Desert Vets

VA care for returning Desert Vets

2006-05-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

FIELD Hearing on the State of VA Care in Hawaii & Caring for Returning Service Members
Statement of
Jon Harlan, MSW
Team Leader,
Hilo Vet Center
Department of Veterans Affairs
before the
United States
Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
At the Hilo, Hawaii Field Hearing

January 13, 2006
***

Aloha, Senator Akaka. It is an honor to appear before you today to outline the role of the Hilo Vet Center in providing care and services to veterans of all eras, with special emphasis on newly returning veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Although I will focus on the Hilo Vet Center’s involvement, our efforts are typical of the services provided by the 207 Vet Centers nationwide.

Under the leadership of Dr. Alfonso Batres, Chief of the Office of Readjustment Counseling Service, and Mr. Richard Talbott, the Pacific Western Regional Manager; the Hilo Vet Center, located in old downtown Hilo, strives to provide the highest quality of services to all Veterans who walk through our doors and those we meet through our outreach efforts. It is a privilege and honor to serve them.

The Hilo Vet Center is responsible for providing services for veterans from the southern end of the Big Island, (Naalehu) to the far west side town of Waimea. Services provided by the Hilo Vet Center include individual, family and group counseling, with special expertise in counseling for combat-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; community outreach; assistance in gaining access to medical care through the Hilo VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC); and on-site assistance for veterans with VA disability claim issues by a VA Benefits Counselor once a month. We work closely with the State of Veterans Service Officer, referring veterans to the VSO for in-depth service on claims issues; we also conduct joint outreach efforts with the VSO in the Hilo Vet Center’s catchment areas.

In the Hilo area we have one National Guard Unit: the 2nd BN, 299th Infantry BN, Army Aviation Units (193rd AVN RGT), and the Army Reserves 411th Combat Engineers, in addition to a section of the Reserves’ storied 100th, 442nd Infantry. The Kona Vet Center covers the remainder of the Big Island, providing services to all eligible veterans, which includes a company of the Hawaii Army National Guard 2nd BN, 299th Infantry BN located in Kealekekua, Kona. As a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard as well as being the Hilo Vet Center Team Leader, I have personally made frequent contact with the members of these units and their families to provide them with information about Vet Center and VA services, and to support family members during the time of deployment.

The staff of the Hilo Vet Center is prepared to provide bereavement counseling for family members of military personnel killed on active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. Sadly we have suffered the loss of a fine young American from the Volcano area, and the Vet Center offered support to his family. We hope and pray that all our servicemen and women will return safely very soon, as their deployments are more than half-way over.

The Hilo Vet Center maintains non-traditional hours to ensure that all services are available to veterans, both those that work and those who don’t. Currently we are open Monday and Tuesday from 8:00 am to 6:30 pm and Thursdays 08:00 am to 8:00 pm. We expect to provide additional evening hours as more soldiers return home and to work and need or want more services. We strive always to support military units and veterans’ service organizations by providing outreach and informational presentations whenever they are requested. We believe by doing this and always “being available,” veterans who otherwise may never come to the VA will get all the care and help that they have earned.

The Hilo Vet Center has a core staff of three: Team Leader, one counselor and an Office Manager. Currently we are in the process of hiring a full time Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) Outreach Worker. This person will be stationed at the Hilo Vet Center, but will cover the entire Island, to include the Kona side. The Kona Vet Center and Hilo Vet Center staff work together closely on outreach each week, so this arrangement will work well. All Team Members are veterans. One member holds mental health licensure (Social Work); and the others have many years of experience working with Veterans, especially in the area of combat-related trauma. The Hilo Vet Center, due to its small permanent staff, has augmented clerical support staff for several years through the VA Work Study Program, which helps young veterans attending college earn a salary while assisting other veterans and helps provide for the smooth operation of the Hilo Vet Center. Having them has been a Godsend, not only for the additional work they do, but more importantly, because they are usually veterans of the OEF/OIF operations and give staff key insights into understanding what the unique experiences and needs of their peers in current conflicts. All of our Work Study students have been outstanding and show a great deal of compassion for their fellow Veterans who come in or are contacted during outreach. I believe this program could prove to be valuable in recruiting future professional staff for our Vet Centers.

The Hilo Vet Center continues to provide Readjustment Counseling and supportive services to a large number of Vietnam Veterans, as well as veterans of World War II, Korea, the current conflicts and others. During fiscal years 2004 and 2005, the Hilo Vet Center provided services to 731 individual veterans in 5,894 readjustment counseling visits for veterans and their family members. During the same time period we began to see increasing numbers of OEF/OIF Veterans and their families. In fiscal year 2005, we saw 51 individual OIF/OEF veterans for 118 visits, compared to just 4 OIF/OEF veterans for 17 visits in fiscal year 2004. Our expectation is that when the largest deployed unit (2nd BN, 299th Inf.) returns to Hilo, we will be seeing far more OEF/OIF veterans. Our Vet Center provides intense and complete counseling for veterans of the east side of Hawaii Island. Our goal is to assist veterans in leading productive and satisfying lives. As stated earlier, we do this by offering veterans individual, family, and group counseling. To achieve our goals and meet the full range of needs for the veteran and family members, many of our veterans are involved in all three modes of counseling. In regards to OEF/OIF Veterans, our intent in offering extensive outreach to them is to let them know of our presence, to introduce them to the services that we provide, and to give them a sampling of the range of readjustment counseling services available to help them make a positive return to civilian life, as well as to assist their families. At the same time, we continue to provide the same high quality readjustment assistance to our core constituency of World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam veterans. It is a great honor to provide services to multiple generations of “America’s Finest”. I believe I have the greatest job in the world, and I thank you and your colleagues for providing the support to allow our Vet Centers to exist.

Senator Akaka, this concludes my statement. I thank you for your time and look forward to answering any questions you or other members of the Committee might have.

From: http://veterans.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.CurrentHearings&rID=401&hID=152

High Desert Veterans remember...

2006-05-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

Veterans remember past battles, fallen comrades

Photo by Beau Yarbrough - A Crosswalk School ROTC member holds the flag.
By BEAU YARBROUGH
Staff Writer

Hesperians and High Desert veterans gathered Friday at Hesperia Lake to remember and celebrate those who had served their country and, in some cases, made the ultimate sacrifice, on a warm and sunny Veterans Day morning.

The ceremony, hosted by the Hesperia Recreation and Park District and Point Man International Ministries, mixed humor in with the serious message of the day.

“You’ll notice a touch of braggadocio in these songs,” World War II veteran Joe Goodman said, in between leading songs dedicated to the various armed services. “In the navy song, they seem to be more interested in beating the army in football than anything.”

The songs had all been around for decades, although some had been updated - Goodman led the crowd in “The Army Goes Rolling Along” instead of “The Caissons Go Rolling Along” - which tripped up at least one singer.

“It’s not the Air Corps!” A voice yelled from the crowd, after the song ended.

“That’s right, that’s where I was 50 years ago,” Goodman said. “Things have changed.”

Some of those in attendance, like the color guard from the Crosswalk charter academy, never served in the nation’s armed forces, and the day’s featured speaker sought to communicate the veteran’s experience to those assembled.

“It’s a privilege to be here, it’s a privilege to be an American, it’s a privilege to be an American,” began Dr. Ken Kiner, the morning’s featured speaker and Vietnam War-era veteran with the U.S. Army. “Whether you believe in the war or whether you don’t, our armed forces are there in the trenches, in harm’s way.”

Kiner said veterans like him are among those who least like war, having seen the horrors of it first-hand - “I doubt there’s any veteran who would say ‘I like war.’” - but that it was sometimes a necessary evil.

“Americans are still the driving force for freedom,” he said. “Is one day enough in remembrance?
“We owe them our freedom and our gratitude. God bless you.”

Beau Yarbrough can be reached at beau@hesperiastar.com or by telephone at 956-7108.

From: http://www.hesperiastar.com/story.php?id=1246_0_1_0_M

PTSD in Desert Vets

2006-05-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

First off, until the military changes its attitude about PTSD, it will bot have a very successful progra. I have looked up their guidelines on the internet. Look them up yourself and you will see what I mean. PTSD is not a weakness. It has been my experience that the higher a person's IQ the more likely the susceptibility. People with higher IQ's tend to analyse and notice more of everything around them. Their brains become over loaded by stimulii and their chemical functions within the brain get messed up trying to process the brain input. The voices heard are not the same as those heard by schitzophranics. The voices are all in their head and are the voices and sounds around them at the time of the trauma. But often a person with PTSD doesn't get asked the right questions or is too deeply in crisis to make the distinction. Every relived event is as real as the original event. One feels like they are really there.

A PTSD victum requires both psychiatric care and therapy by people experienced with PTSD, especially for proper diagnosis when there may also a secondary disorder to seperately diagnosed and treated. PTSD patients also need to be taught how to "re-center" themself during episodes by using techniques that help them realize that what they are experiencing is not really happening at the time. of their episode or flashback. But first they need to be taught to understand what they are experiencing, how it affects them, how long the episode may last, how to begin to regain control and get through each episode.

Sometimes something as simple as a penny in one's pocket that you can grasp when an episode of flashbacks occur help as once happened to me. I found the penny inmy pocket and kept telling myself it was a penny and as long as I could keep telling myself it was a penny, then I wasn't crazy or going to go crazy.

The are many tools one uses besides medication and therapy. They are very individualized. The biggest and most important is the comfort of another who has "been" there so to speak. But that doesn't mean a friend or spouse can't help. But the bottom line is the person with the PTSD must do the work. They must be allowed to seek treatment and be willing to accept the need for treatment. victim has their own recovery pace. And much of what works after the meds is worked out in therapy and through sharing your pain in support groups. You can recover. Some will have short recoivery times and others will require a great deal of time. This is not due to weakness. Every person is an individual. Each comes equiped with their own set of unique life experiences. As similiar as our bodies are, they are still each unique.

Some people, myself included, learn to set up more than one support network so they don't exhaust their supporters or find them selves without support because a particular person is unavailable.

I hope my sharing of what I have learned and had to do on my recovery path is helpful. But there is one more rule for PTSD, especially for us incest survivors, and I'm sure we aren't exclusive here, that must be followed. ONe must be able to feel safe. So in my support groups if a member is not at the same point as another and the conversation os too much input, one of those people will momentarily remove themself, usually the one over stimulated. Uaually another member goes with them.This helps prevent overload. This is especially important in non hospital settings where the PTSD victim has to or is functioning at some acceptable level to allow that person to continue that ability to function. It is also critical where suicide is or may become an issue.

From:http://groups.msn.com/IraqWarVeterans/ptsdiraq.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=789&LastModified=4675541065442818192

Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Information OIF OEF Desert Vets

2006-05-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the activities of VA’s Vet Center program and the role it plays in providing outreach and care to veterans returning from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). I will also briefly describe the role of the Vet Centers in the recent New Hampshire National Guard Reverse Soldier Readiness Program.

The Vet Center program observed its 25th year serving veterans this year. The program was originally established by Congress in 1979 to meet the readjustment needs of veterans returning from the Vietnam War. From the outset, Vet Centers were designed to be community-based, non-medical facilities, offering easy access to care for Vietnam veterans who were experiencing difficulty in resuming a normal life following their service in a combat zone and other stressful military situations. Vet Centers were intended to serve as entry points for disenfranchised veterans in need of VA health care, as well as to provide readjustment counseling, job counseling, benefits counseling, referrals to community services, and other services as needed in particular localities. Additionally and by design, most Vet Center staff are veterans themselves and serve as counselors and role models to veterans-in-need. Immediate family members of eligible veterans are also eligible for certain Vet Center mental health services.

Twenty-five years later, following the grass-roots popularity of the program, eligibility for Vet Center readjustment counseling services has expanded to include all combat veterans. The Vet Center program also provides bereavement counseling services to family members of those soldiers killed while on active duty in service to their country. In addition, the Vet Centers are used to provide counseling to veterans who experienced sexual trauma while on active duty.

The program has grown to 207 Vet Centers nationwide located in all 50 states, and in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia and Guam. There are 33 Vet Centers in the Readjustment Counseling Services’ Northeast Region, which encompasses the following eight states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Last year the Under Secretary for Health approved an additional 50 staff positions for the Vet Center Program to provide outreach and assistance specifically to returning OEF/OIF returnees. The northeast region received eight positions from this nationwide allotment and filled the positions with OEF/OIF veterans within 90 days. This fiscal year the region received another seven positions and we have filled – or are interviewing OEF/OIF veterans for – these newly created positions.

As part of the program’s outreach campaign, Vet Center clinicians began providing educational and outreach information to the families of deployed Global War on Terrorism soldiers about potential readjustment issues and VA services soon after the first National Guard and Reserve units were deployed almost two years ago. Part of this outreach effort was to inform National Guard leaders of Vet Center services to facilitate early contact and a smooth transition for returning veterans.

Late last year, NH Guard leadership met with the Manchester, New Hampshire, Vet Center team leader to discuss a potential Vet Center role in their developing Reverse Soldier Readiness Program (RSRP) for soon-returning NH Guard men and women. In addition to VBA and VA participation, the NH National Guard was seeking an organization that understood the military culture and could provide hour – long individual counseling and assessment sessions for each returning soldier. Following extensive consultation with their active duty counterparts, the NH National Guard concluded that in order to destigmatize the soldier’s asking for help, individual counseling would be a core component of this initiative for all their returnees. Successive planning meetings between NH National Guard leadership and Vet Center Northeast Regional Office senior staff reinforced the need for a collaborative effort to meet NH National Guard goals. The Vet Center’s 25 year history of working with combat veterans to overcome the stigma associated with seeking professional assistance, plus the Vet Center program’s understanding of military culture and experience, helped contribute to the inclusion of Vet Centers in the re-entry program being developed by the NH Guard.

During the implementation period of January 20 through March 7, 2005, 31 Vet Center clinicians from 16 surrounding Vet Centers assembled at the Manchester VA Medical Center to provide individual, hour-long assessment sessions to over 810 NH veterans returning from duty in Iraq. Using an intake protocol specifically designed for this purpose, Vet Center counselors - many of who were themselves combat veterans – assessed all returning veterans for depression, acute war zone stress reaction, suicidal/homicidal ideation and other possible readjustment issues, such as emerging family issues.

Since completion of the primary phase of this project, the Manchester Vet Center has seen an additional 14 Afghanistan NHNG veterans and continues to work with NH Guard leadership by seeing small groups of returning OEF/OIF veterans at the Vet Center every Thursday to continue the individual assessment process.

As of this writing, a total of 838 NH Guard veterans have been seen by Vet Center staff in individual, confidential counseling sessions. A service plan was developed for each OEF/OIF veteran seen and reviewed with them during their counseling session. Of the total number of veterans seen, approximately 402 requested follow-up care by the Vet Centers (48%). There are an estimated 144 NH National Guard veterans currently in on-going Vet Center care at several area Vet Centers. (17%).

It was both and honor and a privilege for the Vet Center program to participate in the overall NH National Guard RSRP. As the community-based outreach component within VHA, our experience was that offering these services to returning National Guard soldiers was well within the Vet Center mission. We have appreciated the opportunity to serve our returning veterans in a proactive, individualized manner because these men and women deserve the very best care we can provide them.

From: http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/schedule109/sep05/9-19-05/tbeebe.html

New Medals for Desert Vets

2006-05-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

Attn: Oef/oif Vets, New Awards

Posted by: Black Tiger

http://www.defenselink.mil/releases...50407-2441.html

New Campaign Medals being made for our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the DOD, and I quote:

"The Department of Defense announced today the creation of two campaign medals for Afghanistan and Iraq.

Presidential Executive Order 13363 established the Afghanistan and Iraq campaign medals to recognize members, who made specific sacrifices and significant contributions in these areas of operation.

Service members authorized the Afghanistan Campaign Medal must have served in direct support of Operation Enduring Freedom on or after Oct. 24, 2001, to a future date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense or the cessation of the operation. The area of eligibility encompasses all land areas of the country of Afghanistan and all air spaces above the land.

Those authorized the Iraq Campaign Medal must have served in direct support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on or after March 19, 2003, to a future date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense or the cessation of the operation. The area of eligibility encompasses all land area of the country of Iraq, and the contiguous water area out to 12 nautical miles, and all air spaces above the land area of Iraq and above the contiguous water area out to 12 nautical miles."

End quote.

If you have receiver the GWOT Expeditionary Medal for service in Iraq or Afghanistan you may be autorized to received either medal and retain your GWOTEM.

I quote:

"Service members qualified for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal by reasons of service between Oct. 24, 2001, and April 30, 2005, in an area for which the Afghanistan Campaign Medal was subsequently authorized and between March 19, 2003, and Feb. 28, 2005, in an area for which the Iraq Campaign Medal was subsequently authorized, shall remain qualified for that medal."

End quote.

I strongly suggest you read the whole report since it seems that not everyone qualifies for the medal; it seems that unless you had "boots on the ground" in Iraq or Afghanistan itself, you don't get to qualify for any of these two medals.

From: http://glocktalk.com/sitemap/topic/370935-1.html

OIF Desert Vets from Hawaii coming home

2006-05-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

OIF vets from Hawaii return home
Marine Corps News

Release Date: 5/20/2003

Story by Cpl. Luis R. Agostini

HONOLULU(May 20, 2003) -- Thirty-nine Marines from 1st Radio Battalion received a warm welcome home at the Honolulu International Airport late Monday evening as they returned from a three-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Friends and family, anticipating the return of the Kaneohe Bay warriors, decorated portions of the baggage claim area with "Welcome Home" banners and American flags, patiently waiting to catch the first glimpse of their loved ones and friends.

Nicholas and Jessa Thompson, children of CWO-3 Sean Thompson, Radio Reconnaissance Platoon commander, spent the majority of their time at the airport sitting on the edge of the baggage carousel, waiting for dad to come back.

"He missed my birthday," said 10-year-old Jessa, "but we are going to have a birthday lunch when he comes back. He promised."

It was around 10:40 p.m. when the travel-weary warriors started filtering into the baggage claim area. Although some may have felt the effects of jetlag, these men projected a presence that distinguished them from the other passengers. Clad in polo shirts, khaki shorts, sandles and sporting regulation haircuts, the men personified the image of "Marines," and their greeters knew it.

The crowd greeted the heroes with resonating applause. As soon as they saw their Marines, the women and children sprinted into the arms of their OIF veterans, a few who had been waiting for this moment for more than six months.

After embracing his wife, Brooke, Lance Cpl. Steven Hunsaker, an Arabic linguist, laid eyes on his three-week-old daughter, Alyssa, for the first time.

"It's such a great feeling," said Hunsaker. "I'm looking forward to spending time with my family."

During their three-month deployment, the Kaneohe Bay-based Marines injected some local flavor into the Southwest Asia. The unit's innovative thinking and local ties prompted 1st Radio Bn. to transform a portion of Camp Commando, Kuwait, to Camp Hale Koa, the Hawaiian phrase for "house of warriors."

1st Radio Battalion's mission is to provide communications support for Marine Corps intelligence organizations and to conduct electronic warfare.

During OIF, 1st Radio Bn. supported forces in both Kuwait and Iraq, and half of the unit deployed in direct support of the ground attack.

Approximately 250 1st Radio Bn. Marines deployed February, to Kuwait and into Iraq in support of OIF. No return date has yet been set for the remainder of the deployed Marines.

From: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2003/05/mil-030520-usmc02b.htm

Welcome to Desert Vets Blog

2005-06-30T04:52:00.000-07:00

We genuinely believe that one of America’s greatest resources today is her citizens currently or formerly serving in defense of our ideologies and traditions. Desert Vets is a Veteran’s organization dedicated to those members of our military who have served in the Middle East in pursuit of democracy and freedom for people of that area, and at the same time protecting our shores by taking the fight to them.

With this Blog, we hope Desert Vets currently in the desert and those back home will communicate and share problems they are experiencing as well as the solutions they discover with the goal of bettering our lives.

Please post any comments or suggestions you may have to this blog and visit the Desert Vets homesite at