The Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans (CIAV) convened in Washington, DC October 6-7, 2009 to share our expertise in delivering support and services to military, veterans, their families and survivors.

The CIAV’s 52 agencies met with Congressman Bob Filner, Chair of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Brigadier General Loree K. Sutton, Director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury; Douglas B. Carmon, Ombudsman to General Eric Shinseki, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs; other representatives from the DoD, VA, and Congress; and community supporters to report from the field regarding community efforts to serve our warriors, their families, and their survivors.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives helped us convene in the Capitol on the morning of October 6 to dialogue with members of Congress and their staff, while the afternoon provided us an opportunity to meet with federal agencies. The Association of Small Foundations and the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region helped cohosted an informational briefing on October 7 which garnered a dialogue between our organizations and those in the community interested in learning more about the issues that affect those who serve.

The goal of the CIAV summit for our organizations was to strengthen partnerships between government and community in our common mission of caring for those who serve and brainstorm with our colleagues in the DoD, VA and community in delivering the best, most accessible and comprehensive supports possible. We certainly succeeded our goals and look forward to furthering the relationships established during the meetings.

As we have previously stated, no one agency or sector can deliver the breadth of support required to serve our warriors. We have learned since the wars began, and even more so now, that we must coordinate care, and leverage every resource to meet the needs of our warriors and their families.

For more information on the meetings, please contact us.

Please come support the Farmer Veteran Coalition’s mission of creating a new generation of farmers working with returning young veterans.  Meet them and hear their stories.

The Farmer-Veteran Coalition seeks to help our returning veterans find employment, training, and places to heal on America’s farms.  At the same time the Coalition hopes that some of these young men and women may help address our country’s critical need for more good, hard-working people entering the field of agriculture.

Press Conference: Sept. 18th at the Veterans Memorial Building at 3PM

For more information see http://www.farmvetco.org/

Connect with other women veterans by sharing stories, experiences and community; learn stress management techniques; exercise your creative side; and enjoy a beautiful setting through hiking & kayaking in scenic Marshal, California.

About The Coming Home Project

The Coming Home Project is a non-profit organization devoted to providing compassionate care, support and stress management tools for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, their families, and their service providers. They are a multi-disciplinary team of veterans, psychotherapists and interfaith leaders committed to helping transform the wounds of war. Their programs address the emotional, spiritual, and relationship challenges faced by veterans and families before, during and after deployment.

Who is eligible? All women who served in military since September 11th, 2001

What does the retreat cost? This program is completely free. There is no cost for lodging, meals, workshops or air travel.

Coming Home Project will begin accepting applications on August 10th. Learn more by visiting their website at http://www.cominghomeproject.net/.

Vets4Vets will be hosting a FREE peer support workshop at The Whispering Winds Conference Center, August 21-23, 2009 in San Diego, CA. This is a general workshop, so all OIF/OEF-era veterans can apply! Visit www.vets4vets.us for more details.

About Vets4Vets

Vets4Vets is a non-partisan veteran organization dedicated to helping Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans feel good about themselves and heal from any negative aspects of service and war through the use of peer support.

Their primary goal is to help Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans understand the value of peer support and to regularly use peer support to express their emotions, manage their challenges and ease their reintegration into society. Our vision is that anytime a veteran needs to talk with someone who really understands, a local Vets4Vets peer support group is available at no cost. We envision Vets4Vets being a common name in the minds of all veterans as a place where they, and their comrades, can go to heal.

Army Times reports on the 234th birthday of the Army, with Bill White, President of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, there to celebrate.

New York celebrates Army birthday
Jun 15, 2009
By ARNEWS

NEW YORK (Army News Service, June 15, 2009) — The Army’s 234th birthday was celebrated in New York City with a wreath ceremony at the USS Intrepid, ringing of the closing bell Friday at the New York Stock Exchange and an Army Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium Sunday.

The 2008 Soldier of the Year, Sgt. David Obray, rang the closing bell on Wall Street Friday with Director of the Army Staff Lt. Gen. David H. Huntoon Jr. They were joined by local-area noncommissioned officers and veterans from AUSA’s Statue of Liberty Chapter to ceremoniously end the day of trading at the New York Stock Exchange to thunderous applause.

Huntoon was presented with the traditional “Bull and Bear” statue by John Merrell, senior vice president, Global Corporate Client Group, during the ceremony at the stock exchange.

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli laid a wreath in honor of all fallen Soldiers during an Army Birthday commemoration at the USS Intrepid in New York City Sunday. Also participating in the ceremony was Patrick Gualtieri, executive director, United War Veterans Council and Bill White, president of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

Also on Sunday, the military’s first female four-star general threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The pitch by Gen. Anne E. Dunwoody, commander of the U.S. Army Materiel Command, was preceded by a demonstration by the U.S. Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights. The Golden Knights jumped into the stadium prior to the game.

Photo Credits: Master Sgt. Jennifer K. Yancey, OCPA-Northeast, Sgt. 1st Class Richard A. Guzman, New York City Recruiting Battalion.

In honor and rememberence of those who have served, many of our Coalition organizations gathered with their communities for a day of mourning and reflection, spoke of the sacrifices of those who have served, gathered with those who have lost their loved ones, or shared their stories with the press of honoring those who are transitioning home from combat.

Here are some of the stories of events from Memorial Day.

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TAPS gathered with families of the fallen over Memorial Day weekend for their 15th Annual National Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp.

“On the surface it was like any other Memorial Day celebration, but underneath, there was a different purpose and a deeper meaning. Behind the laughter and controlled chaos, there were individual stories of loss and pain.”

Read the full story: Families of Those Who’ve Died at War Grieve Together National Harbor hosts National Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp, NBC News in Washington

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CNN American Morning spoke with IAVA’s Chief Legislative Counsel Patrick Campbell on Memorial Day for this interview about honoring our nation’s newest generation of veterans and ensuring they receive adequate access to health care and counseling for the transition home from combat.

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Swords to Plowshares created an interactive mural with their local community to encourage reflection and healing. As the artist who designed the mural, an Afghanistan veteran, stated, “There’s a dialogue created, and people may discuss what this means. They can think about what brought them here.”

Read the full story: S.F. Memorial Day events honor the fallen, San Francisco Chronicle

]]> http://coalitionforveterans.org/2009/05/memorial-day/feed/ 0 http://coalitionforveterans.org/2009/04/ciav-to-host-public-forum-may-7-register-now/ http://coalitionforveterans.org/2009/04/ciav-to-host-public-forum-may-7-register-now/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:41:55 +0000 admin http://coalitionforveterans.org/?p=1828 “As organizations throughout the U.S. work to help combat veterans, the Coalition for Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans decided to bring them all together so they could share knowledge about what they’re doing and talk about what still needs to be done. CIAV is a clearinghouse of 50 agencies that seek to help veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

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Experts: Vets need more comprehensive care

Military Times

By Kelly Kennedy – Staff Writer
Posted : Friday May 8, 2009

When an improvised explosive device blew up in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004, Derek McGinnis, a former Navy corpsman, lost the bottom half of one leg.

But during a session about the importance of dealing with pain management while working with veterans with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, McGinnis found that no one seemed to believe him when he spoke of the great pain he felt in the remaining half of his leg months later.

Because the explosive had left bits of metal shrapnel in his leg, doctors couldn’t use an MRI to scan his thigh for other problems. Instead, they acted as if the pain were all in his head.

“It hurt not to be believed,” he told an audience of care providers May 7 at the Coalition of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans’ conference in Washington, D.C.

That pain, which he said burned day and night, made it difficult for him to make progress in any other area of his rehabilitation. Soon, he was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, where a doctor diagnosed him with nerve damage and bone growth, and immediately began addressing McGinnis’ pain.

“I was hopping up and down on one leg because I was so excited that they believed me,” he said.

Since his pain was addressed, he has worked on his mental health issues and become so comfortable with a prosthetic device that he’s now a triathlete.

As organizations throughout the U.S. work to help combat veterans, the Coalition for Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans decided to bring them all together so they could share knowledge about what they’re doing and talk about what still needs to be done. CIAV is a clearinghouse of 50 agencies that seek to help veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the three-day conference, McGinnis and other veterans talked about their experiences trying to access care after returning from deployment; family members talked about their own versions of “combat stress”; and care specialists talked about what they had to offer, as well as how the different organizations could team up.

McGinnis helped show care providers why comprehensive pain care is needed beyond treatment of the injury itself. Many veterans suffer from long-term pain, such as migraines caused by TBI or back pain caused by falls from vehicles.

Others on the same panel had advice specific to working with veterans. Fred Gusman, executive director of California Transition Center for Care of Combat Veterans — The Pathway Home, talked about using terms that service members can relate to, such as “mission,” and allowing them to look at their recovery as a “rescue mission.”

They need to use “intel” to find jobs, and instead of attending “Panic and Anxiety” classes, they went to “Jumpin’ and Jittery” classes, he said.

Elizabeth Hawkins Robinson, the cofounder of ONE Freedom, talked about the importance of teaching service members ahead of time about what stress reactions they would have in combat, as well as how to “normalize” the experience by using deep breathing techniques to calm down — or to regulate their intense life experiences.

“The hallmark of trauma is helplessness,” she said. “Empowerment is a way out of that.”

If troops understand the physiology behind stress reactions before they experience them, they might be able to understand what happens to them as what’s supposed to happen in combat.

Joseph Bobrow, president of the Coming Home Project, talked about retreats that could help everyone from health workers to family members to the veterans themselves begin to recover from having or dealing with combat trauma.

And Brenda Murdough, coordinator for the Military and Veterans Initiative for the American Pain Foundation, talked about how each piece of a veteran’s needs plays into the others. For example, McGinnis, because of his pain, couldn’t work on his psychological needs. To that end, she said comprehensive pain care needs to be accessible. She added that some veterans wait 28 to 45 days for an appointment and many don’t know what’s available to them.

More information about the Coalition for Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans and the resources it can offer is on the Web.

Retreat for Families with Deployed Service Members – 2009
When: June 25 2009 – June 28 2009

Location: Angela Center
Santa Rosa, California

“When a service member deploys, the whole family deploys with him or her.”

The challenges family members face during their loved one’s deployment are unique and acute. Managing separation, communication, parenting, employment, marital concerns, and financial issues — these are just some of the challenges. Children and teenagers likewise can find this period extremely stressful. Many families do not live in proximity of other deployed families and social support can be in short supply.
Join other family members living with deployed service members to support one another, share stories and experiences, learn to manage stress with self-care and constructive coping skills.

We at the Coming Home Project invite OIF and OEF family members with deployed loved ones to relax, restore, and reconnect with yourself and your peers.

Renew mind, body, spirit, and relationships in a beautiful, tranquil setting in Santa Rosa, California.
Learn relaxation, breathing, movement and other techniques for managing strong feelings, reducing stress and enhancing well-being.Improve communication and relationships. Enjoy tennis, volleyball, basketball, swimming, leisurely walks and delicious food.

Find comfort and strength, safety and trust in the presence of others who know the impacts of serving.
Share stories and experiences, use writing and drawing to express what is sometimes hard to say, and support and learn from one another.

Everything is confidential.

Includes lodging, meals and travel scholarships (outside Northern California).

Apply: We will begin accepting applications April 15th, 2009

Coming Home is non-partisan and non-denominational; we welcome all with an accepting and non-judgmental spirit, regardless of gender, religious and political belief, and marital status.

With help from Elmo, Rosita and their Sesame Street friends, “Coming Home” gives voice to the children as they play a central role in the family’s adjustment process, and encourages them to be what they are: kids.

Additionally, the program features coping strategies and powerful real stories to help these families and others find ways to be there for each other.

Join us as we focus on the challenges faced by injured soldiers and their families, salute their extraordinary courage, offer the general public ways to support service members in the community, and provide a brief but powerful glimpse into the lives of these amazing families.

Note: This family television special is about coping with combat-related injuries. It focuses on the courage of service members and their families. You can use this program as an opportunity for conversation.

Photo Copyright 2009 Sesame Workshop. “Sesame Street” and its logo are trademarks of Sesame Workshop. All rights reserved. Photo by Richard Termine.