Don’t miss the 23rd annual Nam Jam Patriotic Event at Kino Sports Complex on Saturday, March 26th.

 

Car Show, Chili Cook-Off 10am-3pm

 

CONCERT:  12-6 pm      $5 admission, kids under 12 FREE

 

60′s Garage Band; Running Hot; Chuck Wagon & The Wheels; Borboletta; 2011 Battle of the Band Winner

 

Kids Play Area; Military Displays; Cold Drinks; Prizes; Food

 

Tickets available at Tucson area Catalina Marts or at the gate.

 

www.TucsonNamVets.org

Post-traumatic stress disorder, (PTSD) more than doubles a veterans risk of death from any cause and is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2010.

The study states that doctors should offer as much preventive treatment for heart disease for clients with PTSD. The researchers, are Naser Ahmadi, MD, and Ramin Ebrahimi, MD.

The research studied the electronic medicals records of 286, 194 veterans, with an average age of 63, who are being treated at hospitals in Southern California and Nevada. The cohort group includes veterans of the Korean War.

The conclusion of the study indicated that veterans diagnosed with PTSD had 2.41 times the rate of death from all causes compared to veterans who have not experienced PTSD. Or at least not diagnosed with the symptoms. They then surmise that PTSD alone is an independent predictor of death from all causes.

Now, let Veteran Veritas  enter the picture. I cannot use the the adjective that first comes to mind for this study. So let your veteran imaginations take you there.

What I will say is that I first distrust this study because it smells of the subterranean influence of the Insurance industry that does not want to provide life insurance for the young soldiers returning from war, as a result of their pre-existing conditions —which is War!   A soldier who is diagnosed with PTSD cannot currently get life insurance. Truth.

Man is this a hard pill to swallow.

So, the citizen soldier who just defended the United States of America and our system of capitalism, the insurance industry being the very DNA of that system, can in turn not be defended by the very system they just defended.  There will  be an outcry beyond belief when this becomes known nationwide. Johnny can come marching home with ribbons of valor galore, but he cannot get life insurance if he seeks a little help for his nightmares of horific events, because he  is normal. All of the literature on PTSD indicates that, “it is a normal reaction to aberrant events.”  So, where am I going here? I believe studies like this should be scrutinized way beyond their practical value, for the core intent. I suspect that some of that intent is to have on record, medical data, to support the decline for life insurance.  Not unlike the bogus studies of a Psychiatrist named Sally Satel, who was on the payroll of the American Enterprise institute to conduct their dirty work in attempting to alter the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Psychiatry, DSM, so as to not have to award do many disability claims for PTSD, this study is akin to that effort that was suspended as a result of the incredible feedback from veterans, like this writer, who are up at night combing the net.  I will have more to say about this in future postings.

I would like to see what our readers have to say about this study and why from its initial reading it is laced with errors of science.  I will be revisiting this subject frequently over the next several months.

Next week I will be visiting with some high command at Camp Pendleton, and this topic is on the agenda.

As a footnote, many seasoned journalists have a bit of disdain for medical journalism as so much of it has hidden agendas of promotion of self and product, or is bent toward the pharmaceutical industry, meaning stockholders.

ress Release	September 23, 2010	No. RI-002 Contact: Mokie Porter 301-585-4000, Ext. 146
Beware the Senator Who Speaks With Forked Tongue
By John Weiss, Vietnam Veterans of America Rhode Island State Council North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, the leading Republican on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said yesterday, as reported by the Associated Press, that he has “concerns about a proposal to spend billions of dollars on disability compensation for Vietnam veterans who get heart disease and wants to make sure that science supports the expansion of benefits.” The “proposal” Burr is referring to is a decision by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, based on the recent National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine committee report, “Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2008.” A little history is in order: From 1962 to 1971, the U.S. military used Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam and elsewhere to defoliate the jungle canopy, to destroy crops, and to clear the perimeters of U.S. bases. These herbicides were sprayed from fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, trucks, and backpack sprayers. The drums that stored these chemicals were often recycled and put to various other uses, sometimes to collect rain water, to serve as barbecue grill, etc. Nearly three million veterans served in Southeast Asia. Contained in these herbicides was dioxin, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-paradioxin—one of the most dangerous chemicals known to man. On August 31, 2010, in the Federal Register, the Department of Veterans Affairs published the final rules amending the adjudication regulations concerning presumptive service connection, concluding that there was a positive association between exposure in Vietnam to certain herbicides and the subsequent development of three diseases: hairy cell leukemia & B-cell leukemias; Parkinson’s disease; and ischemic heart disease. And for the first time in history, on September 23, Burr and his colleagues will call into question the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as outlined in the Agent Orange Act of 1991. Recognizing that Burr was voted into the House of Representatives in 1994, it is obvious that he was not involved with the passage of the Agent Orange Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-4), which passed the House and the Senate without a single nay vote. In fact, today, 19 years later, there are only 36 members of Congress still serving who voted for passage of this act in 1991. The Agent Orange Act of 1991 acknowledges the culpability of toxic exposures in health conditions that manifested years after a veteran’s service. Included in the law is the authority for the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to, on a biannual basis, provide a review of all scientific studies and research on the association between dioxin and specific diseases; and include recommendations for future research. The act further grants the Secretary of the VA the authority to determine if a presumption of service connection is warranted for any of the health conditions addressed in the report. If Sen. Burr is uncomfortable with the Secretary’s determinations based on the National Academy of Sciences recommendations, perhaps he would be more comfortable with the finding of the U.S. Air Force Ranch Hand Study, conducted by the U.S. Air Force on those who participated in the aerial spraying program, as sited in the 1992 testimony of Dr. Barry L. Johnson, Assistant Surgeon General, before the House Subcommittee on Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations: A recent study on the health status of Vietnam veterans who participated in Operation Ranch Hand did not find any signs of liver disease, but did report increased levels of triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood (a second report does not support these increases). In addition, an increase in body fat, diabetes, and blood pressure were also noted. These effects were strongly associated with TCDD levels in the serum. Ranch Hand veterans also had changes in blood (increased white blood cells, platelet, IgA, and sedimentation rates) which suggest a chronic inflammatory response, although no immunologic system diseases were identified. These immune system changes were also strongly associated with serum TCDD levels. These results differ from those reported in previous analyses of the Ranch Hand group in 1982 and 1985. The earlier analyses did not include an assessment of serum TCDD levels. A physical examination of Ranch Hand veterans is currently under way. There is no doubt, that Burr, though too young to have faced conscription during the Vietnam Conflict, views himself as a supporter of those who served. In fact, seven months ago, it was Sen. Burr who introduced a resolution recognizing March 30 as “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.” Proclaimed Burr, “There’s no question that our troops served our country bravely and faithfully during the Vietnam War, and these veterans deserve our recognition and gratitude.  Unfortunately, when these service members returned home, they were caught in the crossfire of public debate about our nation’s involvement in the war.” Today, Vietnam veterans are again caught in the “crossfire of public debate,” as Burr and others balk at the price of providing for the continuing cost of care for those whom he and others recognize “served our country bravely and faithfully during the Vietnam War.” Words of praise and gratitude do not cost anything. Veterans’ compensation for service-related health conditions do. Sen. Burr, which is it?
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation’s only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families.  VVA’s founding principle is “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”

The following is a portion of the testimony presented by American Legion National Commander Jimmie L Foster and addresses Veteran disabilities due to environmental exposures.
The full testimony can be found at the following weblink:
http://veterans.house.gov/Media/file/111/9-22-10/AmericanLegionCommandersTestimony.pdf
Please distribute to your members.

American Legion National Commander Fiscal Year 2012 Testimony For the Department of Veteran’s Affairs

By Jimmie L Foster, National Commander

Excerpt: Veterans Disabilities due to Environmental Exposures:

AGENT ORANGE AND TACTICAL HERBICIDES

The American Legion believes that major epidemiological studies of Vietnam veterans who were exposed to the herbicide Agent Orange are long overdue. In the early 1980s, Congress held hearings on the need for such epidemiological studies.  When VA was unable to accomplish the task, the responsibility was passed to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  In 1986, CDC also abandoned the project, asserting that a study could not be conducted based on available records.

The American Legion did not give up.  Three separate panels of the National Academy of Sciences have agreed with The American Legion and concluded that CDC was wrong and that epidemiological studies based on DoD records are possible.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Characterizing Exposure of Veterans to Agent Orange and Other Herbicides Used in Vietnam, is based on the research conducted by a Columbia University team.  The team has developed a powerful method for characterizing exposure to herbicides in Vietnam.  The American Legion is proud to have collaborated in this research effort.  In its final report on the study, the IOM urgently recommends that epidemiological studies be undertaken now that an accepted exposure methodology is available.  The American Legion strongly endorses this IOM report.

PRESUMPTIVE SERVICE CONNECTION FOR EXPOSURE

The American Legion strongly supports the extension of presumption of exposure to Agent Orange for veterans who served on naval vessels located in the territorial waters of Vietnam (known as Blue Water Navy veterans) but did not set foot on land in Vietnam.

The IOM, in Update 2008, specifically stated that the evidence it reviewed makes the current definition of Vietnam service, for the purpose of presumption of exposure to Agent Orange, limited to those who actually set foot on land in Vietnam “seem inappropriate.”  Citing an Australian study on the fate of the contaminant TCDD when sea water is distilled to produce drinking water, the IOM committee stated that it was convinced that such a process would produce a feasible route of exposure for Blue Water veterans, “which might have been supplemented by drift from herbicide spraying.”  (See IOM, Veterans and Agent Orange, Update 2008, p. 564; July 24, 2009)  The IOM also noted that a 1990 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a classic Agent Orange cancer, was more prevalent and significant among Blue Water Navy veterans. The IOM subsequently recommended that, given all of the available evidence, Blue Water Navy veterans should not be excluded from the group of Vietnam-era veterans presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange/herbicides.

The American Legion submits that not only does this latest IOM report fully support the extension of presumption of Agent Orange exposure to Blue Water Navy veterans, it provides scientific justification to the legislation currently pending in Congress that seeks to correct this grave injustice faced by Blue Water Navy veterans. The American

Legion at its 2010 National Convention approved Resolution 88 identifying service in the Republic of Vietnam includes “those who served in the territorial waters offshore.”

EXPOSURE IN AREAS OTHER THAN THE REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

The American Legion is also extremely concerned about the timely disclosure and release of all information by DoD on the use and testing of herbicides in locations other than Vietnam during the war.  Over the years, The American Legion has represented veterans who claim to have been exposed to herbicides in places other than Vietnam.  Without official acknowledgement by the Federal government of the use of herbicides, proving such exposure is virtually impossible.  Information has come to light in the last few years leaving no doubt that Agent Orange, and other herbicides contaminated with dioxin, were released in locations other than Vietnam.  This information is slowly being disclosed by DoD and provided to VA. In April 2001, officials from DoD briefed VA on the use of Agent Orange along the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) from April 1968 through July 1969.  It was applied through hand spraying and by hand distribution of pelletized herbicides to defoliate the fields of fire between the front line defensive positions and the south barrier fence.  The size of the treated area was a strip 151 miles long and up to 350 yards from the fence to north of the civilian control line.  According to available records, the effects of the spraying were sometimes observed as far as 200 meters downwind. DoD identified the units that were stationed along the DMZ during the period in which the spraying took place.  This information was given to VA’s Compensation and Pension Service, which provided it to all of the regional offices.  VA Central Office has instructed its Regional Offices to concede exposure for veterans who served in the identified units during the period the spraying took place.

In January 2003, DoD provided VA with an inventory of documents containing brief descriptions of records of herbicides used at specific times and locations outside of Vietnam.  The information, unlike the information on the Korean DMZ, does not contain units’ involved or individual identifying information.  Also, according to VA, this information is incomplete, reflecting only 70 to 85 percent of herbicide use, testing and disposal locations outside of Vietnam.  VA requested that DoD provide it with information regarding the units involved with herbicide operations or other information that may be useful to place veterans at sites where herbicide operations or testing was conducted. Unfortunately, as of this date, additional information has not been provided by DoD.

Obtaining the most accurate information available concerning possible exposure is extremely important for the adjudication of herbicide-related disability claims of veterans claiming exposure outside of Vietnam.  For herbicide-related disability claims, veterans who served in Vietnam during the period of January 9, 1962 to May 7, 1975 are presumed by law to have been exposed to Agent Orange.  Veterans claiming exposure to herbicides outside of Vietnam are required to submit proof of exposure.  This is why it is crucial that all information pertaining to herbicide use, testing, and disposal in locations other than Vietnam be released to VA in a timely manner.

The IOM subsequently recommended that, given all of the available evidence, Blue Water Navy veterans should not be excluded from the group of Vietnam-era veterans presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange/herbicides.

Congressional oversight is needed to ensure that additional information identifying involved personnel or units for the locations already known by VA is released by DoD, as well as all relevant information pertaining to other locations that have yet to be identified.  Locating this information and providing it to VA must be a national priority.  The American Legion endorses both the 2006 and 2008 IOM reports and strongly urges VA to make a timely decision on its recommendations and provide timely notification of the decision to add or not add to the presumptive list. The ongoing and lengthy process witnessed during the addition of the three new presumptive conditions associated with Agent Orange, ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s

disease, and b-cell leukemias such as “hairy cell leukemia” has illustrated the need for better coordination between VA, the veterans’ community and Congress.  There is an excellent system already in place by law to provide for the addition of new presumptive conditions.  The science evaluation performed by the IOM has been proven to be

sound and thorough.  Where VA evaluates this information and chooses to add new presumptive conditions, the process should not reflect endless months of delays and debate, but should move forward swiftly.

In order to facilitate a better understanding of this process, more clarity and transparency may be required.  Why, for example, does VA determine one portion of an IOM report to be valid for finding of a presumption of service connection, yet disregard other portions of the IOM findings, such as the analysis of the Australian Naval Study which

recognized the link between Blue Water Naval Service and the exposure to Agent Orange?  When questions are raised as to why VA has determined that the IOM findings suggest a connection, there should be clear guidance as to what standard is being objectively used, so that no questions as to the integrity of the process can arise. The process, when supported by sound science, should not consist of a yearlong cycle of bickering.  The law clearly states a period of deadlines for the publication of new regulations.  These regulations must be adhered to, and the criteria by which the Department of Veterans’ Affairs determines the necessity to add a new presumptive condition must be clear, so that future delays to veterans can be avoided.

The American Legion has long fought for the veterans of Vietnam to be justly treated for the after effects of their exposure to Agent Orange. Congress and VA must discover a way to more efficiently execute the process of the addition of new presumptive conditions, so that years of long delays no longer plague veterans in their quest for benefits.

GULF WAR ILLNESS

In the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illness (RACGWI) initial report released in November 2004, it was found that, for a large majority of affected Gulf War veterans, their illnesses could not be explained by stress or psychiatric illness and concluded that current scientific evidence supports a probable link between neurotoxin exposure and subsequent development of Gulf War veterans’ illnesses.  Earlier government panels concluded that deployment-related stress, not the numerous environmental and other exposures troops were exposed to during the war, was likely responsible for the numerous unexplained symptoms reported by thousands of Gulf War veterans. The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses released their most recent report November 2008.  In the report, the committee concluded that Gulf War Illness is a physical condition.  The report indicates that Gulf War Illness is a serious condition that affects at least one fourth of the 697,000 U.S. veterans who served in the 1990-1991 Gulf War.  The panel also determined that Gulf War Illness fundamentally differs from trauma and stress-related syndromes described after other wars.

Studies have indicated that Gulf War veterans have a lower rate of Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) than veterans of other wars.  Upon review of extensive scientific evidence, the committee determined that two neurotoxin exposures are causally associated with Gulf War Illness: a drug given to service members to protect them from nerve gas known as pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills and pesticides used during deployment.

The science evaluation performed by the IOM has been proven to be sound and thorough.  Where VA evaluates this information and chooses to add new presumptive conditions, the process should not reflect endless months of delays and debate, but should move forward swiftly.

The American Legion strongly supports this report and urges the VA Secretary to act quickly on the committee’s recommendations. In addition, VA must continue to fund research projects consistent with the recommendations of the RACGWI.  VA must continue to fund research projects consistent with the recommendations of the RACGWI.  It is important that VA continues to focus its research on finding medical treatments that will alleviate veterans’ suffering as well as on figuring out the causes of that suffering.  Although veterans can file claims for these ailments and possibly gain access to the health care system once a disability percentage rate is granted, those whose claims are denied cannot enroll.  Unfortunately, the denial rate for Gulf War undiagnosed illness claims is approximately 75 percent. Due to their nature, these illnesses are difficult to understand and information about individual exposures may not be available, many ill veterans are not able to present strong claims.  They are then forced to seek care from private physicians who may not have enough information about Gulf War Veterans’ illnesses to provide appropriate care. VA published its comments on the IOM’s Gulf War and Health, Volume 2: Insecticides and Solvents report, released in February 2003 in the Federal Register.

The Department decided not to establish a presumption of service connection for any diseases, illnesses or health effects considered in the report, based on exposure to insecticides or solvents during service in the Persian Gulf during the Persian Gulf War.  Many of VA’s justifications for not establishing presumption mirror the reasons why ill Gulf War veterans have problems justifying their claims.  The IOM report notes that little information is known about the use of solvents in the theater. VA notes that veterans may still be granted service connection, if evidence indicates an association between their diseases and their exposures. This places the burden of proof on Gulf War veterans to prove their exposures and that the level of exposure is sufficient enough to warrant service connection. IOM and VA have acknowledged that there is insufficient information on the use of the identified solvents and pesticides during the Gulf War.

VA’s interpretation is that Congress did not intend VA to establish presumptions for known health effects of all substances common to military and civilian life, but that it should focus on the unique exposure environment in the Persian Gulf during the war. The IOM was commissioned to ascertain long-term health effects of service in the Persian Gulf during the war, based on exposures associated with service in theater during the war as identified by Congress, not exposures unique to the Southwest Asia Theater. The determination to not grant presumption for the ailments identified should be based solely on the research findings, not on the legitimacy of the exposures identified by Congress. The IOM has a similar charge to address veterans who served in Vietnam during the war. Herbicides were not unique to the operations in the Southeast Asia theater of conflict and there had not been, until recently, a definitive idea of the amounts of herbicides to which service members had been exposed.  Peer-reviewed, occupational studies are evaluated to make recommendations on which illnesses are associated with exposure the herbicides—and their components known to be used in theater.  For ailments that demonstrate sufficient evidence of a causal relationship, sufficient evidence of an association, and limited evidence of an association, the Secretary may consider presumption. Gulf War and Health Volume 2 identifies several illnesses in these categories.  However, the VA Secretary determined that presumption is not warranted. VA needs to clearly define what type of information is required to determine possible health effects, for example, any clarification of guidance or mandate for the research.

VA also needs to ensure that its charge to the IOM is specific enough to help it make determinations about presumptive illnesses.  VA noted that neither the report, nor the studies considered for the report identified increased risk of disease based on episodic exposures o insecticides or solvents and that the report states no conclusion whether any of the diseases are associated with “less than chronic exposure,” possibly indicating a lack of data to make a determination.  If this was necessary, it should have been clearly identified.

Finally, Section 1118, title 38, United States Code  mandates how the VA Secretary should respond to the recommendations made in the IOM reports.  The VA Secretary is required to make a determination of whether or not a presumption for service connection is warranted for each illness covered in the report no later than 60 days after the date the report is received. Persian Gulf War and Health, Volume 2 was released in 2003, four years ago.  VA has yet to publish its determination on those reports as well. The American Legion urges VA to provide clarity in the charge for the IOM reports. The VA must identify what type of information is needed to make determinations of presumption of service connection for illnesses that may be associated with service in the Gulf during the war.

The American Legion urges VA to request clarification from Congress on the intent of the phrase “known or presumed to be associated with service in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War.” Additionally to obtain clarification from the IOM committee concerning missing information as possible, and re-evaluate the findings of the IOM report with the clarification provided. The American Legion also urges Congress to provide oversight to ensure VA provides timely responses to the recommendations made in the IOM reports.
God Bless
Jose M. Garcia
Past National Commander
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
In God We Trust

Invisible Wounds Hurt Veterans’ Job Chances

This saga has been underway since the first troops rotated after the Shock and Awe bombing of Iraq in 2003.  For the past 7 years only one mission has been accomplished, the war side one.  Post war battles are harder to fight, because the soldier is not armed with the emotional weapons to overcome a bio-chemical make- over of  their entire being. At least not in the employers minds.

I predicted this patriotic hypocrisy following the first retreat I attended in 2005, for returning combat veterans. There were 19 at the workshop, and 11 of them had trouble getting their jobs back after deployment.  Four of them were engaged in lawsuits with former employers. They were all reservists who by Federal Law must be allowed to return to their jobs after being called up for duty.

What was the Employers response to these young warriors? “Sue me, then.”  So much for the yellow ribbons.

And this is just the first wave of troops rotating home. We think we have an unemployment problem now?  Wait for the next wave to hit the barren beaches of bleakness in the economy.  I remember well 1973 when no one wanted to hire a Vietnam Veteran.

There is, however, an aspect to this job placement dilemma that is really quite positive. Now the VA cares. Now our current Administration cares. Now there are mentoring programs and vocational rehabilitation that never existed in my era of suppression and repression of all war related matters.  We are a bit more enlightened about a soldiers needs. That is a good thing.  The funding and support for these programs needs to be ongoing and stable until every Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman, and Coast Guard combatant are safe at home.  Without that assured commitment, we will only see a deja vu of the self destruction and homelessness that visited us in the veteran community for the 25 years following the end of the Vietnam War.  There were no yellow ribbons then, just suicides.  We can do better, and will.   Mike Brewer/USMC

The article follows.

Michael Butcher has applied for at least 25 jobs since injuries he suffered in Iraq forced him to leave the Army three years ago.

“I was even turned down by McDonald’s,” said the 29-year-old San Diego native.

The military is known for developing leadership, adaptability, loyalty and teamwork. But Butcher said when he tells employers he needs time off to see therapists for post-traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury, they don’t call back.

“They think you are mental,” he said.

After nearly a decade of war, many U.S. military veterans have lived through extended periods of combat stress and the trauma of losing colleagues. Nearly a third of the troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan report symptoms of PTSD, severe depression or traumatic brain injury, according to a 2008 study by the Rand Corp.

Many of these new veterans struggle to find and retain civilian jobs. Not only are they returning to the worst economy in decades, advocates say, but many employers do not know how to accommodate these invisible wounds and worry that they might “go postal.”

“If you are a person with a lost limb, it’s a little more straightforward what you might need,” said John Wilson, assistant legislative director for Disabled American Veterans. “You might need a different kind of keyboard or voice-recognition software to do the typing.”

But employers may not know what to expect from a person with PTSD or a brain injury. The symptoms can include severe headaches, memory lapses, poor concentration, slurred speech, loss of balance, a short temper and anxiety in a crowd.

“These elements can make it a challenge to do everyday activities in the workplace,” said Raymond Jefferson, assistant secretary for the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service in the U.S. Department of Labor. “But there are very reasonable accommodations employers can make to allow wounded warriors with PTSD and [brain injuries] to be high-contributing, high-performing members on the team.”

When the Society for Human Resource Management surveyed its members in June, 46% said they believed post-traumatic stress and other mental health issues posed a hiring challenge. Just 22% said the same about combat-related physical disabilities.

Although media attention has helped make the diagnosis and treatment of PTSD and traumatic brain injury a government priority, veterans say it has also contributed to the stigma associated with these wounds.

“They hear so many stories on the news — this soldier got back from Iraq and killed his wife — which makes people a little reluctant to hire you,” Butcher said.

Butcher deployed to Iraq in 2003 as part of a tank crew that repeatedly came under fire. One hot day he left a hatch open and the force of a grenade blast slammed his head against an iron shield.

Many veterans are using education benefits to improve their qualifications. But when Butcher enrolled in community college, the sight of Muslim students kneeling to pray triggered terrifying flashbacks. He left after one semester.

A friend helped arrange an internship at a computer manufacturing company, but Butcher said he got into frequent arguments with co-workers. After four days, he was asked to leave.

Butcher said he has since learned to walk away when he gets angry and uses weekly counseling sessions to relieve stress. But he said the flexibility he would need from an employer puts him at a disadvantage compared to job seekers who don’t have special needs.

Officials with the U.S. departments of Veterans Affairs, Labor and Defense have worked to assure potential employers that the mental and cognitive disabilities of many veterans can be accommodated with little expense and minimum disruption.

Short rest periods — no longer than a smoking break — can make a big difference, said Ruth Fanning, who heads the VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service. The department also pays for adaptive technology, such as electronic organizers to help keep track of appointments and white-noise machines to reduce distractions.

Denita Hartfield, a veteran now working from home, takes a digital recorder into every meeting, writes lists in color-coded notebooks and covers her workspace with Post-it note reminders. A striking woman, fashionably attired, with a master’s degree in criminal justice and weapons of mass destruction, Hartfield struggled as dean of students at a business school because her disabilities were not immediately apparent.

“I need my appointments to live,” she said.
Hartfield now wants to set up her own business advising veterans and employers how to work together. She says more open communication would have helped in her case, but at first she did not want to acknowledge her disabilities.

“One of the problems is so many folks aren’t even talking about their invisible wounds,” said Tim Embree, legislative associate for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “The issues are different with every individual, so what I think matters is that the individual understands what’s going on as well as the employer.”

To help employers better accommodate the mental health issues veterans face, the Department of Labor has set up a web site, America’s Heroes at Work.

Many veterans find civilian work with the U.S. government, which is one of the largest employers of former military personnel; they make up a quarter of the federal workforce. About 40% of the staff at VA medical call centers in Northern California are disabled veterans, many of them with PTSD or brain injuries, according to Project Hired, the nonprofit contracted to run them. Los Angeles Habilitation House is training 18 veterans with invisible wounds to provide contract management services to the government.

They include Ronta Foster, a 49-year-old father of two who has cycled between the Army and low-paying civilian jobs for years.

He was diagnosed with PTSD and traumatic brain injury after deploying to Iraq in 2003 but traces the symptoms back to a beating he received outside a German nightclub in 1982.

“The opportunities have been far and few for me,” Foster said. “This here is going to give me an opportunity to start another career and take care of me and my family. That’s all I have been wanting to do for 30 years.”

Some companies also seek out veterans. Joshua Stout is one of 80 people recruited through Northrop Grumman’s hiring program for severely wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. A former Marine who served in both wars, he now works as a project manager at a plant in San Diego that is developing an unmanned surveillance plane for the Navy.

The company consulted occupational nurses on how to help the 27-year-old manage PTSD and a brain injury. They showed him how to set reminders on his computer and arranged his cubicle so co-workers could not come up from behind and startle him.

Stout said he struggled to learn how to manage databases, but his supervisor worked with him until he could remember the steps.

“I get a lot of self pride out of working for this company,” he said. “I’m still supporting the troops and I’m still defending freedom.”

Although accommodations have to be made, Karen Stang, who manages the hiring program, said managers appreciate what veterans like Stout bring to the company.

“They bring loyalty, a great work ethic, commitment,” she said. “It’s been a real win-win.”

alexandra.zavis@latimes.com

Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times

God Bless
Jose M. Garcia
Past National Commander
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
In God We Trust

Combat veterans from Iraq, Afghanistan and other theaters of war are set for some new excitement–Ecstasy! Retro man!

Recently the FDA has approved the use of Ecstasy, on a trial basis coupled with ongoing psychotherapy, for the treatment of resistant forms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Some say this experiment is a step forward in the treatment of PTSD.  Au contraire, says me and a handful of my combat veteran pals; all of whom experience chronic PTSD and have been beneficiaries of alternative treatment programs sans the pharmaceutical cafeteria.

The Denver VA appears to be the premiere location for the administration of this new zapping treatment.  The premise is that the conventional treatment regimens of anti-depressants, psychotherapy and support groups have expired their usefulness. I am not a scientist, but I had plenty of science course work in Nursing School to question both the leaps of logic and the lack of scrutiny with the variables involved with pills, psychologists and the people involved in the support groups. For brevity, lets call this the PPP approach to treatment.

I have something to say about the spiritual dimension of the wounded warrior, which is outside the parameters of drugs and Doc’s, but I will reserve that for last.

As for the variables, pills are  intended to ameliorate the symptoms of a condition so as to peel back the behavioral and bio-chemical roadblocks to our insight into the core causes of the initial imbalance. The pills are a means to an end, not the cure.

The current claim in the use of  Ecstasy is that the initial results are excellent.  So how long is “initial?” And do the families of the veterans report the same results?

Timothy Leary, Dr. Richard Alpert and Dr. Albert Hofman  reported some dramatic results with the use of  LSD in the early 60′s. The theory that you can re-boot the brain and create a clean slate with Ecstasy is identical to the hypothesis of the early apostles of  LSD. Its  proponents included the former OSS officer turned spy; Captain Afred Hubbard, the Johnny Appleseed of LSD, Richard Helms, CIA Director, Major General William Creasy, chief officer of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps,Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, chief of CIA Technical Service Staff who ran the ran the super secret MK-Ultra program in the 1950′s.  Much of the testing was conducted and financed by millionaire William Mellon Hithcock at the Millbrook Estate in New York. These men were of the ilk that you had to “blow your mind to know your mind.”  Essentially clearing the slate,(temporary amnesia), so that new programing could occur.  Ergo, the reason for its potential use in International espionage work.  These men also spoke of  the use of LSD for the cure of a myriad of brands of mental conditions.  The revolution and abuse of this drug that followed was not their intent.  Can history repeat itself with the use of Ecstasy?

There are tomes of documents to read about the use of mind altering chemicals by the Department of the Army and the CIA. My observations are of a different order as they relate they relate to the use of  powerful chemicals in treatment programs for our returning combatants. However there is clearly an uncanny and alarming similarity to the experiments with LSD  with our soldiers at the Presidio in the early 1970′s.

Back to the variables and the experimentation that is required to determine  the efficacy of any treatment program.  Keep in mind that experimentation and diligent examination of variables takes time. Time is money to the Veterans Administration. And drugs cost a ton of money,(except the ones from Canada). PTSD is diagnosed as a chronic condition, meaning the time line for the medications for a veteran could be decades. The motivation for a “zapper” drug is quite high. Just when some of the variables are being worked out for other drugs.

By example, the use of Prazosin, which once went by the name of Mini-Press and was marketed for high blood pressure, has now become one the vogue drugs of choice for the treatment of PTSD. It has been discovered to remedy many of the hyper-vigilant symptoms of PTSD and somehow abates the bizzaro dreams and nightmares embedded in the brain of the combat soldier. That took time–easily decades to come to that scientific conclusion, inclusive of longitudinal studies and reports back from the veteran community.  The VA does not have that kind of time in the budget, particularly when we remain to be the Star Wars protectorate of the galaxy.

We are an instant gratification nation, with low tolerance for pain, both  psychological and financial. The drive to find a “Lourdes” like cure for the ravages of war is at the genesis of the use of Ecstasy.  Its efficacy and value will soon be known, yet I suggest that we remain vigilant with a prejudice, as there is a truckload of social engineering occurring as we sleep. To many, a medicated America is a safe America. Look out Second Ammendmenter’s, your bullet casings may have an aerosol!

Note, that I said nothing about the potency of  Ecstasy. It may well be the elixir of day. I am just making a siren caveat emptor call to be reminded of the widespread availability of alternative treatment programs for PTSD that do not fall in the zapper column and whose efficacy is known. They are not driven or guided by the Pharmaceutical industry. Watch closely the stock in the manufacturer of Ecstasy. With our luck the Chinese will buy the company!  Headline; China has cure for American Soldiers.

But my final musing is about the true nature of PTSD. It is first and foremost a violation of the soul. The bio-chemical stuff is secondary.

“We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are”  Talmud

War at its root is an agent of negation. Our bodies and minds as warriors are the primary weapons of mass destruction. They need to be to survive. I was once one of those lean, mean, killing machines perfectly honed to warrior perfection by the Marine Corps. There is some conflicting Catholic guilt in the admission that I liked it, as I was always in the service of God, Country and Corps. However, when the show is over, the reconciling of love and death is a daily chore and a balancing act that takes decades of practice.

War remains encased in the barbed wire heart for many a moon.  War enslaves your imagination,(the Soul),  in a bunker that no pill can penetrate.  It is our soul that seeks love and intimacy. It is my body that was trained to kill. They need to re-unite. No pill can accomplish this. No pill can touch the heartstrings like some of the Native American rituals that know well the travels of the soul. Curiously, the VA uses many of the ceremonies of the Lakota Sioux in their treatment programs.

The Natives knew well that the terror of war makes the soul flee from the body. It is too dangerous to stay, so the soul leaves and gets stuck somewhere. I am not so sure that Ecstasy is the agent of the reunification of the soul and the body.

So, before trying the snap, crackle, pop of Ecstasy, I would suggest reversing the order of your existential triage.  Try some of the Retreat programs first. Many are free.

Plato spoke of soul as the seat of imagination. Attend a Retreat tailored for combat veterans and let your imagination run wild with fellow veterans. There is a high probability that you will experience your soul hopping back in your body, in the safe and secure environment of combat weary veterans. The validation of this collective experience exceeds any session with a non-combat psychologist or intern; (one of the variables).

To me, ecstasy, is the gut level laughing, crying and pain releasing roaring of battle buddies gathered together for the “soul” purpose of transcending our war.

I am not so sure that God wants us to forget war. What would that soul look like?

Resource:  Merritt Center Veteran Program/ Basic Training For Life

Merritt Retreat Center. Payson, Az.  800-414-9880– 928-474-4268

When Johnny and Joan come marching home to their beloved United States of  America after service in Iraq and Afghanistan, are we prepared?

Very soon tens of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airman and marines will be rotating to their hometowns. They will be physically rotating home but their battle minds may be lagging behind a bit. Are we prepared?

Some of us crusty Vietnam vets recall the days when, “Peace With Honor,” was  being implemented and our troops started rotating home in large numbers.  The transition to civilian life  was not the joy filled experience that many anticipated.. Given, the times have changed radically.  I believe the operative word here would be respect.  There is no question about the notable respect we have for our troops and the zeitgeist of  gratitude that fills the air. We have learned much from the tumultuous 60′s and 70″s.  The most salient of all learning being the ability to separate the war from the warrior.  But can the warrior do that? And, I say again, our we prepared to help them in that separation of parallel lives they will  lead for at least a year or two?

The times are no less adverse and probably more so in the polarization of  political  positions. Are we prepared to submerge our intractable penchant to have opinions when in the company of a soldier who may just want to be left alone?  Can Americans shut up long enough to be a bridge of support for these returning troops?

“Think where man’s glory begins and ends, And say, “My glory was I had such friends.”                      -William Yeats

Many of these soldiers will be looking for work, many will not find work.  Are we willing to be at their side while they struggle? The unemployment statistics for OEF/OIF veterans are not good.  Add them to the ranks of the currently unemployed and we have a cinder box,  not unlike 1973.

Where are the bridges? Who are the bridge people?  Maybe Tucson could have the first and finest program in the nation for training bridge people to welcome these men and women back into polite society.  Platoons of caring people trained at all the libraries in the city, with long office hours, even night shift workers, ready to listen and help.

“When you’re weary, feeling small/ When tears are in your eyes/I will dry them all/ I’m on your side/ When times get rough/And friends just can’t be found/ Like a bridge over troubled water/ I will lay me down.      -Paul Simon

I challenge Tucsonans and the leadership to the task of making Tucson, Arizona one of the friendliest places in the nation to return home from war.  I declare that Tucson is a Bridge City.

Veteran Legislation as of 13 June 2010:  Of the 5518 House and 3482 Senate pieces of legislation introduced in the 111th Congress to date, the following are of interest to the non-active duty veteran community.  Bill titles in green (if any) are new additions to this summary, titles in orange have either passed either the House or Senate and been passed to the other for consideration or been incorporated into another bill, and those highlighted in blue have become public law. A good indication on the likelihood a bill of being forwarded to the House or Senate for passage and subsequently being signed into law by the President is the number of cosponsors who have signed onto the bill. An alternate way for it to become law is if it is added as an addendum to another bill such as the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and survives the conference committee assigned to iron out the difference between the House and Senate bills. At http://thomas.loc.gov you can review a copy of each bill’s text, determine its current status, the committee it has been assigned to, who your representative is and his/her phone number, mailing address, or email/website to communicate with a message or letter of your own making, and if your legislator is a sponsor or cosponsor of it.  To separately determine what bills, amendments your representative has sponsored, cosponsored, or dropped sponsorship on refer to http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/d111/sponlst.html.  To review a numerical list of all bills introduced refer to http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/111search.html. The key to increasing cosponsorship is letting legislators know of their constituent’s views on issues.  Those bills that include a website in red are being pushed by various veterans groups for passage and by clicking on that website you can forward a preformatted message to your legislator requesting he/she support the bill.

Grassroots lobbying is perhaps the most effective way to let your Representative and Senators know your opinion. Whether you are calling into a local or Washington, D.C. office; sending a letter or e-mail; signing a petition; or making a personal visit, Members of Congress are the most receptive and open to suggestions from their constituents. The key to increasing cosponsorship on veteran related bills and subsequent passage into law is letting legislators know of veteran’s feelings on issues.  You can reach their Washington office via the Capital Operator direct at (866) 272-6622, (800) 828-0498, or (866) 340-9281 to express your views. Otherwise, you can locate on http://thomas.loc.gov your legislator’s phone number, mailing address, or email/website to communicate with a message or letter of your own making.  Refer tohttp://www.thecapitol.net/FAQ/cong_schedule.html for dates that you can access your legislators on their home turf.  [Source: RAO Bulletin Attachment 29 Mar 2010 ++]

H.R.32 : Veterans Outreach Improvement Act of 2009 to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the outreach activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. Companion Bill S.315

Sponsor: Rep McIntyre, Mike [NC-7] (intro 1/6/2009) Cosponsors (41)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 10/28/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Provisions of measure incorporated into H.R. 3949 .

H.R.82 : Veterans Outreach Improvement Act of 2009 to expand retroactive eligibility of the Army Combat Action Badge to include members of the Army who participated in combat during which they personally engaged, or were personally engaged by, the enemy at any time on or after December 7, 1941.

Sponsor: Rep Brown-Waite, Ginny [FL-5] (introduced 1/6/2009)      Cosponsors (19)

Committees: House Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 1/30/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

H.R.161 : Social Security Beneficiary Tax Reduction Act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1993 increase in taxes on Social Security benefits.

Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/6/2009)      Cosponsors (7)

Committees: House Ways and Means

Latest Major Action: 1/6/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R.162 : Senior Citizens’ Tax Elimination Act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the inclusion in gross income of Social Security benefits.

Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/6/2009)      Cosponsors (4)

Committees: House Ways and Means

Latest Major Action: 1/6/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R.333 : Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act to amend title 10, United States Code, to permit retired members of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected disability rated less than 50 percent to receive concurrent payment of both retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation, to eliminate the phase-in period for concurrent receipt, to extend eligibility for concurrent receipt to chapter 61 disability retirees with less than 20 years of service, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Marshall, Jim [GA-8] (introduced 1/8/2009)      Cosponsors (154)  Committees: House Armed Services; House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 2/6/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12406456&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id] and  http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12888756

H.R.593 : CRSC for DoD Disability Severances Pay. To amend title 10, United States Code, to expand the authorized concurrent receipt of disability severance pay from the Department of Defense and compensation for the same disability under any law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs to cover all veterans who have a combat-related disability, as defined under section 1413a of such title.

Sponsor: Rep Smith, Adam [WA-9] (introduced 1/15/2009)      Cosponsors (44)

Committees: House Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 2/6/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12918951&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]

H.R.775 : Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act to repeal the requirement for reduction of survivor annuities under the Survivor Benefit Plan to offset the receipt of veterans dependency and indemnity compensation.

Sponsor: Rep Ortiz, Solomon P. [TX-27] (introduced 1/28/2009)     Cosponsors (337)   Companion Bill S.535

Committees: House Armed Services

Latest Major Action:  3/15/2010 Motion to Discharge Committee filed by Mr. Jones. Petition No: 111-10.

To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via   http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12541746

To  support the Discharge Petition send a message via   http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=14825891&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]

S.535 : SBP DIC Offset Elimination. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to repeal requirement for reduction of survivor annuities under the Survivor Benefit Plan by veterans’ dependency and indemnity compensation, and for other purposes. Companion Bill H.775.

Sponsor: Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] (introduced 3/5/2009)      Cosponsors (56)

Committees: Senate Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 3/5/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

To support this bill and/or contact your Senator send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=14275496&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]

H.R.2243 : Surviving Spouses Benefit Improvement Act of 2009 to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an increase in the amount of monthly dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Sponsor: Rep Buyer, Steve [IN-4] (introduced 5/5/2009)      Cosponsors (77)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 10/8/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.

To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=13303636&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id

S.1118 : DIC Compensation Rate Increase to 55%. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an increase in the amount of monthly dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen Lincoln, Blanche L. [AR] (introduced 5/21/2009)      Cosponsors (3)

Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 10/21/2009 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Hearings held.

H.R.208 : National Guardsmen and Reservists Parity for Patriots Act to amend title 10, United States Code, to ensure that members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces who have served on active duty or performed active service since September 11, 2001, in support of a contingency operation or in other emergency situations receive credit for such service in determining eligibility for early receipt of non-regular service retired pay, and for other purposes. Companion Bill S.644.

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Joe [SC-2] (introduced 1/6/2009)      Cosponsors (146)

Committees: House Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 1/30/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/vfw/dbq/officials and /or http://capwiz.com/ngaus/mail/compose/?mailid=13672261&azip=92571&bzip=7311

S.644 : National Guard and Reserve Retired Pay Equity Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to include service after September 11, 2001, as service qualifying for the determination of a reduced eligibility age for receipt of non-regular service retired pay.

Sponsor: Sen Chambliss, Saxby [GA] (introduced 3/19/2009)      Cosponsors (13)    Companion Bill H.R.208          Related Bill S.831

Committees: Senate Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 3/19/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

To support this bill and/or contact your Senators send a message via http://capwiz.com/ncoausa/issues/alert/?alertid=12995086&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id] or  http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/bills/?bill=12960556

S.831 : National Guard and Reserve Retired Pay Equity Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to include service after September 11, 2001, as service qualifying for the determination of a reduced eligibility age for receipt of non-regular service retired pay.

Sponsor: Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] (introduced 4/20/2009)      Cosponsors (29)             Related Bill S.644

Committees: Senate Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 4/20/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

To support this bill and/or contact your Senators send a message via www.ngaus.org/content.asp?bid=1805

H.R.433 : Ready Employers Willing to Assist Reservists’ Deployment (REWARD) Act of 2009 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a credit against income tax equal to 50 percent of the compensation paid to employees while they are performing active duty service as members of the Ready Reserve or the National Guard and of the compensation paid to temporary replacement employees.

Sponsor: Rep Poe, Ted [TX-2] (introduced 1/9/2009)      Cosponsors (40)

Committees: House Ways and Means

Latest Major Action: 1/9/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R.466 : Wounded Veteran Job Security Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit discrimination and acts of reprisal against persons who receive treatment for illnesses, injuries, and disabilities incurred in or aggravated by service in the uniformed services.

Sponsor: Rep Doggett, Lloyd [TX-25] (introduced 1/13/2009)      Cosponsors (8)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 6/9/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

H.R.1089 : Veterans Employment Rights to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the enforcement through the Office of Special Counsel of the employment and unemployment rights of veterans and members of the Armed Forces employed by Federal executive agencies, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie [SD] (introduced 2/13/2009)      Cosponsors (None)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 5/20/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

H.R.1647 : Veterans’ Employment Transition Support Act of 2009 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a credit against income tax for hiring veterans.

Sponsor: Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G. [MI-11] (introduced 3/19/2009)      Cosponsors (None)

Committees: House Ways and Means

Latest Major Action: 3/19/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R.293 : Homeless Women Veteran and Homeless Veterans with Children Reintegration Grant Program Act of 2009 to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Labor to carry out a grant program to provide reintegration services through programs and facilities that emphasize services for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children.

Sponsor: Rep Buyer, Steve [IN-4] (introduced 1/8/2009)      Cosponsors (15)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 1/8/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

S.1237 : Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless Veterans with Children Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand the grant program for homeless veterans with special needs to include male homeless veterans with minor dependents and to establish a grant program for reintegration of homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen Murray, Patty [WA] (introduced 6/11/2009)      Cosponsors (6)

Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 1/28/2010 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Date of scheduled consideration. SR-418. 9:30 a.m.

H.R.1211 : Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand and improve health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. Companion Bill S.597

Sponsor: Rep Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie [SD] (introduced 2/26/2009)      Cosponsors (51)

House Reports: 111-165 Latest Major Action: 6/24/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12833716&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]

H.R.2583 : Women Veterans Access to Care Act to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve health care for women veterans, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Boswell, Leonard L. [IA-3] (introduced 5/21/2009)   Cosponsors (9)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 5/21/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

S.597 : Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand and improve health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. Companion Bill H.R.1211

Sponsor: Sen Murray, Patty [WA] (introduced 3/16/2009)      Cosponsors (20)

Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 3/16/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

H.R.1232 : Far South Texas Veterans Medical Center Act of 2009 to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to construct a full service hospital in Far South Texas.

Sponsor: Rep Ortiz, Solomon P. [TX-27] (introduced 2/26/2009)   Cosponsors (6)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 2/26/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

S.699 : South Texas Veterans’ Hospital.  A bill to provide for the construction by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of a full service hospital in Far South Texas.

Sponsor: Sen Cornyn, John [TX] (introduced 3/25/2009)      Cosponsors (1)

Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 3/25/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

H.R.1428 : VA Parkinson’s Disease Compensation. To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide wartime disability compensation for certain veterans with Parkinson’s disease.

Sponsor: Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] (introduced 3/11/2009)      Cosponsors (83)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 3/13/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12986021&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]

S.1752 : Parkinson’s Disease VA Compensation. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide wartime disability compensation for certain veterans with Parkinson’s disease.

Sponsor: Sen Sanders, Bernard [VT] (introduced 10/5/2009)      Cosponsors (1)

Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 10/21/2009 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Hearings held.

H.R.2254 : The Agent Orange Equity Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam.

Sponsor: Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] (introduced 5/5/2009)      Cosponsors (257)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 5/8/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=13301656&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]

S.1939 : Vet Presumptive Exposure in Vietnam. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY] (introduced 10/27/2009)      Cosponsors (19)

Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 5/19/2010 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Hearings held.

H.R.2926 : VA Special Care for Vietnam-era & Persian Gulf War Vets Exposed to Herbicides.  To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide, without expiration, hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for certain Vietnam-era veterans exposed to herbicide and veterans of the Persian Gulf War.

Sponsor: Rep Nye, Glenn C., III [VA-2] (introduced 6/17/2009)      Cosponsors (5)

Latest Major Action: 7/9/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.

H.R.3491 : Thomas G. Schubert Agent Orange Fairness Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a presumption of service connection for certain cancers occurring in veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam and were exposed to certain herbicide agents, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Kagen, Steve [WI-8] (introduced 7/31/2009)      Cosponsors (8)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 9/11/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

H.R.177 : Depleted Uranium Screening and Testing Act to provide for identification of members of the Armed Forces exposed during military service to depleted uranium, to provide for health testing of such members, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16] (introduced 1/6/2009)      Cosponsors (2)

Committees: House Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 1/30/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

H.R.2419 : Military Personnel War Zone Toxic Exposure Prevention Act to require the Secretary of Defense to establish a medical surveillance system to identify members of the Armed Forces exposed to chemical hazards resulting from the disposal of waste in Iraq and Afghanistan, to prohibit the disposal of waste by the Armed Forces in a manner that would produce dangerous levels of toxins, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [NY-1] (introduced 5/14/2009)      Cosponsors (23)

Committees: House Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 6/8/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Readiness.

S.642 : Health Care for Members of the Armed Forces Exposed to Chemical Hazards Act of 2009. A bill to require the Secretary of Defense to establish registries of members and former members of the Armed Forces exposed in the line of duty to occupational and environmental health chemical hazards, to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide health care to veterans exposed to such hazards, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen Bayh, Evan [IN] (introduced 3/19/2009)      Cosponsors (7)

Committees: Senate Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 3/19/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

S.1779 : Health Care for Veterans Exposed to Chemical Hazards Act of 2009.  A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide health care to veterans exposed in the line of duty to occupational and environmental health chemical hazards, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen Bayh, Evan [IN] (introduced 10/14/2009)      Cosponsors (7)

Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 10/21/2009 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Hearings held.

S.1518 : Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to furnish hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to veterans who were stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, while the water was contaminated at Camp Lejeune.

Sponsor: Sen Burr, Richard [NC] (introduced 7/27/2009)      Cosponsors (15)

Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 10/21/2009 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Hearings held.

H.R.568 : Veterans Health Care Quality Improvement Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the quality of care provided to veterans in Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities, to encourage highly qualified doctors to serve in hard-to-fill positions in such medical facilities, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Costello, Jerry F. [IL-12] (introduced 1/15/2009)      Cosponsors (4)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs; House Oversight and Government Reform

Latest Major Action: 1/15/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

H.R.952 : Compensation Owed for Mental Health Based on Activities in Theater Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the meaning of “combat with the enemy” for purposes of service-connection of disabilities.

Sponsor: Rep Hall, John J. [NY-19] (introduced 2/10/2009)      Cosponsors (95)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 6/10/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.

S.1452 : COMBAT PTSD Act. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the meaning of “combat with the enemy” for purposes of service-connection of disabilities.

Sponsor: Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] (introduced 7/14/2009)      Cosponsors (5)

Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 7/14/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

H.R.1544 : Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for unlimited eligibility for health care for mental illnesses for veterans of combat service during certain periods of hostilities and war.

Sponsor: Rep Driehaus, Steve [OH-1] (introduced 3/17/2009)      Cosponsors (7)

Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 3/17/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

H.R.1701 : PTSD/TBI Guaranteed Review For Heroes Act to amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a special review board for certain former members of the Armed Forces with post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [NC-3] (introduced 3/25/2009)      Cosponsors (11)

Committees: House Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 4/27/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

H.R.4051 : Cold War Service Medal Act of 2009 to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the award of a military service medal to members of the Armed Forces who served honorably during the Cold War, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Israel, Steve [NY-2] (introduced 11/6/2009)      Cosponsors (41)   Related bill: S.2743

Committees: House Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 11/18/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

S.2743 : Cold War Service Medal Act of 2009.  A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the award of a military service medal to members of the Armed Forces who served honorably during the Cold War, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen Snowe, Olympia J. [ME] (introduced 11/5/2009)      Cosponsors (7) Related bill: H.R.4051

Committees: Senate Armed Services

Latest Major Action: 11/5/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

S.1556 : Veteran Voting Support Act of 2009.  A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs to be designated as voter registration agencies, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] (introduced 8/3/2009)      Cosponsors (6)

Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs

Latest Major Action: 10/21/2009 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Hearings held.
God Bless
Jose M. Garcia
National Executive Director
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
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Veteran Veriatas has been on sabbatical in California for the last three weeks.  I have been collecting data on SB #1070.  I miss all the fans at TC.com. Will be back in town and flying my desk on Sunday morning;  just in time for Sand Jam at Hotel Congress. See you there. Mike

Foreword

An Open Letter to America’s Veterans

America sends the flower of its youth abroad to fight its

wars. Because of that, America’s military is always staffed

with the stoutest, finest, most courageous people in the

country. If as soldiers we are not that way when we enter the

military, the military makes us that way by the time we get

out. In the end, the military is still made up of everyday

people like you and me. As such, most of us have no special

skills to cope with the challenges wartime military service

presents. Regular life simply cannot prepare a person for the

brutish sensory overload of combat.

Coming back from military service in a time of war, we may be

wounded in ways that don’t show to the world at large. Some of

the deepest wounds we suffer may be inflicted without leaving

so much as a scratch. No matter what you are feeling when you

come home, no matter how crazy you feel inside, know that you

are not mentally ill. As combat veterans, we have been through

some of the most traumatic life experiences possible. War is

as close to hell on earth as anything ever could be. That does

make us different from our loved ones back home. War marks us

all, some more deeply than others.

AS veterans, we have paid a price to serve our country. We

have suffered. And we may suffer for a lifetime. The soldier

never gets to choose his or her war. The wars choose us, and

not all are just. I believe the emotional casualties of the

misguided wars may be the hardest of all to bear.

The soldier’s lot is to be exposed to traumatic, lifethreatening

events – happenings that take us to places no

bodies, minds, or souls should ever visit. It is a journey to

the dark places of life – terror, fear, pain, death, wounding,

loss, grief, despair, and hopelessness. We have been

traumatized physically, mentally, emotionally, and

spiritually. Some of us cope with exposure to hell better than

others. Some are able to think of their combat experiences as

but unpleasant vignettes in a long and wonderful life. It is

not to those veterans I am speaking. I love them, but I am not

afraid for them.

I am speaking to the rest of my brothers and sisters, those

who find themselves trapped in the misery of memories as I was

for so long.

Many of us have been overwhelmed by war. Many of us have been

unable to cope on our own with what has happened to us or with

what we have done. Many of us have been left hopeless, lost,

and confused about ourselves and our lives in ways we never

thought possible.

As veterans of war, we are vulnerable to the memories of those

experiences for the rest of our lives. Movies, the nightly

news, the death of a loved one, even simple stress can serve

as a trigger that reminds us of the hell we were once in. Just

that remembrance can sometimes be enough to undo all the

buckles we used to put ourselves back together when we got

home.

Our bodies, minds, and spirits react automatically to these

memory triggers. They feel the hurts and fear and horror anew

each time. The curse of the soldier is that he never forgets.

Having once felt mortal danger and pure terror, our bodies

prepare for it again. That helped us survive on the

battlefield. However, what saved us on the battlefield doesn’t

work very well back here at home. It is impossible to forget

our experiences in the military. But it is possible to deal

with them positively. It is possible to take control of them.

I’ve found in my own life that I had to exude positive energy

into the world in order not to be overwhelmed with sadness and

grief over what I have lost. My body, my soul, my spirit, and

my belief in life itself were stolen from me by the disaster

of the Vietnam War. I found solace in attempting to “turn my

pain into somebody else’s gain” by immersing myself in

politics and public service. In particular, I devoted myself

to helping my fellow veterans and ‘disabled friends heal. This

was a great help to me in my life. But when I lost my

reelection bid for the U.S. Senate in 2002, my life fell

apart. The staff that had helped me politically and physically

so I could keep on running with no legs was gone. ~ne pleasure

of having a job worth doing and the money to keep me afloat

were gone.

My relationships began to crumble, especially the one with my

fiancee.

I went down in my life in every way it is possible to go down.

Massive depression took over. I went down with a grief over my

losses that I had never known before. I went down thinking

that God was not for me anYmore. I no longer wanted to live.

With the start of the Iraq War, my own post-traumatic stress

disorder came roaring back nearly 40 years after I was in

combat. I never saw it coming. Thoughts of war and death

simply consumed me. I thought I was past that.

It taught me that none of us are ever past it. But all of us

can get past it enough to be happy.

When I went down, my sense of safety, organization, structure,

and stability collapsed. My anxiety went sky-high. My brain

chemicals, which had helped me stay hopeful and optimistic,

dropped through the floor. My brain stopped working. My mind,

which I had counted on all my life to pull me through and help

clarify challenges, fell into despair. My spirit dropped like

a rock as all hope I had for a good life went away. I was

totally wounded and wiped out – hopeless and overwhelmed. Just

like I had been on that April day in 1968 when the grenade

ripped off my legs and my right arm. Emotionally, spiritually,

physically, and mentally, I was bleeding and dying. I wound up

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been treated there the first time. This time around, I was in

search of being put back together again in my mind, heart, and

soul. When I was there the first time, the doctors didn’t

really treat our hearts and minds

Post-traumatic stress disorder didn’t officially exist.

Neither did counseling for it. What a world of difference

several decades make!

Through weekly counseling, medication for anxiety and

depression, and weekly attendance at a spiritual Twelve Step

recovery group, I began to heal. My personal recovery and

renewal have taken years. I still talk to my PTSD counselor at

Walter Reed occasionally when I need to do so. I still take a

low dose of antianxiety and antidepression medication. I still

stay in touch with my brothers in my Tuesday night Twelve Step

group at the “last house on the block.” As a brother in that

group, I lean on my fellow attendees, especially my fellow

veterans, and feed off their experience, strength, and hope.

Which is why I am writing this open letter especially to those

who have suffered what Shakespeare referred to as “the slings

and arrows of outrageous fortune” by getting blown up, shot

up, or otherwise wounded in the service of our country. For

me, the physical wounds were the first to heal and the easiest

to deal with. It is not easy to r~n for political office or

try to run forward in life with no legs. But live been able to

do it. The mental and emotional wounds – and a whole suite of

spiritual wounds – have been far more difficult to overcome.

They are the most subtle of all, and the hardest to heal. From

time to time, I am overwhelmed by the sense of meaninglessness

I feel regarding the Vietnam War, in which I was a young

participant, and the Iraq War Resolution, which I voted for as

a U.S. senator. To keep my sanity, I must not dwell on my part

in those disastrous episodes in American history. I try not to

blame myself too much. I work on my own recovery and renewal

knowing that I can’t help anyone else unless I get, as

Hemingway put it after his war, “strong at the broken places.”

I try to get enough sleep so my mind can regenerate. I

exercise. I still walk with no legs, putting my stumps on

pillows and sliding across the floor to get my aerobic

workouts. Occasionally I do sit-ups and push-ups and curls

with weights. I stay in touch with the members of my group and

read literature like the Bible, which guides my prayer and

meditation and helps me remember that God is with me! not

against me. I work on my physical, spiritual, and mental

recovery and renewal every day.

Recovery is possible from even th~ most grievous wounds of

war, politics, and life. But we veterans remain painfully

aware of our experiences. As my trauma counselor tells me, it

is fine to look in the rearview mirror from time to time to

see where you’ve been, but it is much more important to look

through the windshield to see where you want to go. We can’t

let where we’ve been dominate and control where we are headed.

Otherwise, we live an upside-down life.

In addition to trying to muster the courage and the faith to

move forward each day, I try to remember that I am blessed to

have the grace of God and the help of friends to point the way

and help me along my path.

Max Cleland

Atlanta, Georgia

j just our broken bodies.

2009

Copyright 2009 by Max Cleland

This is good stuff. The Purple Mountain Institute is a non-profit organization established in 1999 to develop and bring programs, like this Mindfulness class, to special needs groups.

The curriculum and offering is from the heart of the Executive Director, Teri Davis, ND.

The Mindful Veterans Project, (MVP) is a PMI program to provide funding for vets and  their families to participate in the classes.  I was privileged to be able to participate in the last series. Not being one who believes in born again zappings or a make-over metamorphosis of the psyche, this course came close. It is often said, that everything is in the timing, so I may have just been ready for this brand of instruction. Never mind the analysis, it works, and it works like magic.

I suppose the validation and camaraderie that combat veterans experience when they gather contributed to the magical aspect, as we all have our very nuanced war induced stress issues to remove from our saddle.  At the end of eight weeks I felt like I could ride with the wind, without a saddle. Moreover, it has remained with me to date.

The course moves one to more concentration, focus, clarity, insight, patience and peace of mind, while reducing anxiety,depression, anger, fear, stress, chronic pain, and those bugger intrusive thoughts and feelings.

“The quality of bringing our attention into the present moment and keeping it and sustaining it in the present moment and not judging anything or fix anything, or force anything, or reject anything, that is what mindfulness is about.” Jon Kabat-Zinn

Doug Bremer, MD, director of mental health research for the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, recently completed a study using MBSR for veterans with PTSD. He had favorable results and says, ” we may have the ability to teach our returning soldiers the skill to control their reaction to those painful memories, without the use of medication, and before the stress from the memories causes further damage.”

My only observation here about Dr. Bremer’s statement is this; is not control and letting things flow, antithetical?  But then, that is why I took the course, to calm my over active analytical mind! The one that does not trust authority! Oh well, got some stuff to work on this summer.

MBSR Introduction and Information sessions start with a series of orientation classes on Thursdays 6-7:30pm at the Ada Pierce McCormick Building on the U of A campus at 1401 E. First Street (at Highland underpass.) Library of  the Little Chapel of All Nations. Orientations are May 13, 20 & 27. June 3rd.

The MBSR 8-week Program begins on Wednesdays 6-8:30pm. June 9,16,23 & 30. July 7,14, 21 &28. Registration is required.

Their is no charge for veterans, families of veterans, (the last class had two mothers of combat vets), and those who work with veterans. Registration fee for others is $250. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

For more information contact Teri Davis, ND^ Executive Director. “teri@welcomehomefreeclinic.org”  520-624-7183

Purple Mountain Institute is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit serving Pima County since 1999. EID, 31-1733820

This gripping documentary about the Pentagon Papers and the events that led up to their release was an Academy Award Nominee and is currently playing at the Loft Theater.

For a seminar on the Constitution and the First Amendment in action, I highly recommend this searing expose of  Daniel Ellsberg and how he elected to be a whistleblower by releasing top secret documents, 7000 pages in all, unveiling the blatant lies and deception of four presidents; Truman, Eisenhower Kennedy and Johnson, about our involvement in Vietnam and the well documented analysis of our very slim probability of winning.  It is when this was known that is chilling. Ellsberg, who contributed to these strategic studies, knew that the lie would be perpetrated unless something drastic and dramatic was done. Enter the thriller that unveils the motives and machinations of our leaders. The recordings of Nixon, that I do not believe have heretofore been heard in context are going to make you cringe.  When he refers to Vietnam as a, “shit-ass little country,” and urges Henry Kissinger to consider using nuclear weapons, you will gasp at the language and tone of a President of the United States.  While Kissinger served Richard Nixon with ultimate loyalty, he did in fact comment during the 1968 campaign, “that man Nixon is not fit to be president” Did he know that was self fulfilling prophecy?

The trail of deception that was outlined in the Pentagon Papers, ultimately exposing the mental instability of Richard Nixon and his Cabinet is adroitly scripted is this documentary leaving the viewer with a full and rational understanding of the genesis of the Watergate Scandal and the only option Nixon had, which was resign or be impeached.

Nixon’s Cambodia policy, was the seal of his fate. By first bombing Cambodia without notifying Congress he enraged the members on the Hill who in turn repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on December 31,1970 stripping him of his unilateral power to conduct war. We have subsequently emasculated our Congressional representatives when it comes to the conduct of war.

To know with certainty, much coming from Robert McNamara, that we could not win, we went forth with the “Christmas Bombings,” dropping 100,000 bombs in 11 days, the tonnage being the equivalency of  8 Nagasaki’s,  leaving the North Vietnamese with but a higher resolve.  Ellsberg wanted to end the deceptions, and at 79 years old he is here to tell the tale, and it is a doozy.

Elsberg, a former Marine Company Commander, and a high-level Pentagon official and member of an elite think tank; the Rand Corporation, tells his tale of conscience driven decisions and the metamorphosis from a trusted and loyal insider to a pariah who was hunted by the FBI.  After visiting the front lines in Vietnam and accompanying soldiers on patrol, even walking point with them, he returned with an outlook that veered far afield from his colleagues. President Nixon once tagged Ellsberg as, “the most dangerous man in America.” Ironic eh- given the outcome of Nixon’s presidency that met its demise with his obsession and paranoia that began with the vilification of Daniel Ellsberg?

WASHINGTON REPORT Caregivers Bill Goes to President Thursday evening, the Senate passed by unanimous consent S. 1963, the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act and sent it to President Obama for his signature.  On Wednesday, the House had passed the bill by a vote of 419-0 but had amended it so it was returned to the Senate for approval of the changes.  The bill now heads to the President for his signature into law. Some of the more important provisions of the bill would; Fulfill VA’s obligation to care for the nation’s wounded veterans by providing their caregivers with training, counseling, supportive services, and a living stipend. Provide health care to the family caregivers of injured veterans under CHAMPVA. Require independent oversight of the caregiver program. The bill also establishes a permanent program to support the caregivers of wounded warriors, improve health care for veterans in rural areas, help VA adapt to the needs of women veterans, and expand supportive services for homeless veterans. NAUS Note: While we are very appreciative of this bill and know it will go a long way in helping those family caregivers who need the extra assistance, NAUS believes it should be extended to include the many veterans of Persian Gulf War, Vietnam, Korea and WWII and other conflicts whose family caregivers also deserve the extra assistance in this bill.  We sincerely hope that Congress will expand the scope of the bill in the very near future to include all veterans and their families. More Work Needed to Correct the PPACA This week on the House floor House Veterans’ Committee Ranking Member Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) spoke with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in regards to fixing the recently passed new healthcare law to protect two VA healthcare programs.  They are the very important program called Civilian Health and Medical Program of the VA (CHAMPVA), which provides health care coverage for widows and survivors, and the program which includes the spina bifida affected children of Korea and Vietnam veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange. The Senate has already taken action on providing explicit protection, in law, by passage of S. 3162, introduced by Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI).  However, the legislation has yet to be considered in the House despite Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Filner’s introduction of an identical bill (H.R. 5014). During House floor discussion, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told Rep. Buyer that Filner’s bill had been referred to the Ways and Means Committee but, the Speaker said, the House would soon take up the legislation.  She said, “We will bring it together in a bipartisan way in the spirit that we owe our veterans.” NAUS Note:  NAUS looks forward to conclusion of this important matter and intends to continue its press for correction of the “drafting error” in the original bill. One Exonerated, Two to Go In Bagdad on Thursday, a U.S. military jury cleared a Navy SEAL of failing to prevent the beating of an Iraqi prisoner suspected of masterminding a 2004 attack that killed four American security contractors. Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas, 28, of Blue Island, Ill., was found not guilty by a six-man jury of charges of dereliction of duty and attempting to influence the testimony of another service member.  The jury spent only two hours deliberating the verdict. Huertas is the first of three SEALs to face a court-martial for charges related to the abuse incident.  All three SEALs could have received only a disciplinary reprimand, but insisted on a military trial to clear their names and save their careers. NAUS Note: It is very good to witness a jury of his peers see what prosecutors obviously did not; that actions in war or combat cannot be treated as civil infractions.  Now we hope the same verdicts for the remaining two SEALS. Nomination for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs On Wednesday, President Obama nominated Dr. Jonathan Woodson to serve as assistant secretary of defense for health affairs (ASD/HA).  This position has been vacant since Dr. Ward Casscells departure nearly a year ago. Dr. Woodson is an associate professor of surgery and associate dean at Boston University School of Medicine and a senior attending vascular surgeon at the Boston Medical Center.  He chairs the Boston University Medical Center Institutional Review Board for Human Research and is an adjunct assistant professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He also holds the rank of brigadier general in the Army Reserve and is currently assigned as Assistant Surgeon General Force Management, Mobilization, Readiness & Reserve Affairs and deputy commander of the Army Reserve Medical Command.  His official military biography can be viewed here. As assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, Dr. Woodson would be responsible for the overall supervision of the health and medical affairs of the department of defense, advising the secretary of defense on department of defense health policies, programs, and activities, as well as overseeing all department of defense health resources.  His nomination is subject to Senate confirmation at a yet to be determined date. Senators Subpoena DoD and DOJ on Fort Hood Investigation Sen. Joe Liberman (I-CT) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) served subpoenas on Attorney General Eric Holder and DoD Sec. Robert Gates requesting disclosure of information on the investigation of the attack at Fort Hood. In a six-page letter to the Administration officials, the Senators outlined five months of effort to secure documents and related materials on the investigation of the attack.  According to the Senators, however, all efforts have proved unproductive despite four formal letters to DoD, two to DOJ and lengthy discussions with the Administration.  The Senators also state that their most recent efforts to gain critical information was met with an April 12 response refusing to cooperate. NAUS continues to focus on corrections to the policies and procedures that contributed to the murderous attack at Foot Hood. Impact of the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano Much of America and the world are acutely aware of the tremendous impact the recent eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland has had on civilian aviation.  Air travel across the north Atlantic and most European domestic flights were curtailed for several days stranding millions of travelers on both sides of the ocean. Military flight operations in and around Europe were impacted as well; and in particular, Air Force aeromedical evacuations (AE) that would normally be routed from combat theaters in Iraq and Afghanistan to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, then on to the U.S. within a few days. For the past few days AE missions have been flying directly from the Central Command Area of Responsibility (CENCTOM AOR) to the U.S without the intermediate stop in Germany.  This effort requires up to two air-to-air refuelings per mission, but Air Force officials stress it’s worth it to get patients to the care they need. In addition to adjusting AE flight routing, AE crews and Critical Care Air Transportability Teams, which normally stage at Ramstein Air Base, have been temporarily sent to forward staging locations in CENTCOM.  This temporary basing ensures the Air Force has the right medical personnel in-place to care for wounded warriors as they are evacuated to receive further medical care. We highlight the level of effort taken by the Air Force to raise a point.  Without the proper funding that enables them to adapt to all contingencies, which includes natural disasters such as the volcano eruption, these types of contingency operations would not be possible.  The same holds true for the other branches of the Uniformed Services.  Our military forces are, and will only continue to be the best in the world as long as Congress and the President provide the funding necessary. HEALTH CARE NEWS TRICARE Extends Enhanced Access to Autism Services Demonstration Raising a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents a unique set of challenges for parents, especially paying for expensive specialized care.  To provide continued financial assistance to active duty service members who have a child with an ASD, TRICARE has extended the Enhanced Access to Autism Services Demonstration to March 14, 2012. This special program allows reimbursement for applied behavior analysis (ABA) rendered by providers (tutors) who are not otherwise eligible to be reimbursed by TRICARE for ABA services.  Providers of ABA collect data on a child’s behavior and use that information to teach the child positive behaviors while suppressing harmful or undesired ones, and improve their social and communication skills. The demonstration is open to beneficiaries in the United States and the District of Columbia who are registered in TRICARE’s Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) and diagnosed with an ASD.  Click on the links provided if you would like to learn more about TRICARE’s ECHO Program or the Enhanced Access to Autism Services Demonstration. Alcohol Awareness Month April is Alcohol Awareness Month—a national health observance to raise awareness of alcohol abuse and encourage people to make healthy, safe choices.  Click on the link provided to learn more.  ACTIVE DUTY NEWS 2010 Army Soldier Show From its base at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, the current edition of the Army Soldier Show is in intense rehearsals.  The 2010 U.S. Army Soldier Show, an “entertainment for the soldier, by the soldier” song-and-dance production, and this year’s edition revolves around current social-media phenomena.  The 2010 Soldier Show schedule features 101 performances at 53 venues, including eight stops in Germany.  As always, the show’s troops will deliver several genres of music and dance, complete with soldier-musicians on guitar, bass, keyboard and drums.  For more information, including a link to the show’s tour schedule, visit the U.S. Army MWR website. Navy Leave Chits Going On-Line The Navy announced plans to begin phasing out traditional paper leave chits, replacing them with a new electronic leave request system.  The new system, called Self-Service Electronic Leave (E-Leave), is a Web-based program that sailors can access through their Electronic Service Record.  The new method is also meant to allow sailors to electronically route leave chits through their chain of command for approval.  It automates the command’s leave control log and ensures pay and entitlements are properly credited.  Shore-based implementation of E-Leave is scheduled to begin in August.  An afloat version will be phased in over the next 24 months as shipboard Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System servers are upgraded. Air Force Announces Uniform Policy Changes Late last week, Air Force officials announced several policy modifications resulting from recent Air Force Uniform Board decisions.  These include: tucking of trousers into boots on utility uniforms will remain optional; the green fleece watch cap is approved for wear with some items; and the women’s the side-slit mess dress skirt can continue to be worn as an optional item.  Additional information on uniform policy changes can be obtained through your chain of command or by calling the Total Force Service Center at 800-525-0102. VETERANS NEWS DFAS to Begin Recouping Separation Pay – DFAS Press Release Recouping military retirees’ Voluntary Separation Incentive, Special Separation Benefit and other separation payments by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service will resume in August. These separation payments and others, such as severance pay, were offered to active-duty service members to reduce manpower in certain career fields, primarily during the 1990s.  Because federal law prohibits service members from receiving both separation and retirement payments for the same period of service, provisions of these programs included repayment should an individual join the Ready Reserve or return to active duty and earn status as a military retiree. On June 1, 2009, in response to retirees’ concerns, DFAS officials temporarily stopped deducting these repayments from retirement pay while the DoD conducted a formal review of the recoupment program.  Before the review, the federal statutes governing these programs did not allow the DoD or DFAS to alter repayment rates or provide alternative repayment plans regardless of the financial hardships a retiree may be experiencing. The DoD review is complete, and Congress has amended Sections 1174(h) and 1175(e) of Title 10, United States Code, to help limit the financial strain on military retirees as they repay their outstanding balances.  The new statutes allow DFAS more flexibility to accommodate for financial hardship and modify payment plans. Affected retirees will receive notification letters at least 90 days before recoupments resume.  If they feel the rate of recoupment will create a financial hardship, they may request a more lenient repayment plan by providing financial information on the Financial Statement of Debtor form included with the notification letter. This monthly recoupment may also affect former spouses who receive Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act payments from such retirees.  Former spouses affected by this action will also will receive a notification letter before the resumption of recoupments. Foster Homes for Veterans The VA Medical Foster Home (MFH) program finds a caregiver in the community who is willing to provide a veteran with 24-hour supervision and personal assistance.  This would be a long-term commitment, where the veteran may live for the remainder of their life. Veterans who enter MFH all meet nursing home criteria.  The veteran pays the caregiver $1200 to $2500 per month to provide this care. This includes room and board, 24-hour supervision, assistance with medications, and any personal care.  For more information, visit VA’s Medical Foster Home webpage. American Freedom Festival The American Freedom Foundation is bringing Nashville to San Diego for their first annual American Freedom Festival San Diego Saturday, May 29 on the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum.  The event will feature country superstar and legend, Ronnie Milsap. Tickets are available at here and the American Freedom Foundation website.  Discounted tickets for service members will be available at military bases throughout San Diego County and at the USS Midway Museum box office.  Proceeds from the Festival will go to Veterans Village of San Diego, Big Brother Big Sisters of San Diego County – Operation Bigs Program, San Diego Armed Services YMCA and other local San Diego charities supporting our military. National Volunteer Week During National Volunteer Week, VA salutes the thousands of citizens, ordinary and famous, who serve veterans as VA volunteers.  Celebrities often visit patients in VA hospitals, but just one visit convinced Bill Daily to become a regular volunteer at the Albuquerque VA Medical Center. Daily starred as Major Roger Healey on television’s “I Dream of Jeannie.”  The series about two astronauts and a beautiful genie in a bottle began in 1965 and ended in 1970, after which Healy was a regular on “The Bob Newhart Show” from 1972 to 1978.  These days, the 82-year-old actor makes Albuquerque his home and continues to make his fans laugh every Wednesday when he visits veterans at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center.  Daily’s warm heart and gift of gab keep patients laughing. A Korean War Army Veteran, Daily said he can’t remember jokes, but he loves to talk.  “I have story about everything,” he said, “and the veterans all want to hear about ‘Jeannie’.” NAUS NEWS NAUS on the Road This will be a very busy weekend for NAUS at various Retiree Appreciation Day activities around the country.  Saturday is the day for all of the below listed appearances: NAUS President MG Matz and his wife Linda will be at the Ft. Jackson RAD in Columbia, SC. NAUS Garden State Chapter (NJ-2) President Bob Ellis will be at the McGuire AFB, NJ RAD. NAUS Northeast Regional Vice President Tom Quinlan, Southwestern New England Chapter (MA-3) President Robert Picknally, and Groton Chapter (CT-1) President Paul Dillon will be at the Hanscom AFB RAD in Bedford, MA. Come by and meet your NAUS representatives and bring a friend to join. Back to top NAUS Directory Coming Soon! Eager to connect with other NAUS members and network with the larger NAUS community?  You’ll be pleased to hear that NAUS is helping you do just that with our partner Harris Connect.  A new Association Membership Directory – a first for NAUS – is now in production and will include up-to-date contact information of thousands of your fellow NAUS members.  Please take a few moments when you receive your postcard notice in the mail and call Harris Connect at 1-800-726-2836 to verify your directory listing information.  There is no cost to be listed in the directory, though members may purchase a directory if desired.  NAUS receives a small royalty on the sale of each directory, so your participation helps your Association financially too! Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen stand in harm’s way around the globe to defend our nation and our cherished liberties. NAUS asks you to please pray for their continued strength and protection—and pray as well for their families, who daily stand in support of their spouses, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters. GODBLESSAMERICA

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God Bless
Jose M. Garcia
National Executive Director
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
In God We Trust

Sent by: Beowulf Alley Theatre Company Reply to the sender

For Immediate Release April 15, 2010 Beth Dell Managing Director Read the Reviews! Reviewers and Audience Members Love It! Tickets are still available – for now… From our audiences: “Breathtaking!” “Everyone should see this powerful piece of theatre!” “Brilliant!” And from our reviewers – read the full review at the links below: “The power of theater is pressure-packed into Beowulf Alley’s production of Last of the Boys… Seldom this season has any local company presented such a solid effort to reach such a compelling conclusion. The finale comes screaming out of the darkness, full of battle noise and desperate sobbing, a truly poetic conclusion packing many kinds of impact.” -Chuck Graham Let the Show Begin at tucsonstage.com “Director Susan Arnold has worked wonders with this production—choosing the right cast, helping the actors create detailed performances, and not backpedaling on the script’s stylization. She has shaped a production that shies away from answers. Instead, she favors the shattered fragments of how we experience, perceive and remember Vietnam—and, by extension, the wars of today…The result, like the play’s own symbolism, is rich, complicated, emotional and not easily put into words.” -Nathan Christensen tucsonweekly.com The Cast includes Royah Beheshti, Mary Davis, Lucas Gonzales, Gabe Nagy, and Clark Ray. Ben and Jeeter fought in Vietnam, and for thirty years they have remained united by a war that divided the nation. Joined by Jeeter’s new girlfriend and her off-the-grid whiskey-drinking mother, these friends gather at Ben’s remote trailer for one final hurrah. As the night deepens, the past makes a return appearance, and its many ghosts come flickering to life. This is a fierce, funny, haunted play about a friendship that ends-and a war that does not. Performance Dates, Times and Ticket Prices: Dates and Times- Thursdays – Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. April 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24. Sundays, 1:30 p.m., April 18 and April 25 Ticket Prices- General, by phone or at the door – $20 (VISA, MasterCard, Discover) Online only discount – $18 via PayPal or Google (any credit card they accept) Military Discount – $15 (guaranteed seating, must present military ID at will call night of performance) Student/Military Rush – $12 (cash only, ID required, 15 minutes prior to curtain, based on seating availability) Box Office Phone Number: (520) 882-0555 Run Time with intermission: 2 -1/4 hours Parking: There is no charge for parking on the street or at meters on weekends and holidays! Pennington Garage is only $2 after 6pm weekdays and on weekends it is also only $2 all day. The lot across from the theatre at 6th Avenue and Broadway is available after 5 p.m. weekdays and all day Saturdays and Sundays. *** Special Downtown Event Note: Tucson Weekly’s Club Crawl will take place in the evening on Saturday, April 17, but traffic patterns will be adjusted earlier in the day. Please see our website for suggested routes and plan to leave home a little early. The two main streets that will be closed off for the event are 5th Ave between Toole and Broadway (at 8am) and Congress Street between 4th Ave and 6th Ave (closed starting at noon). The City will re-route west bound traffic from Congress Street down Broadway which becomes two way traffic from 4th Ave to 6th Ave. The normal west bound traffic flow on Congress Street resumes at 6th Ave. Come see the play and then join in the festivities of the Tucson Weekly’s Club Crawl! *** This e-mail was sent from Beowulf Alley Theatre Company Immediate removal with PatronMail® SecureUnsubscribe. To forward this e-mail to a friend or colleague, use this link. To change your e-mail address or update preferences, use this link.

Come join a group of Vietnam Veterans who are attending Friday night.  We can all kibbutz afterward.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2010
Marana, AZ
Marana Regional Airport To Host U.S. Marine Memorial Service
Mike Flynn, Sr. Vice Commandant of the Marana Nighthawk 72 Detachment #1344 Marine
Corps League, announced today that there will be a Memorial Service at the Marana Regional
Airport on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 10:00AM to honor the 19 U.S. Marines that were tragically
killed in an MV-22 Osprey Tilt rotor aircraft accident at the Airport on April 8, 2000.
Included in the 10th Anniversary Memorial Service will be a granite bench dedication, procession
of Colors with the Marine Reserves Bulk Fuel Company Alpha Color Guard along with various
Veteran organizations’ Color Guards. The names of the 19 lost will be read aloud with a rifle
salute, taps and a dove release. Several current Marines from 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine
Regiment, 1st Marine Division including Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Jason Morris from Camp
Pendleton California will be participating in the event. The event is free and open to the public.
Additional Background Information
The MV-22 Osprey Tilt rotor aircraft was conducting a training mission in support of Operational
Evaluation (OPEVAL) when it went down at the Marana Regional Airport in Marana, Arizona on
April 8, 2000. During the mission, the crew and Marines conducted Non-combatant Evacuation
Operations (NEO) exercises as part of the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course, with
Marines embarking and disembarking the aircraft. The mission was conducted at night utilizing
night vision goggles and forward looking infrared radar to enhance night operational capability.
This mishap aircraft was part of the Multiservice Operational Test Team, based at Patuxent
River, Maryland, but was temporarily attached to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics
Squadron-1 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona.
The 19 Marines Lost were as follows:
3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
Sgt. Jose Alvarez, 28
Pfc. Gabriel C. Clevenger, 21
Pfc. Alfred Corona, 23
Lance Cpl. Jason T. Duke, 28.
Lance Cpl. Jesus Gonzalez Sanchez, 27
Lance Cpl. Seth G. Jones, 18
2nd Lt. Clayton J. Kennedy, 24
Lance Cpl. Jorge A. Morin, 21
Cpl. Adam C. Neely, 22
Pfc. Kenneth O. Paddio, 23
Pfc. George P. Santos, 24
Lance Cpl. Keoki P. Santos, 24
Cpl. Can Soler, 21
Pvt. Adam L. Tatro, 19
Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38, Marine Air Control Group 38
Cpl. Eric J. Martinez, 21
Marine Helicopter Squadron 1
Maj. John A. Brow, 39
Maj. Brooks S. Gruber, 34
Cpl. Kelly S. Keith, 22
Marine Tilt-Rotor Training Squadron 204
Staff Sgt. William B. Nelson, 30
Additional information contact: Mike Flynn (520) 904-2460 MaranaMarines@hotmail.com

I attend this event nearly every year with my combat veterans pals. It is a real hoot to just loiter and tell our tales of warrior days and share medication stories! The property is owned by Joe Abodeley, a retired Army Officer with 1st Air Cavalry in Vietnam and a Colonel with the Army Guard. He is also the President of the Army Museum on McDowell in Phoenix.

Too bad it is on Easter weekend this year… Jesus has some stories to tell too!   Have a ton of fun men.

BASE CAMP 2010

Veterans and friends are cordially invited to attend Base Camp 2010 to be held
April 2, 3, 4 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) 2010. The purpose of Base Camp is to provide a
location for veterans and friends to assemble and share camaraderie. Live music and
entertainment is provided on Saturday night. ADMISSION IS FREE.

Base Camp is an area lined with bunker/fighting positions simulating a firebase or a
line unit’s perimeter defense camp. Military apparel and military vehicles are welcomed to
add to the ambiance. All veterans are encouraged to attend. There is a 90-foot high
flagpole with a large American flag and the Republic of South Viet Nam flag. There is also
a 35-foot high observation tower and other military type structures, water and two flush
toilets, a stage for live entertainment on Saturday, and a shooting range dug into the
ground at the base of a mountain as a backstop for target shooting. Camp out Friday and
Saturday nights. Bring your own food, beverages, drinking water, and firewood.

DIRECTIONS TO BASE CAMP

Traveling south on 1~10 from Phoenix, exit 1-10 at Wild Horse Pass. Take the first
left turn (Maricopa) to go past Firebird Lakes on your left. Proceed past the fire station on
your right to the T intersection with the stop sign. Turn right. Now you are on the road
(Highway 347) to Maricopa. Go through Maricopa, cross the Railroad tracks by the big
RR water tower and continue 2 miles to Ak Chin Casino. Highway 347 is also called John
Wayne Highway. Go 2 miles past the casino to Papago (you will see a large Santa Rosa
Cooling sign) where you turn right (west). Go west 4.5 miles on Papago until you curve left
(south) on to Warren. Go about .9 miles south on Warren until you reach Val Vista where
you turn right (west). Go west.5 miles on Val Vista through the wash and past the canal to
the first street on your left-Deer Trail. Turn left (south) onto Deer Trail, and go .5 miles
to where it Ts into Quail Run. Go right (west) on Quail Run for 1110 of a mile to the
entrance of 9014 North Wealth Road and Base Camp. The house phone number is 520-
868-6777 and my cell phone number is 602-509-8763.

SCHEDULE:

April 2-1200—Set up camp

April3–1000–US and RVN flag-raising, Betsey Bayless and other dignataries
1200–1800-0pen Time

1800– Entertainment

April 4– Break camp-go home

THERE ARE A FEW SIMPLE, FAIR RULES TO FOLLOW WHILE AT BASE CAMP.

1. You WILL have fun.
2. Shooting range use-SAFETY FIRST-and police all brass and ammo.
3. NO ILLEGAL DRUGS.
4. HOLD HANDLE DOWN until toilet flushes completely as a courtesy to others.

5. POLICE your areas of ALL TRASH and respect other people’s rights and property.

We’ll see you at Base Camp 2010. For further information, call Joe at 602-509-8762 or
602-253-2378 or 520-868-6777.

I had the opportunity to interview Joe Galloway for the Northwest Explorer. He was in town in 2006 for a Leadership Seminar for the Vietnam Veterans of America.

I for one am happy for Joe and sad to see him go. The sadness is because there are so few journalists who are conversant with veterans affairs.  For years we had but just a few nation wide who could speak with authority sans the toxic political ideology that now blankets the nation.

He and Col. David Hackworth could rise above the polarity and polemic and educate the reader without inciting them.  The sole survivor may be Doonsberry!

Good luck Joe and God speed.

overwhelm.
Mindfulness is a simple and radical approach to dealing with the stress
phenomena. Simple, because it is an innate ability of the mind. Radical,
because it is going to the root of the stress creation phenomena within us. With
mindfulness practices, we slow down the perception process and most likely
abate the unnecessary stimulation of stress physiology. By simply .
strengthening our ability to pay attention on purpose to each present moment
without trying to change anything, we begin to create an atmosphere for rest,
recovery, and for new insights about how to relate to ourselves and our
stressors. Whatever is happening is happening and the clearer we can see it,
the more skillful our response can be. We are refreshing our ability to “be” with
ourselves and to trust our abilities to deal with what arises.
While mindfulness is innate, it is underdeveloped for most of us. While it is
healing, there is a lot in our daily life that discourages this way of being. This is
why MBSR is so helpful for many who are interested in exploring the
possibilities of mind/body methods. Through the formal meditation practices
which we teach and encourage you to practice daily, you cultivate mindfulness
in a systematic way. Through the group process and the integration of
mindfulness into daily living, you learn how to make it relevant for you and how
to sustain it in new situations. Many findthat this way of being’,’ present arid
responsive, has a far greater affect than reducing stress.
“… there is nothing particularly unusual of mystical about meditating or being
mindful. All it involves is paying attention to your experience from moment to
moment. This leads directly to new ways of seeing and being in your life
because the present moment, whenever it is recognized and honored, reveals a
very special, indeed magical power: it is the only time that any of us ever has.
The present is the only time that we have to know anything. It is the only time
we have to perceive, to learn, to act, to change, to heal. That is why we value
moment-to-moment awareness so highly. While we may have to teach
ourselves how to do it through practicing, the effort itself is its own end. It makes
our experiences more vivid and our lives more real.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full CatastroQhe Living,

How will I benefit?
Over 25 years of published research indicate that people who complete the
program report:
An ability to cope more effectively with both short and long term stressful
situations
An increased ability to relax