimacy. So now that I've discovered more than I knew was possible in terms of love, I found my love a thousand miles away while I sit home and wait and sometimes feel single.
Although we met a two years prior, we were only three months deep in our relationship when he deployed to a place where four hour phone calls and every ten minute texts became an impossibility, not to mention being held or kissed or whispered to. And considering the lenght of deployment versus the length of our "couplehood" I had every reason to be concerned about the growth and even longevity of our relationship. I mean, there's only so long you can live on "I miss yous".
But then something happened to cement our relationship. It came at a time when I needed it the most and from a place I least expected... his family. I was celebrating Greek Easter with his very large Greek family. I guess this would be a good place to mention that I am not Greek so if you are at all curious what this is like for me I suggest watching the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Seriously. They really do recycle three names. So there I was experience a whole new world, wishing he was there to explain things to this very Protestant, very lily white, and very non lamb-eating little girl, when we had just come back the last service carrying our Holy Light. The mood was festive as it should be (we were celebrating the ressurection of Christ) and people were laughing and eating and saying Christo Anesti when the phone rang. It was Robby. A hush fell over the whole house. His mom talked first and then passed the phone to me. I swallowed the lump in my throat and took the phone in the other room. He didn't have time to talk. And he was angry. But he called to say Happy Easter. He wouldn't say what happened, he would barely say anything, and I couldn't tell him I was fighting every tear I had. After our unusually short conversation I snuck into the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face. Nearly composed I made my way to the porch with his mom and his aunts. I only lasted 3 seconds when one of his aunts put out her arm so I could tuck myself under it as she consoled me. That was the final straw. I lost it. And once I started to cry, his aunts started to cry, and when his aunts did, his mom did. And while on the one hand I felt terrible for making them cry, it was one of the most beautiful moments that I have had as we bonded and hurt and felt our own pain and the pain of everyone else. They told me how brave I was and I thought how brave he was. And right then I knew he wasn't just a part of Easter and a part of them, he had become a part of me. And all of the relational singleness I felt melted away and we became one. One over there and one over here. One.
So even though I never dreamed of learing about love through a twelve month separation and certainly not a war, I am so very happy that I will not find myself waking up from my real life love story. |
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Sun May 11, 2008 at 11:37:26 AM EDT
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The following is a great editorial on veterans suffering from what they have suffered from since the beginning of time, dealing with the horrors of war. It's well worth reading and I suggest you go to the link and finish reading it.
GUEST COLUMN: The invisible wounds of war
By Greg Dobbs, Special to the Rocky
Saturday, May 10, 2008
It is a crude way to put it, but "they are dropping like flies." That's how one soldier I spoke with characterized the spike in suicides among servicemen coming home these days from war. With bodies intact, but minds wounded - sometimes mortally.
It's not a new phenomenon - mental trauma is a normal reaction to the abnormal horror of war. Back in the Civil War it was called "soldier's heart." In World War I, it was known as shell shock. In World War II, battle fatigue. After Vietnam, it was called Post Vietnam Syndrome. Nowadays it has a formal name: post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
But it is an invisible wound, and soldiers with injured minds often haven't gotten the treatment they needed. Some have been discouraged from even seeking treatment because of the ghost called "stigma." Some have only been told to "suck it up," get back out there and fight! Which has cost our armed forces dearly.
go here for more of this
http://www.rockymountainnews.c...
The problem is the comments this article received. While some were very sympathetic to the plight of our veterans, others were not and their attitude needs to be spotlighted. It is perplexing where this attitude comes from. It is also what has to be overcome if we are every going to live up to what we claim when it comes to the men and women we send into combat. If we are ever going to really be a grateful nation, these kinds of idiotic statements need to be addressed for what they are, uneducated, opinionated hacks who would rather get in the way of taking care of our wounded warriors than taking care of them.
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Sun May 11, 2008 at 02:12:45 AM EDT
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| HAPPY MOTHERS DAY, 5/11/08
Here on Military Spouse Press we have been writing mostly about the many important issues, events, legislature, facts and latest military related items.
I know every milspouse who has a loved one who is or was deployed is filled with emotions about their spouse, their family and much more. Mothers day must bring many feelings and emotions. A small portion of our articles have been about what is going on inside and what the struggles are emotionally.
I can only assume that every milspouse experiences the same emotional roller coaster. I don't know first hand because I have never walked a mile in your shoes. I am sure that every milspouse could comment, lend support and relate to any contribution in which a milspouse articulates their own personal thoughts and feelings about having a spouse who is or was deployed.
I'm sure those who have the courage it takes to write about this, would help others who are feeling the same.
I would like to read more about what is going on "inside" milspouses whose spouse is or was deployed. I am sure others would also. It could be done in comments to this article but with the immense amount that I am sure is within, it would probably be better in a "stand alone" article. I would truly appreciate anyone who would be willing to share of themselves with me and the community. IMHO, this is as important or more important than the issues we have been primarily writing about. |
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Thu May 08, 2008 at 23:01:07 PM EDT
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DoD: 43,000 unfit troops sent to war
By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Thursday May 8, 2008 8:41:24 EDT
WASHINGTON - More than 43,000 U.S. troops listed as medically unfit for combat in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 were sent anyway, Pentagon records show.
This reliance on troops found medically "nondeployable" is another sign of stress placed on a military that has sent 1.6 million service members to the war zones, soldier advocacy groups said.
"It is a consequence of the consistent churning of our troops," said Bobby Muller, president of Veterans For America. "They are repeatedly exposed to high-intensity combat with insufficient time at home to rest and heal before re-deploying."
The numbers of nondeployable soldiers are based on health assessment forms filled out by medical personnel at each military installation before a service member's deployment. According to those statistics, the number of troops that doctors found nondeployable but who were still sent to Iraq or Afghanistan fluctuated from 10,854 in 2003, down to 5,397 in 2005, and back up to 9,140 in 2007.
The Pentagon records do not list what - or how serious - the health issues are, nor whether they were corrected before deployment, said Michael Kilpatrick, a deputy director for the Pentagon's Force Health Protection and Readiness Programs.
A Pentagon staffer examined 10,000 individual health records last year to determine causes for the nondeployable ratings, Kilpatrick said. Some reasons included a need for eyeglasses, dental work or allergy medicine and a small number of mental health cases, he said.
This is the first war in which this health screening process has been used, the Pentagon said.
Most of the nondeployable service members are in the Army, which is doing most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Between 5 percent and 7 percent of all active-duty, National Guard and Reserve soldiers slated for combat were found medically unfit due to health problems each year since 2003, according to statistics provided to USA Today.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/...
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Thu May 08, 2008 at 22:50:23 PM EDT
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Utterly speechless!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Army barracks "better than sleeping in the woods"
Report: Thousands living in shoddy barracks
By Kristin M. Hall - The Associated PressPosted : Thursday May 8, 2008 12:08:47 EDT
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Spc. Kaila Colvin is looking forward to getting married for the usual reasons, and for one more particular to a soldier: not having to live in Fort Campbell's decrepit barracks anymore.
Spc. Loren Dauterman, who trained at Fort McCoy last month with the Wisconsin National Guard, found something good to say about the falling-apart floors and ceilings in his quarters. Barely.
"It is better than sleeping out in the woods," Dauterman said last week, "but not a whole lot better."
Thousands of soldiers are assigned to barracks built for the GIs who fought World War II and the Korean War. The buildings are showing their age, and the soldiers are getting fed up.
After a soldier's father posted a video on YouTube last month showing the dilapidated barracks for paratroopers at Fort Bragg, N.C., Defense Secretary Robert Gates called those conditions appalling and ordered base commanders to ensure their troops have proper quarters.
The commanders have their work cut out for them.
A spot check by Associated Press reporters over the past week found many barracks plagued by recurring problems with mold, mildew and their plumbing and wiring.
Read:
• Barracks at Ga. posts in adequate condition
• Fort Lewis fixing up old barracks
• Fort Riley barracks undergoing changes
• Jackson barracks undergoing $1B in upgrades
• Knox working to improve housing conditions
• Meade barracks in need of repair
In many cases, the wooden, cramped and outdated housing units were scheduled for destruction, but the space and economic constraints from the war in Iraq have again filled the old barracks with soldiers. Major installations like Fort Campbell and Fort Stewart, Ga., report pumping more than $100 million into barracks improvements in recent years to make room for the flood of recruits and brigades.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/...
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