Sunday, February 23, 2014
Monday, April 16, 2012
Better tests find more troops’ concussions
by Gregg Zoroya on Apr. 11, 2012, under USA TODAY News
Source: USA TODAY
Improved battlefield diagnosis has led to a record number of concussions detected among U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq last year, with an average of 16 inflicted each day last spring, according to newly released Pentagon figures.
It was the highest pace for traumatic brain injuries of any period in 10 years of combat, according to data provided to USA TODAY. Brain injuries caused by the concussive force of a nearby blast are among the most commons wounds troops suffer.
American casualties in Afghanistan this spring are already ticking higher as the traditionally heavier summer fighting months approach, military statistics show.
Although there was an alarming increase last year in buried-explosives attacks on U.S. foot patrols in Afghanistan — where most of the casualties occurred last year — scientists believe the rise in diagnosed brain-injury cases was due largely to more aggressive efforts at detecting the wound.
“I do think that does account for the increase,” says Army Col. Jamie Grimes, national director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, which conducts brain injury research.
As a consequence, experts fear that there were countless brain injuries missed when there were far more casualties during 2005 through 2007. Combat deaths then were twice the annual rate last year.
“You’re probably talking about maybe thousands of (undiagnosed) people,” says Dave Hovda, director of UCLA’s Brain Injury Research Center, who has worked with the military on brain treatment. “Either we didn’t know about, or we didn’t capture them early enough to protect them so they wouldn’t develop (more serious) problems.”
There is stark difference between how the military uncovers brain injuries today compared with even three years ago, says Michael Kilpatrick, a Pentagon health official.
In the early years of both wars, troops were rarely pulled aside and examined for signs of a concussion after being exposed to a roadside blast. Military science has since learned that concussions were not uncommon, and that if the brain injury was not allowed time to heal, a second exposure to a blast could cause permanent damage.
During 2005 and 2006, the average of number of brain-injury diagnoses recorded in Iraq and Afghanistan was only a few hundred every three months. Beginning in 2010, the Pentagon instituted medical rules requiring any soldier caught near a blast to be examined for signs of a concussion — dizziness, problem-solving difficulties, visual light-sensitivity and headaches — and kept out of combat until the symptoms disappear.
The military started uncovering hundreds more cases, data show. Nearly a thousand traumatic brain injuries, the vast majority of them mild, were diagnosed every three months in 2010, and the rate was nearly 1,200 per quarter last year.
Copyright © 2012 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Former Marine Colonel rallies to get donkey to U.S. from Iraq
Former Marine colonel John Folsom, left, is trying to arrange to get Smoke the donkey to the USA through an SPCA International program.By James K. Sanborn, Marine Corps Times
A former Marine colonel is fighting to bring home a little four-legged piece of Iraq.
John Folsom, who was Camp Taqaddum's commandant in 2008, hopes to bring Smoke the donkey home to Nebraska to brighten the lives of children whose parents are serving overseas.
Folsom and Smoke first met when a Marine under Folsom's command decided to catch one of the many donkeys wandering the base outside Fallujah.
"I came out one Sunday morning and found this donkey tied up outside my hooch," says Folsom, who was with the 1st Marine Logistics Group.
The Marines immediately took a liking to the animal. They fed him, patched up the wounds on his legs and made him their mascot. He got his name for his gray color and tendency to snatch up cigarettes, lit or not.
Although regulations prohibit keeping pets in the war zone, a Navy lieutenant helped designate Smoke a therapy animal, and the donkey was cleared to stay, Folsom says. Eventually word got around, and Smoke started receiving care packages of treats and blankets along with the troops.
When the Marine group pulled out of Taqaddum, it could not take Smoke along. Left in the care of an Army major, the donkey was handed off to a sheik.
Last fall, Folsom decided he wanted Smoke to see the USA. By now, he was the head of Wounded Warriors Family Support, a non-profit organization that helps the families of servicemembers who are killed or wounded in action. Among its offerings to families are free trips to Florida condominiums that are near theme parks and resorts in the Orlando area.
Folsom tracked down the sheik who had Smoke but was told that the former mascot had been given to a family near Fallujah. The sheik said he could get the donkey from the family for $30,000.
"We heard that and said, 'As long as you are taking care of the donkey, that's fine with us,' " Folsom says.
The sheik relented and agreed to round up the donkey for free. Now the challenge is to get Smoke shipped to the USA, he says.
Folsom is working through the Operation Baghdad Pups program, run by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International, to arrange transport.
Since 2008, the program has transported more than 250 dogs and cats to the United States.
Dogs and cats can be brought home on commercial flights, but Smoke will require a special cargo flight. Stephanie Scott, a spokeswoman for SPCA International says her group would foot the bill.
If all goes well, Smoke will live at Take Flight Farms in Omaha, where horses are used to help people cope with disabilities and psychological ailments. There, Folsom says, he hopes Smoke can do for the families of veterans what he did for Marines in Iraq: boost morale.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
12 Stones, LIVE on air at HOOAH!!!! Radio
Tune into HOOAH!!!! Radio wednesday night at 8PM ET for a live interview with 12 Stones doing thier support of the troops. HOOAH!!!!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Ex-soldier walks nation for military families
By Kate McGinty, The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun
PALM DESERT, Calif. — Home from Iraq in August 2009, former Army specialist Troy Yocum was inspired by a fellow veteran who needed assistance but couldn't get it from non-profit groups overwhelmed with requests, so Yocum decided to literally take steps to help.
During what has been dubbed "Hike for our Heroes," Yocum, 31, is walking a loop around the country in hopes of raising $5 million and drawing attention to military families in need.
During his 16-month journey, which included his arrival in Palm Desert last week after walking 3,527 miles of his 7,000-mile goal, the Kentucky native has faced his share of obstacles. Kidney stones sent him to a hospital for nine days in Colorado, his RV has broken down more than a dozen times and his dog was temporarily sidelined with a bladder infection.
Along the way, Yocum has gotten married, climbed 12,095 feet along Colorado mountains and received more than 30,000 e-mails from supporters.
As of Nov. 18, he said, he had raised more than $105,000 for Soldiers' Angels, a non-profit group that helps servicemembers, veterans and their families, and given money to 14 military families in need.
"This dream I had in Iraq of walking across America and raising money and helping people, I didn't know if it would work," Yocum said. "But the fans of what we're doing really push me to keep going."
Yocum embarked on his charitable trek April 17 with his then-fiancée, Mareike, and his friend Terry Carmickle.
The couple — who met early last year on social networking site MySpace when Yocum was still abroad and searching for a potential tour guide in Germany — married May 2.
They then took their journey west, averaging about 21 miles each day on what they joke is their "honeymoon."
"I kind of just left an old life behind and started a new one," Yocum said.
Yocum and his team will begin their trip back east Friday, when they leave Palm Springs on their way to Arizona.
The "Hike for our Heroes" schedule calls for them to arrive in Washington, D.C., on May 11, 2011, before walking back to Kentucky by Aug. 15.
http://hooahradio.com/ Come talk and walk with Troy!!!Saturday, November 27, 2010
Stem Cell Treatment Gives Retired Military Service Dog New Lease on Life
A retired
military service dog is getting a new lease on life in Washington, D.C., after undergoing a revolutionary stem cell treatment.
Lex, a 9-year-old German shepherd, lost his best friend, 20-year-old Cpl. Dustin Lee, and nearly lost his own life in a rocket attack in Iraq on March 21, 2007.
"He suffered a lot of shrapnel wounds, has a piece of shrapnel still in his spine, almost lost his tail," Lee's father, Jerome Lee, told MyFoxDC.com.
Jerome Lee and his wife, Rachel Lee, wanted to be there for Lex the way they say he had been there for their son, so with the help of North Carolina Rep. Walter Jones they persuaded the Marine Corps to retire Lex early so they could adopt him in December 2007.
But once Lex was home, the Lees noticed that the shrapnel lodged in his spine was causing him debilitating back and joint pain, preventing him from walking on his own.
"He's got young bones. His bone density is as good as a young dogs, but we knew something was wrong because he was going down," Rachel Lee told the station.
Thanks to a revolutionary stem cell treatment from Georgetown veterinarian Dr. Lee Morgan, they hope that will no longer be a problem.
The cutting-edge treatment helps dogs grow new cartilage by injecting stem cells from their own fat, normally from the abdomen, into the affected joint. The treatment takes about three days and has an 80 percent success rate, MyFoxDC.com reported.
"When I saw him walking down the hall he wasn't hopping or giving in as much, and I could tell (the treatment) has already started working," Rachel said. "I feel that with physical therapy
and the love that we're giving him, as he's a part of our family, it's just gonna get better."
Doctors say the dog could make a full recovery in as little as two months.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Veteran looks forward to Hunt for Heroes
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Retired Staff Sgt. John Daniel Shannon said he never doubted he would become a member of the U.S. military.
“My dad is big into genealogy and has traced our family’s military service back to the Revolutionary War,” said the 47-year-old Colorado resident.
“Our family’s taken part in all of this country’s major wars.”
Dan, as he friends and family call him, will be among a group of wounded or disabled veterans from around the country who will take part in this weekend’s Hunt for Heroes near San Angelo. The event also will include a Friday morning parade along the Concho River in San Angelo.
In 1984, when it came his turn to serve, Dan entered the Army, graduating at the top of the his class in sniper school.
He was serving as senior sniper of the Ghost Recon Platoon with the 1st Battalion 503 Infantry Regiment during Operation Iraqi Freedom when his war came to a sudden, violent end on Nov. 13, 2004.
“They were in a bloody gunfight when Dan was hit by an AK-47 round to the head,” said his wife, Torrey Shannon.
“It took out the entire left side of his face, his left eye, most of his skull.”
At first, her husband didn’t realize what had happened, Torrey said.
“He didn’t know his eye was gone. He thought he had blood in it and kept wiping at it.”
As a sniper, Dan was trained to shoot with either eye, she said.
“He was mad. He shifted to his right side,” ready to continue the fight, she said.
“A buddy pulled him out of the line of fire and said, ‘Sergeant, you’re hurt!’”
Dan’s war ended that day, but another battle, a three-year recovery and fight against a flawed system, was only beginning.
“Most of his skull was reconstructed,” Torrey explained. His face also was rebuilt. The left eye was gone, but despite a lack of depth perception, Dan adapted, relearning favorite activities like bowling, golf, marksmanship and hunting.
While external scars healed, internal ones remain, including traumatic brain damage, post-traumatic stress disorder, nerve damage, hearing loss, degenerative joint disease and spinal damage.
Dan suffered yet another wound during his recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
“The easiest way to say what was going on there was they had a wonderful system overwhelmed by the number of wounded coming into the system,” he explained.
“It was overloaded. And when service members are not taken care of, that’s something I won’t tolerate.”
He and other veterans testified about their shoddy treatment to a congressional committee in 2007.
“I feel like I’ve been lost in the system,” he told the congressmen.
He said he wasn’t the only one.
“I will not see young men and women who have had their lives shattered in service to their country receive anything less than dignity and respect,” he told the committee.
He also told them how he saw “so many soldiers get so frustrated with the process” they would sign away Army benefits, “sign anything presented them just so they can get on with their lives.”
“This is an obvious example of a broken system trying to survive when what it really needs is to be fixed,” he told the committee.
His story became a part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post series and helped spur an overhaul of the military health care system.
Testifying against the military “really hurt,” he said. “I was a career military guy. All I wanted to do was serve my country. I believe a life of service is very rewarding, and I loved the Army.”
But, he added, “my motto was ‘I’ll die before my men,’ and I felt the same way toward the wounded service members at the hospital.”
Dan said he’s still struggling with the aftereffects of his war wound, including the PTSD, which can cause him to violently lose control.
“If you see me go into an episode, you’d think I’m having an epileptic seizure,” he said.
Talking to other veterans helps, he added, especially soldiers who served in Vietnam.
“What I’ve come to understand is some of them are still PTSD. It’s been 40 years and they’re still not over it.
“Before I talked to them, I wanted to fix this problem overnight. I wanted me back. Now I know it will take time for me to learn to handle it.”
Hunt for Heroes is another chance to spend time with wounded or disabled veterans who have shared the same experiences, he said.
“It gives different service members a chance to get together and talk about things, about what we’ve been through,” he said.
“It’s very difficult to talk to anybody about our experiences if they haven’t been there, but with these guys, we can open up to each other. The time we spend together becomes very healing.”
Being around other war-injured vets from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars “reminds me that I’m still normal — a normal guy who’s gone through an abnormal experience,” he said. “And I will learn to handle it — never completely get over it, but learn to handle it better.”
“I’m not a monster. I’m still me in here, somewhere. My life isn’t over yet.”
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Study: Kids of deployed military have more behavioral problems
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
A new study suggests nine years of war is taking a toll on U.S. children.
Children of active-duty military personnel make 18% more trips to the doctor for behavioral problems and 19% more visits for stress disorders when a military parent is deployed compared with when the parent is home, according to a study of children ages 3 to 8 in today's Pediatrics.
Those increases are even more striking given that the overall number of doctors' visits declined 11% during deployment, perhaps because the lone parent at home was so busy, says study author Gregory Gorman, who analyzed the medical records of nearly 643,000 children and 443,000 parents from 2006 to 2007.
Gorman, a pediatrician with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., says military doctors are usually aware of the burden on such children, but he hopes more civilian doctors, who care for two-thirds of kids in military families, will find out if a parent is deployed and ask how families are coping.
Research shows that kids of enlisted Army soldiers are more likely to suffer maltreatment when a parent is in combat and that Army wives are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, sleep disorders or other mental health conditions when their husbands are deployed.
The new study may actually underestimate the psychological stress on military families because it included all branches of the service, instead of concentrating on the Army and Marines, who have done most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, says Deborah Gibbs of RTI International in Research Triangle Park, N.C., author of the maltreatment study. The new study also excludes the Reserves and National Guard, some of whose members have completed multiple tours of duty.
"Most military families cope astonishingly well," Gibbs says. But "the National Guard and Reserve families have all the same stresses but none of the support that active-duty families have."
Saturday, November 13, 2010
ARLINGTON CEMETERY Nov. 11,2010 – Westboro "Baptist" Church Overwhelmed by Patriots
People ask why we counter Westboro “Baptist” Church, why not just let them be the proverbial “If a tree falls in a forest and no hears it, did it fall”? BELOW is why we counter them.
FReepers, students, patriots and Veteran Harley riders (about 50) defended our Fallen Heroes this Veterans Day at Arlington Cemetery. We came by the dozens and overwhelmed Fred Phelps’ one-branch family tree called Westboro “Baptist” Church. They started the morning with about a dozen miscreants. Two hours later when they left, only 3 had stayed around.
A special thanks to those who took their shift to help hold the MOAB when the wind pick up. They were GunsAreOK, iMacMan, new FReeper Tammy Cat, Tolerance Sucks Rocks, Lurker Richard, and an active duty Air Force member stationed in Washington.
And another special thanks to iMacMan and [Mrs] Trooprally (aka [Mrs] T) for taking pictures. Link to their combined photos are HERE
Other FReepers who were there: SouthernBoyupNorth (one of the Harley riders), Cindy_True-Supporter, rlmorel (came down from Massachusetts just for our FReep), RongKirby, stratman1969, Lurker Bill, and me, [Mr] Trooprally (aka [Mr] T).
And Patriots Toothless Dawg (GoE), 4 American University students, 2 Georgetown University students, Ann, Cory, and Toni. They were twitted or heard about our FReep on facebook.
Stratman1969's Marooned in Marin web site also has some excellent pictures and videos. Check out the bag piper video that “cleansed” the WBC protest area after their departure. It took just a few seconds for us all to realize he was playing. You could have heard a pin drop.
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