Special Notice: If you are a veteran in emotional crisis and need help RIGHT NOW, call this toll-free number 1-800-273-8255, available 24/7. Veterans should press "1" after being connected. All calls are confidential and anonymous.
For more information, contact Brian at 801-377-1117 or brian.hunnewell@va.gov
More than any war in our history, veterans are coming home with missing limbs from Improvised Explosive Devices. Finding resources that enable these vets to live full lives can be a challenge that can wreck families. Here is a company that might help.
A Look At The Home Access Program and Handi-Ramp
The process of buying and/or modifying a home for wheel chair accessibility should not be as difficult as it is, said Thom Disch, Handi-Ramp President and CEO. Years ago Disch envisioned a nationwide program that puts resources at the finger tips of individuals and families in order to make accessibility solutions simple and pain free. This goal is the heart of the Home Access Program.
Disch began the Home Access Program with the goal of keeping the process as personal as possible. Disch's company, Handi-Ramp, learns who you are, what your needs are and works with you till the job is done. This is not one of those programs that takes your money and leaves you flat. This philosophy permeates the entire Handi Ramp organization.
Handi-Ramp works with a variety of organizations including the Veterans Administration and various trade organizations (ITA & CTE Barter) to provide ramps that make life more rewarding for families with special needs. Read the rest of the story here
Link to Handi-Ramp
This is Terry Schow, director of the Utah Department of Veterans Affairs. Thanks to Terry for his tireless efforts on behalf of Utah's veterans.
Thank the Governor and legislators who created the Utah Department of Veterans Affairs.
Rather than have county based veterans' service officers as surrounding states do, Utah provides Outreach Services. These services are delivered to rural vets by veterans from the Marine Corp League, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, etc. Learn about these comprehensive outreach programs at
Walking through a crowded shopping mall can bring back memories of war. The shifting crowds, the jostle of passers-by and the din can all trigger Army Sgt. Kristofer Goldsmith's post-traumatic stress disorder.
Upon finishing high school, Kris Goldsmith fulfilled his dream of enlisting in the Army. He was sent to Iraq.
"You get used to scanning what everybody's doing. Your brain just starts working so fast and it's purely instinctual because you want to know what everyone's intent is around you," said Goldsmith, who served four years in active duty.
"You want to know if anyone has the intent to harm you or the capabilities to harm you."
That hyper-vigilance is one common symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD, an anxiety disorder, can develop after a terrifying or life-threatening event, or a series of events causing extreme stress. Read the rest of the story here.
If you are a veteran and find you are powerless over substances; there is hope. We have learned by sad experience that one of the most prevalent symptoms of Delayed Stress is the urge to Self Medicate with alcohol and/or drugs. No judgement here, just facts. Often, self medicating leads to serious health problems, conflicts with families -- even trouble with law enforcement including incarceration.
How many suffering veterans end up FIRED, fined 'til they drop, homeless, alone on the street, in jail, or dead from suicide-- after drugs or alcohol get the best of them? One veteran lost is one Too many.
Eighteen vets commit suicide every day. How many of them do you think were drunk or whacked when they pulled the trigger or swallowed the pills? So.... if you are a veteran and discover you're powerless over substances; you are not the only one. DON'T GIVE UP.
When you are ready to begin your recovery... Salt Lake City has the finest residential substance abuse treatment programs in the entire VA system. It's called "The Eagles Nest." It's there for you! It's not perfect, and there is a waiting list for most of us... But it's worth it! Preference given to OIF/OEF veterans.
Charles Talcott knows the score and is there to help you find a new way to a new life. Call him at (801) 582-1565 extension 1874. Getting started with North Star and recovery can often be done over the phone. Click here for more info about The Eagles Nest
Fortress America From the Carnegie Institute magazine:
The new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is the largest the world has ever known. [Ten times the size of the new US Embassy in China ed.] Thousands will live inside its blast walls, isolated from the bloody realities of a nation at war. Why has the United States built this place—and what does it mean?
Click here for a sample of Andrew's Art;
and here for another
A Tip for Randy Clawson:
Randy called one afternoon. He was itching like #&!! and his lower face was quite swollen. I suspected it was hives... but I'm no doc.
I suggested he call the VA Hospital and ask for "Ask A Nurse". The official name is "VA Nurseline". Call toll free: 1-866-369-8020.
For a test, I called at 6 am. The phone rang eight times, then a computer picked up and said "If emergency dial 911", then I left a voice mail and four minutes later a registered nurse called me back. She carefully answered my questions about hives. Fifteen minutes later I called back with a follow up question. The phone rang three times and the same nurse picked up. How Great is That?
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind." ~William Shakespeare
"There's a fine line between genius and insanity..." ~Oscar Levant
"The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself." ~Mark Twain
There is a fine line between Empowering and Enabling
~ Anon Vet
COMING SOON: Direct from McLean "ALL OF THE ABOVE"
Illegal Attachment of Veterans Benefits is Endemic!
Bill Heino writes: Activist state court judges are violating Federal Law by attaching Vet's benefits in Divorce cases. Read about this bogus situation here:
(This video tweaks Dems in Congress but anyone with half a brain knows that it's all of them. aw.)
Lou Gehrig's Disease: Now Presumptively Compensable
from the Vietnam Veterans of America Talklist via email from Sarge Mike Gale
Veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may receive needed
support for themselves and their families after the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) announced last month that ALS will become a
presumptively compensable illness for all veterans with 90 days or more
of continuously active service in the military. VA based its decision
primarily on a November 2006 report by the National Academy of Sciences'
Institute of Medicine (IOM) on the association between active-duty
service and ALS. Read the rest of the article here:
“Democratical States must always feel before they can see: it is this that makes their Governments slow, but the people will be right at last.”
-- George Washington, letter to Marquis de Lafayette, July 25, 1785
Source: UtahPolicy.com
For veterans struggling financially due to
a job loss or decreased income, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
offers an assortment of programs that can relieve the costs of health
care or provide care at no cost.
"With the downturn in the economy, VA recognizes that many veterans will
feel the effects," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B.
Peake. "Therefore, it is important that eligible veterans learn of the
many ways VA has to help them afford the health care they have earned."
Veterans whose previous income was ruled too high for VA health care may
be able to enter the VA system based upon a hardship if their current
year's income is projected to fall below federal income thresholds due
to a job loss, separation from service or some other financial setback.
Veterans determined eligible due to hardship can avoid copays applied to
higher-income veterans. Qualifying veterans may be eligible for
enrollment and receive health care at no cost.
Also eligible for no-cost VA care are most veterans who recently
returned from a combat zone. They are entitled to five years of free VA
care. The five-year "clock" begins with their discharge from the
military, not their departure from the combat zone.
Each VA medical center across the country has an enrollment coordinator
available to provide veterans information about these programs.
Veterans may also contact VA's Health Benefits Service Center at
1-877-222 VETS (8387)
New Service Announced for Wounded Warriors, Families and Caregivers And Veterans dammit! aw!
DoD announced that the Military OneSource service has established a Wounded Warrior Resource Center telephone number and e-mail address for service members, veterans, and their families, if they have concerns or other difficulties during their recovery process.
Assistance provided by the resource center will not replace the specialized wounded warrior programs established by each of the military services, but it will offer another avenue of assistance for military facilities, health care services, and/or benefits information.
"The department is committed to aggressively addressing the needs of our service members and their families," said Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates.
What if being "Cured" of PTSD was mostly a simple process of changing the way we think?
Many of us, especially those of us diagnosed with PTSD, have an idea that PTSD is an unchanging boulder in life's path. Actually, PTSD is a dynamic, ever changing phenomenon that can be bigger or smaller, harder or softer. It can be set off by pressure, stress, conflict, disapointment, and a million other triggers, or nothing at all. In some ways it's like the wind; unpredictable, and when it blows too hard, people can get frightened and displaced.
When it's happening, it feels like the PTSD behaviors are a part of us, pre-determined and unchangable. But suppose they are not.
Suppose that these behaviors flow out of habitual thinking problems that keep telling us that two and two are FIVE! We might not be able to change our brain chemistry right away, but imagine this. What if we could short circuit some of the thinking habits that set off PTSD, and stop just a few isolating behaviors?
Look at this list. If you have any of these mistaken habits in your thinking, you might want to begin practicing some simple changes.
Thanks to Julie W. in Georgetown, DE for sending in this great content.
"Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.
What would you say if you only had months to live?
Utah National Guard Family Programs By putting families first and creating relationships of trust, the Utah National Guard Family Programs' Office enhances the readiness and well being of military families through information, education, programs, and resources.
God Help Us: Imagine an outbreak of 'hoof and mouth' disease when Homeland Security brings the only US lab studying hoof and mouth from Plumb Island in far north Long Island Sound to Kansas. Kansas is ranked second nationally in total cattle numbers and cattle on feed, with 6,650,000 total head of cattle (2,550,000 in feedlots) in Kansas on January 1, 2006. [data from the Beef Cattle Institute]
While essentially harmless to humans, Hoof and mouth disease is a thousand times more infectious than small pox. Animals are much more mobile now than during the last US outbreak in 1914. An outbreak now would likely result in the loss of many Millions of farm animals and deer among others.
Anyone coming in contact with a diseased animal can spread the disease for 48 hours simply by breathing near sheep or cattle.
Moving the research facility from a remote island to Kansas with millions of cattle in close proximity causes grave concerns. An outbreak could devastate the American food supply. ed.) Read it and weep.
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.
If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802)
3rd president of US (1743 - 1826)"
The Craig clinic is the only one of its kind on the Western Slope. The VA is preparing to add similar facilities in the Moab, Utah-area, and the Glenwood Springs-area.
April Branstetter, a registered nurse with more than 30 years experience, hadn’t seen too many times when health care and technology intersected. But she is quite excited about the proven technology at the Craig Colorado Telehealth Clinic. Read more
Mercenaries Set Off for Afghanistan Thursday 11 June 2009
by: Rémy Ourdan | Visit article original @ Le Monde
The most attractive prospects and contracts for the future, private military companies deem, are on the Afghan front. The Taliban's progressive return over the last three years and the rise in kidnappings assure their business: very few foreigners circulate without protection in the streets of the Afghan capital.
On May 5, after an automobile accident, four paramilitaries working for an American company unheard of up until then,Paravant, machine-gunned an Afghan car, leaving one person dead and two wounded. However, the episode did reveal that Paravant, which has a contract to train the Afghan police, is a discreet subsidiary of Blackwater, the biggest mercenary company in the world and symbol of the privatization of war during the Bush years, involved in multiple killings and assassinations in Iraq and renamed Xe after being expelled from Iraq on charges of murder.
Le Monde says "Using such a high proportion of mercinaries creates a problem for democracy, since the contracts are often opaque and these men elude both national and military justice. It's not just the law of the jungle, but also war with complete impunity." More here:
It's Easy for a City to TALK about Patriotism.
It's hard to get citizens involved in Patriotism.
Real patriotism requires effort and time. Look here for outstanding reverence and the rememberance of Veterans. Three hundred sixty Eagle Mountain volunteers turned out for the enhancement of Utah's Veterans Cemetery at Camp Williams. Outstanding!
Army chief: Troops could be in Iraq after 2012 By TOM CURLEY
Tuesday, May. 26, 2009
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON The United States could have fighting forces in Iraq and Afghanistan for a decade, the top Army officer said, even though a signed agreement requires all U.S. forces to be out of Iraq by 2012.
(Why am I not surprised? Maybe because of that Bagdhad Embassy that's ten times the size of any other US embassy in the world.) Read the whole story here.
It's big, shiny and new, with all the bells and whistles of a recreational vehicle and then some.
But the Veterans Administration's mobile outreach van is more than an RV — it's a life-line for Utah veterans hindered by geography in getting the help they need.
VA services have been previously confined to the "institutional" walls of buildings. That doesn't help veterans who may live in the rural outstretches of a state, from the farmlands of Wellsville in Cache County to the sagebrush and shale of Roosevelt.
Ben Webster, a veteran who served in Afghanistan and has worked as a readjustment counselor the last two years, said "There are a lot of veterans in their 40s who are working, who have young children, and an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule doesn't work for them in terms of getting help," he said. "We need to go to them." Read more about the mobile Vet Center here
Ever Heard of the CIFTA Treaty? No? That's what scares me.If you value your freedom: Watch this 3:11 video. Defend the Constitution.
Those who know me know that I'm a Nam Vet who was converted by missionaries who told me they "had a message for me, from God." I completely lost any desire to kill my fellow beings, so I made a covenant that rather than shed the blood of their another, I would give up my life. I 'buried my weapons of war' so that I would never take them up again. Many of my neighbors in the DC metro area were being wasted by bloodthirsty gangstas. My wife Jane was inspired to bring 'us to the land of Happy Valley.' We moved here and have been protected by You Know Who ever since. I'm telling you this because I am a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, my own experience not withstanding.
Call Senator Bennett Phone#: (202) 224-5444 and Senator Hatch Phone#: (202) 224-5251 right now! Leave a voice message. Defeat Obama's CIFTA treaty. Tell a friend.
VA'S VETERANS' CLAIMS BACKLOG JUMPS 13%
Since the beginning of 2009, VA's backlog of veterans' benefits claims ballooned by 108,000 to stand at 916,000.
by Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org
This will be short and not-so-sweet.
According to the Monday Morning Workload Report (MMWR) of the Veterans' Benefits Administration dated January 5, 2009, the backlog for veterans' benefits claims stood at 808,607. Report is here ... http://www.vba.va.gov/REPORTS/mmwr/2009/010509.xls
This is an increase of nearly 108,000 claims in the backlog in just a bit over four months ... an increase of 13.3%.Get the whole story here:(So if you are waiting for action on your VA claim... take a deep breath, gird up your loins, and wait some more. It's not getting better, and could get a lot worse. aw.)
Just In: The 2009 FEDERAL BENEFITS for Veterans, Dependents & Survivors handbook.
This handbook is one of the most useful in the veterans benefits arsenal. This is one PDF download you do not want to pass over.
“With malice toward none, with charity for all,
with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right,
let us strive on to finish the work we are in,
to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle
and for his widow, and his orphan,
to do all which may achieve and cherish
a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
Abraham Lincoln, March 14, 1865
COMING SOON TO A WEB SITE NEAR YOU!
A step by step guide to lead you through the maze of VA regulations. Don't get mad. Don't quit. Read the guide and WIN!
Senate Committee Approves Legislation to Better Support Family Caregivers and Improve Health Care for Women Veterans
Today the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs unanimously approved two pieces of legislation that would better support caregivers of disabled veterans and improve health care for women veterans.
1. The Family Caregiver Program Act of 2009 (S. 801) increases support services provided to the family caregivers of disabled veterans. Caregivers are brave people with unconditional love for their veteran. S 801 gives back a particle of want it would cost the VA to provide care.
These people, often moms and dads, put their lives on hold to care for their loved ones. Many families face severe financial and emotional hardships as they help their wounded sons, daughters, husbands and wives. Parents are generally ineligible for VA services, but are caring for one-half of the population of the severely wounded who are unmarried.
What would be needed is an array of support services such as respite care, financial compensation, vocational counseling, basic health care, relationship, marriage and family counseling, and mental health care. This need is what addressed in Senate bill (S. 801)
2. The Veterans Health Care Authorization Act of 2009
(S. 252) would improve women veterans health care by identifying and dismantling barriers for women seeking care from the VA. Currently, many women seeking care at VA facilities are forced to visit several clinics in order to get their mental health, primary care and gender-specific health needs met.
Exercise you responsibility as a Citizen of the Republic: Tell your Congressman to Support the Family Caregiver Program Act of 2009 and The Veterans Health Care Authorization Act of 2009 when it goes to a compromise version on the House Floor.
Take Action! submitted by General James Hunter. Salute!
President Obama recently signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This act provides for the one-time payment of $250 to individuals who get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security benefits and to disabled veterans that are in receipt of VA Compensation and Pension.
Disabled veterans recovery payments will be deposited to the account on file with VA and are expected to begin arriving sometime this summer. No action is required on your part. For more information, please contact the federal VA at 800-827-1000.
James G. Hunter, Ed.S.
Associate Director
Institute of Emergency Services and Homeland Security
Utah Valley University
Thank you again Jim! Salute.
Here is a link to Jim and Sue's 4U Design web site
U.S. military veterans’ benefits include palliative care and hospice care, but a small study of terminally ill vets suggests many don’t understand these benefits — or the nature of their own illness. The findings show that health care providers need to do a better job of getting the word out about these services so dying patients can take advantage of them before it is too late, Dr. Alice Running of the University of Nevada in Reno and her colleagues say.
Palliative care is aimed at easing a person’s symptoms, for example pain or difficulty breathing, but is not intended to cure an illness or halt its progress. The VA pays for “full-scale” hospice and palliative care, Running and her team note in their report in the International Journal of Older People Nursing, and all VA hospitals have palliative care consultation teams on staff. More here:
Therapists focus on emotional scars of war
By James Thalman
Deseret News
Published: Thursday, April 2, 2009 6:28 p.m.
Mental and emotional problems among U.S veterans returning from various war zones have become so routine for Utah area therapists that their annual conference Thursday focused for the first time on post-service trauma.
Both public and private caseworkers are reporting big increases in the number of veterans who come in for drug and alcohol abuse problems that are rooted in deeper and untreated war-related stress and trauma disorders, said Lynnette Willie, spokeswoman for the state Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, the host and organizer of the annual "Generations" conference for care providers.
The topic drew one of the biggest turnouts ever, with about 600 attendees — including about 80 veterans. A few of the social workers and treatment providers there said they were using the day to pick up treatment strategies for the problems posed by those with mental illness and brain injuries unique to the latest generation of vets but unknown to many therapists.
"This is well-known, yet nearly uncharted, territory," Eric Newhouse, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has made better treatment of war veterans his personal and professional business, said after delivering the conference keynote speech. "There are a lot of new treatment options coming along, and I don't know how effective they'll be. But I do know the core of what we're dealing with is humans were not meant to kill each other." Read the rest of the story here:
"Feminists have long claimed that the personal is political; they have also wrestled mightily with the "mind-body" problem... The mind is part of the body. The brain as an organ needs treatment.
Psychological issues are not indicative of some feminine weakness: it is not hysteria to suffer nightmares, and rages, and crave the sweet release of drink and drugs. It is not some sign that one is a lesser man because one may have come home from Iraq whole in body but shattered in spirit.
And who bears the brunt of these brain injuries? If the servicemen and women were married, then it is their families. How many incidents of domestic violence have there been since Iraqi veterans have been coming home? How many drunken rages that have resulted in jail time? How many abused children?" Read the entire essay here and the original at Open Salon.
National Resource Directory Offers Veterans One-Stop Info and Access to Myriad Health, Employment Services
WORLD OF SPAM news:
The Department of Defense has launched the National Resource Directory, a collaborative effort between the Department of Defense, Department of Labor, and Department of Veterans Affairs.
The directory is a Web-based network of care coordinators, providers and support partners with resources for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families, families of the fallen and those who support them. www.nationalresourcedirectory.org will take you there.
"The directory is the visible demonstration of our national will and commitment. As new links are added each day by providers and partners, coverage from coast to coast will grow even greater ensuring that no part of that journey will ever be made alone," said Lynda C. Davis, Ph.D., deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy.
Located at www.nationalresourcedirectory.org, the directory offers more than 10,000 medical and non-medical services and resources to help service members and veterans achieve personal and professional goals along their journey from recovery through rehabilitation to community reintegration.(TOO BAD THERE IS SO MUCH SPAM IN THE LISTINGS. aw.)
"The VA is extremely proud to be a partner in this innovative resource. This combination of federal, state, and community-based resources will serve as a tremendous asset for all service members, veterans, their families and those who care for them. The community is essential to the successful reintegration of our veterans, and these groups greatly enhance the directory's scope," said Karen S. Guice, M.D., executive director, federal recovery care coordination program at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
-- Source: National Guard
Farewell Posse Comitatus:
U.S. Military Preparing for Domestic Disturbances By: Jim Meyers
A 2008 report from the U.S. Army War College discusses the use of American troops to quell civil unrest brought about by a worsening economic crisis.
The report from the War College’s Strategic Studies Institute warns that the U.S. military must prepare for a “violent, strategic dislocation inside the United States” that could be provoked by “unforeseen economic collapse” or “loss of functioning political and legal order.... To the extent events like this involve organized violence against local, state, and national authorities and exceed the capacity of the former two to restore public order and protect vulnerable populations, DoD [Department of Defense] would be required to fill the gap".... (At the risk of sounding like a raving alarmist ~ An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom in the spring and summer of 2001 saw more than 2,000 cases of the disease in farms across the British countryside. Around seven million sheep and cattle were killed in a successful attempt to halt the disease outbreak.
Imagine martial law where all travel between states is banned to 'halt the spread of disease...' What would happen if suddenly you could not buy beef? Or leave the state? And don't forget: Homeland Security wants to move America's only foot in mouth lab from far northern Long Island Sound to Kansas where there are 17 million cows. aw)
Gen. Tommy Franks, who led the U.S. military operations to liberate Iraq, said in a 2003 interview that if the U.S. is attacked with a weapon of mass destruction, the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government. ” Read the rest of this horrible story here
Women now account for a larger percentage than ever before of the military
and the veteran population.
The VA estimates that by 2020, women will make
up 20% of active-duty troops and 10% of all veterans.... Conditions for women in the military
will continue to improve only if women keep fighting for what they need.
Check outy this public service ad from the Ad Council and Community of Veterans.org It's a promo for a web site entirely for vets from Iraq and Afghanistan. A really good lesson about what's wrong and how to make it right. Very cool photography.
I just wish they didn't shut the door on WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Desert Storm, and War on Terror vets. What are we? Chopped liver? Maybe it's all a plot to drive a wedge between different generations of Veterans. United we stand, divided we fall. aw
Good News: Finally, More Cash For Milage to VA Health Care
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that eligible veterans will see an increase in the mileage reimbursement they receive for travel to VA facilities for medical care.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake announced today that he will use his authority to raise the mileage reimbursement from the 28.5 cents per mile to 41.5 cents per mile for all eligible veterans. That's a 45.6% increase. Thank you Congress! Salute.
Welcome home and thank you for your service to our country in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom!
VA is ready to provide health care and more to our newest veterans returning from the armed services. Here are some of the benefits VA provides —
Five Years of Enhanced Health Care.
You are eligible to receive enhanced VA health care benefits for 5 years following your military separation date. Whether or not you choose to use VA health care after separation, you must enroll with VA within 5 years to get health care benefits later on.
Dental Benefits.
You may be eligible for one-time dental care but you must apply for a dental exam within 180 days of your separation date.
Primary Health Care for Veterans. VA provides general and specialized health care services to meet the unique needs of veterans returning from combat deployments.
Non-Health Benefits.
Other benefits available from the Veterans Benefits Administration may include: financial benefits, home loans, vocational rehabilitation, education, and more.
SUICIDE TODAY: adapted by UtahVet from a 2007 VA press release
Every suicide in America is a tragedy. Everyone cares about each veteran and their physical and mental health. The VA has more than 10,000 mental health workers who took the job because they wanted to help veterans cope with the issues and crises they face.
The VA also operates a veteran suicide hotline which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to help any veteran in need. That number is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
If you want to help someone who is thinking of harming themselves call 1-800-613-4012. Press zero to get the operator and tell them to want to speak to the
VA suicide prevention coordinator.
Utah Vet and the VA strongly encourages vets who may be considering harming themselves in some way ~ reach out to somebody. Somethimes an hour with a fellow vet can be worth ten hours of therapy, and for sure is better than a night in the ER, or twenty four hours detoxing in a tank somewhere, or worst, a massive dose of "Enditall" (End-It-All.)
If you need a time out to get your feet back on the ground, or a safe place to come down; call the numbers. There is no shame in setting your sights on a better life. If you won't seek treatment from the VA, just look in your phone book for local mental health resources like Wasatch Mental Health 24 hour crisis line: 801-373-7393. People are there to help during a crisis. VA's care and treatment works and is available for veterans with PTSD, depression and other mental health problems.
VA operates the largest mental health care system in the country, spending $3 billion each year on its mental health programs, and has taken several measures to increase its mental health services in recent years. Those include new programs bringing mental health into primary care, intensified rehabilitation for those with serious mental illnesses, and expanded programs for homeless veterans and those with substance abuse problems.
Energy will be a major issue in the next decade. A few dedicated Utah Veterans can lead the nation. We have the resources. All that's missing is Vision. aw.
Utah's Energy Outlook is Clean Geothermal, solar, wind resources may turn state into a major powerhouse By Patty Henetz
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 12/04/2007 02:48:54 PM MST
Utah has the potential to be a major exporter of clean energy. Make that mega major exporter of clean energy.
Energy experts who have calculated the state's renewable energy potential figure there are enough geothermal and wind resources to supply about 9.8 million people at today's national consumption levels. If Utah's potential with a newer solar technology also is considered, there could be enough power for an additional 1.4 billion people. Please read the rest of this story here. You can really make a difference.
Jason Chaffetz gives an in-depth interview regarding veterans and national defense.
Andrew Wilson, publisher UtVet.com
Jason Chaffetz, Republican from Utah's Third Congressional District,told UtVet that he felt that the US could not be the "world's policemen" nor should we be in the business of "nation building" but that America has turned into both.
He said that we should always be the world's premier super power. "We need to have the very best equipment, the very best intelligence, and that we take care of our troops. War is tough. It's us or them. I prefer to play to win."
The VISA & Master Card Telephone Credit Card Scam tries to steal your credit authorization. It's a type of scam called "phishing." This example is dangerously slick since they provide you with all the information, except the one piece they want.
Participate in a clinical trial. Help another vet with PTSD.
The George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System in conjunction with VA Cooperative Studies program is conducting an IRB approved research study to determine if a medication is effective in helping to treat symptoms of PTSD. (IRB stands for Institutional Review Boards. IRBs are designed to protect study participants. They review and must approve the action plan for every clinical trial. ed.)
All subjects in the study will receive supportive care during their research related visits by the research team and study medication for six months. During the length of the study one-half of the subjects will receive study medication and the other half will receive a placebo...
In most instances participants may remain on other medications to treat PTSD/Depression while involved in this research study, however there are some exclusions.
The study will involve subjects participating in psychological assessments every six weeks as well as filling out various self-assessment forms in addition to continuing usual care appointments at the hospital. Following a two week screening period, eligible subjects will be enrolled in this six month treatment study. Participants in the study will be reimbursed $20 for visits at weeks 4, 8, 16 and 20 and $50 for visits at weeks 6, 12 and 24 for a maximum total payment of $230. Payments will only be made after weeks 12 and 24.
The study subjects will also have the opportunity to be involved in a genetics sub-study; however this is not a requirement to participate.
Days before the election, candidate Barack Obama pledged to push for an advance appropriation for the perennially short-funded Veterans Affairs Department.
“First and foremost, the way our nation provides funding for VA health care must be reformed,” he said in an Oct. 28 letter to the president of the American Federation of Government Employees. “My administration will recommend passage of advance appropriation legislation for the FY 2010 appropriations cycle, instead of yearly continuing resolutions that lead to delays in hiring and facility construction,” Obama said.
SENATORS INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN BILL TO GUARANTEE ADVANCE FUNDING OF VETERANS’ HEALTH CARE
September 18, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, was joined by a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing legislation today to secure timely funding of veterans' health care, through a process known as "advance funding."
Senator Akaka said: "The Department of Veterans Affairs operates the largest health care system in the nation, but its funding is untimely and unpredictable. Advance funding for veterans' health care is better for veterans, taxpayers, and VA. Funding would be set two-years in advance, enabling VA to make strategic long term decisions.
Some Clear Thinking About Mandatory Funding for VA Healthcare An eMail from Frank Maughn, Military Order of the Purple Heart
FRANK MAUGHAN wrote:
As I see the issue Congress has for decades sent men (and recently women) into harm's way. They also have failed to adequately fund the mechanism that treats those who are harmed while in service to their nation (the VA Med system).
And worse, for the last decade or so, Congress has failed to make what little they do give to the system timely. Slots for doctors, nurses and specialty treatment givers go unfilled because the funding is so "iffy". The result is that veterans in need of treatment go for months awaiting appointments.
Many vets have simply given up on seeking treatment at the VA Medical facilities both in Salt Lake City and in St. George. All because politicians can't get their act together.
I agree with the national Veterans Service Organizations that funding for medical needs should be predictable, adequate and timely. Whatever mechanism Congress can find to accomplish that would go a long way toward keeping the implied promise that, once a young person gets hurt doing what Congress sent them to do, Congress would take care of them.
Frank
[Frank and I have disagreed on a number of issues over the years. But on this one, he speaks for me too. Emphatically. Thanks for sharing Frank.]
Medical Foster Home Program for Veterans
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - The VA Salt Lake City Health Care System (VASLCHCS) is pleased to announce the development of the Medical Foster Home program to reach the growing needs of the veteran population.
“The Medical Foster Home is a unique partnership of adult foster home and Home Based Primary Care,” said Josh Brown, VASLCHCS Licensed Clinical Social Worker and coordinator of the Medical Foster Home Program. There are many veterans who live alone and independently for years through the support of assistive devices and home care services. Eventually the veteran may decline to the point that it is no longer safe to remain living alone. Traditionally, this situation is resolved by nursing home placement; however, the veteran may refuse nursing home care, instead accepting serious risks. “This is where the Medical Foster Home program steps in to offer a safe, favorable, and less costly alternative to the veteran,” said Brown.
Medical Foster Home finds caregivers in the community who are willing to take a veteran into their home and provide 24-hour supervision as well as needed personal assistance. The expectation is that this is a long-term commitment, where the veteran may live for the remainder of his or her life. The caregivers are paid $1,500 to $2,500 based upon the level of care needed by the veteran. For example, a cost of $1,500 for someone with mild dementia who is independent in activities of daily living but requires supervision, to $2,500 for someone who is incontinent, bed-bound, and needs to be turned every four hours. This is a very cost-effective alternative to nursing home placement and allows for a safe home type environment for veterans.
This payment is made by the veteran directly to the caregiver monthly. This includes room and board, 24-hour supervision, assistance with medications, and whatever personal care is needed.
“We are currently searching for individuals who are interested in becoming future Medical Foster Home caregivers,” said Brown. Potential caregivers must be:
Within a half hour drive from the VA Hospital
Over the age of 21
Own or renting a home
Read, write, and speak English
Complete a Criminal Background Check (BCI)
First Aid and CPR are certified
Allow a Treatment Team into your home for monthly visits
Willing to accept, participate in, and follow the veteran’s treatment plan
“The Medical Foster Home program allows community members an opportunity to serve our veterans who have served us in maintaining and ensuring our freedoms,” said Brown.
If you or some one you know is interested in receiving more information about this program, please contact Josh Brown, coordinator, Medical Foster Home Program, at (801) 582-1565, extension 2180.
Attention Veterans! If you are eligible for VA Hospital Services, you are eligible for the DUI Class mandated by the State of Utah.. FREE. Click here for more
Anonymous self screening assesments now include both in-person and online programs for depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, alcohol problems, and suicide prevention.
There are special screens for military service members and their families.
Take a look at this material taken from their website
These folks have produced a terrific video for the vets and their families called "A Different Kind of Courage." It's like an infomercial for mental health. Very nice. Check out the 4 Minute Promo here.
Thanks to Mike Gale for this 
Click here to see a cool collection of WWII posters
This is 
Upon finishing high school, Kris Goldsmith fulfilled his dream of enlisting in the Army. He was sent to Iraq.
Eighteen vets commit suicide every day. How many of them do you think were drunk or whacked when they pulled the trigger or swallowed the pills? So.... if you are a veteran and discover you're powerless over substances; you are not the only one. DON'T GIVE UP. 
CNN: Congressional Testimony
"Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.
Watch an
inspira
tional lecture by
Randy
Pauch.
On May 5, after an automobile accident, four paramilitaries working for an American company unheard of up until then, Paravant, machine-gunned an Afghan car, leaving one person dead and two wounded. However, the episode did reveal that Paravant, which has a contract to train the Afghan police, is a discreet subsidiary of Blackwater, the biggest mercenary company in the world and symbol of the privatization of war during the Bush years, involved in multiple killings and assassinations in Iraq and renamed 
Real patriotism requires effort and time. Look here for outstanding reverence and the rememberance of Veterans. Three hundred sixty Eagle Mountain volunteers turned out for the enhancement of Utah's Veterans Cemetery at Camp Williams. Outstanding!
It's big, shiny and new, with all the bells and whistles of a recreational vehicle and then some.
by Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org
Today the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs unanimously approved two pieces of legislation that would better support caregivers of disabled veterans and improve health care for women veterans.
What would be needed is an array of support services such as respite care, financial compensation, vocational counseling, basic health care, relationship, marriage and family counseling, and mental health care. This need is what addressed in Senate bill (S. 801)
President Obama recently signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This act provides for the one-time payment of $250 to individuals who get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security benefits and to disabled veterans that are in receipt of VA Compensation and Pension.
Palliative care is aimed at easing a person’s symptoms, for example pain or difficulty breathing, but is not intended to cure an illness or halt its progress. The VA pays for “full-scale” hospice and palliative care, Running and her team note in their report in the International Journal of Older People Nursing, and all VA hospitals have palliative care consultation teams on staff. 
And who bears the brunt of these brain injuries? If the servicemen and women were married, then it is their families. How many incidents of domestic violence have there been since Iraqi veterans have been coming home? How many drunken rages that have resulted in jail time? How many abused children?" 
(At the risk of sounding like a raving alarmist ~ An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom in the spring and summer of 2001 saw more than 2,000 cases of the disease in farms across the British countryside. 
Women now account for a larger percentage than ever before of the military
and the veteran population. 
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that eligible veterans will see an increase in the mileage reimbursement they receive for travel to VA facilities for medical care. 
Learn to protect yourself and others from deadly MRSA (
Anonymous self screening assesments now include both in-person and online programs for depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, alcohol problems, and suicide prevention.