About Us. Force Health Protection: Inside AFHSC Vision: To be the central epidemiological resource and a global health surveillance proponent for the U.S. Armed Forces Mission: Provide timely, relevant, actionable, and comprehensive health surveillance information in order to promote, maintain, and enhance the health of military and military-associated populations Acquire, analyze/interpret, disseminate information, and recommend evidence-based policy Develop, refine, and improve standardized surveillance methods Serve as focal point for sharing health surveillance products, expertise, and information Coordinate a global program of militarily relevant infectious disease surveillance The AFHSC has military service and federal liaison officers on staff who can negotiate requests for information or analysis. For additional information or requests, click here . Wounded Marines Working Their Way Back. Home Fires features the writing of men and women who have returned from wartime service in the United States military.
This is the last of a three-part series. Michael D. FayLance Cpl. Tyler Huffman. CLICK TO ENLARGE Our previous day at McGuire Veterans Administration Hospital in Richmond, Va., had been productive and intense. Lance Cpl. Michael D. For our first sketching session of the day we follow Tyler to his morning physical therapy sessions. Back in his room I ask him, “what’s a bad day?” After lunch we meet up with Corporal Zach Stinson and tag along to his physical therapy session. Michael D. Zach’s therapist reaffirms what he’d told us the day before; he will walk again.
With the therapist straddling him from every possible angle, they go through a complicated series of Kama Sutra-like stretching and resistance exercises. Michael D. Back in Zach’s room, we show our sketches to his mother Tammy and his wife Tesa Reneé. Michael D. Female soldiers' suicide rate triples when at war. By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY Updated 03/18/2011 01:23:18 AM | The suicide rate for female soldiers triples when they go to war, according to the first round of preliminary data from an Army study.
File photo by Mauricio Lima, AFP/Getty Images File photo by Mauricio Lima, AFP/Getty Images The findings, released to USA TODAY this week, show that the suicide rate rises from five per 100,000 to 15 per 100,000 among female soldiers at war. Even so, the suicide risk for female soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan is still lower than for men serving next to them, the $50 million study says. Findings also show that marriage somehow helps inoculate male and female soldiers from killing themselves while they are overseas. Scientists say they hope these and other findings will help them tease out protective social patterns — such as, for example, that sense in a marriage of mattering to someone else — that can be encouraged or instilled in all soldiers to lower the risk of suicide.
Gen. Other findings: Cruel and unusual treatment of WikiLeaks suspect. Pfc. Bradley Manning, accused in WikiLeaks case, has been in solitary confinement for monthsTerry Kupers: Defense officials say he is stripped of clothes at night to prevent suicideKupers: But inhumane conditions of solitary confinement cause suicide, amount to tortureAbuse is widespread, he writes, isolation is cruel and unusual punishment Editor's note: Terry A. Kupers is institute professor at The Wright Institute and author of "Prison Madness: The Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars and What We Must Do About It.
" He testifies as a psychiatric expert in court about prison conditions and the quality of correctional mental health care. He received the exemplary psychiatrist award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness in 2005, and the William Rossiter Award from the Forensic Mental Health Association of California in 2009. (CNN) -- Army Pfc. Human rights groups have condemned his treatment, and even State Department spokesman P.J. Suicide is merely the tip of the iceberg. Wounded soldier task force visits Fort Campbell. HeraldNet: Print Article. Most military beneficiaries haven’t heard of “patient-centered medical home,” a civilian-conceived strategy to improve managed care.
Yet 655,000 military beneficiaries who use base clinics and hospitals have been enrolled with a home team over the past 14 months, and that number is projected to double this year and double again, to 2.5 million beneficiaries in 2012. The military’s direct-care system, in effect, is quietly orchestrating its own major health care reform. And though it didn’t conceive the concept or that mouthful of an acronym, the military might be showing the nation how to embrace direct care and clear some of its highest hurdles. After more than a year’s experience at more than 50 pilot sites across the military health care system, confidence in the concept is rising among health care providers and beneficiaries, senior health officials said this week at the Military Health System Conference held in National Harbor, Md.
Deborah Mullen, wife of Navy Adm. Vice Adm. Promises, but still no help, for those caring for wounded vets. A sniper's bullet in Iraq left Staff Sgt. Matthew Keil paralyzed His wife, Tracy, works around the clock to care for him They are waiting for a law that will provide money and training for wounded vets' caregivers Until the law takes effect, Tracy says "it's like I'm working for the VA for free" Parker, Colorado (CNN) -- When the sniper's bullet hit his neck, Staff Sgt. Matthew Keil nearly blacked out. "I had heard the gunshot, and it felt like someone had kicked me right in the back. A ton of bricks swung and hit me in the back, and I fell," he said. "I couldn't feel my body. He was on a rooftop in Ramadi, Iraq, leading a nine-man squad.
This is when Keil finally closed his eyes. A short time later, a world away, in Colorado, Tracy Keil's phone rang: Her husband had been severely wounded. She didn't know it at the time, but that day, February 24, 2007, was the last day she would ever work a regular job. Sgt. Tracy was by his side. "I could have. The babies add even more work for Tracy. For Some Troops, Powerful Drug Cocktails Have Deadly Results. Mental health specialist recommended WikiLeaks suspect not be deployed to Iraq. A mental health specialist recommended that the Army private accused of leaking classified material to the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks not be deployed to Iraq, but his immediate commanders sent him anyway, according to a military official familiar with a new Army investigation. The recommendation by the specialist at Fort Drum, N.Y., did not disqualify Pfc. Bradley E. Manning from being sent to Iraq.
The final decision on whether a soldier is fit to go to a war zone rests with his immediate commanders. But an Army investigation has concluded that the commanders' decision not to heed the specialist's advice and their failure to properly discipline Manning may have contributed to one of the most high-profile classified military network breaches in decades, the military official said. Manning, 23, an intelligence analyst, has been accused of downloading classified State Department and Pentagon files onto his personal computer.
The investigation, which was conducted by Lt. First lady wants support network for military families. By Mimi Hall, USA TODAY Updated 1/28/2011 9:37:25 AM | FORT JACKSON, S.C. — First lady Michelle Obama, aiming to use her platform to "lift up" the voices of military families and ease their burdens, is about to ask all Americans to do more than simply thank our troops for their service. By Virginia Postic, APFirst lady Michelle Obama is briefed by Lt. Gen Mark Herling on Thursday at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C. By Virginia Postic, AP First lady Michelle Obama is briefed by Lt. Gen Mark Herling on Thursday at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C. She wants businesses to hire military spouses, even if they know their new employees might have to move in a couple of years.
"We should be rallying around these families," the first lady told USA TODAY during a visit to this Army post to highlight a military program that encourages healthier eating. In a wide-ranging interview, the first lady: Obama said Let's Move "has never been about the government telling people what to do. " The Recommendations - washingtonpost.com. Walter Reed and Beyond (washingtonpost.com) Veterans, Like Active Duty Troops, Are Hesitant to Seek Mental Health Care. More U.S. Soldiers Killed Themselves Than Died in Combat in 2010 - Culture -... For the second year in a row, more American soldiers—both enlisted men and women and veterans—committed suicide than were killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Excluding accidents and illness, 462 soldiers died in combat, while 468 committed suicide. A difference of six isn't vast by any means, but the symbolism is significant and troubling. In 2009, there were 381 suicides by military personnel, a number that also exceeded the number of combat deaths. Earlier this month, military authorities announced that suicides amongst active-duty soldiers had slowed in 2010, while suicides amongst reservists and people in the National Guard had increased.
It was proof, they said, that the frequent psychological screenings active-duty personnel receive were working, and that reservists and guardsmen, who are more removed from the military's medical bureaucracy, simply need to begin undergoing more health checks. KSALLink.com. Report: 1/3 of warrior-unit soldiers addicted. Up to 35% of wounded soldiers addicted to drugs. By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY Medical officials estimate that 25% to 35% of about 10,000 ailing soldiers assigned to special wounded-care companies or battalions are addicted or dependent on drugs — particularly prescription narcotic pain relievers, according to an Army inspector general's report made public Tuesday.
The report also found that these formations known as Warrior Transition Units — created after reports detailed poorly managed care at Walter Reed Army Hospital— have become costly way stations where ill, injured or wounded soldiers can wait more than a year for a medical discharge. Some soldiers have become so irate about the delays in leaving the Army that doctors, nurses and other medical staff say they have been assaulted in their offices and threatened, or had their private cars damaged or tires flattened, the report says.
"I'm very concerned about folks and their personal safety," says Army Col. "Not only is this bad for the Army," the report says. Father disappointed by Army IG’s report. By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press Posted : Thursday Jun 4, 2009 18:57:54 EDT WASHINGTON — The practice of sending unlicensed psychologists to Iraq to treat troops did not violate Army regulations, according to a military inspector general’s investigation instigated by a complaint from the father of a soldier who committed suicide. The soldier, Pfc. Jason Scheuerman, 20, was found dead in his barracks in Iraq in 2005. Three weeks prior, an unlicensed psychologist asked by the soldier’s captain to evaluate him said in a report that Scheuerman was “capable of claiming mental illness” to manipulate superiors and sent him back to his unit.
A copy of the Army Medical Command’s inspector general’s investigation, completed in November, was obtained by The Associated Press using a Freedom of Information Act request. The father also complained that a top medical officer, Col. Then-Army Capt. Lawsuit: Lexington VA facilities denied veteran help before suicide | Public Safety. The young widow and 2-year-old daughter of a Marine Corps combat veteran have sued the federal government for $22.5 million, claiming that Veterans Affairs medical facilities in Lexington turned away the man when he sought psychiatric help hours before he took his own life.
Cameron Anestis, a Marine Corps reservist who spent several months in Iraq, fatally shot himself at his Scott County home on Aug. 17, 2009, hours after he left the VA medical facilities on Leestown Road and the VA hospital on Cooper Drive, according to the lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Lexington and attorney Al Grasch, who represents Anestis' widow and daughter. The lawsuit says VA facilities representatives were negligent, and Anestis' death was directly due to their acts and omissions. Anestis' widow, Tiffany Anestis, was at home when her husband fired the fatal shot, she said.
Seeking treatment Representatives of the Leestown Road facility directed him to the VA hospital on Cooper Drive. Cilla McCain: Let's Question the Accuracy of Current Military Suicide Statistics. According to the U.S. Army, the June 2010 statistics for military suicides look as grim as ever. Despite all of the prevention programs being studied and implemented, 32 soldiers reportedly took their own life. That is more than one soldier per day. Just as the Army released the dismal numbers for June suicides, my email inbox started filling up with messages from military family members questioning the accuracy of these figures. They have a right to be concerned because although the numbers are shocking each time they are released, upon closer examination they may not be entirely correct.
This is because most people see these statistics and think of the obvious causes such as PTSD since the current prevention programs are designed for just such cases. So why are the numbers not going down? It is possible that numbers of actual suicides may be lower when one takes into account the number of families who are currently disputing the finding of "suicide" as their loved ones cause of death. Pentagon Joins Suicide Prevention Coalition. Army Officer Orders Troops Not To Commit Suicide. FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Thousands of soldiers, their bald eagle shoulder patches lined up row upon row across the grassy field, stood at rigid attention to hear a stern message from their commander. Brig. Gen. Stephen Townsend addressed the 101st Airborne Division with military brusqueness: Suicides at the post had spiked after soldiers started returning home from war, and this was unacceptable.
"It's bad for soldiers, it's bad for families, bad for your units, bad for this division and our Army and our country and it's got to stop now," he insisted. "Suicides on Fort Campbell have to stop now. " It sounded like a typical, military response to a complicated and tragic situation. But Townsend's martial response is not the only one. There are Army doctors like Tangeneare Singh, reaching out to soldiers struggling silently from depression, trauma-related stress and other mental illnesses. Spc. But Adam was tired and often late for work. But instead of getting medical help, Adam got push-ups. Congressman Accuses Veterans' Agency Of Being Tight-Lipped On Military Suicides. WASHINGTON — The chairman of a House panel that oversees the Veterans Affairs Department has asked VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to explain an apparent "emerging pattern" of noncompliance with congressional requests for information about veteran suicide and other issues.
Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., canceled a hearing on suicide prevention efforts, which was scheduled for Wednesday, saying he was upset about the witnesses the agency wanted to send. Mitchell said in a letter to Shinseki, dated Friday and released this week, that he's heard complaints from other members of Congress about requests for information going unanswered or taking too long. "Our subcommittee has an obligation, on behalf of the nation's veterans, to examine the VA's efforts to address the problem," Mitchell said. "We cannot, however, conduct our work without access to appropriate witnesses and appropriate information from the Department of Veterans Affairs. " On the Net: Cilla McCain: Let's Question the Accuracy of Current Military Suicide Statistics. Army Officer Orders Troops Not To Commit Suicide. Army desperately seeking health care providers. Army to implement new mental health screening procedures. Obama: Military Families to Become a Priority.
Your Stories: Mental Health Care and the Military. Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish. Army sees suicide decline overall, increase among Guard and Reserve soldiers. Warnings Missed Before Soldier’s Lonely Afghan Death. Soldier Takes Huge Risk to Get PTSD Help - CBS Evening News. The Military, Mental Health Services and Suicide Statistics - Donna Carbone. "I am under a lot of pressure to not diagnose PTSD" - Coming home: The Army's fatal neglect.
Veterans' Caregiving Often Falls to Spouse. Widow recalls Marine husband's despair and suicide | marine, husband, wife - News - Jacksonville Daily News.
Military Health System. Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) Defense & Veterans Brain Injury Center. Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury [DCoE] Donor's millions for military causes drying up. Robert D. Stolorow: The Traumas of War.