The Thousand Yard Stare (Those who still believe in the "War on Terror" should skip this post)
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Back in November 2005, i did a post on a regular blog entitled "*They Are Killing My Brothers Again*":http://electronictiger.net/roare/2005/11/they-are-killing-my-brothers-again.html
Today i saw this story on line. It made me cranky.
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From the Washington Post
The physician in charge of the post-traumatic stress disorder program at a medical facility for veterans in Texas told staff members to refrain from diagnosing PTSD because so many veterans were seeking government disability payments for the condition.
"Given that we are having more and more compensation seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out," Norma Perez wrote in a March 20 e-mail to mental health specialists and social workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs' Olin E. Teague Veterans' Center in Temple, Texas. Instead, she recommended that they "consider a diagnosis of adjustment disorder."
Adjustment disorder is a less severe reaction to stress than PTSD and has a shorter duration, usually no longer than six months, said Anthony Ng, a psychiatrist and member of Mental Health America, a nonprofit professional association.
Veterans diagnosed with PTSD can be eligible for disability compensation of up to $2,527 a month, depending on the severity of the condition, said Alison Aikele, a VA spokeswoman. Those found to have adjustment disorder generally are not offered such payments, but veterans can receive medical treatment for either condition.
"*Click here for the full article*":http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ptsd16-2008may16,0,2706648.story
...and, on the same day, i saw this...
It made me angry.
Or maybe "angry" isn't a strong enough word...
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By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN, Associated Press Writer
Last month, Marine Staff Sgt. Travis N. "T-Bo" Twiggs went to the White House with a group of Iraq war veterans called the Wounded Warriors Regiment and met the president.
Twiggs had been through four tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan and months of therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder in which he said he was on up to 12 different medications.
"He said, `Sir, I've served over there many times, and I would serve for you any time,' and he grabbed the president and gave him a big hug," said Kellee Twiggs, his widow.
About two weeks later, Travis Twiggs went absent without leave from his job in Quantico, Va.
He and his brother drove to the Grand Canyon, where their car was found hanging in a tree in what appeared to be a failed attempt to drive into the chasm.
The brothers carjacked a vehicle at the park Monday. Two days later they were at a southwestern Arizona border checkpoint, and took off when they were asked to pull into a secondary inspection area, Border Patrol spokesman Michael Bernacke said.
Eighty miles later, the car was on the Tohono O'odham reservation, its tires wrecked by spike strips.
As tribal police and Border Patrol agents closed in, Twiggs, 36, apparently fatally shot his 38-year-old brother, Willard J. "Will" Twiggs, then killed himself.
"*Click here for full story*":http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/17/AR2008051701421.html
Today i saw this story on line. It made me cranky.
They called it the "Thousand-yard Stare""
Veterans' Affairs doctor tells staff to refrain from PTSD diagnoses
":http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ptsd16-2008may16,0,2706648.storyThe VA has repudiated the memo, but outraged veterans see a reluctance from the government to support their disability.
From the Washington Post
The physician in charge of the post-traumatic stress disorder program at a medical facility for veterans in Texas told staff members to refrain from diagnosing PTSD because so many veterans were seeking government disability payments for the condition.
"Given that we are having more and more compensation seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out," Norma Perez wrote in a March 20 e-mail to mental health specialists and social workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs' Olin E. Teague Veterans' Center in Temple, Texas. Instead, she recommended that they "consider a diagnosis of adjustment disorder."
Adjustment disorder is a less severe reaction to stress than PTSD and has a shorter duration, usually no longer than six months, said Anthony Ng, a psychiatrist and member of Mental Health America, a nonprofit professional association.
Veterans diagnosed with PTSD can be eligible for disability compensation of up to $2,527 a month, depending on the severity of the condition, said Alison Aikele, a VA spokeswoman. Those found to have adjustment disorder generally are not offered such payments, but veterans can receive medical treatment for either condition.
"*Click here for the full article*":http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ptsd16-2008may16,0,2706648.story
We can still see it......and, on the same day, i saw this...
It made me angry.
Or maybe "angry" isn't a strong enough word...
"
Marine who died after cross-state chase wrote of war stress
":http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/17/AR2008051701421.htmlBy ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN, Associated Press Writer
Last month, Marine Staff Sgt. Travis N. "T-Bo" Twiggs went to the White House with a group of Iraq war veterans called the Wounded Warriors Regiment and met the president.
Twiggs had been through four tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan and months of therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder in which he said he was on up to 12 different medications.
"He said, `Sir, I've served over there many times, and I would serve for you any time,' and he grabbed the president and gave him a big hug," said Kellee Twiggs, his widow.
About two weeks later, Travis Twiggs went absent without leave from his job in Quantico, Va.
He and his brother drove to the Grand Canyon, where their car was found hanging in a tree in what appeared to be a failed attempt to drive into the chasm.
The brothers carjacked a vehicle at the park Monday. Two days later they were at a southwestern Arizona border checkpoint, and took off when they were asked to pull into a secondary inspection area, Border Patrol spokesman Michael Bernacke said.
Eighty miles later, the car was on the Tohono O'odham reservation, its tires wrecked by spike strips.
As tribal police and Border Patrol agents closed in, Twiggs, 36, apparently fatally shot his 38-year-old brother, Willard J. "Will" Twiggs, then killed himself.
"*Click here for full story*":http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/17/AR2008051701421.html
Locating MOG account...
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