Veterans and Fireworks – putting out a sign claiming your dog is afraid maybe more effective than explaining you’re a Veteran

I simply responded to a social media post. It was a meme complaining that there would be no fireworks this year on the 4th  and I commented that a lot of Veterans out there would be thankful. The response that followed surprised me: “I don’t know of any Veterans that would be disturbed by fireworks.” Over a week later, I’m still pondering this.

With all the ...

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VA Reluctantly Agrees to Provide HBOT to Veterans with PTSD

In a carefully crafted message, “The Department of Veterans Affairs announced this week that it would begin offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy (“HBOT”) to some veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, despite a lack of evidence that it works or being approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for PTSD.”

HBOT Therapy

The news was released by “Stars and Stripes” on November 30 ...

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HBOT: A PTSD Therapy for Veterans that Works

This Saturday (November 11, 2017), Fox TV will air a broadcast on how Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (“HBOT”) is helping hundreds – if not thousands – of Veterans with PTSD and TBI.

This special program will be aired on Veterans’ Day. The video below was prepared by The National Hyperbaric Association to demonstrate that “real” therapy is available to the tens of thousands of brave warriors suffering from PTSD and TBI.

HBOT is a ...

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Veteran Suicides: The VA Releases “New” Statistics

The Department of Veterans Affairs (“the VA”) recently released a report showing state-by-state disparities in suicide rates among Veterans.  Sadly, the data tracks Veteran suicides rates through 2014 leaving a significant time gap in determining whether the trend in 20+ veteran suicides a day is improving.

The news media has been quick to seize on some of the notable anomalies in the data, some of which is highlighted below from PBS news:

  • Suicide among military veterans ...
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VA Doctor’s Hard Line on HBOT Leads to Veteran Suicide

As a military veteran with PTSD and TBI, I encounter many brave warriors who have had difficulties getting proper treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs (“the VA”).

All of these conversations have been disturbing and caused me to relive the terrible ordeals I faced when dealing with the VA.  Nothing quite compared to the disturbing letter I received from Debbie Lee, the founder of America’s Mighty Warriors (“AMW”).

In her open letter (summarized and slightly edited below), Debbie ...

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Gun Control and Veteran Suicides: Is Research Lacking?

Like most everyone, the gun control debate is front and center on both sides of the political spectrum.  Sadly, very few – if any – of proposed changes to existing gun control laws would have a major impact on Veteran suicides.

ptsd

I recently came across an interesting article published in the Washington Post entitled “The reasons we don’t study gun violence the same way we study infections.”   ...

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SFTT News: Week Ending July 1, 2016

Found below are a few news items that caught my attention this past week. I am hopeful that the titles and short commentary will encourage our readers to click on the embedded links to read more on subjects that may be of interest to them.

Drop me an email at info@sftt.org if you believe that there are other subjects that are newsworthy.

Lawmakers work on legislation to protect Reservist jobs 
The new bill, called the Justice for Servicemembers Act, would make it clear ...

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The VA and Veteran Suicides: Sleeping Beauty Wakes Up

Only a cynical person could look with amusement on the recent self-serving announcement by the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) that it is taking “additional steps” to address Veteran suicides.   I realize that it is somewhat difficult to get a $180 billion a year bureaucratic behemoth to focus on an issue that has been front-page of every major media outlet, the DoD and even the VA for well over 10 years.