Posts from 2009 by Douglas Karr, U.S. Navy Veteran

Popular horror author Stephen King and his wife made a phenomenal donation to the Maine Army National Guard this holiday season. The King’s generously gave $12,999 to an organization called Operation Community Support to cover the cost of bus fare and rental for 150 soldiers. They were initially asked for $13,000, but King believed the number 13 to be unlucky – so he and his wife, Tabitha, donated the $12,999. His personal assistant, Julie Eugley, donated the extra dollar to round the amount out to an even $13,000.

The members of the 172^nd Infantry Unit, 3^rd Battalion, traveled on two separate buses from Camp Atterbury in Indiana to their homes in Maine. They left earlier this month, and will be able to visit with their family and friends prior to their deployment to Afghanistan sometime in January.

Around this time seven years ago, Rueben Stringfellow stumbled across a litter of puppies born to a junkyard dog. Then 17, Rueben rescued the only puppy that survived its mother’s neglect.

What sets this puppy apart from others? It was born with just two legs. Stringfellow, now army E-4 specialist, asked his mother, “Can we fix her?” “No, but maybe we can help her,” his mother responded.

A group known as QUILTS - Quilters United in Learning Together Schenectady – is giving back to our troops this holiday season. QUILTS is participating in the Quilts for Injured Soldiers project this year, a initiative that provides quilts to troops returning from a deployment.

This year, more than 70 handmade blankets and quilts will be shipped to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Pat Baker of Hughesville, Maryland is the Quilts for Injured Soldiers chairwoman, and says “it’s like Christmas every day when a box comes in.”

This year, as a part of the Coming Home Project, the Service Providers Retreat will take place in Burlingame, California, at the Mercy Center. Taking place February 18^th-21^st, this four day seminar will focus on the importance of recognizing secondary trauma. Here, stories will be shared in a safe environment and skill sets will be provided in order to be most effective as a service provider and care taker.

In working closely with veterans on a daily basis, service providers may already have an understanding of what this form trauma entails, though only on a surface level. This retreat will take a deeper look into the suffering and restlessness that inhibits countless war veterans today.

As a military man, I am very interested in what’s happening with our troops overseas. I am especially mindful of our soldiers during the holiday season, as I know that thousands of men and women will be celebrating the season away from their families.

An article in the New York Times on December 14^th regarding the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan caught my eye, and I wanted to share the information with you.

Since 1941, the USO, or United Services Organizations, has been entertaining our troops overseas. Those who are old enough may recall how Bob Hope kicked off the USO’s tradition of providing music, dancing, and comedic relief to American soldiers.

The fact of the matter is – our men and women overseas need more than just the “obvious” to survive a deployment. In addition to safety equipment, our troops require morale boosters in the form of letters from family and friends, care packages, free time, and last but not least, entertainment.

On Sunday, December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked the United States. It was, at the time, the most well-executed surprise attack in history. The Pearl Harbor incident left the American naval forces weak, yet our country had no choice but to enter World War II.

Only 18 months prior had naval forces been relocated to Pearl Harbor per President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The President believed that this would be a deterrent to the Japanese, who were attempting to move south in an effort to obtain much-needed oil and supplies [the Japanese had been engaged in war with China since 1937]. By summer of 1941, the Japanese were no longer able to trade with the West, so their only option was to seize oil-rich land in Southeast Asia and the East Indies.

Nearly forty years after the end of the Vietnam War, the VA has announced that it will fund a four-year initiative that will examine the overall health of female Vietnam veterans. The study will cost an estimated $5.6 million dollars.

The VA wants to conduct research related to the mental and physical health of female Vietnam vets in an effort to better understand the long-term consequences of war. Because the experience of female veterans is so different from their male counterparts, this study will provide important information to the VA and the military. Over 10,000 female vets served during the Vietnam conflict in Vietnam, Southeast Asia and here at home in the United States.

Investigators from the U.S. Navy believe that “ineffective” leadership aboard the USS Hartford led to a collision between the Hartford and another naval submarine.

The USS Hartford hit the USS New Orleans on March 20^th in the Strait of Hormuz, located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The crash damaged the New Orleans’ fuel tank and injured fifteen sailors. Overall, the sub sustained $2.3 million in damage. The USS Hartford didn’t fare so well, either, with officials estimating that the damage to the Hartford could exceed $102.6 million.

A new report out of Harvard Medical School last week estimates that approximately 2.266 United States veterans under the age of 65 died in 2008 because they did not have health insurance. Despite the fact that the majority of vets receive medical care through the VA, over a million and a half non-wounded vets aged 65 and under are considered “too poor” to qualify for private insurance coverage but are not poor enough to be covered by Medicaid, according to a Harvard professor.

In general, uninsured individuals are 40% more likely to die than a person who does have health coverage – this according to the research at Harvard. A co-author of the Harvard study reports that at least six preventable deaths occur daily, and that well over 2,000 veterans lost their lives last year due to a “broken health insurance system.”

Five men who have spent the last few years as prisoners at Guantanamo Bay will be sent to New York City for trial in NYC’s Southern District U.S. Court, which happens to be just a short distance from Ground Zero. The transfer of these five men – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Walid bin Attach, and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi – was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder on November 13^th.

Attorney General Holder said that all give would be tried together, and that he expects prosecutors to seek the death penalty. The public will be able to attend and watch the trial, he said, although certain parts of the trial may be privatized to prevent the leak of classified information.

Today is Veterans Day, and while many people may think of a day off from work or school and great sales at the mall, this day means far more than that. Online publication Hawaii247.org put out a great post today entitled “Veterans Day 2009: Nov. 11, by the numbers,” and I wanted to share excerpts of this post with you.

Veterans Day was initially called “Armistice Day” and was first recognized on November 11, 1919, also known as the first anniversary of the conclusion of World War I. It was not until 1926, however, that Congress decided that Armistice Day would be observed annually. In 1938, it became a federal holiday, and sixteen years later, President Eisenhower signed legislation that changed the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day – the idea was to honor all veterans, and not just those who served in WWI.

I spent some time on the Veterans’ Families United Foundation website this weekend, and wanted to share some information with my fellow vets and their families. This website has a section focused on Veteran Readjustment Problems, and includes content on PTSD and tips for families who are welcoming back a loved one after a deployment.

There are three aspects to Veteran Readjustment Problems:

A memorial service will be held at Sadowski Field on Fort Hood tomorrow, Tuesday November 10^th – the day before Veterans’ Day.

The public is encouraged to attend. Gates will open at 10 am Central Time, and while all are welcome, it is recommended that you arrive early. All individuals will be required to pass through a security check; the following items will be prohibited: bags, strollers, umbrellas, signs, liquids, and sharp objects. Cameras are allowed.

In the wake of the horrific shooting at Fort Hood in Texas yesterday, the military and civilian community has been left to wonder why a member of our armed forces would commit such a crime – especially with Veterans Day just a few days away.

The official website of the U.S. Army, www.army.mil, reported today that Army Major Hasan Nidal Malik is responsible for the shootings on base yesterday, and that he acted alone, despite initial suspicions about multiple gunmen. Maj. Malik began shooting into the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center at about 1:30 pm yesterday, leaving 13 individuals dead and 27 wounded.

The glorious USS New York, an amphibious transport/assault vessel, arrived in New York Harbor today, floating quietly in the water near Ground Zero for a moment to honor those lost on September 11, 2001. Following the moment of silence, a 21-gun salute was fired from the ship’s fantail.

The USS New York is 684 feet long and was built using 7.5 tons of salvaged steel, which was placed inside her bow. The steel, once an integral structural component of the Twin Towers, was taken from Ground Zero. The ship cost about $1.2 billion dollars to build, and will be commissioned on November 7^th.

After Robert Gates, Department of Defense Secretary, finished his unprecedented speech on Monday, it was clear that change was going to happen for the better. His plans focused on alleviating “frustrating, adversarial and unnecessarily complex” paperwork that injured or traumatized veterans undergo throughout their treatment protocol.

It is clear that adequate and accessible support for veterans is much needed. Gates especially urged the support for those retired or discharged who have endured physical wounds or developed mental disorders. He supported this by shedding light on the large backlog of patient requests as well as the high case rate of post-traumatic stress disorder. It has been estimated that 1 in 20 men and women returning from active duty suffer from PTSD.

I wanted to share the story of Army Staff Sergeant Elizabeth Cowie. Sgt. Cowie, a noncommissioned officer with the California Army National Guard, was diagnosed with stage 0 breast cancer, which, according to her physician, is quite rare.

Stage 0 indicates that the cancer has been detected “very, very early,” stated Sgt. Cowie.

During a month when the focus of the country has turned to breast cancer awareness and women’s health care in general, a report released by the Government Accountability Office admits that the state of health care for female vets at veteran’s facilities throughout the country is less than adequate.

While the study reports that most Department of Veterans Administration (VA) facilities offer basic services for veterans of the female persuasion, such as gynecological exams, many lack a number of other fundamental elements, such as private check-in areas for women, exam rooms that provide an appropriate degree of privacy, and even rest rooms with sanitary napkin dispensers. As a matter of fact, only about one-third of all VA treatment centers offer a separate space for women to receive gynecological, mental health and social work services, according to Patricia Hayes of the Women's Veterans Health Strategic Healthcare Group.

In a small close-knit town in northern Virginia, family, friends, coaches and teachers, line the streets to say ‘Thank you’ to a young community member who lost his life on October 3^rd in a Taliban attack on a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan.

Stephan Mace, 21, of Purcellville, Virginia, was in involved in the deadliest battle for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since July 2008. Mace, along with seven others, battled Taliban insurgents for a total of 12 hours, with the most vicious fighting lasting seven of those twelve. All eight soldiers involved were assigned to the 3^rd Squadron, 61^st Cavalry Regiment, 4^th Brigade Combat Team, and 4th Infantry Division, based at Fort Carson, Colorado.