Prison or treatment for military criminals with PTSD?

Posted August 31st, 2009 by Leo Shane

in Stripes Central

A recent change in Texas law could give some criminals with combat-related PTSD an easy choice: jail, or mental health treatment outside of prison walls.  The El Paso Times reported this weekend that officials there are in the process of establishing a new Veterans Mental Health Treatment court, which would handle cases of veterans and soldiers who have been diagnosed with mental health problems related to their combat experience.
The most serious violent offenses -- rape and murder, for example -- would still be handled by traditional courts. But drunken driving charges, minor drug offenses and domestic abuse cases could all be handled by the special courts, and individuals convicted of the crimes could be ordered to various mental health treatment options in lieu of lengthy prison time.
Post-traumatic stress disorder and other combat-related mental health issues are a tricky problem for normal courts; Stripes reporters have been following the issue for years.
Defense attorneys insist that not considering the mental health problems while sentencing a veteran is overlooking a major mitigating factor. Prosecutors say that excuse only goes so far, especially in more violent and premeditated crimes. 
This new trend of veterans courts started 18 months ago in Buffalo with Judge Robert Russell. Other judicial bodies around the country have quickly jumped on the idea; about 20 cities have or are considering similar programs. Colorado Springs – which has already had to deal with a series of violent crimes at Ft. Carson – is one of them.
Texas State Rep. Joe Moody told the El Paso Times that the new program there is not intended to be a "get out of jail free" card for soldiers and veterans. But walking the fine line between rehabilitating troops who need help and punishing those who deserve it will be a tricky task, even for a court with better knowledge and experience with mental health issues.
[PHOTO: Supreme Court]

http://blogs.stripes.com/blogs/stripes-central/prison-or-treatment-military-criminals-ptsd 

Depressed vets can now get help by chatting online with a VA counselor

Posted August 31st, 2009 by Megan McCloskey in Stripes Central

Veterans feeling suicidal but hesitant to seek help can now chat with a VA counselor anonymously online.
Suicides among servicemembers have increased alarmingly in the last few years, and the "Veterans Chat" program is a pilot effort to get more to reach out for help when feeling depressed.
The idea is that someone who might not take the step to go to a VA clinic could be more willing to talk about their feelings through the distance of an internet connection. There's a certain security and control that comes with that seperation. It's one step removed beyond even the Suicide Prevention Hotline, where having someone hear your voice over the phone can be too personal for some.
Struggling veterans - or their friends and family - can talk to someone at any time; counselors are online 24 hours a day. The user choses whatever name they want for the one-on-one chat.
The VA says the program, though, is not intended for crisis intervention. Anyone deemed to be in immediate danger by the chat counselor is encouraged by the counselor to call the hotline.
"Chat responders are trained in an intervention method specifically developed for the chat line to assist people with emotional distress and concerns," Janet Kemp, the VA's National Suicide Prevention Coordinator, said in a press release. "We have procedures they can use to transfer chatters in crisis to the hotline for more immediate assistance." 

http://blogs.stripes.com/blogs/stripes-central/depressed-vets-can-now-get-help-chatting-online-va-counselor

Iraq says it owns 19 fighter jets in storage

Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Iraqi Defense Ministry said this week that it recently learned that Iraq owns 19 fighter jets, which have been in storage in Serbia since 1989, The New York Times reported.
"Everyone knows how much we need fighter aircraft," a statement issued by the ministry said. "We have reached a tentative agreement with the Serbian side to rehabilitate the aircraft and deliver them to Iraq in the shortest possible time, in recognition of Iraq’s need for such aircraft."
Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari told the Times the MIG-21 and MIG-23 jet fighters had been sent to Serbia for maintenance and never returned. He noted that the discovery was important because Iraq’s air force at the moment includes primarily helicopters and transport and reconnaissance planes. There are no fighter jets.
The defense ministry said Serbia would make two aircraft available for "immediate use" and the rest would be restored on a rush basis.
The U.S. military recently arranged for Iraq to get a T-6 trainer, which is used to train F-16 pilots.
Lt. Col. Gary Kolb, a spokesman for the Multi-National Transition and Security Command-Iraq, the American military’s training wing, told the paper the addition of the MIG aircraft would not alter the U.S. plans.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=64506

Army survey now more Reservist-friendly

By Mark Abramson, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, September 1, 2009

When Army leaders created a survey to get soldiers’ take on how well the service was addressing quality-of-life issues, reservists and National Guard members who serve side by side with active-duty troops probably felt a little left out.
The monthlong Army Family Covenant survey, which began Aug. 15, was sent to 300,000 soldiers, both active-duty and reservists.
But, Lt. Col. Charles Sherman, a reservist serving in Baghdad, said he was immediately put off by the questionnaire.
"I started taking it and discovered they don’t care what I have to say," said Sherman, of the 358th Civil Affairs Brigade at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif.
The first two questions ask about the location of his garrison, he said, and Army reservists are not assigned to garrisons, so those questions don’t apply. Sherman said the survey made him feel like he was not part of the same Army as active-duty soldiers, even though he was serving in Kuwait and getting ready to head to Iraq when he received it.
The survey wasn’t geared toward Army reservists, according to Kevin Crouch, acting public affairs officer for the Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command. However, the survey has since been changed.
"Once we realized that was a sticking issue with reservists, we went ahead and changed it," Crouch said. "Anyone now can take that survey."
The Family Covenant is a promise made by Army leaders to improve quality of life in the service by increasing accessibility and quality of health care; improving soldier and family housing; addressing schools, youth services and child care; and expanding education and employment opportunities for family members.
Department of Defense civilians and soldiers’ family members can also take the survey, which can be found online at: www.armymwr.com/fmwrc/AFC/survey.htm.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=64507

GI Bill Transferability Has Arrived

For the first time in history, servicemembers enrolled in the Post-9/11
GI Bill program will be able to transfer unused educational benefits to their spouses or children starting Aug. 1, 2009.
New Department of Defense guidance, issued June 23, 2009, establishes the criteria for eligibility and transfer of those education benefits.
The new GI Bill, signed into law June 20, 2008, provides the most comprehensive educational benefit package since the original bill, officially known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was signed into law.
For more information on eligibility and application procedures,
see the Dept. of Veteran's Affairs Web site.

http://www.gibill.va.gov/

Guard’s Youth ChalleNGe Turns At-risk Youth’s Lives Around

By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2009 – When Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, presided today at the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe graduation in New Jersey, he witnessed a rite of passage being shared by about 8,000 at-risk youth across the country every year. In-processing cadets learn that structure and discipline are essential components at the Illinois National Guard’s Lincoln ChalleNGE Academy. Illinois National Guard photo    (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. All came to their state’s Youth ChalleNGe program as high school dropouts identified as being at risk for substance abuse, pregnancy, delinquency and criminal activity. All faced the same rude awakening when they showed up for the first day of a 22-week resident phase that starts the program: no cell phones or electronic games, “O-dark-30” wakeups for physical training, mandatory drug screenings and not a single minute of unstructured free time from sunup to sundown. But for more than 90,000 cadets who have graduated from the program since Congress first authorized it in 1993, those sacrifices pale when compared to the possibilities the program provides. Sixteen-year-old Haley Tolbert recently joined the Illinois National Guard’s Lincoln ChalleNGe Academy, desperate to turn her life around. She had failing grades and was getting into trouble at school. She recently had moved out of her house to escape constant arguments with her parents. “I didn’t know of any other way to get my life back in order,” she said. Tolbert is among 378 cadets wrapping up their first week of Lincoln ChalleNGe at the former Chanute Air Force Base complex in Rantoul, Ill. It’s the single largest Youth Challenge site, and one of the biggest of 33 programs conducted in 28 states and Puerto Rico. The Illinois program recently graduated 303 cadets from the resident program. Richard Norris, Lincoln ChalleNGe’s lead instructor, said he’s amazed by the huge changes he sees in young people who elect to participate in the voluntary program. “They’ve come here having made a decision that they need to change their lives,” said Norris, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who’s been with the Illinois program for 16 years. “They have made a commitment, and we have made a commitment to them, too.” The National Guardsmen and retired military members who run the program expose cadets to a steady diet of military-based training and supervised work experience that centers on core program values: citizenship, academics, life-coping skills, community service, health and hygiene, job skills training, leadership and “followership,” and physical training. Army Maj. Gen. William Enyart, Illinois’ adjutant general, said the cadre’s tireless efforts bring many cadets something they’ve never experienced. “They instill the cadets with the discipline that up to that point has been lacking in their lives, and give them back those core values that can guide them in making a success life,” Enyart said. “They are incredibly dedicated, incredibly hardworking, and devote countless hours of time to ensure that these cadets are successful.” Norris cited the second phase of the program, a year of mentoring, as a critical follow-on that builds on cadets’ accomplishments during the resident phase. Cadets select their own mentors: a teacher, clergy member, police, firefighter or other adult community member. The Youth ChalleNge cadre offers training to help them be effective mentors. “It really doesn’t matter what we’re able to do with these cadets if they finish the program and fall back into their old patterns,” Norris said. “Mentors provide the continuity that is key in ensuring their success.” Eighteen-year-old Brandon Walton, another new cadet in the Lincoln ChalleNGe program, already has a pretty clear idea of how he’ll measure his own success. Walton called the program his “last shot” in getting his life back on track. He was a high achiever in high school, earning a 3.5 grade point average, before he dropped out to help to support his financially struggling family. Fast-forwarding 22 months ahead, he sees himself graduating from high school, making a gesture to every member of his family to thank them for what they’ve given him, then joining the Navy or Marine Corps. “I have big goals and aspirations in life,” he said. Although Walton hopes to one day join the military, he’s an exception. Only about 14 percent of the Lincoln ChalleNGe graduates do – a statistic Enyart said he’s perfectly comfortable with. Youth ChalleNGe isn’t designed as a recruiting program, he explained. It’s just a way for the Guard to support the communities in which it operates. “We view this as an important element of what we do for the community,” he said. “We are a community-based organization, and by giving back to the community this way, we’re helping build a stronger community and a stronger society.” The states appear to agree, with many seeking to expand their programs despite ever-tightening budgets. States pay 40 percent of the program cost, and the National Guard Bureau picks up the rest, about $93 million a year, according to Air Force Lt. Col. Anthony Kissik, director of the Guard Bureau’s youth development office. Air Force Col. Willie Cobetto, federal coordinator for Lincoln ChalleNGe, called the Illinois’ legislature’s commitment of $38 million to build a new facility for the program a sign of the value it places on the program. “They recognize that this is a program that works,” he said. “This program is about seeing the kids change, and making a difference and knowing they are on the right track.” FEEDBACK: Send your comments on this story to donna.miles@osd.mil http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=55667

Mullen Congratulates New Jersey National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program Grads

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden American Forces Press Service TRENTON, N.J., Aug. 29, 2009 – Navy Adm. Mike Mullen congratulated more than 100 high school graduates here who pursued their diploma through a New Jersey National Guard program. U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, congratulates graduates of the New Jersey National Guard Youth Challenge Academy at their graduation in Trenton, N.J., August 29, 2009. The program identifies New Jersey youth who have dropped out of high school and uses military-style training to enhance their life skills and employment potential. DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.  In a ceremony at the War Memorial here today, the 30th graduating class of the New Jersey National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy culminated 22 weeks of hard work and training by earning their high school diplomas. The 105 youths made a decision to better their lives by joining the program and are now in a position to make a positive impact on society and in their communities, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in his keynote speech before the class and hundreds of proud family members. “You have been through a tremendous amount in the past months, and I know you’ve been through a great deal before that,” Mullen said. “Let this be only the beginning of what will be a life full of achievements and accomplishments.” Since 1994, the New Jersey program has helped more than 2,500 troubled-teens transition into young adults. The three-phase program begins with a two-week residential assessment phase at Fort Dix, N.J., followed by a 20-week phase where cadets learn life skills, career development, leadership, community service and physical training. They earn their high school diplomas at the end of Phase II. “There’s probably nothing more significant, graduates, in your lives than the changes that have occurred over the past few months,” the admiral said. “Continuing to change and grow is difficult, [but] you’ve learned a lot about yourselves. You can succeed.” The opportunities that follow participating in a program such as this pave way for a better future, he added. “I can remember being about your age and not having much of a clue about what life would bring, but underpinned with good programs like this, it has great potential to bring good things,” he said. “You’re now in a position to be able to take advantage of what you’ve learned here.” For many of the teenagers, it was the challenge program or jail. But after participating in the program, the program’s director, ensured the parents in the audience their son or daughter will return home better than when they left. “Today we give you your kids back, and I think they’re much improved models,” retired Army brigadier general and program director John Nunn said. “I think you’ll see that by the time you get home tonight.” After today, the cadets now move on to the final phase of the program. They’ll return home but are assigned a community mentor who’s also a graduate of the program. After a year of being mentored and volunteering, the cadets have completed the entire program. Many will join the active duty military, some will joint the New Jersey Army or Air National Guard and others will attend community college, but all will more than likely continue improving their lives, Nunn said.

Biographies: Navy Adm. Mike Mullen Related Sites: http://www.ngycp.org/site/state/nj/ Related Articles: Guard’s Youth ChalleNGe Turns At-risk Youth’s Lives Around

U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addresses graduates of the New Jersey National Guard Youth Challenge Academy at their graduation in Trenton, N.J., August 29, 2009. The program identifies New Jersey youth who have dropped out of high school and uses military style training to enhance their life skills and employment potential. DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley   Download screen-resolution   Download high-resolution Three graduates of the New Jersey National Guard Youth Challenge Academy take the oath enlisting them in the New Jersey National Guard during their graduation in Trenton, N.J., August 29, 2009. The program identifies New Jersey youth who have dropped out of high school and using military style training to enhance their life skills and employment potential. DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley    Download screen-resolution   Download high-resolution Jameel Andrews, Joana Amicar and Lianabel Amaro prepare to graduate from the New Jersey National Guard Youth Challenge Academy in Trenton, N.J., August 29, 2009. The program identifies New Jersey youth who have dropped out of high school and using military style training to enhance their life skills and employment potential. DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNyeeley   Download screen-resolution   Download high-resolution