Why I Love My VA Hospital
Over the years, a number of friends and acquaintances have been leveled with shingles. Terribly painful and not all that attractive, either. Turns out the virus that levels sufferers has been sitting around for years and years, not taking up much space or making any noise.
And then — ka-bloowey! Substantial portions of your torso suddenly look like fried pork rinds brushed with barbecue sauce. Like barbecue sauce it can come in mild, medium, or “Did you say suicide is painless?” Modern medicine is working on this case, but to date, there’s not much it can do about it. Pain pills and steroids are about it.
Except MM has developed a vaccine.
When I turned 60, VA Brecksville called and offered the vaccine. I went. Hope it works. What impressed me was the hospital’s diligence. Staff there pays attention to this Ramblin’ Wreck from Ol’ West Tech.
“Each One Reach One, Teach One”
(Sent to us by “NAMI Ohio”
Vet2Vet is a national recovery movement specifically for veterans. Its founder, Moe Armstrong explains, “Vet2Vet is based on the concept of mutual help. Each One Reach One Teach One. We are a group of people with mental illness or psychiatric conditions who happen to be veterans. We are dedicated to helping other veterans and all people who have psychiatric conditions establish meaningful lives in the community.”
Like the SOAR program being developed by Capt. Smith and the Ohio National Guard, Vet2Vet believes the best way to reach veterans is through other veterans and their organizations. “Veterans have unique experiences and are, in a way, a unique breed. They need to find others who get what it is like to experience war or service-related trauma. By collaborating with mental health providers and programs such as the Guard program, we can bring veterans into a healing environment that they are comfortable with,” stated Walter Hudson. Walter is deeply involved in veteran issues, serving on the NAMI National’s Veteran Council as Area Coordinator for VISN 10 (the Veterans Integrated Service Network of which VISN 10 includes most of Ohio). Like Armstrong, he is a veteran. He is recovering from service-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Depression. Walter has been very active in Ohio’s consumer-led recovery efforts and was one of the first people trained in WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) that provides an individual recovery road map for individuals living with various forms of mental illness. He has also contributed to a number of publications focused on wellness recovery and community supports, and is a nationally recognized trainer in this area.
As part of his passion and his role on the NAMI Veteran Council, Walter is leading efforts to make Vet2Vet programs available throughout Ohio, “Vet2Vet in Los Angeles has served over 30,000 veterans. We need to do that in Ohio.” His goal is for Ohio Vet2Vet to offer peer-facilitated support groups in all areas of Ohio, including VA hospitals and clinics as well as community-based veteran organizations. “My first step to making Ohio Vet2Vet a reality is to form a steering committee,” said Hudson. “I am looking for veterans, family members of veterans or others who have a deep commitment to veterans to serve on the steering committee.”
NAMI Ohio is pleased to support this effort in Ohio and is asking any of our Stigma Buster readers with an interest in serving on the Ohio Vet2Vet Steering Committee to contact Walter Hudson as soon as possible. He can be reached at (330) 749-8283 or whudson54@aol.com.
But if the cause be not good, the King himself hath a heavy reckoning to make
(Excerpted with permission from Combat Veterans: Bringing It Home, by Bill DeWitt MA, MFT, Viet Nam 1967-1968)
War: The Clean Machine
Paul Fussell survived his service in WWII Europe as an infantry combat officer to return home and earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. He eventually became a professor of English Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. He is one of the very few academics in the field who can write about war, based upon intimate knowledge and personal experience. His clear-eyed honesty cuts through a lot of the official bullshit.
In his book, Wartime, he sets the stage for war:
“In the popular and genteel iconography of war during the bourgeois age, all the way from 18th and 19th century history paintings to 20th century photographs, the bodies of the dead, in inert, are dead. Bloody, sometimes sprawled in awkward positions, but except for the absence of life, plausible and acceptable simulacra of the people they once were. But there is a contrary and much more ‘realistic’ convention represented in, say, the Bayeux Tapestry, where an ornamental border displays numerous severed heads and limbs. That convention is honored likewise in Renaissance awareness of what happens to the body in battle.
Read the rest of this entry »
War’s a Bitch. Living through one ain’t a walk in the park, either.
(Sent to us by Captain Michelle Smith, Ohio National Guard)
Capt. Michelle Smith
Captain Michelle Smith enlisted in the Ohio National Guard when she was 18 years old. Sixteen years later she decided to become an officer. Four months after receiving a direct commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, she was leading a Military Police platoon in Iraq. The year was 2003.
Describing her experience, Capt. Smith said, “My unit was mortared everyday. We spent our time patrolling the roads, on constant alert for Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), ambushes and attacks. During an insurgency, you can’t tell who the enemy is, and because of the Rules of Engagement, we could not defend ourselves unless we could identify who was attacking us. One day we were ambushed and an IED went off right beside our vehicle and the vehicle behind us. Fortunately, it wasn’t a well made bomb. This is how we lived for ten months, never knowing what might happen next. Added to this stress was the knowledge that I was responsible for the lives of the 32 soldiers in my Platoon. Adrenalin flowed through my veins constantly, whether I was awake or asleep.” Read the rest of this entry »
To Kill an American
You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published, in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.
So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is. So they would know when they found one.
Read the rest of this entry »
Cleveland State University Seeks Veteran Student Success Coordinator
NOTE: July 29th Deadline for applying. Please send it on to all Veterans and their families
Let us get the best candidates apply to serve our Veterans at Cleveland State University (CSU)
Mailing Address
Cleveland State University
2121 Euclid Avenue, AC 113
Cleveland, OH 44115-2214
Campus Location
Parker Hannifin
Administration Center
2300 Euclid Avenue
Suite 113
Phone: 216.687.3636
hr@csuohio.edu
Category:
Administrative & Professional
Start Date
08/23/2010 (ASAP)
Salary Grade:
4
Title:
Coord, Veteran Student Success
Department:
Student Life
Title of Immediate Supervisor:
Dean of Students
FLSA:
Non-Exempt
FTE:
1
Function:
Plans and coordinates orientation, retention and outreach initiatives with key institutional partners. Provides information and student services assistance related to university policies and procedures. Resolves administrative problems and inquiries; composes, edits, and proofreads correspondence, reports and surveys, and prepares a variety of administrative and fiscal documents. Establishes and maintains institutional information pertaining to veterans. Supervises assigned student and volunteer staff. Interacts professionally with all internal and external customers using strong interpersonal skills.
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree and administrative or student services experience in higher education. Strong customer orientation and excellent written, verbal and interpersonal skills. Ability to work successfully across a broad spectrum of the university and veterans communities. PC proficiency, including word processing, spreadsheet and database applications. Ability to maintain confidentiality. Ability to work independently, resolve problems in absence of supervisor, and prioritize workload to meet deadlines.
Preferred Qualifications:
Veteran status (Honorably discharged). Experience developing and implementing effective retention or recruitment programs.
Requisition Number:
0600288
Posting Open To:
All Applicants (External & Internal)
Position Funding:
Funds Available
If Funds Available, Date Grant Expires:
If Temporary, Date Position or Appointment Expires:
Special Notes:
Hours Per Week:
40
Work Schedule:
Required to work some evenings and weekends
Shift:
First
Hiring Range/Pay Rate:
$32,552 – $42,000
Bargaining Unit:
SEIU Represented
Full-time/Part-time:
Full-Time
Posting Date:
07-14-2010
Closing Date:
07-29-2010
Required Applicant Documents:
Resume
Cover Letter
Instructions to Applicants:
Applications will be exclusively accepted online at http://www.csuohio.edu/offices/hrd/employment.html Mailed or emailed application materials will not be accepted.
Review Begins:
Internal Job Category:
Professional
Who Needs a Merry-Go-Round When We Have the Federal Government?
Ms. Laura Pechaitis
Constituent Services Liaison
Office of Senator Sherrod Brown
Erieview Tower
1301 East 9th St., Suite 1710
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Dear Laura:
Thank you for your prompt return of my call. Per your request, I will detail what my inquiries have resulted in so far, to try and locate a DSN # for the Greater Cleveland area and, hopefully, all of Ohio.
My son, Maj. Thad D. Weist, was deployed for the fourth time now to Afghanistan approximately three weeks ago. Shortly after his arrival, he contacted me and asked if I could try and find the DSN # utilized by the military in Northeast Ohio so that he could dial up a 216 or 440 exchange. I first contacted the DFAS office at the Cleveland Federal Building and spoke with the director’s secretary. She was very helpful and sent out inquiries to several people to see if they had access to such a number. Two of their staff people responded back to me and informed me that such a number is not available. I then contacted the U.S. Coast Guard Station, Cleveland Headquarters, also located in the Federal Building. I explained my request and was transferred to one of their tech people who had been deployed himself and knew exactly what I needed. He called me back within the hour and said he had found the DSN # for Ohio deployed troops and that it was out of Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. He gave me that number which is known as the “Ohio Morale Line” (787-1110). The tech’s name is Joe Dellarose and he can be reached at 216-902-6117.
I forwarded this information to my son via email. He emailed me back and explained that when he called this number, he was asked for his credit card number so that they could charge him for the long distance fees from Dayton to the Cleveland exchange area. I then contacted Lt. Cornell Blue’s office at Army recruiting command, Cleveland, also at the Federal Building. I had no luck there either. I find it hard to believe that soldiers deployed out of the Dayton area can enjoy the “Ohio Morale Line” and the rest of the our deployed military have to pay for this service.
I feel confident that Senator Brown can correct this oversight so that all of our deployed troops in Ohio can enjoy the Ohio Morale Line and not just those in the Dayton area code exchange.
Any assistance Senator Brown could provide would be greatly appreciated, not only for me, but for all of the men and women that are deployed from this great State.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this most important issue.
Daniel T. Weist
President, Cuyahoga County Veteran Service Commission
Office: 216-698-2646
Home: 440-835-2654
Cell: 440-241-0042
Email: danweist@wowway.com
Iwo Jima
Lt. Charles Arthur, Bravo, 1/52nd Infantry, 198th LIB, Americal Division, sent this. A very good read.
by Jim Brinson
Each year I am hired to go to Washington, DC, with the eighth grade
class from Clinton, WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I
greatly enjoy visiting our nation’s capitol, and each year I take some
special memories back with me. This fall’s trip was especially
memorable.
On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima Memorial. This
memorial is the largest bronze statues in the world and depicts one of
the most famous photographs in history — that of the six brave soldiers
raising the American flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of
Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II.
Over one hundred students and chaperons piled off the buses and headed
towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the
statue, and as I got closer he asked, ‘Where are you guys from?’
I told him that we were from Wisconsin . ‘Hey, I’m a cheesehead, too!
Come gather around, cheeseheads, and I will tell you a story.’ Read the rest of this entry »
From U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich, Who Makes More Sense Than the White House and Pentagon Combined
Who is in charge of our operations in Iraq, now? George Orwell? A war based on lies continues to be a war based on lies. Today, we have a war that is not a war, with combat troops who are not combat troops. In 2003, President Bush said ‘Mission Accomplished’. In 2010, the White House says combat operations are over in Iraq, but will leave 50,000 troops, many of whom will inevitably be involved in combat-related activities.
Just seven days ago, General Babaker Shawkat Zebari, the commander of Iraq’s military, said that Iraq’s security forces will not be trained and ready to take over security for another 10 years. One story is being told to the military on the ground in Iraq and another story is being told to their families back home.
You can’t be in and out at the same time.
This is not the end of the war; this is simply a new stage in the campaign to lull the American people into accepting an open-ended presence in Iraq. This is not an honest accounting to the American people and it diminishes the role of the troops who will put their lives on the line. This is not fair to the troops, their families or the American people.
The Administration and the Pentagon would be wise to level with the American people about our long-term commitment to Iraq.
The cost of the wars has been estimated to be around $1 million per soldier per year. Each year the troop levels stay at 50,000 means another $50 billion is wasted. I object to spending billions of dollars to maintain a charade in Iraq while our own economy is failing and over 15 million Americans are out of work. I object to keeping any level troops in Iraq to maintain a war based on lies. It is time that Congress sees through the manipulation and finally acts to truly end the war by stopping its funding.
ARVN VETERANS TO SPEAK AT MEDINA VFW
CHAPTER 385 MEDINA COUNTY VIETNAM VETERANS ARE HOSTING A PRESENTATION BY SOUTH VIETNAMESE (ARVN) SOLDIERS ENTITLED:
LIFE AFTER THE U.S. PULLOUT FROM VIETNAM
AGENDA
DATE: Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010
TIME: 5:00p.m. – 7:00p.m. Social Time
7:00p.m. – Open Meeting
PLACE: All Veterans Hall, 620 North Broadway, Medina, Ohio
South Vietnamese Veterans talk about what took place after the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam. Question and answer period to follow.
Your gracious host for
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again"