FIRST LADY TO THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE: HARNESS THE POTENTIAL OF VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES

The White House Blog:

First Lady Michelle Obama addressed the closing session of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual meeting. She discussed an issue near and dear to her heart as First Lady, and that is the challenges faced by America’s veterans and military families, particularly as they transition to civilian life.

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. These CGI members have made commitments valued at $57 billion, bringing hope and opportunity to more than 200 million people around the world.This year, commitments were announced to support the long-term recovery of the Gulf Coast. READ MORE »

HOPE FROM THE HOMEFRONT

Hope from the Homefront

BY JULIE SWEARINGEN, PhD

Unbelievable! It’s July already, and as I face the long, hot south Texas summer, I think it’s appropriate that I talk a little about endurance.

Meet Harriet Anderson – a remarkable woman for many reasons. She is 75 years old and is the Women’s 70-74 y.o. Ironman World Champion. She has raced in 18 Ironman Triathlons. For those of you unfamiliar with the Ironman, it is a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run. The race begins at 7 a.m. and you must complete all events by midnight to be classified as a “finisher.” Not only has she completed 18 of these grueling events, but she did not run her first triathlon until she was 53 years old. READ MORE »

ONE FREEDOM: A VETERAN-CIVILIAN DIALOGUE

The topic of “veteran-reintegration” is a national dialogue happening everywhere from military installations, to schools, businesses, and churches. The gap between “battlefront to homefront”, “uniform to university” or “combat to corporate” impacts everyone involved and demands strategic thought, conversation and action.

Facilitated dialogue among featured guests and members of the audience allows for a unique conversation revealing personal insight, ideas and perspectives from many different generations of military veterans and civilians. READ MORE »

MANY VETERANS WITH PTSD STRUGGLE TO FIND SUPPORTIVE EMPLOYMENT

Michael Butcher has applied for at least 25 jobs since injuries he suffered in Iraq forced him to leave the Army three years ago.

“I was even turned down by McDonald’s,” said the 29-year-old San Diego native.

The military is known for developing leadership, adaptability, loyalty and teamwork. But Butcher said when he tells employers he needs time off to see therapists for post-traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury, they don’t call back.

“They think you are mental,” he said.

After nearly a decade of war, many U.S. military veterans have lived through extended periods of combat stress and READ MORE »

VETERAN FIGHTS VA OVER EXPOSURE TO BURN PITS

Iraq veteran Tim Wymore spends most of what he believes are his last days worried about what will become of his family.

He has three lesions on his brain, another on his eye. He suffers from a blood disorder, a damaged esophagus and abdominal problems that led to the removal of most of his colon. He can barely stand, and then only with the aid of a cane.

He is 44 years old.

Wymore, of St. Charles, is one of several hundred veterans across the country who have filed lawsuits contending that dangerous toxins from open-air burn pits operated on U.S. military installations in Iraq and Afghanistan made them sick. Last week a federal judge ruled the case could proceed. READ MORE »

MICHELLE OBAMA, JILL BIDEN: THE TROOPS NEED US

By Michelle Obama and Jill Biden

But while America’s combat mission in Iraq has ended, America’s commitment to our troops and their families goes on. All of us are called to an ongoing mission: to support our troops, veterans and their families, whether they are here at home, serving in Afghanistan, or supporting the Iraqi people as they forge their own future. READ MORE »

MEDAL OF HONOR TO BE AWARDED TO LIVING SOLDIER

Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta will be the first living Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War.

On Thursday, President Obama spoke with Giunta, who is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, in Vicenza, Italy, to inform him that he will be awarded the nation’s highest valor award, according to the White House.

Giunta, 25, will be honored for his actions during a fierce firefight Oct. 25, 2007, in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley.

According to the White House announcement, when an insurgent force ambush split Giunta’s squad into two groups, he exposed himself to READ MORE »

THE PATHWAY HOME MAKES INROADS IN TREATING PTSD

They went off to war brimming with confidence and eager for the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. They returned, many of them, showing no visible wounds but utterly transformed by combat—with symptoms of involuntary trembling, irritability, restlessness, depression, nightmares, flashbacks, insomnia, emotional numbness, sensitivity to noise, and, all too often, a tendency to seek relief in alcohol, drugs or suicide.

“Families and friends are shocked when one of these guys comes back,” says Fred Gusman, a social worker and mental health specialist now serving as director of the Pathway Home, a nonprofit residential treatment center in Yountville, California, where active and retired service members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and READ MORE »

OBAMA DECLARES AN END TO COMBAT MISSION IN IRAQ

WASHINGTON — President Obama declared an end on Tuesday to the seven-year American combat mission in Iraq, saying that the United States has met its responsibility to that country and that it is now time to turn to pressing problems at home.

In a prime-time address from the Oval Office, Mr. Obama balanced praise for the troops who fought and died in Iraq with his conviction that getting into the conflict had been a mistake in the first place. But he also used the moment to emphasize that he sees his primary job as addressing the weak economy and other domestic issues — and to make clear that he intends to begin disengaging from the war in Afghanistan next summer. READ MORE »