Announcements

"To see MSC President, Carissa Picard, on PBS NOW with Maria Hinojosa, watch this on-line soldier's story here: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/424/video-webex.html?i=2. MSC was able to successfully intervene on behalf of this soldier as well as several others at Fort Hood, Texas, who needed to be placed in the Warrior Transition Unit.

Unfortunately, due to the high volume of demand for help and the lack of funds, MSC has to temporarily stop its case management component. Our 501c3 application has been submitted to the IRS recently but it may take up to 3 more months to get approved and MSC cannot begin applying for grants until it is. MSC is currently operating on exclusively on donations. Any contribution, even as little as $5 can make an enormous difference in the lives of our Military and their families.

If you are outraged by what you see in this video, we encourage you to tell others about MSC and have them join. You do not have to be a military spouse to join, you simply have to support our mission of empowering a movement of advocates within the active duty community. Someday we would like to have an advocate on every installation who could help families and soldiers like Sgt. Chavarria and Specialist Norrell (MSC's role was profiled in his story on the actual PBS show).

Your ally in change,

Carissa Picard
President
Military Spouses for Change
Involve. Inform. Inspire."

NOW

"Tune in to PBS NOW on Friday evening to see the President of MSC discuss personality disorder discharges and PTSD/misconduct discharges and the cases MSC has been involved in:

Next Week on NOW

Is the military wrongfully discharging soldiers in order to deny them benefits?
http://www.pbs.org/now/

As we honor those who have fallen in service to our country, we must also remember those who returned from battle with the physical and psychological scars of war.

At www.standup4vets.org, concerned Americans can sign a petition urging Congress and the President to take action so the men and women who fought to defend our nation don't have to fight to get the medical care they need and deserve.

For far too long, tight budgets and political posturing have kept some veterans from getting proper medical care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Disabled American Veterans is demanding that Congress enact new laws to require improved screening and treatment for psychological wounds, including post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injuries; increase support for family caregivers; and reform veterans health care funding so that it is sufficient, timely and predictable.

Thanks for any help you can provide in getting the word out to those who may want to get involved in our online mobilization and call for our government to stand up our veterans.

David E. Autry
Deputy National Director of Communications
Disabled American Veterans

THE UNITED FEMALE VETERANS OF AMERICA WILL HAVE IT'S FIRST CONFERENCE ON JUNE 26-29, 2008 AT THE ST LOUIS MARRIOTT WEST, ST LOUIS, MISSOURI. DETAILS ARE IN THE LINK BELOW. WE ARE MAKING UP POSTERS AND DISPLAYS FOR THE CONFERENCE AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR PICTURE, IN MILITARY UNIFORM, TO BE USED SEND A COPY OF IT AS AN ATTACHMENT TO MYSELF AND WANDA STORY ALONG WITH A RELEASE STATEMENT FOR USE OF THE PHOTO. PLEASE SEND AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. ALSO, PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR NAME, RANK AND BRANCH OF SERVICE, ETC.

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING OUR ORGANIZATION AND PASS THIS ON TO ANYONE THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED.

IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO BE A SPONSER, PLEASE CONTACT WANDA STORY.

AGNES M "IRISH" BRESNAHAN CAPTAIN US ARMY WAC/SIG C/MI 10 SEP 71- 10 JUN 1977

10 MARBLEHEAD RD
WINDHAM NH 03097
603-894-5788

100% SC FOR STATESIDE AO CHEMICAL EXPOSURE DATE OF CLAIM 11 JUN 1977

LIFETIME MEMBER VVA, DAV, AMERICAN LEGION AND UFVA

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST THIS EMAIL ON OTHER LINKS. www.ufva.us

AGNES M "IRISH" BRESNAHAN

NPR NEWS CONTINUES INVESTIGATIONS INTO TREATMENT OF SOLDIERS SUFFERING FROM PTSD ON ALL THINGS CONSIDERED ON FRIDAY, MAY 16

AUDIO TO BE AVAILABLE AT 7:00PM (ET) AT www.NPR.org

May 16, 2008; Washington, D.C. – In its continuing coverage of military treatment of soldiers returning from war, NPR News reports that spouses of troops with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other serious mental health problems have made it their mission to force the military to give the troops the help they need. The report from NPR National Correspondent Daniel Zwerdling is airing today, Friday, May 16 on NPR News' All Things Considered.

In this piece, Zwerdling profiles Tammie Lecompte, whose husband became so severely depressed when he returned from his second tour in Iraq that doctors feared he would die.

In 2006 and 2007, Zwerdling's six-part series on the mistreatment of soldiers at Fort Carson helped prompt Congress to focus on the issue and earned a 2008 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award and George Foster Peabody Award. Earlier this year, NPR News reported that Department of Veterans' Affairs staff at Fort Drum in upstate New York had been instructed to stop assisting injured soldiers with their military disability paperwork, used to determine annual disability payments, which led to congressional leaders asking the Army to investigate these charges and to a national soldiers' advocacy group announcing plans to seek an official military Court of Inquiry probe into the situation.

All Things Considered, NPR's signature afternoon news magazine, reaches 12 million listeners weekly, and is hosted by Melissa Block, Michele Norris and Robert Siegel. To find local stations and broadcast times, visit www.NPR.org/stations

-NPR-

NPR Media Relations: Laura Perloff 202.513.2310 / lperloff@npr.org

CNN is currently working on a story about military families facing foreclosure. They are reaching out to military families that are struggling to make their mortgage payments. They would also appreciate feedback on whether there are additional stresses placed on military families (v. civilian families) in the current sluggish real-estate market.

They are looking to interview a service member and/or spouse for a taped piece to to air within a CNN special hour on the military to air on memorial day.

If you are interested, please contact Carissa Picard.

Please contact me soonest.

Thank you; your help is invaluable and appreciated.

Dear Friends and Members:

Our main policy goal for 2008 is to prevent the continued abuse of "personality disorder" discharges and the failure of Commanders to recognize post-deployment misconduct as possible indications of untreated PTSD and/or TBI. Since 2003, at least 28,000 servicemembers have been involuntarily separated from the military for personality disorders and post-deployment misconduct.

We are sharing with you the preliminary/minimum changes we would like to see the DoD make.

Returning Warrior Mental Health Protection Act

Purposes:

To effectively identify service members in crisis upon return from a combat zone.
To provide a means by which returning warriors exhibiting signs of post-combat stress can receive mental health care, treatment, and evaluation before their behavior escalates to the point of involuntary separation from the military.
To create uniformity among military units in the management of service members engaging in misconduct or otherwise exhibiting signs of mental health distress upon return from a combat zone.

Definitions

Military mental health provider -- anyone licensed to provide mental health care and recognized by the Commander of the military treatment facility (MTF) as capable of administering such care.

Post-deployment Misconduct

a. If a service member engages in misconduct within two years upon his or her return from a combat zone AND has no history of misconduct prior to his or her deployment, the Commander shall suspend disciplinary action and/or administrative discharge pending the following:

Service member must undergo a comprehensive mental health evaluation and TBI screening and be given 30 days to participate in any recommended programs offered by the MTF or otherwise recommended by the mental health provider.
Upon completion of the initial mental health evaluation and recommendation by a military mental health provider, the service member will be given the option of continuing with treatment and/or care at the MTF or approved civilian mental health provider for up to 180 days (from the date of the referral).

Referral to Warrior Transition Unit

Upon recommendation of a military psychiatrist and agreement by the service member, the service member must be released from his or her current unit and transferred to the WTU for further care, treatment, and evaluation.
Any pending or suspended disciplinary actions and/or other charges may be forwarded for disposition by the WTU Commander.

Personality Disorder Discharges

If a service member meets the following criteria, the diagnosis of a personality disorder shall qualify for compensation as a recognized disability by the DoD and VA:

Has been active for at least 2 yrs;
Has served in a combat zone; and
Has no history of such disorder noted upon his or her entrance into service.