Chairman of Joint Chiefs Stresses to New Officers the Wisdom of Enlisted Soldiers
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 8, 2008; Page A09
The nation's top military official yesterday urged graduating U.S. officers at the Army War College to listen to the combat-tempered soldiers below them, saying it is critical to keep young veterans in the force and tap their understanding of today's unconventional wars.
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stressed that junior officers and enlisted soldiers "are wise beyond their years," adding that "war has a way of doing that." Such soldiers know "a few new things about how to wage irregular warfare in this new century," and military leaders "would be foolish to toss that knowledge aside," Mullen said in a commencement address to more than 300 colonels and lieutenant colonels graduating from U.S. Army War College at Carlisle, Pa.
Mullen's remarks reflected growing concern among senior Pentagon leaders over the retention of the Army's captains and other junior leaders, who are increasingly weary from repeated and lengthy war zone rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan and in some cases alienated from the generals who lack their first-hand experience.
Fresh thinking is vital to reforming military institutions that are "mired in peacetime and must fundamentally change," Mullen said. Addressing graduates at the college, which offers master's degrees in strategic studies to military officers considered most promising for promotion, Mullen asked who "will have the strength and the courage to put forth the ideas that truly change the way we act as an institution?"
Such change must not only harness the lessons from today's counterinsurgencies but also position the U.S. military for a wide range of possible future conflicts, including large-scale conventional combat, he said. "We still face very real threats from regional powers who possess robust conventional and, in some cases, nuclear capabilities," Mullen said, warning that "the specter of major conflict may have diminished, but it has not yet disappeared."
Voicing a concern echoed by chiefs of the Army, Marine Corps and other services, Mullen highlighted the need to restore conventional capabilities that have atrophied as a result of the overwhelming focus on Iraq and Afghanistan.
"There are young Marines who have never deployed aboard a Navy ship and Army officers who have not been able to focus on their mission of providing artillery fire support," he said.
The Navy, for its part, has devoted thousands of soldiers to land jobs and revived riverine units with the advice of Vietnam war veterans -- but today has a fleet of 280 ships at sea, "far fewer than it may need to provide the credible maritime presence" required by regional U.S. commanders, Mullen said.
The Air Force, meanwhile, has suffered "a serious decline in nuclear mission focus and performance, a decline which erodes our nation's ability to effectively deter and to defeat potential major adversaries," he said, referring to evidence in a classified Pentagon investigation of the Air Force's failure to safeguard U.S. nuclear weapons materials. The investigation led Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates last week to remove Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael "Buzz" Moseley.
Commenting on that decision, in which he played a role, Mullen said: "I respect and admire the decisions by Secretary Wynne and General Moseley to accept responsibility and accountability for this decline. That should serve a lesson to us all about leadership, but so too should it serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of complacency."
Since he took office last fall, Mullen has made a priority of reaching out to Army personnel of all ranks to better address strains in the nation's main ground force, and yesterday he also raised the health of the all-volunteer force and, particularly, the wounded "who bear the seen and unseen scars of war."
"Too many of them find themselves adrift in paperwork and processes designed for a peacetime force -- again, out of balance for the wartime reality we face. Too many of them suffer in silence. We must take better care of them, and each other," he said.
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They have always said the NCO's are the backbone of the military amd combat tested veterans have knowledge and experience that can NOT be taught in classrooms.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Chairman of Joint Chiefs Stresses to New Officers the Wisdom of Enlisted Soldiers
Entire NZ Gov apologizes to Vietnam Veterans.
New Zealand Government Apologizes to their Vietnam Veterans and Families
Entire NZ Gov apologizes to Vietnam Veterans.
The links below document the formal apology by the New Zealand Prime Minister and both Parties of government for lack of recognition and lack of recognition by prior administrations of herbicide damages for their Vietnam Veterans, as well as their families.
The links take time to down load.
New Zealand Prime Minister
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/multimedia/video.cfm?c_id=1501138&objectid=10512976&content_media_id=4998863
The National party’s response it at:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/multimedia/video.cfm?c_id=1501138&objectid=10512976&content_media_id=4998864
Minor party responses are at:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/multimedia/video.cfm?c_id=1501138&objectid=10512976&content_media_id=4998872
{Thanks to Australian Vietnam Veteran Rifleman “Bob Gibson” - Vietnam Vet 67-68 for sending the links.}
While our own nation historically has been less than stellar in its admittance of "all" herbicide damages both to the Veteran and his family as well; and the interference of previous administrations in recognizing known facts. In fact, history demonstrates White House directed interference and a congress that would not address the issues even though they admitted the facts in published house reports such as HR 101-672. … The Agent Orange Cover-up: A Case of Flawed Science and Political Manipulation. Yet, still nothing was done and very little has been done today in the admittance of all the facts and outcomes using various "less than transparent" methodology.
HR 101-672 was released in August 9, 1990 and the flawed science has finally been fully documented that Ranch Hand Study the so called “gold standard” was so flawed and so many wrong assumptions were made it missed an entire doubling of cancers associated to the single dioxin, TCDD. We at this point have no idea with the flawed assumptions what other statistics were driven towards null and still being used as denial tools by VA/IOM.
However, as bad or “less than stellar” our own government has been in its treatment and recognition of Vietnam Veterans it pales in comparison with the treatment of the New Zealand Government and their lack of recognition of even have been exposed. Denying that fact for over 40 years.
While it is too late for many New Zealand Veterans to see vindication and recognition of honorable service; I can only hope that their Vietnam Veterans and their families can finally take some solace from these total government apologies and admittance of prior government transgressions against the most noble of all citizens of any Nation.
My congratulations to Lindsey and all the New Zealand Vietnam Veterans and their families in their hard fought battle for recognition and hope that at least mentally they can find some comfort in vindication after over 40 years of struggles.
My opinion only…it is too bad our own government and others as well do not have the same intestinal fortitude in their convictions as the New Zealand Government in admitting their mistakes and previous transgressions for which their Veterans paid dearly.
Kelley
Bush tells Congress to pass Iraq funding
Bush tells Congress to pass Iraq funding
President Bush boards Marine One as he departs the White House in Washington, Friday, June 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari) (Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP)
The Associated Press
Saturday, June 7, 2008; 10:24 AM
WASHINGTON -- President Bush, seeking to better his negotiating position ahead of votes on a huge Iraq war-funding bill, said Saturday that U.S. troops "deserve better" than the treatment they are getting from the Democratic-led Congress.
"This is an opportunity for Congress to give our men and women in uniform the tools they need to protect us, and Congress should approve these vital funds immediately," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "Congress has had this funding request for more than a year, and there is no reason for further delay."
But the dispute over the hotly contested bill, and the delay in getting it passed, is as much as anything due to demands from Bush that Democrats find unacceptable.
The bill contains unrelated domestic spending beyond Bush's $178 billion war funding request and the president has threatened a veto if it doesn't come out. Meanwhile, the White House wants to add money to the measure to let troops transfer ramped up GI Bill education benefits to their spouses or children.
Bush said that any further delay in passage will have dire consequences, such as temporary layoffs of civilian employees next month and no more paychecks for troops after July.
"Our men and women in uniform and their families deserve better than this," the president said. "They deserve the full support of Congress. I often hear members of Congress say they oppose the war but still support the troops. Now they have a chance to prove it."
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I don't even know where I want to start on this, DOD was told to start budgeting all the war funds into the budgets 2 years ago, no more supplementals, yet here they are still doing add ons. The stock market just tanked due to the .5 percent rise in unemployment yesterday, which indicates the Senate is right in asking for additional unemployment benefits, the GI Bill MUST be improved per the Webb Bill, not the John McCain/Graham indentured servant version. If President Bush supported the troops he would reduce the Iraq forces to pre surge levels or less of 130,000 they have declared the surge over but there are now 10,000 more troops in Iraq than there was before the surge. He would fire the VA Secretary for comparing TBI to high school football in Alaska a week ago when he was campaigning with Senator Ted Stevens and said that to many veterans are being diagnosed with PTSD rather than adjustment disorder, similar words of that now infamous e mail from Texas VA worker MS Perez.
If the VA does not support the full treatment of veterans with PTSD and want to diagnose veterans that are still having PTSD symptoms more than 6 months after the incident, then they are violating the DSM4 standards up to 6 months they can say it is "battlemind" after 6 months of chronic problems it is then considered PTSDand the VA should be rating is as such. There is nothing that says they can't treat and review the veterans over the next few years and if they improve after treatment reduce the compensation, but to treat them all as malingering money grubbing bottom feeders, is just plain wrong, talk about creating a stigma? I can't wait until we get a Democratic President that will appoint a vet friendly VA Secretary rather than an advesarial types we have had since Sec Principi left.
Searching for Project SHAD: Vet's efforts lead to investigation, legislation
Searching for Project SHAD: Vet's efforts lead to investigation, legislation
Written by Elizabeth Larson
Monday, 26 May 2008
The USS Granville S. Hall under way off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, on Nov. 8, 1965, the same year as Project SHAD began its tests in the Pacific. The ship accompanied light tugboats involved in the tests, according to Jack Alderson, a former Navy lieutenant who commanded the tugs. Official U.S. Navy photograph.
NORTH COAST – Years after he left the military, Jack Alderson began asking questions about chemical testing he was involved in and its effects on his health and the health of others.
Those efforts led to the introduction of a bill earlier this month that would offer health benefits to veterans exposed to chemical agents during two classified government projects in the 1960s and 1970s.
North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) and Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg of Montana introduced HR 5954 on May 1.
If passed, the bill will provide Veterans Affairs health benefits to veterans who were exposed to biological, chemical or other toxic agents as part of Project 112 and Project SHAD.
Rehberg said the legislation is loosely crafted after that which was written to address Agent Orange. A similar bill previously was introduced but it died in the Senate.
Project 112, which included Project SHAD, was a series of approximately tests conducted between 1963 and 1973 by the Department of Defense and other federal agencies, according to Thompson and Rehberg. During these projects, a number of weapons containing chemical and biological agents such as VX nerve gas, Sarin nerve gas and E. coli were tested on unknowing military personnel.
According to the Force Health Protection and Readiness Program tests were conducted on the open sea in the North Atlantic, open water locations of the Pacific Ocean and near the Marshall Islands, Hawaii, Baker Island, Puerto Rico and the California coast. In addition, there were land-based tests in Alaska, Hawaii, Maryland, Florida, Utah, Georgia and in Panama, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Testing took place at the Deseret Test Center at Fort Douglas, Utah, according to a Department of Defense fact sheet. Project SHAD – which stands for “Shipboard Hazard and Defense” – took place offshore.
Its purpose was “to identify U.S. warships' vulnerabilities to attacks with chemical or biological warfare agents and to develop procedures to respond to such attacks while maintaining a war-fighting capability,” the Department of Defense fact sheet explained. The project sought to find out how chemical and biological agents behaved under different climatic, environmental and use conditions.
But the true nature of the classified projects was kept under wraps for decades, and is still only slowly being revealed, according to Thompson.
Bringing the truth to light
Shortly after he was elected to Congress in 1998, Thompson said he was approached by one of his constituents from Humboldt County, Ferndale resident Jack Alderson, who had been a tugboat commander during Project SHAD. Alderson had become ill and had cancer issues but couldn't get answers about the project from the government.
“For years they denied that this was ever happening,” said Thompson.
Similarly, Rehberg said he was approached by a constituent on the day he was sworn into Congress in 2001.
Alderson, 74, said he's been trying fighting to break the issue loose since 1993.
When President John F. Kennedy was elected, the US had a strong nuclear program, but lacked similar strength in biological and chemical weaponry, explained Alderson.
Kennedy directed his secretary of defense, Robert McNamara, to strengthen the nation's chemical program, and the result was Project 112 which included Project SHAD and gave rise to the development of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange, said Alderson.
In October of 1964, Alderson – at the time a 32-year-old lieutenant who had served in the Navy for 10 years – was assigned to Project SHAD, along with several hundred other experienced sailors and officers. The point was to see how a Navy warship could hold up under chemical attack.
“We were all ordered in,” Alderson said. “None of us were volunteers.”
The testing involved all branches of the military. Alderson commanded five Army tugboats, each of which had a Navy lieutenant as the officer in charge and a crew of 11 sailors, handpicked for their experience and secret clearances.
Alderson said they were trained how to decontaminate a ship after a test and conduct air sampling. After two months of training, he reported to his superiors that they were ready for their mission,
President Lyndon Johnson signed off on the tests, which Alderson said commenced in January of 1965.
The tugboats left Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and went to Johnston Island, southwest of the Hawaiian islands, where Alderson said the tests took place. Accompanying the tugs was the laboratory ship, Granville S. Hall.
Alderson said the tugs would go out to sea for six days at a time, and would form a line as long as 100 miles. On their decks would be three caged Rhesus monkeys, although some tests didn't involve animals.
Two Marine jets would fly over and spray a chemical weapon – including E coli., Bacillus globigii, Coxiella burnetti, Pasteurella tularensis and fluorescent particles – as well as a trace element and simulants. Alderson said the tugs had small labs on board, where they would take air samples. All of the chemicals used were carcinogenic.
Some tests involved the tugs taking out barges of monkeys which were sprayed with the neurological agents Sarin and VX. Those agents weren't used directly on the tugs, said Alderson.
The tugs would then go to the laboratory ship in rotations, taking the sick monkeys and their air samples. “The monkeys were not in good shape,” he said.
The monkeys, if they survived, would be observed by lab technicians on the laboratory, who eventually would euthanize the animals and conduct necropsies on them.
Alderson and his fellow Navy men began to suffer health problems themselves, including respiratory issues. They also noticed their immune systems suffered after they were vaccinated against the chemical agents.
The operations in the Pacific were carried out through rehearsal and written instructions, said Alderson. They stayed off the radio, not wanting anyone to know they were there conducting tests.
Alderson was involved in the secret operations until 1967. He made trips back to the Deseret Testing Center in Ft. Douglas, Utah, and that's where he met Jack Barry, who had been in an Army chemical corps for five years but was a civilian working for the Department of Defense by the time he met Alderson.
Barry, who was the right-hand man to the Marine colonel overseeing a number of biological tests, would be in Oahu, Hawaii, during the late spring and early summer of 1965, when officials carried out “Big Tom,” a Navy test that focused on the vulnerability of island naval bases in the event of a biological or chemical attack from the sea.
The drift of that test – which used Zinc Cadmium Sulfide and liquid Bacillus globigii – came in from sea and went across parts of the island, said Barry.
Barry said that similar drift tests, using the same chemicals as well as nerve agents, were conducted near Fort Greeley, Alaska. A fact sheet on Project SHAD's “Shady Grove” operations said tests took place at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Alderson said he doesn't think the Department of Defense wants it known just how many tests were done near civilians and on or near US soil.
When Alderson and Barry left their involvement with the tests, they said they were threatened with prosecution and prison time in Ft. Leavenworth if they disclosed anything about the operations.
Discovering troubling common threads
Alderson later went on to become chief executive officer of the Humboldt Bay Harbor District from 1975 to 1996. Barry left the Desert Testing Center in 1975 and joined the US Forest Service, moving to Davis to manage a technology development enterprise team.
In 1993, Alderson said he and some of the men who he served with decided to get together for a reunion.
It was a challenge, he said, to gather the men, who largely hadn't kept in touch. Most of the men wouldn't speak to their former Navy colleagues on the phone or answer anything in writing.
He said they did finally manage to get together for a small reunion in San Diego, where about 40 people came.
When they got together, they discovered many of them had suffered ongoing respiratory problems and various types of cancer. Alderson himself has had malignant melanoma, the most severe form of skin cancer. He also discovered that he has four pieces of asbestos in his lungs. In addition, he has had prostate cancer, and suffers from fatigue syndrome and severe allergies, the latter of which he said developed immediately after he was inoculated during the Project SHAD years.
When he discovered that he wasn't alone in his health concerns, he decided to start looking for answers.
The first politician he approached was US Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who had visited the harbor district to discuss a harbor dredging project. While she was in Alderson's office, he shared his story.
Feinstein asked him to write her a letter outlining the situation, which she in turn took to the Department of Defense, which responded that Alderson should contact them directly. That, he said, was their way of putting him off.
It wasn't just the government pushing back on Alderson's requests. He said he went to a veterans group with his story. Their response, he said, was that the government wouldn't do that to its servicemen.
Meanwhile, Thompson had gotten into Congress, and the two men knew each other from having worked together on local issues when Thompson was in the state Senate. Alderson took him the story and began working with Thompson and his staff, who Alderson credits with doing a lot of hard work and investigation to bring the issues to light.
The Department of Defense at first denied that the program had taken place. But in May 2000 Alderson said CBS began doing TV reports on the issue.
Following pressure by Thompson and further investigation by CBS, the Department of Defense released a fact sheet on Project SHAD, a copy of which was obtained by Lake County News.
The date of the release? Sept. 13, 2001.
“You saw it in the paper, didn't ya?” Alderson joked.
He said he believes the government's timing was calculated for release during a time of crisis so that the issue wouldn't draw attention.
While getting classified information on the testing hasn't been possible, Alderson said a lawsuit regarding Project SHAD resulted in the deposition in 2004 of the project's plans and operations officer and lead scientist, Dr. J. Clifton Spendlove.
While the Department of Defense had claimed that most of the records for Project SHAD were destroyed or had deteriorated, Spendlove said most of the records were still in Utah, and he additionally stated he had filmed some of the tests.
“We have enough evidence that we believe Dr. Spendlove was telling the truth,” said Alderson.
Spendlove also has testified publicly about the project before a special advisory panel convened by the Institute of Health.
Gradually, however, the issue began making its way into news reports, which is where Barry saw it.
He said he wrote to Thompson to tell him of the civilians who were exposed. Alderson found out about Barry's letter and the two men reconnected. At Alderson's invitation, Barry has since joined a special subcommittee set up by the Vietnam Veterans of America to work on issues related to Project SHAD.
Barry himself currently suffers from a rare form of cancer, but he says he's unsure if it's from the testing, his previous Army service or even time in the Forest Service, which also used toxic chemicals.
Thompson said that while the government eventually admitted the reports were correct, “We haven't had the level of cooperation from our government that we believe we should be getting.”
Finding the people exposed has been even more of a challenge, said Thompson.
Rehberg said preliminary estimates are that as many as 6,000 vets were exposed to the toxic agents, along with as many as 1,500 civilians. Thompson said Vietnam Veterans of America believes the numbers of vets exposed are actually much higher.
Alderson said that, just counting technical staff involved in the testing, between 500 and 600 people were affected. If you add in the many others on Navy ships exposed to the chemicals, the number climbs to 6,000. Add in “white coats” – people who were conscientious objectors and wouldn't fight but who volunteered for chemical tests – and that brings the number up to 18,000.
About 50 to 60 percent of the men he worked with on the light tugs are now dead, Alderson said, including six of the operation's 10 officers.
“We have some vets that are long dead because of the exposure they received, and that's just wrong,” Thompson said.
Government won't make effort to reach affected vets
The two congressmen faulted the government for a shoddy attempt to notify those who were exposed once they were identified.
Rehberg said he found it appalling that the government did the tests, then shirked its responsibility to help veterans.
In February, a US Government Accountability Office report stated that the Department of Defense and the Veterans Affairs needed to improve efforts to identify and notify individuals exposed to chemical and biological tests.
The report added that tens of thousands of military personnel and civilians have been exposed to such tests by the Department of Defense.
“Since 2003, DOD (Department of Defense) has stopped actively searching for individuals who were potentially exposed to chemical or biological substances during Project 112 tests, but did not provide a sound and documented basis for that decision,” the report stated. “In 2003, DOD reported it had identified 5,842 service members and estimated 350 civilians as having been potentially exposed during Project 112, and indicated that DOD would cease actively searching for additional individuals.”
The following year, the Department of Defense ruled that the recommendation to continue an active search for those exposed “had reached the point of diminishing returns, and reaffirmed its decision to cease active searches,” a decision that the Government Accountability Office said “was not supported by an objective analysis of the potential costs and benefits of continuing the effort.”
From 2003 on, other organizations, such as the Institute of Medicine, identified an additional 600 people who could have been exposed. “Until DOD provides a more objective analysis of the costs and benefits of actively searching for Project 112 participants, DOD’s efforts may continue to be questioned,” the report stated.
The Lake County Veterans Service Office confirmed to Lake County News that they have received inquiries about Project SHAD from local veterans who think they may have been affected.
For the vets involved, it's tough for them to get treatment once they confirm their involvement in the tests, because the Veterans Administration has refused to provide them with health benefits or compensation for their diseases, which is a reason for the bill, said Thompson.
Alderson said he and others involved in the testing have had problems with their medical records, portions of which have been known to disappear.
The bill instructs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs within 180 days of enactment to notify all veterans of potential exposure to the biological or chemical weapons used in Project 112 and Project SHAD.
HR 5954 would “establish a presumption of service connection,” said Thompson, which would mean that once a vet was identified, any health issues would be presumed service-related.
“It's our hope that once this happens we can get them that health care they need,” Thompson said. “They should not be denied and neglected any more”
Although the bill's previous version died in the Senate, Thompson and Rehberg said they have assurances from Congressman Bob Filner, chair of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, that he'll get a hearing for the bill quickly.
“I'm feeling cautiously optimistic that we'll be able to have some success this time,” Thompson said.
Vietnam Veterans of America has endorsed the legislation, the congressman noted.
Rehberg credited Thompson for taking the lead on the matter. “When Mike gets his teeth in your ankles, he's not going to let go.”
Thompson said the government's denial and refusal to take care of the affected veterans has gone on far too long – more than 40 years in some cases.
Alderson, who previously has testified on Project SHAD before the Senate Armed Services Committee – said Thompson has asked him to come and testify before Congress during the bill's first hearing, scheduled for June 12, before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Barry credited Alderson for working to bring the project to light. “He's not in it for personal gain. He's looking after his people.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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I am glad Congress is looking at this issue, I do hope they include all of the Cold War era test programs, the Operation Whitecoat veterans used inbiological weapons experiments from 1953-1973 when Nixon signed the 1972 BWTC agreement, the 7120enlisted men used at Edgewood Arsenal from 1955 thru 1975 in chemical weapons and drug experiments, other tests were conducted at Fort McClellan, Fort Bragg and any other place they may have done this, Panama, Alaska, they should all be covered if they were harmed by the exposures and links to the toxins and their current medical conditions can be linked. There are 2 studies that show the Edgewood veterans have extensive medical problems related to Sarin and mustard agents, LSD, PCP, Scopolomine, Ecstacy in all 254 seperate substances, the EPA shows 77 toxic sunstances in the drinking water wells of Edgewood Arsenal that were not capped and closed until 1978 three years after the last experiments. The CDC's ATSDR database links these to gastrointestinal, pulmonary, nuerological and cardiovascular problems, almost all body systems can be affected by these toxins.
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor
Some being shut out of aiding vets
In the past few days there have been several stories in The Blade about the U.S. military's high suicide rate, high occurrences of post-traumatic stress disorder, and lack of qualified mental health professionals within the Veterans Administration to help with the ever-increasing number of veterans needing mental- health care.
I find it quite ironic that, given these reports, licensed mental- health counselors such as myself are being virtually shut out of the VA health-care system. The majority of "counseling" positions within the VA are open only to social workers. Indeed, I am not even allowed to apply for "counseling" jobs because I am not a social worker. Recently I offered my services to the VA on a volunteer basis and I was denied the ability to even volunteer to help my fellow veterans.
While we hear that the VA is doing all it can for our veterans, it is in reality actively and purposely keeping well-qualified mental-health counselors from providing desperately needed services to our brave veterans. How, I ask, is this doing everything they can for our veterans?
This has to stop, and the VA needs to be forced to open up its recruiting and hiring practices equally to all qualified mental-health professionals. If you want to do something for our troops, call your congressman and senator and demand that our troops be given the best care possible by allowing all appropriately trained mental-health professionals equal access to VA employment. Our service members deserve the best mental-health care they can get and by all accounts they are not getting it.
Fred Lockard
Maumee
Improve services for military, families
It has been discouraging to read, hear, and watch stories about the inadequate treatment of our veterans' mental-health issues and needs after returning from their service for our country. Regardless of how we feel about war, it is sad that we are in such a crisis in trying to treat and support soldiers who may be experiencing conditions such as depression, anxiety, and post traumatic stress disorder.
The donation of time and expertise by mental-health professionals is wonderful but mental health seems to be an issue that many times is not adequately funded. We also need to beef up support to the families of these soldiers. Everyone is affected.
The irony in Toledo is that a very effective not-for-profit organization that can provide such support to families had to layoff three employees because of financial difficulties. The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater Toledo provides educational programs and support to families like mine. I hope that someone will step up and do the right thing to make sure agencies like NAMI are able to be there for families.
Let's find a way before it's too late to do the right thing for soldiers and their families as well as countless others who need help.
Liz Sheets
Ottawa Hills
Counting down
The end of an "error": Jan. 20, 2009.
Jerry Chabler
Sylvania
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Thursday, June 5, 2008
Asked to resign, which is code for firing,
On today’s edition of CNN Newsroom Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports that top Air Force leadership were asked to resign. This is a result of the B-52 bomber that flew across country with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles that nobody knew were live nuclear weapons until the plane landed.
Please credit all usage to Jamie McIntyre
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: We've got breaking news to tell you about that's coming to us from the Pentagon, and specifically from the Department of the Air Force. We have just learned that the top Air Force leadership is out, fired.
Let's head straight to the Pentagon and our senior correspondent there Jamie McIntyre. What's going on, Jamie?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, this is an example of Defense Secretary Robert Gates no-excuses management style. As you said, heads are rolling over the issue of the handling of nuclear weapons and other leadership issues in the Air Force.
Asked to resign, which is code for firing, is the top civilian in charge of the Air Force, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and the top military general in charge of the Air Force, Air Force Chief of Staff General Mike Moseley. The two top leaders of the Air Force are being replaced because Secretary Gates has received a highly critical report of how the Air Force has reacted to an embarrassing incident last year which a B-52 bomber flew across country with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles that nobody knew were live nuclear weapons until the plane landed in Barksdale, Louisiana.
There were supposed to be big changes made from that. But a recent inspection of the base was less than satisfactory, and Secretary Gates just got a report on his desk from an independent investigator, a Navy admiral who has been in charge of reviewing what the Air Force has done to take care of this.
It's not just this issue though. There have been a number of leadership issues in the Air Force including questions about a conflict of interest around a high-profile public relations contract that was left from the Air Force. And all of that together led Secretary Gates to decide that he was going to take decisive action.
It's not unlike what he did when he heard about the shortcomings at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital. In that case, he fired the Army secretary and head of the hospital there, as well -- Brianna.
Air Force leadership in shake-up
Air Force leadership in shake-up
By ROBERT BURNS
The Associated Press
Thursday, June 5, 2008; 1:42 PM
WASHINGTON -- The military and civilian chiefs of the Air Force are resigning, U.S. officials said Thursday.
Defense officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne to step down.
A public announcement was expected later in the day.
There was no immediate word on who would be nominated to replace Moseley and Wynne.
Press secretary Dana Perino said President Bush knew about the resignations but that the White House "has not played any role" in the shake-up.
Moseley became Air Force chief in September 2005; Wynne took office in November 2005.
Wynne is the second civilian chief of a military service to be forced out by Gates. In March 2007 the defense secretary pushed out Francis Harvey, the Army secretary, because Gates was dissatisfied with Harvey's handling of revelations of inadequate housing conditions and bureaucratic delays for troops recovering from war wounds at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The Air Force has endured a number of embarrassing setbacks over the past year. In August, for instance, a B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown across the country. The pilot and crew were unaware they had nuclear arms aboard.
The error was considered so grave that President Bush was quickly informed.
Moseley later announced that in response to flaws exposed during the nuclear weapons error, the Air Force would change the way bomber crews organize for their nuclear training mission.
Gates also has been trying to learn more about how fuses for Air Force ballistic missiles were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan. Gates was briefed last week on the conclusions of an internal investigation of that matter but the results have not been made public.
Four cone-shaped electrical fuses used in intercontinental ballistic missile warheads were shipped to the Taiwanese instead of the helicopter batteries they had ordered. The fuses originated at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo., but the mix-up apparently occurred after the parts were shipped to Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
In another incident, the Pentagon inspector general found in April that a $50 million contract to promote the Thunderbirds aerial stunt team was tainted by improper influence and preferential treatment. No criminal conduct was found.
Moseley was not singled out for blame, but the investigation laid out a trail of communications from him and other Air Force leaders that eventually influenced the 2005 contract award. Included in that were friendly e-mails between Moseley and an executive in the company that won the bid.
"It is my sense that General Moseley's command authority has been compromised," Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said at the time.
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SALUTE Secretary Gates it's about time there is some accountability at the top. My step father is a retired AF TSGT WW2- 1962 he would be ashamed of the past few years performance go 8th Army Air Corp
After 40 years, hero honored
After 40 years, hero honored
MOBILE | Forty years ago, only a few people knew how Jack Weeks died. Friends who had lost track of him likely didn't even hear of his death.
On Wednesday, the USS Alabama Battleship Commission attempted to make up for lost time with its 'Long Overdue Tribute to Jack W. Weeks.'
'We're so proud to honor him today as an American hero and a fellow Alabamian,' said Col. Barney Gass, the commission's chairman, during a ceremony at Battleship Park.
Weeks, a University of Alabama graduate and Birmingham native, died 40 years ago Wednesday while flying the super secret A-12 high level surveillance plane over the Pacific Ocean. His mission was so secret that even his wife didn't know he was working for the CIA until after his death. Even then, she couldn't tell anyone about the program he was involved in until the information was declassified in September 2007.
'He was a patriot in the true sense of the word,' Sharlene Weeks said during the ceremony. 'He would not see this as a single honor but as an honor for all of the men' who flew and worked with him.
Former pilots, engineers and ground crew from the A-12 program, along with members of the Battleship Commission and Weeks' family and friends, were on hand for the ceremony. The commission dedicated the A-12 on display at Battleship Park in Weeks' honor and the plane bears his name.
The ceremony also included a flyover by an Air Force tanker plane. It is part of a two-day celebration that will include a symposium by members of the Roadrunners, the nickname given those associated with the A-12 program. And Battleship Commission Executive director Bill Tunnell read a commendation from Gov. Bob Riley that called Weeks 'an Alabamian of distinction and an American of heroic proportions.'
'We've waited 40 years to do this,' said T.P. Barnes, president of Roadrunners Internationale, an organization comprised of people who took part in the A-12 program. Even that veterans organization had to remain secret until nine months ago.
The mention of Weeks' UA ties during the ceremony drew a respectful 'Roll Tide' from some members of the audience.
Veterans of the A-12 program will hold a symposium today at Battleship Park.
Sharlene Weeks told her husband's story to Tuscaloosa News for a story published Sunday, May 25. Since then, word has spread to his friends about what Weeks did.
Greene County resident Bradley Brown said he bought a copy of the paper at the Eutaw Bait and Gun Shop, as he does every morning. He was surprised to see his old high school and college friend's picture on the front page.
'I said, ‘My God, that's Jackie Weeks,'' Brown said. 'I got the paper and read the whole thing right there sitting in the front seat of my truck.'
Brown had not seen Weeks since they were both commissioned in 1955, Weeks into the Air Force and Brown into the Army.
'I just lost him,' Brown said, shaking his head. 'I lost a lot of them.'
But he didn't miss the opportunity to honor his old school mate. In the story, Sharlene Weeks said she had hoped to contact Dan Saltsman, who was Weeks' best man in their wedding. Brown tracked him down and Saltsman traveled from central Florida to attend the ceremony.
Saltsman, Weeks' college roommate at UA, last saw Weeks on a visit to California in the 1960s and Weeks told him then that he worked for Hughes Aircraft Corp.
'He honored his confidentiality,' Saltsman recalled. 'But I knew he was into something more than he was telling me.'
Both Brown and Saltsman remember a bright young man who excelled at West End High School in Birmingham and UA, with a promising future ahead of him.
'Him and William Brakefield got me though chemistry,' Brown said, chuckling. 'He was a super nice guy, a good looking young man. All the girls were falling all over him.'
Saltsman said Weeks was gifted from a very young age.
'Jack was piddling with motors and motor scooters while I was trying to blow up bicycle tires,' he laughed.
Boots Schmidt of Tuscaloosa was also was surprised to read about Weeks. She knew Sharlene Weeks from a period when they both lived in California. Sharlene Weeks, an ordained minister, directed Schmidt's wedding and gave her and her husband premarital counseling.
'She is the most phenomenal woman I've ever met,' said Schmidt, who attended the ceremony Wednesday. 'She kept the secret. I never knew Jack, but she told me what she could at the time.'
Weeks is credited with getting the first photographs of the USS Pueblo after the intelligence gathering ship was captured by the North Koreans in 1968. It was an important accomplishment, said CIA historian David Robarge.
'The mission that Jack Weeks flew over North Korea probably alleviated conflict,' Robarge said.
The photos Weeks took of the Pueblo wound up on the president's desk and confirmed that the North Koreans had captured the ship. It allowed the U.S. to begin negotiating for the crew's release, which took 11 months.
Weeks was no stranger to Cold War conflict. He flew an F-100 fighter-bomber armed with nuclear weapons during the Soviet Union's crisis with Hungary in 1956, knowing it would be a one-way mission if he was called upon to attack, Sharlene Weeks said.
'Jack was a Cold War warrior long before he became a CIA pilot,' she said.
Tunnell closed the ceremony by reading Riley's commendation. After a pause, he ended with the words, 'Long live the spirit of Jack Weeks.'
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SALUTE
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Ignoring McCain's own votes against troop funding
Ignoring McCain's own votes against troop funding
Summary: The AP and the Los Angeles Times quoted Sen. John McCain's assertion that Sen. Barack Obama voted "to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job" in Iraq, without noting that McCain himself voted against bills that would have provided "funds to the soldiers" serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Reporting on Sen. Barack Obama clinching the Democratic presidential nomination on June 3, two separate AP articles and a Los Angeles Times report uncritically quoted Sen. John McCain's assertion that day that Obama voted "to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job" in Iraq. Yet, in these articles, neither the AP nor the Times pointed out that McCain himself voted against legislation that would have provided "funds to the soldiers" serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and directed more than $1 billion to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as other legislation funding care for veterans.
A June 3 AP article by staff writer Libby Quaid stated, "Republican John McCain welcomed Democrat Barack Obama to the fall campaign for the White House on Tuesday with a blistering attack on his judgment and a charge that he 'voted to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job' in Iraq." Quaid later wrote:
"Senator Obama opposed the new strategy, and, after promising not to, voted to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job of carrying it out," McCain said.
A year ago, Obama voted against a funding bill for the Iraq war because it lacked a timetable for withdrawing troops. At the time, Obama said the bill would give Bush "a blank check to continue down this same, disastrous path."
On June 4, AP staff writers Tom Raum and Nedra Pickler reported:
McCain spoke first, in New Orleans, and he accused his younger rival of voting "to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job" in Iraq. It was a reference to 2007 legislation to pay for the Iraq war, a measure Obama opposed citing the lack of a timetable for withdrawing troops.
Similarly, in the June 4 Los Angeles Times article, writers Mark Z. Barabak and Michael Finnegan reported:
McCain brought up the war in a prime-time speech he delivered outside New Orleans, just before Clinton and Obama spoke. He accused Obama of voting "to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job" in Iraq -- referring to a 2007 war-funding bill that Obama opposed because it lacked a timetable for troop withdrawal.
None pointed out that on March 29, 2007, McCain himself voted against H.R. 1591, an emergency spending bill that would have funded the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and would have provided more than $1 billion in additional funds to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Senate passed H.R. 1591 by a margin of 51-47. Once the bill's conference report was agreed to by the House, the Senate again passed the measure on April 26, 2007, by a vote of 51-46. McCain did not vote on that version of the bill. By contrast, Obama voted for it on both occasions. President Bush vetoed the bill, citing its provision for a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
Moreover, McCain has voted against other legislation funding care for veterans. On April 26, 2006, McCain voted against an amendment by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) that would have "provide[d] an additional $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans." In addition, on March 14, 2006, McCain voted against "increas[ing] Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes." On March 10, 2004, McCain also voted against "creat[ing] a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans' medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating tax loopholes." Obama voted for the first two measures; he had not yet entered the Senate when the third vote was cast.
The AP and Los Angeles Times articles continue a pattern, documented by Media Matters for America, in which the media uncritically report McCain's attacks on Democrats for voting against funding the troops, without noting that McCain has done so himself.
—K.H.
Another Shocking Vet Suicide--With Third War Tour on Tap
Another Shocking Vet Suicide--With Third War Tour on Tap
The roll call of Iraq and Afghanistan vets who have committed suicide (which I have been chronicling for years) continues to grow in an utterly disturbing and rapid manner.
The latest: a major in the U.S. Army Reserve who had served two tours in Afghanistan and now expected to get orders for a third, possibly to Iraq. He shot and killed himself, at a veterans' cemetery, on Monday.
Only after he died did his wife discover a letter in his printer revealing that he had made an appointment to see a V.A . counselor for depression.
"His desire to be at peace in heaven was greater than the thought of enduring any more pain," Lana Waldorf of Bingham Falls, Mich., said of her husband, Lance Waldorf.
A caretaker at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly Township found Waldorf's body in military fatigues with a handgun, a note, and photos of his family next to him. The Detroit News reports that returned home in 2007 after having served two tours in Afghanistan as a civil affairs officer coordinating humanitarian assistance and as a diplomat to the Afghan government.
An AP account relates:
Lana Waldorf, 51, said her husband of seven years suffered from depression as a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. She only learned of it when she found a document on their printer he had prepared for an appointment at a Veterans Administration hospital.
"My husband kept all of this from me," she said. "I read it and was stunned because I had no idea what he was going through."
Military officials said last week that Army soldiers committed suicide in 2007 at the highest rate on record. The toll is climbing ever higher this year as long war deployments stretch on.
Lana Waldorf believes her husband's depression kept him from seeking help -- until it was too late -- and now she wants the military to conduct monthly evaluations for returning soldiers.
"Anyone coming back from a war where they have seen killing, where they have seen death, where they have feared for their own life, is going to come back with emotional wounds," she told the AP. "Those wounds need to be treated with loving care -- through a church, through the Veterans Administration, through their families. And the government needs to orchestrate this."
*
Greg Mitchell's new book has several chapters on Iraq vet suicides. It is titled So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq.
VA Says Email Was “Poorly Worded”
VA Says Email Was “Poorly Worded”
(CBS) This story was written by CBS News producer Pia Malbran for cbsnews.com.
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A Veterans Affairs psychologist claims an email, in which she appears to encourage VA staff to misdiagnose post traumatic stress disorder, has been taken out-of-context.
“I sent an email to my staff on March 20 to stress the importance of an accurate diagnosis,” Norma J. Perez told the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Wednesday during a hearing in Washington, DC.
Perez’s internal email was leaked to the media last month by two veteran watchdog groups. As the coordinator of the PTSD clinic at a VA hospital in Texas, Perez sent a message titled “Suggestion” to her mental health staff. She wrote: “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. Consider a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder…”
Lawmakers are concerned that Perez appeared to be more interested in the cost of treatment rather than the appropriate diagnosis. A veteran diagnosed with adjustment disorder will not receive as much compensation as one diagnosed with PTSD.
“Any suggestion that we would not diagnose a condition, any condition is unacceptable,” said Dr. Michael Kussman, the VA's Under Secretary for Health, who testified alongside Perez.
Perez told the Committee that there is “no relationship whatsoever” between the VA’s disability process and the treatment clinics. As to why she mentioned “compensation” in her email, Perez said she just wanted to emphasize consistent diagnoses.
During the hearing, Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington State, pointed out that treatment guidelines say “adjustment disorder” must be determined within six month of a traumatic event. Sen. Murray questioned whether adjustment disorder is an appropriate diagnosis for VA staffers to consider since many veterans often go to the VA more than six month after leaving combat.
In response, Perez said “that is why it’s just a suggestion.” She also pointed out that at the Texas clinic where she worked many new veterans would show up.
The VA’s head of mental health, Dr. Ira Katz, who was also present at the hearing, told the Committee he disagreed with Perez. He said he has concerns about diagnosing a veteran with adjustment disorder past the six month period.
The VA’s inspector general is now conducting an investigation. Lawmakers and veterans advocates are hoping the inspector general will determine whether or not Perez's suggestion is part of a bigger trend within the VA system.
By Pia Malbran
©MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Lawmakers grill officials over veterans' mental health care
Lawmakers grill officials over veterans' mental health care
1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Senators on Wednesday grilled Veterans Affairs Administration (VA) officials over an email branding soldiers as "compensation-seekers" and urging staff to make fewer diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"Citing 'compensation-seeking veterans,' the email in question encourages VA practitioners to avoid diagnosing veterans with PTSD in order to save time and money," Senator Patty Murray told a hearing of the Senate Veterans' Affairs committee.
"This email is a sad reminder that this administration's attempt to hide the true cost of war has begun to affect the way VA employees view their work," Murray said.
Mental health specialist Norma Perez sent out the email in March to staff at the VA medical center in Texas, where she was a coordinator of the PTSD clinical team.
Senators at the hearing cited the email as saying: "Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I would like to see you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out."
Perez said the aim of her email was to urge staff to be "more sensitive to what the veterans are going through." She did not explain how the email was intended to achieve that.
Other VA officials praised the veterans' agency in their testimonies and highlighted the enormous workload that is weighing it down as claims for PTSD snowball.
Since 1999, the number of US veterans receiving disability compensation for PTSD has increased nearly three-fold, from 120,000 to nearly 329,000, Patrick Dunne, VA under secretary for benefits, told the hearing.
Two-thirds were veterans of the Vietnam war, while the second biggest group were 37,460 veterans of the ongoing war in Iraq, he said.
Dr Michael Kussman, the VA under secretary for health, said Perez's email had been "taken out of context" and extolled the excellent mental health care provided by the VA.
The senators slammed the VA officials for not taking the "invisible" mental injuries of war as seriously as the obvious physical ones, and for "treating veterans in a cavalier manner."
"We need recognition from the VA that 'invisible' injuries are wreaking havoc on our soldiers and their families," said Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the state with the most US fatalities per capita in Iraq, according to the senator's staff and press reports.
"Men and women see their lives fall apart when they come back home from this complex war and don't receive the care they deserve. We need the culture of the VA to change," he said.
Murray deplored that the VA was seen as "more of an obstacle than an ally" by soldiers seeking care and support after deployment.
Committee chair Daniel Akaka condemned the staggering numbers of soldiers returning from war with invisible wounds.
"With so many troops returning from multiple tours with various mental health issues, VA must have the credibility, resources and commitment to ensure that veterans are properly treated and compensated," Akaka said.
According to a study released in April by the RAND Corporation about 300,000 of the 1.6 million US troops who have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002 suffer from PTSD or depression, but only around half have sought medical care for the conditions.
The study estimated the cost of treating soldiers diagnosed with PTSD or depression in the first two years following their return from Iraq or Afghanistan at up to 6.2 billion dollars.
The Pentagon last month issued data showing diagnoses of PTSD among troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan had climbed from 9,549 in 2006 to 13,951 in 2007.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon said it is recruiting government public health workers to offset a shortage in mental health care providers for troops returning from war with mental problems.
Lawmakers grill officials over veterans' mental health care
VA denies money a factor in PTSD diagnoses
VA denies money a factor in PTSD diagnoses
y HOPE YEN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 3, 2008; 8:00 PM
WASHINGTON -- A Veterans Affairs psychologist denies that she was trying to save money when she suggested that counselors make fewer diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder in injured soldiers.
Norma Perez, who helps coordinate a post-traumatic stress disorder clinical team in central Texas, indicated she might have been out of line to cite growing disability claims in her March 20 e-mail titled "Suggestion." She said her intent was simply to remind staffers that stress symptoms could also be adjustment disorder. The less severe diagnosis could save the VA millions of dollars in disability payouts.
"In retrospect, I realize I did not adequately convey my message appropriately, but my intent was unequivocally to improve the quality of care our veterans received," Perez said in testimony prepared for delivery Wednesday before a Senate panel.
The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and the VA inspector general are investigating whether there were broader VA policy motives behind the e-mail, which was obtained and disclosed last month by two watchdog groups. The VA has strenuously denied that cost-cutting is a factor in its treatment decisions.
"One question that was raised repeatedly about this latest e-mail was, 'Why would a clinician be so concerned about the compensation rolls?'" said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, who chairs the Senate panel. "As an oversight body, we must know whether the actions of these VA employees point to a systemic indifference to invisible wounds."
VA Secretary James Peake has called Perez's e-mail suggestion "inappropriate." VA officials this week said her e-mail was taken out of context.
"The e-mail, as characterized by others, does not reflect the policies or conduct of our health care system," said Michael Kussman, VA's undersecretary for health, in testimony prepared for the Senate hearing. "We certainly agree that it could have been more artfully drafted."
In her e-mail to staffers at the VA medical center in Temple, Texas, Perez wrote, "Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out. ... We really don't or have time to do the extensive testing that should be done to determine PTSD."
Many veterans and injured troops have long charged that the government might seek to reduce disability costs by assigning a lower benefits rating. Last year, retired Lt. Gen. James Terry Scott, chairman of the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission, said he believed the Army might at least subconsciously consider cost. A lawsuit filed in San Francisco accuses the VA of misclassifying PTSD claims.
In her testimony, Perez said symptoms for PTSD and adjustment disorder are often similar, as are the treatments for them. She said by making an initial diagnosis of a lesser disorder, VA staff can begin treatment right away without going through the arduous process of deeming it PTSD.
Perez also noted that awarding disability benefits is not part of her staff's work, but she did not say why she chose to cite that as a factor in urging fewer PTSD diagnoses. Veterans diagnosed with PTSD are eligible to receive up to $2,527 a month in government benefits.
A recent Rand Corp. study found about 300,000 U.S. military personnel who served in Iraq or Afghanistan are suffering from PTSD or major depression, potentially saving the government millions of dollars if lesser diagnoses are used _rightly or wrongly _ in disability benefits decisions.
"Although our clinic is a treatment clinic, we all fully support the compensation process and the department's policy of erring in the best interest of the veteran whenever there is any doubt," Perez wrote.
Perez's testimony comes after Peake was called to Capitol Hill last month to answer questions about internal e-mails suggesting that VA officials were hiding the number of veterans trying to kill themselves. One of the e-mails, disclosed during a San Francisco trial, started with "Shh!" Some lawmakers have said the VA's top mental health official who wrote it, Dr. Ira Katz, should be fired, but Peake has said he has no plans to do so.
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Why would Sec Peake fire anyone for the same opinions he holds, in Alaska last week he compared TBI injuries caused by IED blasts to concussions from playing football in high school, WTF? This man is the Secretary of the VA, why?
Army hospital says 1,000 patients may be affected
Patient Information Exposed in Data Breach at Walter Reed
By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com
June 3, 2008
Data Theft
• Patient Information Exposed in Data Breach at Walter Reed
• Supermarket Chain Reports Data Breach
• Report: Feds Still Not Doing Enough To Secure Data
• Data Thieves Hit Georgetown University Students, Faculty
• 800,000 Job Seekers At Risk In Gap Data Breach
• TJX Data Breach Settlement Has Strings Attached
• More ...
Patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals had their personal information exposed in a security breach, officials said. As many as 1,000 patients may have been affected.
Details are scarce but Walter Reed officials said that the breach, which included names, Social Security numbers, and birth dates, was discovered on May 21 by a third-party data mining company, which the hospital did not identify.
Officials said the company found the exposed file while on another assignment and contacted Walter Reed.
The Associated Press reported that Walter Reed officials would only confirm that the data was found on a "non-governmental, non-secure network."
Walter Reed is contacting patients who were affected by the breach, and has set up a toll-free hotline (1-877-854-8542, ext. 9) for patients to determine if they were affected. Individuals affected by the breach will have credit monitoring services provided for them, the hospital said.
Government and military installations have encountered numerous forms of data breaches in recent years, from lost laptops, to accidental posting of information online, to sharing data without proper security precautions.
The biggest known government data breach on record remains the loss of records on 26.5 million veterans when a laptop containing the data was stolen from the home of an analyst for the Veterans' Administration (VA).
The laptop was eventually recovered, but not before investigators admitted keeping the breach secret for several weeks, as well as hiding several other breaches that had taken place during the last few years.
Other breaches included the accidental unencrypted transmission of 580,000 military members' personal data by contracting company SAIC in July 2007. SAIC had been handling health care processing claims for TRICARE, the military medical network, and had been assisting multiple branches of the military as well as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The extensive outsourcing of many governmental and military functions to private contractors has been criticized as a potential threat to national security.
In 2006 a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) criticized the trend, particularly in cases when contractors who had received outsourced government information then subcontracted the data out to third-party companies, many of which were located outside the United States.
El Paso VA health chief retires after patients criticize care
El Paso VA health chief retires after patients criticize care (7:02 a.m.)
By Chris Roberts / For the Sun-News
Article Launched: 06/04/2008 07:05:24 AM MDT
EL PASO — The embattled director of the El Paso Veterans Affairs Health Care System has stepped down, officials said Tuesday.
Director Bruce E. Stewart has decided to retire after 34 years of service to the VA, spokesman Ray Horn said.
Stewart's decision to retire comes soon after the El Paso system was ranked last in the nation in an internal survey on patient satisfaction completed last fall. No policy or additional staff changes are planned at this time, Horn said. "We will continue to improve access and to provide the highest quality of care," he said.
In April, the El Paso Times reported in a copyright story that the local VA system had fared poorly in the survey in patient care, outreach, technology and distribution of medical equipment and supplies. It also reportedly was having problems with staff morale, which apparently resulted in threats of "mass resignations."
At the time, Stewart said the El Paso VA was not providing the level of customer service it should, but that, in some cases, the way local administrators answered survey questions gave the wrong impression. Stewart's defenders said he inherited some of the problems, and Stewart noted that a recent infusion of money was allowing him to hire
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staff, which was expected to improve the system's responsiveness.
U.S. Reps. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, and Bob Filner, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, visited the facility in April. Filner said the El Paso VA system was failing local veterans and threatened to conduct a congressional hearing if things didn't improve soon.
Reyes said that a 1.9 percent decline in visits from 2006 to 2007 indicated that some veterans were giving up. However, during a visit to the facility late last month, VA Secretary James Peake said there already were improvements after the hiring of 40 new staff members.
"The departure of Director Stewart is not a surprising development for El Paso area veterans, who have for too long endured lengthy wait times for appointments and are often unable to contact VA staff over the phone," Reyes said Tuesday. "When I met with Secretary Peake and Senator (Kay Bailey) Hutchison (R-Texas) last month in El Paso to discuss these problems, we made clear that the level of access to medical services provided by the VA clinic was unacceptable."
Reyes said he was "encouraged" by recent actions taken but "will continue to press for improvements."
"When I needed to talk to him (Stewart), he was there," retired Lt. Col. John McKinney, an El Paso veterans advocate.
"He's had his hands full," McKinney said. "He came in from a much smaller facility and there's been growth since he's been here. ... They've had problems; whether or not they've been attributed to him depends on who you ask."
An interim director will be appointed by the director of the VA network, which includes El Paso, Horn said, and the new director ultimately must be approved by the Cabinet secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Chris Roberts reports for the El Paso Times, a member of the Texas-New Mexico Newspapers Partnership, and may be reached at chrisr@elpasotimes.com;546-6136.
El Paso VA health chief retires after patients criticize care
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
SOLDIERS: LONG TOURS CREATE ‘LOT OF STRESS’
SOLDIERS: LONG TOURS CREATE ‘LOT OF STRESS’
Posted: Friday, May 30, 2008 1:49 PM
Filed Under: John Rutherford
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three soldiers receiving Purple Hearts today at Walter Reed Army Medical Center spoke about the strains on soldiers in Iraq that contributed to a record number of suicides last year in the Army.
The Army reported Thursday there were 115 suicides in 2007, the highest number since it began keeping records of suicides in 1980. So far this year, there have been 38 confirmed suicides.
"There's a lot of strain because probably a lot of people are ready to come home," said Staff Sgt. Bennie Lamb, 40, of Macon, Ga., who was on his third tour in Iraq when he was wounded March 14 by a suicide bomber.
NBC News/ Antoine Sanfuentes
Staff Sgt. Bennie Lamb receives a Purple Heart on May 30, 2008.
The uncertainty of extended tours, Lamb said, only adds to the pressure on soldiers.
"Don't know when you're leaving," he said. "With this 15-month, 12-month tour thing, you know, that's a lot of stress. That's a lot of stress."
Army officials said their statistics do not demonstrate a direct link between repeated deployments and a rise in suicides, but Army psychiatrist Col. Elspeth Ritchie acknowledged the intense stress of a combat zone takes a toll on soldiers.
"We see a lot of things that are going on in the war which do contribute," Ritchie told Reuters. She pointed specifically to long months away from home, the horrors of combat, the ready availability of loaded weapons and the high activity levels of current Army operations.
Chief Warrant Officer Brian Callan, 42, of Adamstown, Md., an Apache pilot who was wounded Sept. 11 in Baghdad, said it's especially stressful for anyone who goes off base.
"Anytime you go outside, especially flying," he said. "If you were to go down out there, then obviously it's a race against time trying to get you recovered."
NBC News/ Antoine Sanfuentes
Chief Warrant Officer Brian Callan receives his Purple Heart at Walter Reed on May 30.
Shorter tours should help
Pfc. Luis Villalba-Cabrera, 22, was wounded by a roadside bomb just 24 days after deploying to Iraq last November. Being away from his family was his hardest adjustment.
"Just being away, being far away," he said. "Communicating by phone – not the best way of communicating."
Villalba-Cabrera said soldiers play video games and hang out with friends to keep their minds occupied as much as possible.
"It's a stressful environment," he said. "We are in a war conflict, so pretty stressful."
NBC News/ Antoine Sanfuentes
Pfc. Luis Villalba-Cabrera receives his Purple Heart at Walter Reed on May 30.
All three agree the impending cutback in tours from 15 months to 12 months will be a big help.
"Oh, yes, oh, yes," Villalba-Cabrera said, chuckling. "That few months makes a big difference. Being back at home as much as possible is always great."
"I think that will help, for sure," Callan said. "It definitely can't hurt."
"Six months would be a whole lot better," said Lamb, laughing.
John Rutherford is an NBC News Producer based out of the Washington, D.C. bureau and is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He also posts stories on the military at www.dailynightly.msnbc.com (click on "John Rutherford" under "categories").
Adm. William Fallon in an exclusive interview w/Kyra Phillips
On today’s edition of American Morning, CNN anchor Kyra Phillips spoke to Retired Centcom Commander Adm. William Fallon in an exclusive interview about his forced retirement. The video link, Highlighted Excerpts and full transcript of the interview are below.
Please credit all usage to CNN’s Kyra Phillips
Video Link to Interview
Adm Fallon
Highlighted Excerpts
On the reason for his resignation
FALLON: Well, the story is -- the facts are that the situation was one that was very uncomfortable for me, and I'm sure for the president. One of the most important things in the military is confidence in the chain of command. And the situation that developed was one of uncertainty and a feeling that maybe that I was disloyal to the president, that I might be trying to countermand his orders, the policies of the country, and that perception was unsettling to me.
The most important thing is that our people have confidence in their leaders, just as we have confidence in them and their ability to do their -- carry out their tasks every day. And the fact that people might be concerned that I was not appropriately doing what I was supposed to do and following orders bothered me. And my sense was that the right thing to do was to offer my resignation.
PHILLIPS: Do you feel you were pushed out, admiral?
FALLON: I think the real story here is what's important. What was important was not me. It wasn't some discussion about where I was with issues. It was the fact that we have a war in progress. We had a couple of hundred thousand people whose lives were at stake out in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we needed to be focused on that, not on some discussion about me or what I might have said or thought or somebody perceived that I said, and so that's the motivation.
On the President going to war with Iran
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about this "Esquire" magazine article.
I mean, this was the catalyst. This was the last straw. Tom Barnett made it appear that you were the only man standing between the president and a war with Iran. Is that true?
FALLON: Kyra, I don't believe for a second President Bush wants a war with Iran. The situation with Iran is very complex. People sometimes portray it or try to portray it in very simplistic terms. We're either against Iran, we want to go to war with Iran or we want to be close to them. The reality is in international politics that there are many aspects to any of these situations. And I believe in our relationship with Iran we need to be strong and firm, convey the principles upon which this country stands and upon which our policies are based. At the same time, demonstrate a willingness and an openness to engage in a dialogue, because there are certainly things that we can find in common.
PHILLIPS: Would you have done that? Would you have negotiated with Iran?
FALLON: Well, it's not my position to really negotiate with Iran. I was the military commander in the Middle East. I had responsibility first and foremost for our people and for their safety and well-being. It's the role of the diplomats to do the negotiation.
PHILLIPS: So when all the talk came about with regard to a third war, a war with Iran, the president didn't have it in the table. He didn't say to you, look, this is what I want to do, and did you stand to up him and say no, sir, bad move?
FALLON: Kyra, it's probably not appropriate to try to characterize it in that way. Again, don't believe for a second that the president really wants to go to war with Iran. We have a lot of things going on. And there are many other ways to solve problems.
I was very open and candid in my advice. I'm not shy. I will tell people, the leaders, what I think, and offer my opinions on Iran and other things and continue to do that.
On the best course for Iraq now
PHILLIPS: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama talk about pulling troops out by next year. John McCain says, no, we got to stay the course.
What is the best course for Iraq right now?
FALLON: Well, I believe the best course is to retain the high confidence we have in General David Petraeus and his team out there.
Dave's done an absolutely magnificent job in leading our people in that country.
Again, this situation is quite complex, many angles. There's a very, very important military role here in providing stability and security in this country, but that's not going to be successful, as we know, without lots of other people playing a hand. The political side of things in Iraq has got to move forward. That appears to be improving. People have to have confidence in their futures. They want to have stability. They'd like to be able to raise their families in peace. They'd like to have a job. They'd like to look to tomorrow as better than today. And it takes more than the military, but the military is essential to provide stability and security.
So the idea we would suddenly just walk away from Iraq strikes me as not appropriate. We all want to bring our troops home. We want to have the majority of our people back. We want the war ended.
But given where we are today, the progress that they've made, particularly in the last couple months -- I think it's very, very heartening to see what's really happened here. That the right course of action is to continue to work with the Iraqis, let them take over the majority of the tasks for ensuring security for the country, and have our people come out on a timetable that's appropriate to the conditions that are on the ground.
Full Transcript
THIS IS A RUSH FDCH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, he's known in military circles for his blunt, no-nonsense talk. Not the kind to tolerate incompetence, that's for sure. So President Bush knew what he was getting when he picked Admiral William Fallon to oversee operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just short of a year on the job, Fallon was pushed into early retirement, ending a decorated 40 years of service. An article in "Esquire" magazine had portrayed him a rogue commander, butting heads with President Bush over a war with Iran and troop withdrawal. But when Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Fallon's resignation, he refuted that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECY.: Admiral Fallon reached this difficult decision entirely on his own. I believe it was the right thing to do, even though I do not believe there are in fact significant differences between his views and administration policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Fallon's critics say that he was disloyal to the president. Fallon says he was just being candid and wasn't going to pull any punches. In his first television interview since leaving command, Admiral William Fallon joins us now live with his side of the story.
Good to see you, sir.
ADM. WILLIAM FALLON (RET.), FMR. CENTCOM COMMANDER: Good morning, Kyra. Nice to be back in New York.
PHILLIPS: It's nice to have you here.
How were you informed that this was it? Who called you?
FALLON: Well, the story is -- the facts are that the situation was one that was very uncomfortable for me, and I'm sure for the president. One of the most important things in the military is confidence in the chain of command. And the situation that developed was one of uncertainty and a feeling that maybe that I was disloyal to the president, that I might be trying to countermand his orders, the policies of the country, and that perception was unsettling to me.
The most important thing is that our people have confidence in their leaders, just as we have confidence in them and their ability to do their -- carry out their tasks every day. And the fact that people might be concerned that I was not appropriately doing what I was supposed to do and following orders bothered me. And my sense was that the right thing to do was to offer my resignation.
PHILLIPS: Do you feel you were pushed out, admiral?
FALLON: I think the real story here is what's important. What was important was not me. It wasn't some discussion about where I was with issues. It was the fact that we have a war in progress. We had a couple of hundred thousand people whose lives were at stake out in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we needed to be focused on that, not on some discussion about me or what I might have said or thought or somebody perceived that I said, and so that's the motivation.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about this "Esquire" magazine article.
I mean, this was the catalyst. This was the last straw. Tom Barnett made it appear that you were the only man standing between the president and a war with Iran. Is that true?
FALLON: Kyra, I don't believe for a second President Bush wants a war with Iran. The situation with Iran is very complex. People sometimes portray it or try to portray it in very simplistic terms. We're either against Iran, we want to go to war with Iran or we want to be close to them. The reality is in international politics that there are many aspects to any of these situations. And I believe in our relationship with Iran we need to be strong and firm, convey the principles upon which this country stands and upon which our policies are based. At the same time, demonstrate a willingness and an openness to engage in a dialogue, because there are certainly things that we can find in common.
PHILLIPS: Would you have done that? Would you have negotiated with Iran?
FALLON: Well, it's not my position to really negotiate with Iran. I was the military commander in the Middle East. I had responsibility first and foremost for our people and for their safety and well-being. It's the role of the diplomats to do the negotiation.
PHILLIPS: So when all the talk came about with regard to a third war, a war with Iran, the president didn't have it in the table. He didn't say to you, look, this is what I want to do, and did you stand to up him and say no, sir, bad move?
FALLON: Kyra, it's probably not appropriate to try to characterize it in that way. Again, don't believe for a second that the president really wants to go to war with Iran. We have a lot of things going on. And there are many other ways to solve problems.
I was very open and candid in my advice. I'm not shy. I will tell people, the leaders, what I think, and offer my opinions on Iran and other things and continue to do that.
PHILLIPS: Do you think that's what cost you your job?
FALLON: No, I don't believe so at all. I think, again, it's this confidence issue of, do people really believe the chain of command is working for them, or do we have doubts, and if the doubts start focusing attention away from what the priority issues ought to be, then we've got to make a change.
PHILLIPS: Now we talk about your no-nonsense talk, the fact that you had no problems standing up to the president. Your critics say, that Admiral Fallon is a difficult man to get around with. Are you?
FALLON: You probably could ask my wife about that. She'd have a few things to say.
I think that what's really important here is that when I was asked to take this job about a year and a half ago, I believe it was because we were facing some very difficult days in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the region. I had some experience in dealing with international problems. I certainly had a lot of combat experience, and I was brought in, in an attempt to try to make things better, and that's what I went about doing.
Again, there are things that are important, and other things in life that are less so. And a lot of the issues that became points of discussion to me were not really important items. Important items -- the people, what they're doing, how to get this job done, how to get the war ended, get our people home.
PHILLIPS: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama talk about pulling troops out by next year. John McCain says, no, we got to stay the course.
What is the best course for Iraq right now?
FALLON: Well, I believe the best course is to retain the high confidence we have in General David Petraeus and his team out there.
Dave's done an absolutely magnificent job in leading our people in that country.
Again, this situation is quite complex, many angles. There's a very, very important military role here in providing stability and security in this country, but that's not going to be successful, as we know, without lots of other people playing a hand. The political side of things in Iraq has got to move forward. That appears to be improving. People have to have confidence in their futures. They want to have stability. They'd like to be able to raise their families in peace. They'd like to have a job. They'd like to look to tomorrow as better than today. And it takes more than the military, but the military is essential to provide stability and security.
So the idea we would suddenly just walk away from Iraq strikes me as not appropriate. We all want to bring our troops home. We want to have the majority of our people back. We want the war ended.
But given where we are today, the progress that they've made, particularly in the last couple months -- I think it's very, very heartening to see what's really happened here. That the right course of action is to continue to work with the Iraqis, let them take over the majority of the tasks for ensuring security for the country, and have our people come out on a timetable that's appropriate to the conditions that are on the ground.
PHILLIPS: Finally thoughts. Any regrets? If you could go back in a the position and head CENTCOM, knowing what you know now and looking at what happened and how you were nudged out of this job, would you do anything differently?
FALLON: Well, Kyra, it's pretty tough to critique a 40-year career of just wonderful experiences and working with the best people in the world. I would probably, as I would reflect on this, I could probably find some things that I might do a little bit differently.
PHILLIPS: Such as?
FALLON: Probably be a little more attentive to the fact that my prioritization of things probably drives people to recognize that the imperative is to get things done now, now, now, probably pretty strong in pushing to get things that I believe are important. But as I reflect back on the situation that we found ourselves in about a year and a half ago, it seemed to me that action was required now, and we needed to put the small things aside, really focus on what was important, and that is getting this job done, and that's what I tried to do to the best of my ability.
PHILLIPS: Admiral William Fallon.
FALLON: It's been quite an interesting 40 years.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it has. Quite a career. Appreciate your time this morning. It was good talking to you
