In yet another disturbing article by the New York Times, entitled “In Unit Stalked by Suicide, Veterans try to Save One Another,” author Dave Phillips chronicles the benign neglect of the VA in helping our brave Veterans to cope with the aftermath of war. With no disrespect to Mr. Phillips, a similar article could be written every week detailing the chronic neglect of the VA for warriors at risk of suicide.
While I suppose ...
Continue Reading →Not long ago I had the opportunity to represent the warrior-run non-profit One Mind for Research at a Hollywood Telethon to raise money for Veteran charities. My role in the production was a live, 90-second interview on stage with actor and host Alan Alda. We talked very briefly about my experience as a wounded warrior with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Mr. Alda asked me: what did I expect when I returned home from a ...
Continue Reading →COLIN AND KAREN ARCHIPLEY ARE TWO-TIME NATIONAL TREASURES!
The first occasion was defending the nation as a Marine Corps husband-wife team. Colin was not only a Marine Rifleman, he was a Marine noncommissioned officer. While media pundits and politicians focus on super fighter jets, unmanned drones and the Hollywood virtues of thermobaric Hellfire missiles, combat soldiers know that the ...
Continue Reading →SFTT consults with hundreds of Veterans with PTSD each year and many – if not most – are frustrated at the quality of treatment they receive from the VA. While most Veterans will acknowledge that VA staff members have their heart in the “right place,” the bureaucratic landscape facing Veterans suffering from PTSD are formidable. Why has it been so difficult to get Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment to Veterans suffering from PTSD?
SFTT reported earlier in the week of a new grant by DARPA to ...
Continue Reading →In yet another startling revelation, “the Pentagon is planning to implant veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with small electronic sensors that will map their brains. The project will proceed with the help of a $30-million grant provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).”
Continue Reading →According to a statement released by Massachusetts General Hospital — the creator of the chip — the “deep brain stimulation (DBS) device … will monitor signals across multiple brain structures ...
In yet another example of “sending the wrong message,” the Pentagon is curtailing funding for Vets4Warriors which operates a highly regarded Veteran suicide hotline. According to a New York Times article published yesterday, Keita Franklin, director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office, announced that suicide counseling previously offered by Vets4Warriors will now be taken over by another help line, Military OneSource, “which has more services available.” Ms. Franklin goes on to say that:
Continue Reading →“It will ...
Severe depression is no laughing matter, particularly if you are a Veteran who is back in the United States after one or more deployments to Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Sadly, many Veterans suffer from Post Traumatic Stress and, according to multiple sources and the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) are ill-served by the Veteran’s Administration.
The most recent GAO report on the VA found that “86% of audited files of vets on anti-depressants did ...
Continue Reading →Many veterans are turning to Yoga to deal with severe depression and the symptoms of PTSD rather rely on highly potent prescribed medication. The recent report by the GAO confirms that the VA has dropped the ball in helping vets get the support they need in dealing with the crippling effects of PTSD. In fact, Yoga is buy just one form of alternative therapy that Veterans are finding beneficial as they ...
Continue Reading →“There are no two words more harmful in the English language than ‘good job,'” according to J. K. Simmons in his riveting role as a jazz instructor in Whiplash.
With all due respect, “good job” now must take back seat to “chipping away,” as President Obama declared in a recent visit ...
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Many of us when looking at the chronic problem of PTSD which ail our Vets focus primarily on the needs of Vet. Nevertheless, the family circle is also severely impacted and often there is little the Vet can do to make himself or herself understood with their loved ones. In an moving article cited below, Army Veteran Seth Kastle penned a book called “Why is Dad So Mad?” to help children understand or at ...
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