Around 20 percent of women who served in Vietnam as part of the U.S. military between the 1960s and 1970s have experienced PTSD. Many female veterans are still living with the disorder. The researchers noted that although PTSD was common among men who served in Vietnam, not much is known about its impact on women’s health.
“Because current PTSD is still present in many of these women decades after their military service, clinicians who treat them should continue to screen for PTSD symptoms and be sensitive to their noncombat wartime experiences,” said the study’s lead author Kathryn Magruder, of the Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina.
Magruder and her team examined the survey responses of 1,956 women who were stationed in Vietnam, 657 who served near Vietnam and 1,606 who remained in the United States during the Vietnam War. The participants were interviewed starting in 2011 and their medical records were reviewed. The findings were published online in JAMA Psychiatry on Oct. 7.
More than half of the women served as nurses during the war as members of the Army and Air Force. The researchers said they were still exposed to sources of stress even though they did not participate in combat. About 16 percent of female veterans who were stationed in Vietnam still experienced PTSD when surveyed, compared to around 8 percent of women who had served near Vietnam and about 9 percent who remained in the United States.
Many female Vietnam veterans still suffer due to their wartime experiences. The study results suggest that exposure to sexual harassment, job performance pressure and other stressors heighten the chances of PTSD. The study highlights the need to change military culture so that sexual harassment is not a PTSD risk factor for future generations.
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
The post Study highlights PTSD among female Vietnam War veterans first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Around 20 percent of women who served in Vietnam as part of the U.S. military between the 1960s and 1970s have experienced PTSD. Many female veterans are still living with the disorder. The researchers noted that although PTSD was common among men who served in Vietnam, not much is known about its impact on women’s health.
“Because current PTSD is still present in many of these women decades after their military service, clinicians who treat them should continue to screen for PTSD symptoms and be sensitive to their noncombat wartime experiences,” said the study’s lead author Kathryn Magruder, of the Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina.
Magruder and her team examined the survey responses of 1,956 women who were stationed in Vietnam, 657 who served near Vietnam and 1,606 who remained in the United States during the Vietnam War. The participants were interviewed starting in 2011 and their medical records were reviewed. The findings were published online in JAMA Psychiatry on Oct. 7.
More than half of the women served as nurses during the war as members of the Army and Air Force. The researchers said they were still exposed to sources of stress even though they did not participate in combat. About 16 percent of female veterans who were stationed in Vietnam still experienced PTSD when surveyed, compared to around 8 percent of women who had served near Vietnam and about 9 percent who remained in the United States.
Many female Vietnam veterans still suffer due to their wartime experiences. The study results suggest that exposure to sexual harassment, job performance pressure and other stressors heighten the chances of PTSD. The study highlights the need to change military culture so that sexual harassment is not a PTSD risk factor for future generations.
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
The post Study highlights PTSD among female Vietnam War veterans first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Yet, despite this seeming roller-coaster of bad news, I am hopeful for our Michigan Veterans in 2015. The two year old Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA), led by Director Jeff Barnes, has achieved progress on several fronts. And while some will argue progress has been slow, you have to start somewhere.
For starters, Michigan has seen a 10 percent increase in the number of Veterans signing up for benefits, and per-capita income for veterans receiving federal funds has increased by approximately $1,020 per veteran.
That puts the state at 48th among the states and territories in federal veterans expenditures. Clearly, there is much room left to grow, but we should not forget that Michigan ranked 53rd in the category at one point.
A pilot program, known as Veterans Community Action Teams (VCATs), which Governor Snyder’s administration has funded, has fostered beneficial collaboration with local organizations, allowing them to better serve Veterans. These VCATs connect various service providers in their area of expertise assist the Veteran. Previously, these isolated organizations had no contact and no knowledge of each other’s skillsets. The MVAA’s pilot programs in Detroit and Grand Rapids were successful enough to have the program expanded to four more communities in 2015, followed by another four in 2016.
Also, the legislature took positive action in 2014 to reverse the negative trend of rising unemployment among veterans, which ticked up to 10.6 percent in 2013 from 7.9 percent in 2012. The most recent bills ease licensing requirements in certain professions that can fast-track veterans and allow them to apply their military experience toward those credentials.
Some estimates show some 80,000 skilled jobs are available in Michigan. Meanwhile, there will be anywhere from 30,000-50,000 veterans returning home in the next five years. The training our Veterans receive from the military is the best in the world. Let’s tap into that potential. I call on the legislature, the MVAA, and Governor Snyder to continue efforts to ensure our Michigan Veterans have their particular skillsets matched for these skilled jobs so that they can be plugged into these positions. We can accomplish this goal by continuing to foster collaboration.
Lastly, Michigan leads the nation in “Veterans Treatment Courts,” which help reintegrate veterans into their communities. In 2012, Michigan had just six of these courts; today, the number is 20. Combining drug court and mental health court principles, these courts have yielded tremendously positive results toward helping veterans overcome addictions and other mental conditions.
So I look forward to the next 12 months with optimism. One New Year’s Resolution all of us – citizens, policymakers, and elected representatives – should have is to do right by our Veterans.
Brigadier General Carol Ann Fausone (ret.)
General Fausone began her military career in the U.S. Air Force, and ended her service as the first female Brigadier General in the Michigan National Guard’s history. Today, she continues to help veterans and their families nationwide with her husband, Jim, at Legal Help For Veterans, PLLC.
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
The post A New Year’s Resolution: Do Better for our Veterans first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>While I commend the Air Force for this initiative, I first want to point out that women in our armed-forces have been in combat situations from the beginning. Whether as nurses or in other positions, women have been serving in combat and have sacrificed just as much as our male counterparts.
I am excited that these currently male-only direct-combat jobs will be open to women. Today, only seven jobs in the Air Force are closed to women to include special tactics officer, pararescue, tactical air control party (TACP), combat rescue officer, combat control team, special operation weather officer and enlisted.
Other service branches have already begun implementing plans to integrate women into direct-combat jobs by January 2016.
It has been nearly two years since then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered that all combat jobs be open to women by 2016 or explain why any must remain closed. In addition, the Pentagon lifted its ban on women in such roles in 2012.
While the ball has been slow to move, progress is finally being made to allow women the full opportunities to serve our country that they have long-deserve.
I have listened to many reports recently that give snapshot stories of women at the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course, and they are having their abilities questioned. It is as if their capabilities are on trial in the media, as well as at boot camp. Once again, I return to my first point: women have been serving in combat situations for years.
Women make up 15% of the 1.3 million active-duty members. With declining enrollment in enlistment, opening equal opportunity within the service for current women in the military and future female enlistees will only benefit the armed-forces.
Brigadier General Carol Ann Fausone (ret.)
General Fausone began her military career in the U.S. Air Force, and ended her service as the first female Brigadier General in the Michigan National Guard’s history. Today, she continues to help veterans and their families nationwide with her small business, The Veteran Advocate, LLC.
Read more on this story on the armed-forces news site, Military.com:
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
The post Air Force Sets Goal to Open 7 Combat Jobs to Women by Spring 2016 first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>These reports are preliminary and have yet to be publicly released, so the actual numbers could shift slightly as the reports are finalized. But, under the new reporting methods, there were 3,604 victims in 2012, 5,518 in 2013, and 5,983 in 2014.
The new reporting method counts every victim as one report, rather than having one report of a sexual assault contain multiple victims.
However, we should pause for a moment and consider the fact that this has always been a problem. New research and surveys suggest that victims are more willing to come forward and actually report such assaults than they were previously. The trend could be due to increased awareness of the issue, victims feeling more empowered, and a combination of other factors.
Based on the recently reported numbers, and an anonymous survey conducted by the Rand Corporation, officials said that about 1 in every 4 victims filed a sexual assault report this year. In contrast, only 1 in every 10 victims filed a report in 2012.
Certainly, the under-reporting of sexual assault is a problem inside the military and in society at-large. However, the military presents unique circumstances, where lower ranking troops are unwilling to report out of fear of retaliation from their superiors. In addition, females in the military can attest to the “good ole’ boys club” mentality that exists. And in fact, one new survey reported that 60% of women who said they reported sexual assault did experience retaliation or social backlash from their peers. There may very well be an additional feeling of helplessness due to systemic problems.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have complained that the Pentagon has not done enough to make it easier and more acceptable for victims to report harassment and assaults. Meanwhile victims have complained that they are indeed not comfortable going to their superiors to report sexual assault. Reporting such an incident is (unjustly) stigmatized as a weakness and infidelity to your fellow troops in a culture that breeds strength and loyalty.
While the reported numbers of sexual assault are going up, the gap between the real numbers and reported numbers is shrinking. That trend represents a positive step for the service branches, but we must recognize it is just one step in a process to minimize sexual assault as much as possible.
Brigadier General Carol Ann Fausone (ret.)
General Fausone began her military career in the U.S. Air Force, and ended her service as the first female Brigadier General in the Michigan National Guard’s history. Today, she continues to help veterans and their families nationwide with her small business, The Veteran Advocate, LLC.
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
The post Reports of Sexual Assault in the Military Spike Again first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>We deal with VA every day and are at the outer rings of DOD’s activities. Our clients are guys that have been around the block before and know a thing or two about DOD and VA. So I am never too surprised by the stories we are told about delay and incompetency. However, a new report out on DOD tells the story of how DFAS simply makes up numbers, plug numbers, to make its books balance in reports to Treasury. DFAS, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, is the Pentagon’s main accounting agency. We all rely on the DFAS numbers like they are gospel. VA will stick to a DFAS report of pay or benefits as evidence in VA determinations – like hazardous duty pay, flight status, etc. As reported “At the DFAS offices that handle accounting for the Army, Navy, Air Force and other defense agencies, fudging the accounts with false entries is standard operating procedure, Reuters has found. And plugging isn’t confined to DFAS (pronounced DEE-fass). Former military service officials say record-keeping at the operational level throughout the services is rife with made-up numbers to cover lost or missing information.”
I suspect that if Reuters was doing a similar story on VA it may find the same mentality of “plugging the numbers to get the report out the door.” Those inaccuracies end up impacting the lives of real people. Real veterans are not getting benefits or care because of the inability to account for information and resources. I wish it was not so but this report seems to be well done and convincing. What are your thoughts or experiences?
http://www.euronews.com/newswires/2215678-special-report-the-pentagons-doctored-ledgers-conceal-epic-waste
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact a veterans attorney, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
The post DOD Uses Plug Numbers first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>“Steps to protect our troops from any unwanted sexual advances and assaultive behaviors are to be commended,” stated James Fausone, a veterans disability attorney.
Steps include better enforcement of policies which prohibit inappropriate relationships, establishing an advocacy group within each service branch for victims which provides representation and legal advice for those with complaints of sexual assault, and disqualifying troop members who have backgrounds including sexual assault from roles as counselors, instructors or recruiters.
Meanwhile, an airman who was assigned to the Air Force Academy was convicted in August of aggravated sexual conduct at a general court martial against his fellow female airman.
The airman received a sentence of 15 months confinement. He was also reduced in grade to airman basic, and he was dishonorably discharged by a panel of officers. The conviction was just the latest in a series of high-profile military sexual assault cases as the Defense Department and Congress attempt to determine the best way to prosecute sexual assault cases and if a commanded should be included in proceedings.
The now-former chief of the Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Branch, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, was arrested easier this year after allegedly committing sexual battery against a woman not far from the Pentagon after exiting a strip club. The ensuing fallout has thrown a harsh spotlight on sexual assault and misconduct against fellow officers in all branches of the service. Krusinski’s post is now helmed by a woman who had been hired to investigate the assault by trainers of female recruits inTexas, at Lackland Air Force Base.
The Defense Department is currently looking at how to expand an Air Force program which offers special counsel to service members who allege that they are the victims of unwanted sexual conduct or sexual assault or unwanted sexual contact.
There were an estimated 26,000 unwanted sexual contact incidents in 2012 experienced by active-duty troops.
Sources
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/08/15/military-sexual-assault-plans/2660005/
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/meet-the-press/52727533
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact a veterans lawyer, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
The post Veterans Disability Attorney Fausone Notes Pentagon’s Proposal of New Steps In Light of Military Sexual Assaults first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The unusual number of sports players who experienced TBI (traumatic brain injury) and later committed suicide, and the number of military vets who experienced TBI while in combat and later committed suicide may not be a coincidence, say researchers.
“Research on traumatic brain injury is of utmost concern right now for veteran disability advocates,” commented veterans disability lawyer James Fausone.
A new study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry has proposed a link between multiple concussions or traumatic brain injuries and suicidal actions later. In addition, the researchers found that a significant number of the men who experienced military-related TBI had a sports-playing history, which indicates that they may have experienced TBI on the playing field years earlier, as well.
The study, conducted by an Air Force psychologist, looked at 161 individuals sent to his clinic for suspected concussions. Those interviewed were asked about any history of head trauma, any battles with depression, PTSD or struggling with suicidal thoughts. The study concluded that many of the head injuries referenced by the study participants, in some cases as many as 6 injuries by one individual, were sustained prior to military service. Approximately 20 percent of the study participants reported that they experience concussion during their basic training, and some reports that they had sustained as many as 15 different head injuries during their tour of duty.
Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression are both high-risk factors for suicide, and combat experience typically would only increase their severity, said the researchers. Individuals who already experience one or both of these conditions and then join the service would explain why there are such high levels of suicide in the Armed Forces.
The researchers suggest that head trauma may set up a pre-existing disposition towards suicidal idealization or action which is then exacerbated by additional head trauma during combat. Exposure to an IED (improvised explosive device) buffets the brain within the skull by concussive shock waves, which can cause bleeding in the brain at numerous, hard-to-detect sites, causing damage. Subtle traumatic brain injury can be impossible to detect by an average physical; it is possible that many military personnel entered the service well enough to serve, and then subsequent damage further made them more susceptible to suicidal thoughts than someone who had not sustained sports-related concussions or other head injuries.
Source
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
The post New Study Suggests Traumatic Brain Injury from Sports May Be Behind Military Suicides first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The military has been subject to a number of high profile sexual assault news items in recent weeks. Currently Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, the Air Force’s head of sexual assault prevention, is under investigation for allegedly groping a woman inNorth Virginia, while more than 30 Texas-based instructors with the Air Force are under investigation regarding assault charges against trainees.
Although military sexual assaults have been garnering increased attention due to these latest, high-profile news stories, according to the latest estimates, the majority of military sexual assaults still go unreported. There were possibly as many as 26,000 assaults in 2012, according to a new report released by the Pentagon.
Of the estimated 26,000 military members who may have been sexually assaulted in 2012, just over 3,300 made a report, and fewer than 800 sought assistance while declining to file a complaint. The victims of military sexual assault or unwanted sexual contact are usually young, low-ranking service members. The perpetrators are usually also in the armed forces.
Two House members, Reps. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass, and Mike Turner, R-Ohio, have proposed a bill that would strip officers of their authority to dismiss or change the court-martial conviction of sexual assault and other major cases, and would require the dismissal or dishonorable discharge of anyone found guilty of the attempt of or act of rape, sexual assault, or forcible sodomy. Their goal, said Turner, is to establish guidelines for the punishment for sexual assault convictions and to remove that punishment from the chain of command.
The Pentagon’s report indicated that sexual assault reporting is on the rise, from an estimated 26,000 assaults in 2012 from an estimated 19,000 assaults in 2011. According to the report, at least 6 percent of the more than 1 million active duty members in 2012, both men and women, reported unwanted sexual contact. A significant percentage of the offenders were either Defense Department civilians or contractors or active military members.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has instructed military leaders to design a way to hold commanders accountable for fostering an environment of “dignity and respect,” including a July 1 deadline to complete visual inspections of workspaces to ensure they do not include the display of degrading materials.
Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., recently introduced legislation which would prohibit sexual contact between instructors and trainees for the duration of basic training and for an additional 30 days after training is completed, and which would provide sexual assault victims with a lawyer advocate trained in sexual assault complaints, and which would make available to the National Guard and Reserve trained sexual assault response coordinators. Murphy stated that not only are service members failed by the system by having a climate in which assaults happen, but they are further failed by not having a support system in place for victims after the incident.
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800
The post Military Sexual Assaults On the Rise first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>