March 30, 2006

• Be grateful that these war veterans come home to 'first world' medical facilities from a war that the US chose to initiate (and no I am not looking for argument on this, call it poorly chosen words or whatever). Tragic and upsetting? Yes. But, view the Medicins Sans Frontiers or any similar website and marvel at the fact that the victims of fighting forces in the 'third world' or 'developing nations', whichever you prefer; endure or survive at all. Heartbreak stories from the US, whilst poignant do not rank even close to the misery suffered in other war torn nations every day. These soldiers too fought only in the nname of their government, or through fear. Try various African nations where even third class medical treatment (apart from volunteer organisations) is the best you can expect. In the western world - at least know that your troops fight for what you {have voted for maybe?}(or allegedly your government on your behalf, has decided is a cause) have a fair chance of survival if injured And even if amputation is required have full access to rehabilitation in most cases. Grieve for the rest!
• Suffering is suffering in my book, fly. And noting the human cost of war is worthwhile no matter whose war it is. I think you're tilting at windmills; just because I grieve for American soldiers doesn't mean I don't grieve just as much for others.
• Brookings Institution Iraq Index (pdf fie) Graphs. Charts & graphs. Yeah.
• Baghdad ER
• Marines Who Cleaned Up After Haditha Traumatized
• U.S. Soldiers Are Sick of It
• Small victory for ailing G.I.s
• Some Soldiers With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Are Being Re-Deployed To Iraq
• Support the Troops: Treatment Instead of Jail for Returning Vets
• A Gulf War Link to Lou Gehrig's Disease?
• Exposure to violence is putting the Iraqi people at risk of serious psychological damage
• Soldier: I raped Iraqi girl, then helped kill her .
• Investigation Reveals Military Punishing Wounded Troops
• French troops had bin Laden in sights. Twice.
• Bush wants bigger military for 'long struggle' "The White House is considering expanding the Army and Marines for 'the long struggle against radicals and extremists,' President Bush said today. 'I'm not predicting any particular theater, but I am predicting that it's going to take a while for the ideology of liberty to finally triumph over the ideology of hate,' he said."
• Disillusionment with war is an overlooked psychological liability on the battlefield, experts say -- and could lead to higher rates of PTSD among U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
• Cold Ground for a Summer Love: Arlington Shelters the Memories of a Young Virginia Marine's Romance
• FPP-worthy, thanks H-dogg
• As Troops' Lives Are Forever Changed, Much of U.S. Is Largely Unaffected
• The Real Cost of the Iraq War: 50,000 U.S. Casualties
• American war vet speaks out against the war (YouTube)
• Young Marine Dies Of PTSD - And Neglect
• Hidden Costs of War: Long-Term Price of Providing Veterans Medical Care Could Reach $660 Billion
• Veterans’ Village
• Cuts to Veterans Care: Bush vs. The Troops
• Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility
• Walter Reed patients told to keep quiet
• It's all good.
• The news just keeps on coming.
• Army fires commander of Walter Reed hospital
• "Almost 60,000 military marriages have been broken by this war. Including mine."
• Imagine how bad it would be if everyone wasn't doing so much to support the troops!
• I used to think yellow was the only option, but have you seen the other kinds of magnetic ribbons you can put on the back of your car? One that I saw, it's colored red, white, and blue!
• The Daily Show Slams Bush Over Walter Reed Scandal
• US war veterans need more mental help -study
• Sgt. Wells's New Skull: In the epidemic of brain injuries coming out of the war, Army neurosurgeons had never seen someone survive such a devastating wound. But Brian Wells jokes that he just left part of his head in Iraq. Someday, he says, he'll have to go back and get it.
• Doubt cast on definition of PTSD
• I've always thought of PTSD as being the same thing as panic disorder, only with an actual real-world physical trauma (war, rape, whatever) as the factor that starts the problem. My understanding is that the brain processes are pretty much the same for both. And there's definitely a link between depression and panic disorder. So I'm not really surprised that depressed folks would display PTSD symptoms, and am not really sure how that would invalidate the PTSD diagnosis.
• Yeah, that baffles me, too. It's like type 1 and type 2 diabetes - two different conditions that have the same result.
• I think I can understand how depression and PTSD could merge. Depression, itself, could be enough to cause fear, helplessness, or horror. Perhaps the difference is that the trauma for depressives is their depression, where the trauma for PTSD is from an exterior event?
• How Specialist Town Lost His Benefits
• Injured in Iraq, a Soldier Is Shattered at Home
• Injured troops shipped back into battle
• From his first days of basic training, Mr. Ross embraced the military as his salvation. “It was like, ‘Wow, man, I was born for the Army,’ ” he said. “I was an adrenaline junkie. I was super, super fit. I craved discipline. I wanted adventure. I was patriotic. I loved the bonding. And there was nothing that I was feared of. I mean, man, I was made for war.” . . . On May 18, Private Ross and his squad set out to de-mine an area in south Baghdad. Moving quickly, as they did on such operations, he collected about 15 UXO’s, or unexploded ordnances, in a pit. Somehow, something — he never learned what — caused them to detonate. “The initial blast hit me and I went numb and everything went totally silent,” he said. “Then I hear people start hollering, ‘Ross! Ross! Ross!’ It started getting louder, louder, louder. My whole body was mangled. I was spitting up blood. I faded in and out. I was bawling my eyes out, saying, ‘Please don’t let me go; don’t let me go.’ ” I don't mean anything by that excerpt other than it's an interesting story of contrasts in 3 paragraphs.
• Soldier: I Was Deployed To Iraq With Traumatic Brain Injury
• The Pentagon's chronic neglect of Iraq vets
• Shouldn't Iraq-Related Suicides Be Counted, Somehow, As Deaths From Combat?
• Soldier says he went AWOL to get mental help
• Veterans of the Iraq war, including heroic Army Cpl. Frank Sandoval, are dying here in America too.
• 'Most severely wounded' soldier endures: blind, quadriplegic, struggling to breathe
• Oh, God. His poor parents, too. Their life as they knew it is over. I guess it's not for me to judge, but his quality of life--I'm not sure it would be worth it to me.
• I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be worth it to me. It's such a horrible situation. I couldn't help but thinking of Johnny Got His Gun when I read this. Stories like this are why I hope that someday regenerative medicine will be able to mend injuries like his. But even if it's possible, it's still a long way off.
• . I thought of Johnny Got His Gun too. I can't imagine any living being wanting to be kept in a such a state. His parents are selfless individuals, who should be supported in more ways than I suspect they are.
• The family has help from VA-provided nurses, but not around the clock. Why the fuck not?!? That makes me so fucking mad I want to fucking punch someone. Dick fucking Cheney should be fucking paying for 24-hour nursing care for that man out of his own fucking blood-soaked pocket.
• War squeezes businesses owned by reservists
• Reservist fighting his fifth war call-up
• Jim Webb Leads Fight to Rescue Military
• Republicans Kill Webb's Troop-Protection Amendment
• *plops on the Wenn wir durch die Stadt marschieren 78* Sorry, I cannot help myself today...
• Questionable Treatment for Some Iraq Heroes: Veteran Care Under Review as More Than 22,000 Are Discharged With 'Pre-Existing' Personality Disorder, Which Some Say Developed During War
• Ashamed and racked with guilt, the wounded soldier abandoned by his country
• Senate Approves "Wounded Warrior" Bill, Presidential Commission Offers Other Suggestions
• President's Commission Underreports the Number of Injured Soldiers
• Parents of a U.S. Marine Who Committed Suicide After Returning Home from Iraq File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Veterans Affairs
• Saving Soldiers' Jobs
• Military leaders know a secret: The vast majority of people are overwhelmingly reluctant to take a human life.
• Administration Fights Dem Plan to Boost School Aid for Vets
• Army Suicides Highest in 26 Years
• U.S. military practices genetic discrimination in denying benefits: Those medically discharged with genetic diseases are left without disability or retirement benefits. Some are fighting back.
• Just ... wow. *head asplode*
• Military vet charged with pharmacy holdups blames drug addiction
• Soldiers of Conscience
• The killing of Jamie Dean: Police in rural Maryland staged a military stakeout and shot a troubled Army vet. As his family plans to sue, they are asking how a soldier being treated for PTSD could be shipped to Iraq.
• Wow. but the Army didn't know that because the Army and the V.A. don't typically share medical records. SNAFU.
• Pete, you aren't allowed to say that.
• fine, SNA_U, then.
• Yeah, yeah. Nobody in TODAY'S military uses THAT word.
• Gold Star Father Who Lost Son In Iraq Allegedly Beaten By Members Of Pro-War Group
• Many soldiers get boot for 'pre-existing' mental illness
• Wounded vets also suffer financial woes
• Army Denies Education Benefits To National Guard Troops Who Served 22 Months In Iraq
• Time for the soldiers to go on strike.
• SCHIP: An Urgent Vote to Protect Wounded Veterans Fails
• Veteran stress cases up sharply
• Study: 1 Out of 4 Homeless Are Veterans
• Rescue operation aims to save a wounded warrior
• Corporate profiteering against Iraq vets? Bush's nominee to head the Department of Veterans Affairs is the second to come from a private company that rakes in millions from VA contracts
• Wounded soldiers asked to return signing bonuses
• Army: Wounded Vets Will Get All of Their Bonus Money
• Pentagon Leaves 20,000 Soldiers With Brain Injuries Off Official Wounded List
• For returning soldiers, GI Bill doesn't add up
• 'A Soldier's Officer'
• Suicide among Iraq Veterans Highlighted on Capitol Hill
• War Torn: Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles
• Vets Cleared to Sue U.S. over PTSD Claims
• Document Shows Army Blocked Help for Soldiers
• Combat Troops Are Losing Hearing
• VA Conceals Vet Suicide Figures From CBS To Downplay ‘Epidemic In Suicide’
• Walter Reed Using Yoga to Fight PTSD
• CREW and VoteVets.org Expose VA Directive Barring Staff from Diagnosing Soldiers with PTSD in Order to Cut Costs
• Jon Stewart Calls Out McCain for Hypocrisy on Supporting Veter
• Medal Of Honor Recipient’s Father: Bush Must Sign The GI Bill If He Wants To Show Appreciation For Troops
• ‘Anything Not to Go Back’
• Cultural Aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Thinking on Meaning and Risk
• 'Disposable Heroes': Mentally Distressed Veterans Used to Test Suicide-Linked Drugs. An ABC News and Washington Times Investigation Reveals Vets Are Being Recruited for Government Tests on Drugs with Violent Side Effects.
• Dr. McFall says the VA decided to continue the Chantix study because "it would be depriving our veterans of an effective method of treatment to help them stop smoking." Caplan, one of the country's leading medical ethicists, said he was stunned by the VA's decision to continue the Chantix experiment. "Why take the group most a risk and keep them going? That doesn't make any sense, once you know the risk is there," he said. It doesn't make much sense from a scientific standpoint, either.
• Medic in famous photo dies after PTSD struggle
• How sad.
• that's so unspeakably sad.
• What's horrible is how many go untreated, like this poor guy. It's horrible for the sufferer, because they're walking around in hell, and for the people they may accidentally hurt or kill, their families and their friends. There should be routine follow-up on every soldier who's seen active combat. But that would cost money./sarcasm