Landmark Study: Iraq Vets Face Healthcare Crisis

A study released today by the RAND Corporation, a non-profit research organization, shows that veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from an unprecedented healthcare crisis. Here is IAVA's press release on the issue:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 17, 2008

Landmark Study Finds 1 in 5 New Veterans Suffer from PTSD or Major Depression
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Face Major Health Care Crisis

NEW YORK – Today, the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, released a groundbreaking study of the mental health of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. The historic findings highlight the barriers which prevent thousands of new veterans from accessing quality care for mental health problems and traumatic brain injuries. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation's first and largest nonpartisan organization for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, issued the following statement:

"This study illustrates a frightening trend among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans – that for thousands of these men and women, PTSD, depression and traumatic brain injury are going untreated," said Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). "Researchers also found that among the veterans that do get help, only about half are receiving minimally adequate care. These findings are appalling and should serve as a wake-up call for our nation's leaders at every level."

RAND found that PTSD and depression among returning troops will cost the nation as much as $6.2 billion in the two years following deployment – an amount that includes both direct medical care and costs for lost productivity and suicide. Investing in higher quality treatment could save close to $2 billion within two years, by substantially reducing the indirect costs.

"This research confirms what we have been hearing anecdotally for years, that for too many troops, quality health care is inaccessible. As the findings highlight, this crisis is problematic for individual service members and for the country as a whole," said Rieckhoff. "We also learned that many Iraq and Afghanistan veterans do not seek treatment for mental health problems, for fear it will have a negative impact on their careers. It's critical that we reduce these barriers to mental health care and get these heroes the help they need."

The report is titled "Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery." It is the first large-scale, nongovernmental assessment of the psychological and cognitive needs of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. The full report and several summaries are available at http://veterans.rand.org.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org ) is the nation's first and largest group for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, IAVA represents more than 85,000 veteran members and civilian supporters in all 50 states.

DEFINITION OF A VETERAN

A Veteran - whether active duty, retired, National Guard, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The "United States of America", for an amount of "up to and including my life.

"

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.




* Author Unknown *



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
William Thomas Bulger
US Army 1983-2007
Desert Storm/Shield
Iraqi Freedom


Thanks for sending this along William!!!!

Dear Friends and Supporters of The Cold War Museum,

The Winter/Spring 2008 issue of the Cold War Times is now posted for viewing online at www.coldwartimes.com. If this email was sent to you in error, you may remove your email address or update your email address online at www.coldwartimes.com. I would like to thank Lorton Self Storage for sponsoring this issue of the Cold War Times. If you live in the Northern Virginia area, please keep Lorton Self Storage in mind for your storage needs. More info online at www.lortonselfstorage.com.

Over the past decade, the Cold War Museum has made great strides in honoring Cold War Veterans and preserving Cold War history. I am writing to provide you with a brief update on the Museum's activities. The museum is at a critical stage in its development and is in the final stages of lease negotiations with Fairfax County Park Authority for use of the former Nike Missile Base in Lorton, Virginia.

(Does anyone know Tom Hanks or how to get in touch with him? He has just starred in a Cold War film called Charlie Wilson's War(http://charliewilsonswar.net) and I would like to talk with him (or hisagent) about the Cold War Museum. You may remember that Tom Hanks was a spokesman for the National WWII Memorial and I want to find out if he would have an interest in helping to move our effort forward.)

I am grateful to Senator Chap Petersen from Fairfax, VA and Delegate Joe May from Leesburg, VA who introduced budget amendments in January 2008 that would provide the Cold War Museum with a non-state agency appropriation.

This will be a very difficult year for all nonprofits seeking this type of State support. If you live in Virginia, I need your help. Please contact your State Delegate and State Senator to let them know that you support the Cold War Museum and the two budget amendments put forth by Senator Petersen and delegate May.

A list of Virginia State Delegates can be found online at:

http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/MWebsiteTL?OpenView.

A List of Virginia State Senators can be found online at:

http://sov.state.va.us/SenatorDB.nsf/$$Viewtemplate+for+WMembershipHome?OpenForm

The mobile exhibit on the U-2 Incident, the "Spies of Washington Tour," and related educational activities continue to generate interest and support.

The mobile exhibit, currently on display at the Pacific Coast Air Museum

(www.pacificcoastairmuseum.org) through April 15, 2008, will travel to the ITOW Veterans Museum (www.itowmuseum.org) in Perham, Minnesota on May 1, 2008. The educational Spy Tour of Washington (www.spytour.com) is now booking group tours online.

The Museum is working with the Embassy of the Czech Republic to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Prague Spring and with the British Berlin Airlift Association to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift later this year. There are varieties of sponsorship opportunities available in conjunction with these anniversary events as well as other Cold War Museum educational events and activities. Please email gpowersjr@coldwar.org for additional information.

We count on your financial help to assist with the care, display, and storage of our Cold War artifacts and to help with our day to day operations. Tax deductible donations to The Cold War Museum can be made through a secure online website at

www.guidestar.org/partners/networkforgood/donate.jsp?ein=54-1819817 or www.justgive.org/giving/donate.jsp?charityId=18894.

If you know of friends or family members that would be interested in our efforts, please share this update with them or encourage them to visit www.coldwar.org. Please help spread the word about the Museum. Together we can make this vision a reality. For more information, or to subscribe to our Cold War Times email newsletter list, please contact:

Thank you for your continued support.

February 2008 - Vol. 8, Issue 1 --- (auf Deutsch - only the Berlin Chapter Update of the issue is translated into Deutsch, not the whole issue.)

Francis Gary Powers, Jr.

Founder

The Cold War Museum

P.O. Box 178

Fairfax, VA 22038

703-273-2381 Museum

703-273-4903 Museum Fax

gpowersjr@coldwar.org

www.coldwar.org

News From Senator Martinez Casework Corner

*Charles Hurley is a Korean-war veteran living in an assisted-living facility. In December 2006, he submitted an application with the Veteran’s Administration (VA) for a non-service connected pension. Unable to get a response from the VA, Mr. Hurley contacted the Office of Senator Martinez for assistance.

A caseworker contacted the VA on Mr. Hurley’s behalf to determine the status of his application. The caseworker was notified promptly that his application was recently approved and Mr. Hurley would begin receiving a monthly pension. In addition, Mr. Hurley received retroactive payments to cover the time the VA spent determining his eligibility.

If you have questions about a federal agency, please contact the Orlando Regional Office by calling (407) 254-2573 to speak with a member of the Casework Department. The toll-free number for Florida residents is (866) 630-7106. To find out more about how my Office can help you, go to http://martinez.senate.gov or stop by one of our scheduled Community Office Hours in your area.

*Casework Corner is a real account of assistance provided to constituents. The names of those involved are changed to protect the privacy of the constituent.

veteran plans Berlin trip to mark anniversary

April 14, 2008

Allied Museum in Berlin: www.alliiertenmuseum.de/en/1.php
Berlin Airlift Veterans Association: www.konnections.com/airlift/




By John Andrew Prime
jprime@gannett.com





"On to Berlin!"

That cry, on the lips of most soldiers and airmen in World War II, may also be on the mind of Benton's Lewis Dale Whipple, who plans to visit the German capital this summer for the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.

Whipple, vice president of the Berlin Airlift Veterans Association, will be one of 15 international veterans invited to take part in ceremonies recalling the modern era's first major effort to save a city under siege by communist forces in the Cold War.

The invitation was extended by Helmut Trotnow, director of the of the Allied Museum in Berlin.

"There are six Americans, four British, two French and three Germans that either participated in the airlift or had other connections, that have been invited," said Whipple, who had visited Berlin on several occasions to mark past anniversaries, including 1994 and 1999.

Whipple is a veteran of the Berlin Airlift, a joint Allied effort to keep food, medicine, coal and other vital materials supplied to the city of Berlin when the former Soviet Union cut off all access to the city in the late 1940s.

The airlift lasted from June 1948 to May 1949 and in thousands of flights moved tons of supplies into the city, keeping its two million people alive and free.

Whipple plans to leave June 23 and will return July 6. The ceremonies in Berlin will be June 26-28.

"We are also to be transported to Frankfurt for ceremonies on June 29 and June 30 at Wiesbaden," Whipple said. "After these we will be transported back to Berlin to attend the dedication of the new American Embassy in Berlin on July 4. Needless to say, I am thrilled to have been chosen to go."

Whipple was stationed at a U.S. Air Force Base in Japan, part of the 317th Troop Carrier Wing, when the blockade started. After 40 days at sea, his unit arrived at Celle, a Royal Air Force station that was a terminus of one of the three air corridors that remained open into the city.

In his 1994 trip, Whipple visited Celle with 49 other Berlin Airlift veterans and their spouses. He also visited Frankfurt, Wiesbaden and Fassberg and took part in wreath-laying ceremonies at Rhein-Main Air Base and Tempelhof Airfield.

Saturday Night Live: The Petraeus Hearings


The Petraeus Hearings Saturday Night Live:

Download | Play Download | Play (h/t Bill W)

SNL offers their take on this week’s Senate hearings with Gen. Petraeus, skewering everything and anything, from Petraeus’s obsequiousness, to John McCain’s lack of knowledge on Iraq, to Hillary Clinton’s attempts to spin her AUMF vote, to Code Pink protesters, to the cult of Obama that eclipses everything else in the room. A skit sure to get under everyone’s skin, no matter whose camp you’re in.