Ohio Legislature OKs plan to sell bonds to pay cash bonuses for veterans of Middle East wars
By STEPHEN MAJORS | Associated Press Writer
3:39 PM CST, March 3, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Legislature has given final approval to borrowing $200 million to pay cash bonuses to veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
The Ohio House voted 92-3 to approve the plan Tuesday. The Senate approved it last month. Voters must still support it in November because it would increase the state's debt.
Veterans would get $100 for every month they served to up a total of $1,000.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland vetoed a similar bill last year but is expected to sign this version because it raises money by selling bonds instead of tapping the state's rainy-day fund.
The governor wants to use nearly all of the $1 billion rainy-day fund to help pay for the next two-year budget. Ohio faces a $7 billion budget deficit.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Ohio Legislature OKs plan to sell bonds to pay cash bonuses for veterans of Middle East wars
Disabled deserve a simpler system
Disabled deserve a simpler system
By By Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Posted: 03/02/09 06:02 PM [ET]
As a nation at war, we are reminded that generations of Americans have been asked to serve their country, and many have answered by risking life and limb as members of our armed forces. From the Revolutionary War on, we have tried to answer this question as a people: How should we compensate those who are injured while serving in the military?
Today’s veteran disability compensation system is complicated and burdensome for both veterans and the government. What should be a clear path toward fair and timely relief has become a maze that can leave veterans and their advocates wandering for years. Many of the hurdles are the result of good intentions and incremental policy. Congress has increased opportunities for veterans to appeal, and created safeguards that are meant to protect veterans, but which now are a part of the difficulties they face.
After decades of decline, the number of veterans receiving disability compensation and pensions started to increase in 2002. Driven by two factors — the aging of the general veteran population and our prolonged involvement in two overseas conflicts —VA’s caseload is increasing. In fixing our attention on our troops abroad, we cannot lose sight of those who have returned wounded.
Veterans can feel the impact of a combat injury immediately, but their compensation for that injury is anything but automatic. Most veterans wait six months for a decision on an initial disability claim. Veterans who appeal may spend more time waiting for a decision than they spent in combat.
We are past the question of whether the claims processing system needs to be reformed. The question now is how to reform it — how to simplify the process and improve timeliness without sacrificing accuracy. The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is moving to address this issue. Earlier this month, I held a hearing on the appeals process, seeking ideas from veterans’ advocates on how to improve the current approach.
There is also broad agreement that the system for assigning disability ratings, which has not been comprehensively overhauled since 1945, needs to be updated. Last session, I held a series of hearings on reforming the disability compensation system, and that effort will continue this session.
Much of the committee’s attention this Congress will be dedicated to determining how veterans should be compensated and improving the compensation process. President Obama and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki have both expressed the desire for change at VA. I look forward to working with them to improve the system for today’s veterans and those who will wear our nation’s uniform in the years to come.
Akaka chairs the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Creating Jobs & Improving Quality of Life for Our Troops and Veterans
OFFICE OF SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI
FACT SHEET
March 4, 2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
Creating Jobs & Improving Quality of Life for Our Troops and Veterans
As President Obama has often stated, one of the chief goals of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed by the President on February 17, is to create jobs by putting Americans to work doing the work that America needs done. The long-neglected infrastructure needs of both our military and veterans' facilities, as the Walter Reed scandal highlighted, require swift action. That is why this legislation identifies and funds some of the most pressing infrastructure needs of the military and VA. Funding these infrastructure projects will create tens of thousands of new jobs, along with taking another step in keeping our promises to our troops and veterans. This legislation also includes other key provisions - including giving businesses tax credits for hiring unemployed veterans and providing disabled veterans a payment of $250. In addition, it includes other provisions to improve the lives of our troops and veterans, such as funding additional child care centers and warrior transition centers for wounded warriors returning from combat.
Improving the Quality of Life for Our Troops
Renovating and Making More Energy-Efficient DOD Facilities: Provides $4.2 billion to invest in energy efficient projects and to repair and modernize a variety of Department of Defense facilities.
Improving the Hospitals for Our Troops: Provides $1.3 billion for rebuild and renovate our aging military hospitals and ambulatory care centers. Many of these facilities are 40 or even 50 years old, and are not suited to current medical standards and practices.
Providing Assistance to Military Homeowners: Provides $555 million for assistance to military homeowners, including wounded warriors and surviving spouses, who have been impacted by the housing crisis.
Improving Troop and Family Housing: Provides $335 million to build new barracks and dormitories for our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen as well as to make further investments in quality family housing for military families
.
Expanding Child Care for Military Families: Provides $240 million for new child development centers on military bases across the country. These facilities will help military spouses hold down jobs and will provide employment opportunities for caregivers.
Establishing Warrior Transition Complexes: Provides $100 million for warrior transition complexes to provide services to wounded warriors returning from combat and their families.
• Constructing Needed Facilities for the National Guard: Provides $100 million for new construction of operations and training facilities to support National Guard units across the country.
Improving the Quality of Life for Our Veterans
Providing Businesses A Tax Credit for Hiring Unemployed Veterans: Provides a tax credit to businesses for hiring unemployed veterans. Specifically, veterans would qualify if they were discharged or released from active duty from the Armed Forces during the previous five years and received unemployment benefits for more than 4 weeks before being hired.
Providing Disabled Veterans A Payment of $250: Provides a payment of $250 to all disabled veterans receiving benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. (This $250 payment, which also goes to retirees, SSI beneficiaries and Railroad Retirement beneficiaries, is targeted to those who are likely not to benefit from the Making Work Pay tax credit.)
Improving the Hospitals for Our Veterans: Provides $1 billion for non-recurring maintenance, including energy efficiency projects, to address deficiencies and avoid serious maintenance problems at the 153 VA hospitals across the country.
Increasing the Number of VA Claims Processors: Provides $150 million for an increase in VA claims processing staff, in order to address the large backlog in processing veterans' claims. This backlog has been a key complaint of veterans across the country.
Improving Automation of VA Benefit Processing: Provides $50 million to improve the automation of the processing of veterans' benefits, to get benefits out sooner and more accurately.
Constructing Extended Care Facilities for Veterans: Provides $150 million for state grants for the construction of additional extended care facilities for veterans.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
AFGE Applauds White House Efforts to Stop Contracting Out Government Functions
AFGE Applauds White House Efforts to Stop Contracting Out Government Functions
AFGE Applauds White House Efforts to Stop Contracting Out Government Functions
Governmental Work Should be Performed by Federal Employees
WASHINGTON, March 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, President Obama announced significant reforms in how the government does business by changing contracting methods and standards, including a call for federal employee performance of inherently governmental functions. The American Federation of Government Employees has long insisted that inherently governmental work, and closely related work of a recurring nature, should always be performed by reliable and experienced federal employees who put the public interest first.
"For too long, American taxpayers have had to foot the bill for unnecessary, and costly projects that have served only to line the pockets of contractors," said AFGE National President John Gage. "It is clear that President Obama is taking seriously his commitment to a better, stronger government by ensuring that federal programs are not driven by private interests."
"This administration intends to stop contracting out government services that should be performed by federal employees," continued Gage. "We hope this is the end of the era of privatization during which agencies were forced to contract out regardless of cost or quality, and at the expense of integrity and accountability of federal programs."
President Obama's direction builds on Section 736 of Division D of the FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill that requires all agencies to establish plans to insource new and outsourced work, particularly inherently governmental work wrongly contracted out, work contracted out without competition, and work contracted out that is poorly performed.
"From our VA hospitals where former President Bush's privatization agenda has undermined the care that our veterans receive, to the Social Security Administration where contracting out has jeopardized Americans' privacy, AFGE embraces President Obama's measures to reform how the government does business," concluded Gage. "AFGE and its dedicated members stand ready to help make the government run smoothly and efficiently."
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 600,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.
Website: http://www.afge.org/
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They need to stop outsourcing VA care across the nation, to much is being spent to private healthcare systems at the expense of veterans nationwide, Fee Basis is one needed program, but in cities where the VA has medical units they are still sending vets to Private docs for colonoscopies, etc.......why?
Depression Increases Risk For Heart Disease More Than Genetics Or Environment
Depression Increases Risk For Heart Disease More Than Genetics Or Environment
ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2009) — A history of major depression increases the risk of heart disease over and above any genetic risks common to depression and heart disease, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the VA. The findings are reported this week at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society this week in Chicago.
The researchers analyzed data gathered from more than 1,200 male twins who served in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. The men were surveyed on a variety of health issues in 1992, including depression, and were assessed again in 2005.
In the study, investigators looked at the onset of heart disease in depressed study participants between 1993 and 2005. Men with depression in 1992 were twice as likely to develop heart disease in the ensuing years, compared to men with no history of depression.
"Based on our findings, we can say that after adjusting for other risk factors, depression remains a significant predictor of heart disease," says first author Jeffrey F. Scherrer, Ph.D., research assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine and the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center. "In this study, we have demonstrated that exposure to depression is contributing to heart disease only in twins who have high genetic risk and who actually develop clinical depression. In twins with high genetic risk common to depression and heart disease, but who never develop depression itself, there was no increased risk for heart disease. The findings strongly suggest that depression itself independently contributes to risk for heart disease."
The investigators were looking for evidence of what they call incident heart disease, an event such as a heart attack, heart surgery, stent placement or medical treatment for angina. Those who had evidence of heart disease prior to the original survey in 1992 were excluded from this study.
Because twins were studied, the researchers could divide participants into risk groups: twins with high genetic and environmental risk for depression, those with moderate risk and those with a low risk. The risk groups then were compared for incident heart disease adjusting for other influences on heart disease such as smoking, obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
"By separating the twins into these groups based on their genetic and environmental risks, we are able differentiate the genetic risks common to depression and heart disease and the risks for heart disease from exposure to depression," says co-investigator Hong Xian, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics in medicine at Washington University and health science specialist at the VA.
Twins automatically are matched by age. They normally grow up in the same family environment, and in the case of identical twins, they share identical DNA.
"If one twin has depression, but his twin brother does not, both twins will share genetic vulnerability for depression, but it turns out the twin who was not depressed has less risk for heart disease," says Scherrer. "In sum, depression itself remains a significant contributor to incident heart disease after controlling for genes, environment and mental and physical risk factors."
Scherrer and Xian plan to follow these twins as they age. They also plan to study the effects of successful depression treatment on heart disease risk.
Adapted from materials provided by Washington University School of Medicine.
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Maybe one day the VA will make cardiovascular disease a presumptive disease for veterans diagnosed with stress.anxiety disorders like PTSD.
360,000 veterans may have brain injuries
360,000 veterans may have brain injuries
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Pentagon officials estimated for the first time Wednesday that up to 360,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans may have suffered brain injuries. Among them are 45,000 to 90,000 veterans whose symptoms persist and warrant specialized care.
Army Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton provided the estimate during a news conference about March as Brain Injury Awareness Month. She heads the Pentagon's Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.
TROOP DEATHS: A look at the American lives lost in Iraq
Pentagon officials have been reluctant to estimate the number of potential brain-injury casualties among the 1.8 million troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sutton based her estimate upon military health-screening programs showing that 10% to 20% of returning troops have suffered at least a mild concussion. Among them are 3% to 5% with persistent symptoms that require specialists such as an ophthalmologist to deal with vision problems.
Sutton's estimate is similar to a RAND Corp. study last year that said 320,000 may have suffered a brain injury. Following direction from Congress, the U.S. military began to screen all troops returning from the war zones for brain injury last year.
Persistent symptoms can range from headaches and sleep disorders to memory, balance and vision difficulties, said Lt. Col. Lynne Lowe, the Army's program manager for traumatic brain injury.
Research suggests the vast majority of these troops recover, said James Kelly, director of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, a Pentagon treatment center for traumatic brain injury and psychological health.
Kelly said scientists are trying to understand the severity and extent of brain injury caused by exposure to a blast. Many of the wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were hurt by roadside bombs.
The science is so new that it remains unclear whether symptoms attributed to brain injury are actually the result of post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the same combat incident — a roadside bomb blast, for example — that caused the brain injury, Lowe said.
The Pentagon's official figure for U.S. military war casualties of all kinds in Iraq and Afghanistan is about 33,000.
Sutton said at least 9,100 troops have been diagnosed with brain injuries since the war began.
The Department of Veterans Affairs reports that it has treated about 8,000 former servicemembers for brain injury after their return from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The rest of those who may require care have problems that can be treated by a family physician — issues such as headaches and sleep disorders, Kelly said. "It's not unusually complicated care."
Hotline phone numbers available for troops concerned about symptoms that might be related to a brain injury are, at the Centers of Excellence, 866-966-1020; and at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, 800-870-9244.
Stimulus Bill Provides $198 Million for Filipino Veterans
Stimulus Bill Provides $198 Million for Filipino Veterans
Department of Veterans Affairs
2009-03-04
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Congress Recognizes World War II Service
WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced a new benefit for Filipino Veterans who aided American troops in World War II -- a cash payment authorized through the newly enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Claims are now being accepted from Filipino Veterans eligible for one-time payments of $9,000 for non-U.S. citizens and $15,000 for Filipino Veterans with U.S. citizenship. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is working to begin making payments as soon as possible.
VA and the Embassy of the United States in Manila have announced locations in the Philippines where Veterans can apply immediately. The list has been posted at http://manila.usembassy.gov.
To receive information by mail, United States residents may call 1-800-827-1000. Philippine residents may call 632-528-2500 (within Metro Manila) or from outside Manila at 1-800-1888-5252. In addition, Filipino Veterans may request information via email at https://iris.va.gov.
The VA Regional Office in Manila will process all claims for this benefit. Therefore, U.S. residents should mail the application to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Office, PSC 501, FPO AP 96515-100.
Extensive outreach is planned to alert World War II Veterans throughout the Philippines. Claims must be submitted by Feb. 16, 2010, a year after the bill’s signing.
The payments do not affect other benefits Veterans may be receiving. The VA regional office in Manila currently provides approximately $15 million monthly in monetary benefits to Veterans residing in the Philippines. About $8 million of this goes to Filipino World War II Veterans or their survivors each month.
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Stimulus Bill Provides $198 Million for Filipino Veterans
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It's a damn shame that it has taken this nation over 60 years to keep their promise to these WW2 veterans who served under the American Flag
House Subcommittees Probe Mishandling of Veterans Disability Claims
NEWS FROM…
CHAIRMAN BOB FILNER
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
www.veterans.house.gov
House Subcommittees Probe Mishandling of Veterans Disability Claims
VA Inspector General: “Had we not discovered this situation, some veterans claims may have languished with no action or been inappropriately denied.”
Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, March 3, 2009, the House Veterans’ Affairs Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, led by Chairman John Hall (D-NY), and the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, led by Chairman Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), conducted a joint hearing on “Document Tampering and Mishandling at the Veterans Benefits Administration.” Since October 2008, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has come under fire for three specific problems: misdating of claims at the New York Regional Office, shredding documents wrongly placed in shredder bins, and denying widows survivor benefits. The hearing focused on the changes put in place by VA to address these problems, return integrity to the disability claims processing system, and regain the trust of veterans.
“In the last few months, we have tracked a problem brought to our attention with misdating of claims information at the New York Regional Office,” said Chairman Hall. “This situation was a clear attempt by managers to fudge performance numbers. The incorrectly entered data made the regional office look like it took fewer days to process claims than in actuality – yet still beyond acceptable levels to me, or to most veterans. Although veterans were not directly harmed by this practice, since the effective date of a claim was logged correctly in a different system, perpetrators of this kind of dishonestly impact the entire veteran community’s ability to trust the institution charged with its welfare. This is shameful!”
After conducting site visits to several other regional offices, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report on February 27, 2009, entitled “Review of VA Regional Office Compensation and Pension Benefits Claim Receipt Dates,” which is available at this link: OIG Report. The OIG found that “the claim date inaccuracies were mostly unintentional errors” at the other regional offices. Assistant Inspector General for Auditing Belinda Finn stated that “the errors we reviewed did not cause any veterans or their beneficiaries to receive incorrect or delayed benefit payments.”
The Subcommittees also addressed the OIG mail room audit which found documents inappropriately placed in shredder bins – documents necessary to process claims as well as documents that should have been retuned to the veteran. Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits Michael Walcoff testified that VA took immediate actions in response to preliminary reports, which included a temporary cessation of shredding until it was able to relocate all shred bins and equipment to VBA management offices and inventory all claims-related mail or original supporting documents. Additionally, VA instituted new policies on shredding that require two signatures on papers to be destroyed. Walcoff said, “This effort identified 474 documents affecting benefit entitlement inappropriately placed in shred bins for disposal. These 474 documents and the 45 documents indentified by the OIG were found at 41 of our 57 regional offices and centers.” VBA also developed an 8-point plan of action to strengthen policies and procedures to safeguard veterans’ paper records. That plan is detailed here: VBA 8-Point Plan of Action
Assistant IG Finn testified that the extent of the inappropriate claim-related shredding cannot be determined and also noted that lack of controls at the various VBA regional offices (VAROs) contributed to the mishandling of claims. Finn further stated,
“VBA officials also said that some VAROs held ‘mail amnesty’ periods to encourage employees to turn in unprocessed mail and other documents without penalty or repercussions. During an amnesty period in July 2007 at VARO Detroit, VARO employees turned in almost 16,000 pieces of unprocessed mail including 700 claims and 2,700 medical records and/or pieces of medical information. The VARO determined that none of these claims or documents were in VBA information systems or associated claim files. VBA management told us of similar amnesties at other VAROs, such as an amnesty at VARO New York in December 2008 that recovered 717 documents from VARO employees.”
Chairman Mitchell expressed his strong reaction to this news. “Obviously we are going to have to get complete information from VA about these amnesties, but it is impossible not to be shocked by the numbers from Detroit,” said Chairman Mitchell. “Shredding documents, or burying them in the bottom drawer, are a breach of trust by VA. Whether that breach of trust comes as a consequence of inadequate training or negligent or deliberate behavior, Congress much not and will not tolerate it.” Chairman Hall indicated that staff for the Subcommittees would be following up on this information and Deputy Under Secretary Walcoff promised the VA’s full cooperation.
The Subcommittees also discussed survivors’ benefits for widows. Over the last twelve years, VA’s mistaken interpretation of the law resulted in approximately 50,000 surviving spouses losing millions of dollars in benefits or having the Department of the Treasury seek restitution from them for an overpayment. The VA has developed an action plan to correct this series of errors and produced a timeline for this action plan, which should be finalized by April 2009.
“The misdating, shredding, and glitches that the media recently reported are only the tip of the iceberg,” concluded Chairman Hall. “I have heard too many accounts from veterans and their survivors about missing, lost, or destroyed file, and VA sending them multiple requests for information and still not knowing the location of a file. A lot of VA employees touch a claim folder, but rarely is anyone held accountable or responsible when it is lost or destroyed. This is absolutely unacceptable. I have been on a track to modernize the VBA’s out of date claims processing system. I envision VA as an Agency that we as a nation are proud of in the way that it serves the welfare of our disabled veterans. When it comes to discharging those responsibilities, shameful acts are what should be archaic practices..”
“I understand the confusion and the anger in the veterans community after hearing that more than 16,000 documents turned up in ‘mail amnesty’ at a single regional office!” commented Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “Today is a new day at VA, with a new President and new leadership. I am confident that Secretary Shinseki is committed to helping our veterans and will take immediate action to address the record-keeping problems raised today! This is where new approaches to leadership are crucial and accountability, along with proper oversight, is essential.”
Witnesses:
Panel 1
· Kerry Baker, Assistant National Legislative Director, Disabled American Veterans
· Ronald B. Abrams, Joint Executive Director, National Veterans Legal Service Program
· Kathryn A. Witt, Co-Chair, Government Relations Committee, Gold Star Wives of America, Inc.
· Geneva Moore, Senior Veterans Service Representative, Veterans Benefits Administration Regional Office, Winston-Salem, NC, on behalf of the American Federation of Government Employees
Panel 2
· Belinda Finn, Assistant Inspector General for Auditing, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Accompanied by
o James O’Neill, Assistant Inspector General of Investigations, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Panel 3
· Michael Walcoff, Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Accompanied by
o Bradley Mayes, Director, Compensation and Pension Service, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
o Diana M. Rubens, Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Field Operations, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Prepared testimony for the hearing and a link to the webcast from the hearing is available on the internet at this link: Watch the video copy of the hearing here.
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Unopened claims letters hidden at VA offices
Unopened claims letters hidden at VA offices
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Mar 4, 2009 10:06:25 EST
A new report about Veterans Affairs Department employees squirreling away tens of thousands of unopened letters related to benefits claims is sparking fresh concerns that veterans and their survivors are being cheated out of money.
VA officials acknowledge further credibility problems based on a new report of a previously undisclosed 2007 incident in which workers at a Detroit regional office turned in 16,000 pieces of unprocessed mail and 717 documents turned up in New York in December during amnesty periods in which workers were promised no one would be penalized.
“Veterans have lost trust in VA,” Michael Walcoff, VA’s under secretary for benefits, said at a hearing Tuesday. “That loss of trust is understandable, and winning back that trust will not be easy.”
Unprocessed and unopened mail was just one problem in VA claims processing mentioned by Belinda Finn, VA’s assistant inspector general for auditing, in testimony before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Auditors also found that the dates recorded for receiving claims, which in many cases determine the effective date for benefits payments, are wrong in many cases because of intentional and unintentional errors, Finn said.
The worst case uncovered by auditors involved the New York regional office, where employees testified that managers told staff to put later dates on claims to make it appear claims were being processed faster. A review found that 56 percent of claims had incorrect dates, although no evidence was found of incorrect or delayed benefits payments. Finn said workers reported that this practice had been used for years.
The new report comes as VA is trying to resolve an earlier controversy involving documents essential to the claims process that were discovered in bins awaiting shredding at several regional offices, which raised questions about how many past claims had been delayed or denied because of intentional or unintentional destruction of documentation.
‘It is impossible not to be shocked’
Kathryn Witt of Gold Star Wives of America said survivors trying to receive VA benefits have long complained about problems getting accurate information and missing claims. “When they call to check on the status of the claim, they are often told that the VA has no record of their claim and that they should resubmit their paperwork,” she said.
In one case, a woman claimed she had to submit paperwork to VA three times to prove she was married and had three children, Witt said.
And having to resubmit the same claim, she added, does nothing to reduce the backlog that already forces survivors to wait six to nine months for simple claims to be approved.
“It is impossible not to be shocked by the numbers from Detroit,” said Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., who chairs the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s oversight and investigations panel. “Shredding documents or burying them in the bottom drawer is a breach of trust. Whether that breach of trust comes as a consequence of inadequate training or negligent or deliberate behavior, Congress must not and will not tolerate it.”
It is unclear, however, whether there is any short-term fix.
A permanent solution is to have a fully electronic claims process to establish a record of when documents are received and their status as they move through the process. A fully electronic system will not be in place before 2011, VA officials said.
Kerry Baker of Disabled American Veterans said a short-term answer could be to scan all documents related to claims into computer systems. Baker, DAV’s assistant national legislative director, said this could be done at one or more large-scale imaging centers that would transform paper into electronic records.
“A large section of the veterans community and representatives of the community have long felt that the Veterans Benefits Administration operates in such a way that stalls the claims process until frustrated claimants either give up or die,” Baker said.
He said that although he doesn’t believe that is true, something must be done.
“Denying earned benefits by illegally destroying records should serve as the proverbial wake-up call that signals the urgency of this overdue transformation,” he said.
Geneva Moore, a senior veterans service representative from Winston-Salem, N.C., who testified on behalf of the American Federation of Government Employees, a union that counts about 160,000 VA workers among its members, said backdating claims and document shredding are signs of a claims system under stress.
“Clearly, if the disability claims process were already paperless, many of the problems being considered at this hearing today would no longer exist,” she said.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Major House Cleaning Needed at the Los Angeles National Veterans Home
By Robert L. Rosebrock, Staff Writer
The bureaucrats at the VA Greater West Los Angeles Healthcare System (VA GWLAHS) have once again crossed swords with Veterans, and once again they have stabbed Veterans in the back.
Sunday, March 1, was “Veterans Appreciation Day” as fellow Veterans gathered on the sacred grounds of the “Great Lawn” at the Los Angeles National Veterans Home to pay tribute to John P. Jones and Arcadia B. de Baker.
It was on March 3rd, 1888, that these two American patriots benevolently deeded this pristine land to the U.S. government with the repeated proviso that it was “to be permanently maintained as a National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.”
Land Being Prostituted and Raped
Tragically, over recent years this sacred land has been violated, abused and misused in every manner imaginable. The egregious abuse extends from the prostituting of Veterans land and facilities to the highest non-Veteran bidder to the raping of 16 acres of virgin soil where Veterans from the Civil War once walked by giving it away “rent-free” to a wealthy neighboring homeowners group for a “grand community park.”
And once again, the bureaucrats at VA GWLAHS targeted fellow Veterans and friends of Veterans by singling them out and punishing them simply because they revere and celebrate this hallowed land and want to protect, preserve and defend it exclusively for today’s Military Veterans as well as future generations of Veterans.
Delay, Delay, Delay
Julio Yniguez, the highly respected 77 year-old Adjutant of the American Legion Post 123 of Santa Monica, applied for a use permit with the office of “asset management” at the VA GWLAHS to host the Veterans Appreciation Day and Anniversary Celebration, and he did it with advanced notice.
Nonetheless, the bureaucrats of “asset management” continuously delayed approval, which complicated the coordination of this event. The intentional delay prevented strategical planning and also prevented the sending out of invitations far enough in advance for interested parties to attend the event.
Inhuman Treatment
As though the intentional delay was not insulting enough, the “asset management” bureaucrats would not allow the attendees of the event to have general access to the restrooms on the ground floor at Veterans building #220, which was just a short distance away from the gathering on the “Great Lawn.”
Several of the Veterans who attended were disabled; one in particular was Steve Palmer, a popular 86 year-old World War II Veteran in a wheel chair. Plus, there were several Korean War Veterans in their 70s and 80s, while the majority were Vietnam War Veterans in their 60s.
For Veterans to unite on this solemn day to pay tribute to the land donors of this sacred property for Veterans use only, and then have VA GWLAHS bureaucrats deny Veterans use of restroom facilities, the very basic of human accommodations, defies any ounce of decorum, respect, civility and common dignity toward the very men and women who served this country, and for whom these VA bureaucrats are hired and responsible to serve.
Once again the VA GWLAHS refused to accommodate America’s Veterans with basic courtesy and respect. Instead, they rubbed more salt into a very old, deep and painful wound through even more abuse and disrespect.
More Respect in Other Countries
During World War II, including virtually all other Wars, America's soldiers were welcomed and respected on foreign soil. Today, some of those same soldiers are not even welcomed or respected on their own Veterans land here in the USA.
At yesterday's event, the VA GWLAHS even had a "site monitor," an employee from “asset management,” observing our every move and spoken word.
What an incredibly sad, sad state of decline this once great nation has fallen into when those who have defended our many freedoms are now being denied these same freedoms in their own country, on their own exclusive land, and by our own government.
It's time for the bureaucrats at the VA GWLAHS to stop fighting against Veterans and put their hateful swords in their sheaves and do the job that they were hired to do, which is to serve all Veterans with equal respect and dignity, not to antagonize, berate, belittle, begrudge and insult them.
Honoring General Shinseki
At yesterday’s event that paid tribute to the Land Grantors, Veterans also honored in absentia, General Eric K. Shinseki, the newly appointed Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington D.C.
Mr. Yniguez gave the new VA Secretary glowing praise for his distinguished military career and offered new hope that during his watch, things will be different and more Veteran friendly.
Make no mistake; this dirty mess at the largest VA healthcare center in the nation is not the creation of General Shinseki, nor is it of President Obama’s making.
To the contrary, this ugly mess has been building up over the past two decades under the Bill Clinton and G.W. Bush Administrations, but it has now reached an embarrassing all-time high of shameful abuse and neglect.
Time to Clean House at “The Home”
As the new and entrusted “watch commander” for America’s Military Veterans, it is now General Shinseki’s duty and responsibility to take full control and extinguish this flaming, out-of-control abuse against Veterans and their sacred land.
There’s only one solution and it’s that the new Secretary must immediately “clean house” at the National Veterans Home.
Accordingly, Ralph Tillman, “asset manager” at the VA GWLAHS must be relieved of his duties posthaste, as he has persistently acted in defiance toward Veterans while kowtowing and facilitating the neighboring communities and commercial businesses with sweetheart land deals.
It was the “asset management” office under his supervision that stabbed Veterans in the back by not only delaying the approval of the permit for the Veterans celebrative gathering on the “Great Lawn,” but also denying these Veterans of a most basic human accommodation by not providing restroom access at nearby Veterans buildings on Veterans land.
Who Do They Really Work For?
As the “asset manager” and “contracting officer” of the VA GWLAHS, Mr. Tillman has facilitated, negotiated and signed off on a multitude of privileged “enhanced sharing land use agreements,” including the 21 acres of Veterans land to the most expensive private school in the nation, Brentwood School.
In another long-term agreement, he leased away two Veterans theaters to Richmark Entertainment Group for a “community cultural center” while Veterans who are patients at the VA GWLAHS have no theater or entertainment of their own.
Mr. Tillman has leased away acres and acres of Veterans land to Enterprise Car Rental and Laidlaw Buses for vehicle storage and further leased major Veterans buildings to UCLA for research studies while 20,000 Veterans are homeless in Los Angeles.
Mr. Tillman facilitated and recently signed away 16-acres of Veterans land “rent free” for a “grand community park,” even though this parcel of Veterans land is estimated to be worth more than a billion dollars while Veterans healthcare services are seriously under-funded.
Not Professional
Instead of Mr. Tillman’s “asset management” office asking Mr. Yniguez, "how can we help" with Sunday’s event, they deliberately worked against Veterans every step of the way and persistently ran interference on this most sacred and historical day of the National Veterans Home.
If Mr. Tillman were a real professional “asset manager” for which he was hired on behalf of Veterans and their land, then he and all members of his office staff would have proudly joined and celebrated this honorable occasion instead of intimidating and begrudging America’s Veterans.
“Dereliction of Duty”
Mr. Tillman’s “asset management” office also facilitated Veterans Park Conservancy, not a Veterans organization by any stretch, to plagiarize and denigrate America's revered watchword of “Duty, Honor, Country,” by allowing this special-interest homeowners group to irreverently engrave in stone on Veterans property, “Beauty, Honor, Country,” because it's their group's mission to beautify the entryway into their community of Brentwood.
These are only a few of the many violations against Veterans and the Deed of 1888 facilitated by Mr. Tillman. The bottom line is that Veterans do not need an “asset manager” who prostitutes away their sacred land and revered heritage for the benefit of non-Veterans.
To the contrary, Veterans need a responsible and caring steward who reverently protects, preserves and defends their land from the aforementioned land heists by fully respecting and honoring the Deed of 1888.
There’s Only One Asset at Any VA Facility
Veterans’ sacred land is not a business or a commercial "asset," i.e., “a property to which a value can be assigned.” No, the only “real asset" at any VA facility is each and every Veteran and the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to manage the healthcare services of these Veterans first and foremost.
In short, no price or value can be assigned to any single Veteran and his or her healthcare and rehabilitative needs.
Change the Name and Attitude
The bureaucratic name of "asset management" is a term that needs to be replaced along with Mr. Tillman’s defiant attitude. How about changing the name to “property protection" and the manager’s title to “property steward?”
This would certainly indicate that the VA GWLAHS is actually serious about taking care of our Veterans "needs" and their land instead of running a real estate brokerage company and facilitating the "wants" and whims of the neighboring community and commercial businesses.
This sacred land and the buildings upon it must be returned to the Deeded promise for Veterans use only, and the must change the existing negligent and belligerent attitudes while restoring the revered grandeur and glory of this beloved National Veterans Home.
Time For Change
For way too long, this sacred land has been violated, abused and misused at the painful expense of America’s Military Veterans.
It’s time for change and that means the Department of Veterans Affairs must put an end to all of these manipulative and deceptive “enhanced sharing land use agreements” by terminating them posthaste, including rescinding the special interest public park agreement.
Albert Einstein rightfully noted: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that created them.” And the only way to solve the monumental problems at the Los Angeles Veterans Home is to make monumental changes with new thinking.
This can only be accomplished with a thorough house cleaning by Secretary Shinseki through the termination of those who created this dirty mess and multitude of problems in the first place.
Major House Cleaning Needed at the Los Angeles National Veterans Home
Mom Soldier to Be Discharged after Reporting for Duty with Kids
Mom Soldier to Be Discharged after Reporting for Duty with Kids
Lawyer: Soldier to be discharged after reporting for duty with kids
* Soldier reported for duty in Georgia on Monday with her two preschool children
* She had been discharged four years ago, but was recalled
* Lisa Pagan argued no one would be able to care for kids if she was sent overseas
* Lawyer: Army granted request for reprieve, and she will be discharged for good
By Eric Marrapodi and Chris Lawrence
WASHINGTON - A soldier who reported for duty with her children in tow has been granted her request for a discharge, her lawyer said Monday.
Lisa Pagan, of Davidson, North Carolina, reported for duty Monday morning at Fort Benning, Georgia, with her two preschool children. She had been honorably discharged from active duty at the rank of specialist nearly four years ago but was recalled as part of the Individual Ready Reserve program.
The former Army truck driver asked for a reprieve from deployment because her husband travels for business and they would have no one to care for their children if she was sent overseas. Until Monday, her request had been denied.
Late Monday afternoon, Pagan's lawyer told CNN the Army would grant her request and begin the process of discharge again, this time for good.
"We are definitely heading in the right direction for Lisa and her family and her children," said Mark Waple, Pagan's attorney. "She has been told by her chain of command they plan on doing everything they can within reason to do this as expeditiously as possible."
Pagan enlisted in 2002 and was honorably discharged from active duty in June 2005. She was never deployed.
Before she left for Fort Benning, Pagan, 27, told CNN affiliate WCNC that her relatives weren't able to care for her children for various reasons, including her relatives' health.
She said her family couldn't afford having her husband give up his job. They would lose their house, she told the Charlotte, North Carolina-TV station.
"I'm a human being. I need to take care of my children. They don't have anybody else," Pagan told WCNC.
Since September 11, 2001, the Army has recalled about 25,000 soldiers. Nearly half requested a delay or a full exemption. Some just wanted to finish their school semester before reporting. Others had financial or medical problems that made it difficult to report for duty.
The Army says it granted nearly nine out of 10 delay requests and six out of 10 requests for exemption.
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She serves her 3 years of active duty and then in the final year of IRR they decide to recall her to active duty? I am glad the Army did the right thing and let her out of this recall, do we really need people on duty this bad that we have to "draft" mothers?
Veterans Rehabilitation and Training Improvements Act of 2009
Veterans Rehabilitation and Training Improvements Act of 2009
March 3, 2009
Congressional Record Statement of Senator Daniel K. Akaka
Mr. President, I am introducing today the proposed "Veterans Rehabilitation and Training Improvements Act of 2009." This measure would improve the program of rehabilitation and training for veterans who suffer from service-connected disabilities by offering an increase in the amount of subsistence allowances, reimbursing certain incidental costs, and repealing the limit on the number of individuals who may be enrolled in a program of Independent Living services.
Under current law, veterans who are enrolled in a program of rehabilitation under Chapter 31 receive a monthly subsistence allowance. This, in addition to the payment of the costs of the program of rehabilitation, is intended to offer the veteran a means of paying for basic living expenses while pursuing their training or education.
With the enactment of the new Post 9-11 GI Bill last year (P.L. 110-323) which adopted a tuition-and-fees plus a living allowance approach to the payment of benefits under the educational assistance program, I am concerned that there may be an inequity between the vocational rehabilitation and education programs and that individuals who would truly benefit from enrollment in a program of rehabilitation and employment under Chapter 31 will be tempted to enroll in the Chapter 33 education program in order to take advantage of the higher living allowance. Those who would make such an election might forgo valuable counseling, employment and placement, and other assistance from which they might benefit.
To address this concern, the measure I am introducing today would modify the Chapter 31 program by offering a subsistence allowance to enrollees equal to the national average for the Department of Defense's Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for members of the military at the E-5 level, adjusted for marital status. This is similar, although not identical to, the approach of the new chapter 33 program which adopted a regionalized BAH approach based on the address of the institution.
This is intended to help ensure that individuals who could best benefit from enrollment in the Chapter 31 program are not faced with a disincentive to do so.
With regard to the second issue, VA is permitted to pay certain costs associated with enrollment of an individual in a program of rehabilitation - for example, fees, equipment, and supplies. However, there are other costs that an individual might incur that are not covered by VA and these costs could represent a substantial barrier to the successful completion of a program. An example could be that of a single young mother with young children who - in order to attend classes - needs child care. Another example might be a veteran who lost both legs in service and needs a new suit in order to make the most favorable impression at the interview with a prospective employer.
Mr. President, the legislation I am introducing today would require VA to issue regulations providing for the reimbursement of incidental costs associated with obstacles that pose substantial barriers to successful completion of a program. I believe that this will substantially increase the ability of many individuals to finish their rehabilitation programs and be placed in rewarding jobs.
I also believe we need to repeal the cap on the number of individuals who may be enrolled in a program of Independent Living services under the Chapter 31 program. Current law provides that individuals for whom a determination is made that a program of rehabilitation leading to employment is not reasonably feasible may be eligible for enrollment in a program of independent living services which is designed to help the individual achieve a maximum level of independence in daily life. However, the number of veterans who in any one year may enroll in these programs is capped at 2,600.
Even though the VA has testified in the past that this enrollment cap does not present any problem for the effective conduct of the program, I remain concerned - despite the fact that last year Congress raised the cap from 2,500 to 2,600 in P.L. 110-389 - that the effect of the cap is to put downward pressure on VA's enrollment of eligible veterans in this very important program. This is of particular concern when so many of today's returning servicemembers suffer from disabilities that may require extensive periods of rehabilitation and assistance in achieving independence in their daily lives that can result from such conditions as traumatic brain injury or PTSD.
Disabled veterans are transitioning from military service into an economy that is changing, challenging, and contracting at historic rates. My bill will give these veterans more of the help they need by increasing program flexibility and boosting the living stipend for disabled veterans undergoing rehabilitation.
Mr. President, while there will be costs associated with this legislation, the veterans who are served by the chapter 31 rehabilitation and employment program are the highest priority for our Nation - individuals who have incurred service-connected disabilities in service to the country. This truly is one of the costs of war that must be borne.
I look forward to working with my colleagues in moving this legislation through the Congress.
- END -
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I look forward to the expansion of the ILP Program they do great things to make life better for totally disabled veterans.
W.Va. Guard members may have been exposed to toxin in Iraq
W.Va. Guard members may have been exposed to toxin in Iraq
130 reservists among those who had duty at facility
By Farah Stockman, Boston Globe Staff | February 28, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/cxkkjr
WASHINGTON - The West Virginia National Guard is trying to track down 130 reservists who were probably exposed to a cancer-causing chemical in 2003 while guarding a water facility in southern Iraq.
The move follows similar efforts by the Indiana and Oregon National Guards, whose soldiers were also believed to have been exposed to sodium dichromate. The soldiers were guarding civilians who were repairing the Qarmat Ali plant under the supervision of Houston-based defense contractor KBR.
Hundreds of soldiers and civilians are believed to have worked near the chemical, which is used to prevent pipes from rusting but which also greatly increases the risk of cancer and other health problems.
The Pentagon and KBR were aware in 2003 that the chemical was piled around the looted facility, and took blood samples from some soldiers and civilians in Iraq to try to determine their level of exposure.
But six years later, little effort has been made to systematically alert all those who worked at the plant.
"They knew back in 2003 that this stuff was dangerous and they told us it wasn't," said one former West Virginia reservist who asked that his name not be used because he feared it would be detrimental to his military career.
He said battalion medics questioned a group of West Virginia soldiers in August 2003 to ask whether they had come into contact with the orange dust, but they never told him what it was and never tested him.
"They asked us if we had seen this stuff, breathed it, gotten it on our clothes or our bodies," he said, adding that KBR officials on site told him it was only slightly more dangerous than baby powder.
Russell Kimberling who now works for a pharmaceutical company in Louisville, Ky., had been guarding the plant for more than two months when his superiors asked him to escort senior KBR officials there because there were rumors of an orange chemical on the ground that they wanted to see.
He said he got out of his vehicle at the site, kicked the dirt, stirring an orange cloud, and said, "This is what you are talking about."
But when Kimberling, dressed in battle fatigues, turned around, he was stunned to see that the KBR officials who were getting out of their vehicles were all dressed in full chemical suits.
"I knew that there was an issue when they sought to protect themselves and didn't bother to tell us on the way out there, 'You might want to have chemical masks and suits,' " said Kimberling, who intends to join a group of soldiers who are suing KBR.
In the fall of 2003, the military arranged comprehensive medical examinations for 137 soldiers who were stationed at the plant, including blood and urine tests, according to congressional testimony by Michael Kilpatrick, deputy director of the Deployment Health Support Directorate of the Defense Department, who reported that "no specific abnormalities" were found.
But since that time, several former soldiers have complained of rashes and nosebleeds. Two Indiana guardsmen have developed cancer, although it is unclear whether the chemical played a role.
Sodium dichromate is the same substance that poisoned residents in Hinkley, Calif., an incident made famous by the movie "Erin Brockovich." Specialists say that even short-term exposure can increase the risk of cancer, depress the immune system, and cause other problems.
Kimberling said he was airlifted out of Iraq to repair a hole in the cartilage of his nose - a common symptom of sodium dichromate exposure - and that he now suffers from frequent sinus headaches and unexplained spots on his skin.
The West Virginia soldier who asked not to be identified said he has frequent bloody noses and tumor-like knots in his thyroid glands. He said he saw a doctor, but a battery of tests did not turn up any cause. He realized only in recent weeks, after receiving a letter from the West Virginia National Guard, that he had been exposed to a substance that could have triggered the problems, he said.
In February, the West Virginia National Guard began tracking down the soldiers who spent time at Qarmat Ali to tell them to get a health assessment.
"We feel, since the issue has been raised, that it is important enough to contact the soldiers and advise them of what they need to do to get checked out," said Michael Cadle, a spokesman for the West Virginia Guard.
There is no effective way to undo the health risks caused by exposure, specialists say, but records can be kept in soldiers' medical files so that if health problems arise, they might be covered as service-related.
The National Guards of the three states became aware of the exposure in recent months after a Globe article on a lawsuit filed against KBR by civilians workers sparked a congressional hearing and demands for an investigation by Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana. In response to Bayh's request, the military reviewed files from Qarmat Ali and concluded in December that the level of exposure was "well below the levels that would cause concern."
But the report acknowledged that "there is a possibility of a higher exposure that was not detected in the evaluations." An expert witness in the civilian lawsuit, who also worked on the Erin Brockovich case, asserts that the blood tests were not done in a way that could have accurately measured exposure.
Bayh has challenged the military's conclusions and vowed to set up an Agent Orange-style registration for soldiers who had been exposed to the chemical.
W.Va. Guard members may have been exposed to toxin in Iraq
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It isn't just Indiana National Guard troops at risk from toxic exposures, Oregon and West Virginia get your names on the list at the VA problems may show up in a few months or a few years, but get your names on those registers they are creating.
Family: Post-traumatic stress led to tragic murder-suicide
Family: Post-traumatic stress led to tragic murder-suicide
Veteran » Advocates say cracks in the system kept Utah native from getting help.
By Matthew D. LaPlante
The Salt Lake Tribune
Posted: 02/26/2009 10:21:01 PM MST
Day after day, on mission after mission, Jason Klinkenberg strapped on his body armor, stepped behind the wheel of his truck, and took to Iraq's dangerous roads.
It was the fall of 2005. A violent war was growing deadlier by the day. The Army was stretched thin. And so it fell to Air Force personnel like Klinkenberg, a Utah native who had been trained to drive trucks and buses on the peaceful streets of stateside military bases, to take on combat roles once assigned to Army soldiers.
Police and Air Force investigators are now trying to piece together what led Klinkenberg to kill his wife, then himself, during a standoff with law enforcement officers last Friday in North Las Vegas. But Klinkenberg's family said the Iraq war veteran was suffering from post-traumatic stress brought on by his combat experiences. And, they say, he never got the help he needed.
Officials at Nellis Air Force Base, where Klinkenberg was assigned, say their airmen are routinely evaluated for physical and mental wounds when they return home from combat. But veterans advocates say the cracks in the mental health care system intended to treat war veterans are many and large. And if Klinkenberg acted murderously after failing to find the mental help he needed, he wouldn't be the first one.
A DANGEROUS JOB
Klinkenberg had served three years in the Air Force, mainly as a driver at bases in Alaska and Nevada, before he was plucked out of his unit at Nellis
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for service in Iraq with a group of airmen and soldiers known as Detachment 2632. The unit, assembled from bases throughout the world to provide security for cargo trucks on Iraq's bomb-laden roads, performed a mission that the Air Force hadn't carried out since the Vietnam War. The detachment's airmen received one month of training in combat convoy operations before deploying to Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad.
"On some days it was safe, just like rolling through your neighborhood," said Adam Giran, another airman who served in Detachment 2632. "But you never forgot where you were at, and on other days there was definitely a risk."
The risks included snipers, suicide bombers and roadside bombs -- some daisy-chained to take out several vehicles at once. Even on base, safety was a relative concept. Rocket and mortar fire peppered the base several times a day during the time that the detachment served -- one of the deadliest periods in the war.
Art Klinkenberg says his son never was the same after the deployment to Iraq. He mostly blames one incident in particular for his son's troubles.
"Labor Day 2005," said Art Klinkenberg. "It changed his life."
According to Klinkenberg's father, his son was driving a truck in a convoy when a rocket-propelled grenade shot into the cab of the truck in front of him. The driver, a close friend of Jason Klinkenberg, exited the vehicle.
"He came out on fire, screaming for help. Jason tried to save him, but his commanding officer pulled him back," Art Klinkenberg said.
Jason Klinkenberg spent eight hours with his friend's body, waiting for support troops to transport the body back.
Klinkenberg wore a bracelet with his dead friend's name on it.
"He saw this guy's burning image regularly in his head," his father said.
A TROUBLED MAN
Klinkenberg's sister, Amanda Harrod, recalled her brother as a "sweet guy."
But he had also returned from Iraq troubled by what he'd experienced there, Harrod said. And when he sought help from the Air Force, she said, he was turned away.
"When my brother first went for help, they called him a liar," she said.
Air Force officials contest that claim. They say signs of post-traumatic stress disorder surfaced in an initial examination and Klinkenberg was referred to a specialist off-base, where he had been attending regular therapy sessions.
"He was very cooperative and willing to receive the support," said Nellis spokeswoman Amanda Ferrell.
In spite of the problems her brother faced, Harrod and her father are having trouble understanding how he could have taken his wife's life and then his own.
"He had so many friends, and none of them can believe what happened," Harrod said. "Everyone who met him loved him."
"Something went wrong that night," Art Klinkenberg said. "That was his soul mate. He loved her more than anything."
But it was the person who loved him most that suffered most.
AN INNOCENT VICTIM
Klinkenberg met Crystal Louise Gray, a steel fabrication worker from Henderson, Nevada, after returning to Nellis from Iraq. Family members said the couple enjoyed boating and snowboarding together. They were married in July 2007.
Last Friday, police responded to an apartment in North Las Vegas after receiving a call from a friend of Crystal, who said Jason had been holding a gun to his wife's head.
Officers said they briefly encountered Jason, who was "uncooperative" before returning inside the apartment, from where he fired at least one shot at police through the window.
Moments later, police heard several more shots. Two hours later, SWAT officers entered the home where they found the Klinkenbergs dead of gunshot wounds.
The Clark County Corner's Office ruled that Crystal's death after a gunshot wound to the head was a homicide, and Jason's death of gunshot wound to the chest was a suicide.
Police would not say if officers had been to the house for domestic or other disturbances before, saying that was part of the ongoing investigation. When reached by phone, Crystal's parents declined to comment about their daughter, whose funeral was held Tuesday.
But their loss, though tragic, was not unusual.
A SIMILAR SITUATION
In the spring of 2006, just as Klinkenberg was returning home from his deployment, another Iraq war veteran from Tooele was under investigation for the murder of his girlfriend.
Police suspected that Walter Smith was responsible for the drowning death of Nicole Speirs, the mother of his twin children, in the bathtub of a home in Tooele, but didn't have enough evidence to charge him until the former Marine confessed to the murder at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City. At that point, Smith's friends said, the 21-year-old former reservist had been seeking help for several years.
Wayde Broberg, Smith's former roommate and a fellow member of the Utah-based company of Marines that served in Iraq during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, said Smith "tried 100 different times" to get help from the Veterans Affairs medical system. "Probably two or four times a month, he'd go up to the VA. He didn't get what he was looking for."
A GROWING PROBLEM
Smith -- and now Klinkenberg -- are among scores of veterans who have returned home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and committed killings, according to a report last year in The New York Times , which found that most of the killings were among family members. Hundreds more have taken their own lives, according to groups like Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which has lobbied for increased mental health treatment for veterans.
"A lot of the problems faced by veterans can't be fixed by themselves," said Manju Varghese, a Utah documentary producer who followed the lives of several Marines from Smith's unit following their return from Iraq, chronicling their often lonely homecomings in the film Reserved to Fight. "It has to be a community effort. Everyone has to be involved. And when someone goes to get help, and doesn't find it, that leave them feeling alone and feeling as though they need to take matters into their own hands."
Veterans advocates like Varghese say nothing excuses violence. But they say military and veterans officials too often ignore a pattern of problems that has played out again and again, with deadly results.
mlaplante@sltrib.com
Tribune reporter Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
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Families must get educated on the symptoms of PTSD before their military damily member returns home, so they will know what to look for and to be able to seek help, before life spirals out of control. There are 800 numbers for most branches of service, the VA has a national hotline or go to NCPTSD.org http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/index.jsp and the number is (802) 296-6300 or e mail them at ncptsd@va.gov seek help it is your family and it affects all of you
Monday, March 2, 2009
Outrage at possible 3rd party billing for service connected medical problems
February 27, 2009
The American Legion
1608 K Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 861-2700
www.legion.org
AMVETS (American Veterans)
4647 Forbes Blvd.
Lanham, MD 20706
(301) 459-9600
www.amvets.org
Blinded Veterans Association
477 H Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 371-8880
www.bva.org
Disabled American Veterans
807 Maine Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20024
(202) 554-3501
www.dav.org
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
308 Massachusetts Ave NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 544-7692
www.iava.org
Jewish War Veterans of the USA
1811 R Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 265-6280
www.jwv.org
Military Officers Association of America
201 N. Washington Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 549-2311
www.moaa.org
Military Order of the Purple Heart
of the U.S.A., Inc.
5413-B Backlick Road
Springfield, VA 22151
(703) 642-5360
www.purpleheart.org
Paralyzed Veterans of America
801 18th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 872-1300
www.pva.org
Veterans of Foreign Wars
of the United States
200 Maryland Avenue, N.E.
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 543-2239
www.vfw.org
Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc.
8605 Cameron Street, Suite 400
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(301) 585-4000
www.vva.org
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, DC
Dear President Obama:
On behalf of the millions of veterans represented by the veterans and military service organizations that have joined our effort, we write to express our serious concerns about a policy proposal that has been discussed this week in conjunction with the release of your first budget. We have been told that your Administration may be considering a proposal that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system to bill a veteran’s insurance for the care and treatment of a disability or injury that was determined to have been incurred in or the result of the veteran’s honorable military service to our country. Such a consideration is wholly unacceptable and a total abrogation of our government’s moral and legal responsibility to the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms.
As you know, the mission of the VA is “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.” Similarly, the VA emphasizes that it will “provide veterans the world-class benefits and services they have earned—and to do so by adhering to the highest standards of compassion, commitment, excellence, professionalism, integrity, accountability, and stewardship.” Unfortunately, the proposal to bill veterans for the care of their service-connected disabilities ignores the most important aspect of this vision—that their care has been earned.
This proposal ignores the solemn obligation that this country has to care for those men and women who have served this country with distinction and were left with the wounds and scars of that service. The blood spilled in service for this nation is the premium that service-connected veterans have paid for their earned care.
We understand and accept that the VA bills third-party insurers of veterans who are treated for non-service connected conditions. However, we cannot and would not agree to any proposal that would expand this concept any further. There is simply no logical explanation for billing a veteran’s personal insurance for care that the VA has a responsibility to provide. While we understand the fiscal difficulties this country faces right now, placing the burden of those fiscal problems on the men and women who have already sacrificed a great deal for this country is unconscionable. If in fact your Administration is considering this proposal, we would like to meet with you, as well as VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and Office of Management and Budget(OMB)Director Peter Orzag, to discuss this further.
We strongly urge your Administration to drop consideration of any proposal to bill third-party insurers for veterans’ service-connected conditions. We appreciate your continued emphasis on caring for the men and women who have served in defense of this country, as evidenced by the significant increase provided for VA programs in your FY 2010 budget submission. You can reaffirm this commitment by not allowing such a proposal to be carried forward. We stand ready to work with you, Secretary Shinseki, OMB Director Orzag, and others in your Administration to ensure that appropriate care and benefits are provided to those who have earned and deserve it.
Sincerely,
David K. Rehbein John C. Hapner
National Commander National Commander
The American Legion AMVETS
Thomas Miller Raymond E. Dempsey
Executive Director National Commander
Blinded Veterans Association Disabled American Veterans
Paul Reickhoff Ira Novoselsky
Executive Director National Commander
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Jewish War Veterans of the USA
VADM Norb Ryan, USN (Ret.) John P. Leonard
President National Adjutant
Military Officers Association of America Military Order of the Purple Heart of the USA, Inc.
Randy L. Pleva, Sr. Glen M. Gardner, Jr.
National President Commander-in-Chief
Paralyzed Veterans of America Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States
John Rowan
National President
Vietnam Veterans of America
Cc: Eric Shinseki, Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs
Peter Orzag, Director, Office of Management and Budget
Honorable Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader
Honorable Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader
Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House
Honorable Steny Hoyer, House Majority Leader
Honorable John Boehner, House Minority Leader
Honorable Daniel Akaka, Chairman, Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Honorable Richard Burr, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Honorable Bob Filner, Chairman, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Honorable Steve Buyer, Ranking Member, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Stimulus package: Money to the people
Stimulus package: Money to the people
By Gregory Phillips, Staff writer, Published on Thursday, February 26, 2009
Where you can find your stimulus bucks
Banks, automakers and states aren’t the only ones who get a piece of the $787 billion federal stimulus package.
There’s a good chance your family qualifies for tax credits, grants and other help, especially if you’re struggling financially. But don’t expect all the benefits to fall into your lap.
You’ll need to understand what’s available to you, and how to qualify. That means keeping receipts and paperwork if you buy a new car, for instance. If you typically fill out the simple tax form, you may want to pay close attention to deductions next year. And if you’ve lost your job or get laid off this year, there are programs that can help you get back on track.
Where’s my check?
Don’t expect a rebate check in the mail. This package mostly involves the government taking less money from you, rather than giving you more. But retirees, veterans on disability and pensions, Social Security recipients and railroad retirement beneficiaries will get a one-time payment of $250. The Social Security Administration hasn’t decided how the payments will be distributed, but expect by late May to see the money automatically — no action required on your part.
Got a job? Workers will get $400 per person, or $800 per couple, in the form of a tax credit in 2009 and 2010. Your employer will give you the options of pocketing a little more in each paycheck beginning July 1 or claiming the credit on your tax return next year to get a lump sum. Workers who make more than $95,000 (or $180,000 for couples) will get less.
Got kids?
A $1,000 child tax credit for each qualifying child under 17 will be extended to more families who don’t earn enough to pay income taxes. That means if you qualify but don’t owe taxes, you get the credit in a tax refund check. The Earned Income Tax Credit will expand similarly for low-income families with three or more children. In both cases, you should file tax returns in early 2010.
An expanded college tuition tax credit of $2,500 takes effect for 2009 and 2010. The maximum Pell grant for undergraduates, based on need, increases from $4,731 to $5,350 starting July 1. To learn more, go to www.ed.gov/programs/fpg.
Ready to buy a home?
If you’ve never owned a home (or haven’t in at least three years), now might be the time to buy. You’d be eligible for a tax credit equal to 10 percent of the purchase price, up to $8,000, if you buy by Dec. 1. You don’t have to pay it back if you stay in the home at least three years. Last year’s stimulus package provided a smaller credit and required repayment over 15 years. If you already bought a home this year and filed taxes under the old credit, you can file an amendment for the additional amount.
Buying a vehicle?
Buyers of new cars, light trucks, motor homes and motorcycles can deduct state and local sales taxes on the first $49,500 spent. You have to buy this year and earn less than $150,000 ($250,000 if filing jointly). There’s a tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying a plug-in hybrid vehicle or plug-in conversion by 2012.
Still confused?
If you don’t mind paying an accountant, it may be smart to get some professional help with all these credits and deductions next year. But an IRS spokesman said these changes don’t mean you have to, even when it comes to the Alternative Minimum Tax, which is amended to save about 24 million people from paying it. About 70 percent of taxpayers making $56,000 a year or less qualify for free online filing at www.irs.gov. The site will be updated with the new tax code by January. So will most commercially available computer software packages for filing taxes.
On the Web
The federal government has set up the Web site www.recovery.gov to show where the stimulus money is going once it starts flowing. Visit www.irs.gov for updated tax information.
Lost your job?
The law includes $46 billion for North Carolina to create or protect 105,000 jobs. But if you’ve lost yours already, you’ll see your unemployment benefits go up $25 more per week in the next few weeks. Benefits are extended through the end of the year for those eligible. And the first $2,400 in benefits will be exempt from your income tax.
If you lost a job after Sept. 1, 2008, or get laid off this year, the government will pay 65 percent of your health insurance premiums through the federal COBRA program. That’s if you had insurance at your old job and you choose to retain coverage with COBRA. If you already opted to not take COBRA, you have about 60 days to sign up and get the subsidy. According to eHealthInsurance, it’s not clear how the subsidy will be handled. Keep in touch with your former employer for details. If COBRA fees are too high even with the subsidy, go to www.coverageforall.org to review your options.
Money for job training is expanded under the Trade Adjustment Act for workers laid off by companies that move overseas. The new plan provides training for workers who lose jobs with service companies affected by industry moving abroad. This could make farmers or even whole communities eligible for aid if they show a direct impact. Funding for training in North Carolina could more than double to as much as $40 million. The Employment Security Commission oversees the training money. Call your local ESC office to learn more.
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sent to me by Colonel Dan
Veterans' families question cause of deaths
Veterans' families question cause of deaths
By Julie Robinson
Staff writer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Stan and Shirley White's son Andrew, a Marine reservist, died at home 2 1/2 years after he returned from Iraq. Janette Layne lost her husband, Eric, in similar circumstances after his return from Iraq.
More than a year later, they still don't know if the medication their loved ones were taking for post-traumatic stress disorder contributed to their deaths.
Andrew White and Eric Layne were taking Seroquel, Klonopin and Paxil, along with prescription painkillers.
Three other West Virginia servicemen have died in their sleep while undergoing PTSD treatment after returning from Iraq.
Investigators from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs looked into the deaths. Stan White, who actively researches similar deaths and PTSD-related medications, contacted Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who requested the investigation.
The investigators interviewed the White and Layne families and visited Huntington Veterans Affairs, the Charleston Community Based Outpatient Clinic and the Cincinnati VA residential program, where Layne was treated. They reviewed autopsy and toxicology reports for both patients.
In August, they concluded that White and Layne received care that met "community standards" at the VA facilities, and that the men died from a combination of prescribed and non-prescribed medicines.
"In the presence of PTSD, other mental health conditions, and uncertain use of medications by patients, we are unable to draw conclusions about the relationship between medication regimens and these deaths," the investigators wrote.
That's not good enough for some family members.
"I don't have a direct answer as to why he died," Janette Layne said of her husband. "Nobody has told me what caused his death."
The medical examiner listed "overintoxication of medicines" as the official cause of death for both Layne and White. The amounts of prescribed medications in both men's systems were within acceptable limits, said Janette Layne.
They also had taken some painkillers that hadn't been prescribed for them, according to Stan White and Janette Layne.
Narcotic painkillers are a leading cause of accidental overdose, and those painkillers can be especially dangerous when used in combination with other drugs.
"These drugs need to have a warning that you cannot mix them with painkillers," Stan White said. "At no time, were we ever warned that Andrew should not mix them with painkillers."
Stan White and Dr. Fred Baughman, a California neurologist who questions the use of medications to treat mental disorders except in rare circumstances, plan to visit Washington this month, armed with the stories of nine servicemen whose deaths mirror Andrew White's situation.
The soldiers are from West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Some of their families will go to Washington with White and Baughman and meet with their state representatives.
The prescriptions were given by doctors at VA facilities in Huntington, Charleston and a residential program in Cincinnati where Layne had just completed an eight-week in-patient treatment. White's doctor instructed him to take as much Paxil and Seroquel as needed, Shirley White said.
"They said he had lethal amounts in his system," she said. "So, no, we don't have answers."
A second look
Stan White hopes to convince policy-makers in Washington to take a second look at pharmaceuticals prescribed to PTSD sufferers.
How safe are the combinations? How carefully should they be dosed? Should people with PTSD, which sometimes includes forgetfulness and memory loss, be given prescriptions that require careful monitoring?
Despite last August's report, the Whites are convinced there is a connection to their son's death.
"I think the goal of talking before Congress is that we don't think the VA is approaching treatment in the right way," Shirley White said.
Both White and Baughman urge increased counseling resources for returning veterans, including counselors available after work hours. Working veterans can't repeatedly miss work for ongoing appointments.
"I'm not a doctor. The medicine might be needed at first, but the soldiers need therapy and counseling," Stan White said. "I really think that's the key to this thing."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Stan and Shirley White's son Andrew, a Marine reservist, died at home 2 1/2 years after he returned from Iraq. Janette Layne lost her husband, Eric, in similar circumstances after his return from Iraq.
More than a year later, they still don't know if the medication their loved ones were taking for post-traumatic stress disorder contributed to their deaths.
Andrew White and Eric Layne were taking Seroquel, Klonopin and Paxil, along with prescription painkillers.
Three other West Virginia servicemen have died in their sleep while undergoing PTSD treatment after returning from Iraq.
Investigators from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs looked into the deaths. Stan White, who actively researches similar deaths and PTSD-related medications, contacted Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who requested the investigation.
The investigators interviewed the White and Layne families and visited Huntington Veterans Affairs, the Charleston Community Based Outpatient Clinic and the Cincinnati VA residential program, where Layne was treated. They reviewed autopsy and toxicology reports for both patients.
In August, they concluded that White and Layne received care that met "community standards" at the VA facilities, and that the men died from a combination of prescribed and non-prescribed medicines.
"In the presence of PTSD, other mental health conditions, and uncertain use of medications by patients, we are unable to draw conclusions about the relationship between medication regimens and these deaths," the investigators wrote.
That's not good enough for some family members.
"I don't have a direct answer as to why he died," Janette Layne said of her husband. "Nobody has told me what caused his death."
The medical examiner listed "overintoxication of medicines" as the official cause of death for both Layne and White. The amounts of prescribed medications in both men's systems were within acceptable limits, said Janette Layne.
They also had taken some painkillers that hadn't been prescribed for them, according to Stan White and Janette Layne.
Narcotic painkillers are a leading cause of accidental overdose, and those painkillers can be especially dangerous when used in combination with other drugs.
"These drugs need to have a warning that you cannot mix them with painkillers," Stan White said. "At no time, were we ever warned that Andrew should not mix them with painkillers."
Stan White and Dr. Fred Baughman, a California neurologist who questions the use of medications to treat mental disorders except in rare circumstances, plan to visit Washington this month, armed with the stories of nine servicemen whose deaths mirror Andrew White's situation.
The soldiers are from West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Some of their families will go to Washington with White and Baughman and meet with their state representatives.
The prescriptions were given by doctors at VA facilities in Huntington, Charleston and a residential program in Cincinnati where Layne had just completed an eight-week in-patient treatment. White's doctor instructed him to take as much Paxil and Seroquel as needed, Shirley White said.
"They said he had lethal amounts in his system," she said. "So, no, we don't have answers."
A second look
Stan White hopes to convince policy-makers in Washington to take a second look at pharmaceuticals prescribed to PTSD sufferers.
How safe are the combinations? How carefully should they be dosed? Should people with PTSD, which sometimes includes forgetfulness and memory loss, be given prescriptions that require careful monitoring?
Despite last August's report, the Whites are convinced there is a connection to their son's death.
"I think the goal of talking before Congress is that we don't think the VA is approaching treatment in the right way," Shirley White said.
Both White and Baughman urge increased counseling resources for returning veterans, including counselors available after work hours. Working veterans can't repeatedly miss work for ongoing appointments.
"I'm not a doctor. The medicine might be needed at first, but the soldiers need therapy and counseling," Stan White said. "I really think that's the key to this thing."
Stan White and Baughman track soldiers and veterans who die in their sleep or slumped at work stations. They contact the families when they hear about such deaths to ask about psychiatric diagnoses and medications. Military casualty officers won't release details.
They found three others from West Virginia. Jeremy Harper, 19, of Dunbar died Jan. 1, 2005, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while being treated for PTSD. Nicholas Endicott of Logan County, who died at a military hospital in Bethesda, Md., also suffered from PTSD. Derek Johnson, 22, of Hurricane died last year while taking the three drugs.
Baughman notes Seroquel's link to fatal heart arrhythmias and irregularities. He's now researching the death of Chad Oligschlaeger, 21, a Texas Marine who died in May while taking six medications for PTSD, including Seroquel.
"I'm telling you right now, these drugs are unfit for human consumption, across the board," Baughman said. "Their side effects take two to three pages to list."
Faces behind the figures
When Eric Layne died Jan. 26, 2008, Janette Layne was pregnant and was caring for their 1-year-old son, Shamus. She and her husband served together in the National Guard in Iraq. His PTSD symptoms surfaced shortly after their homecoming.
"We had no idea what post-traumatic stress disorder was. We thought it was something old Vietnam veterans on the side of the street had," Janette Layne said. "We were working, we had jobs and were well-fed and clean. We couldn't imagine that would ever be us."
As Eric Layne became increasingly depressed, angry and short-tempered, his wife encouraged him to seek treatment through the VA. He was reluctant, partially because he sensed an underlying message in the military to "just suck it up," she said.
"It's ironic. Eric didn't want to go and he didn't want to take medicine," she said. "They told him just to come and talk. He left with a prescription and the PTSD just got worse."
When Eric Layne lost his job in the fall of 2007, he entered an eight-week residential care program in Cincinnati where his medications were strictly monitored. He came home on the weekends, and his wife scarcely recognized the detached, exhausted man he had become.
The night he completed the program and came home for good, the Laynes agreed Eric would see a doctor about the side effects of the medicine.
He died that night.
"I'll never forget that day. I picked up Shamus from day care and a woman asked me if the baby was going to be a boy or girl. When I said she was a girl, the woman said, 'All you need is a dog and you'll have the perfect family,'" Janette Layne said. "That night Eric passed away."
She was overwhelmed with single-parent responsibilities when she delivered their daughter, Jubilee, in May.
The Whites and several other members of a veterans' family support group stepped up. They scheduled times to visit with her and watched the children so she could run errands or take classes.
"If not for them, I don't think I could do it," Janette Layne said.
The Whites spend Thursday evenings with the children, and Shirley White often calls on the weekends to see if she can come over.
"It's been good for both of us," Shirley White said. "Some days, just getting up is such an ordeal. Then I remember that we have Thursday to look forward to. Janette and her children have pretty much got us through this year."
Just 21 months apart, Shamus, 2, and Jubilee require constant attention. The children squeal with delight when they see the Whites. Shamus asks Stan White if they can have chicken nuggets, a treat he often picks up at McDonald's. In warmer weather, they visit the playground down the road.
"It's not just they help with the kids. I truly love Shirley and Stan," Janette Layne said. "They're the parents I never had."
Stan White, who teaches ski lessons at Canaan Valley during the week, said he thought Shamus was ready to learn. The Whites' involvement with her children comforts Janette Layne, who worries about their future without a father.
"I just want there to be more awareness in the military. There are so many broken homes and children without fathers," she said. "Families are suffering and sometimes they don't even know what it's from. When you get home [from military duty] is when the real work begins."
Reach Julie Robinson at jul...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1230.
Stan White and Baughman track soldiers and veterans who die in their sleep or slumped at work stations. They contact the families when they hear about such deaths to ask about psychiatric diagnoses and medications. Military casualty officers won't release details.
They found three others from West Virginia. Jeremy Harper, 19, of Dunbar died Jan. 1, 2005, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while being treated for PTSD. Nicholas Endicott of Logan County, who died at a military hospital in Bethesda, Md., also suffered from PTSD. Derek Johnson, 22, of Hurricane died last year while taking the three drugs.
Baughman notes Seroquel's link to fatal heart arrhythmias and irregularities. He's now researching the death of Chad Oligschlaeger, 21, a Texas Marine who died in May while taking six medications for PTSD, including Seroquel.
"I'm telling you right now, these drugs are unfit for human consumption, across the board," Baughman said. "Their side effects take two to three pages to list."
Faces behind the figures
When Eric Layne died Jan. 26, 2008, Janette Layne was pregnant and was caring for their 1-year-old son, Shamus. She and her husband served together in the National Guard in Iraq. His PTSD symptoms surfaced shortly after their homecoming.
"We had no idea what post-traumatic stress disorder was. We thought it was something old Vietnam veterans on the side of the street had," Janette Layne said. "We were working, we had jobs and were well-fed and clean. We couldn't imagine that would ever be us."
As Eric Layne became increasingly depressed, angry and short-tempered, his wife encouraged him to seek treatment through the VA. He was reluctant, partially because he sensed an underlying message in the military to "just suck it up," she said.
"It's ironic. Eric didn't want to go and he didn't want to take medicine," she said. "They told him just to come and talk. He left with a prescription and the PTSD just got worse."
When Eric Layne lost his job in the fall of 2007, he entered an eight-week residential care program in Cincinnati where his medications were strictly monitored. He came home on the weekends, and his wife scarcely recognized the detached, exhausted man he had become.
The night he completed the program and came home for good, the Laynes agreed Eric would see a doctor about the side effects of the medicine.
He died that night.
"I'll never forget that day. I picked up Shamus from day care and a woman asked me if the baby was going to be a boy or girl. When I said she was a girl, the woman said, 'All you need is a dog and you'll have the perfect family,'" Janette Layne said. "That night Eric passed away."
She was overwhelmed with single-parent responsibilities when she delivered their daughter, Jubilee, in May.
The Whites and several other members of a veterans' family support group stepped up. They scheduled times to visit with her and watched the children so she could run errands or take classes.
"If not for them, I don't think I could do it," Janette Layne said.
The Whites spend Thursday evenings with the children, and Shirley White often calls on the weekends to see if she can come over.
"It's been good for both of us," Shirley White said. "Some days, just getting up is such an ordeal. Then I remember that we have Thursday to look forward to. Janette and her children have pretty much got us through this year."
Just 21 months apart, Shamus, 2, and Jubilee require constant attention. The children squeal with delight when they see the Whites. Shamus asks Stan White if they can have chicken nuggets, a treat he often picks up at McDonald's. In warmer weather, they visit the playground down the road.
"It's not just they help with the kids. I truly love Shirley and Stan," Janette Layne said. "They're the parents I never had."
Stan White, who teaches ski lessons at Canaan Valley during the week, said he thought Shamus was ready to learn. The Whites' involvement with her children comforts Janette Layne, who worries about their future without a father.
"I just want there to be more awareness in the military. There are so many broken homes and children without fathers," she said. "Families are suffering and sometimes they don't even know what it's from. When you get home [from military duty] is when the real work begins."
Reach Julie Robinson at jul...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1230
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Back in June 2003 I ended up being hospitalized from a reaction to the drugs mentioned in this article, I was delirious and was talking about things from 20 years previously. The VA put me in a lockdown ward and they took me off the seroqul and put me on another type medicine and the problems stopped. I know feel like I was a lucky man.
