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Author: TriSec    Date: 02/26/2013 11:24:12

Good Morning.

Today is our 4,160th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do - with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing war, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 2,177
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,081

We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$1, 427, 314, 700, 000 .00


We've been focused on our troops overseas and the issues they face for years. But with Iraq completed, and more and more troops from Afghanistan starting to come back, let's look inside for a moment today. What's it like to come home?


In the first month home from war, one Marine routinely searched his darkened bedroom for the rifle he'd left in Iraq, while another Marine shunned his favorite nightspot for fear that someone in the club might carry a gun.

In the four weeks after their homecomings, one infantryman drove “white knuckled” at 55 mph while another soldier purposely began living even faster — losing her virginity, going blonde and drinking hard with battle buddies.

Some 34,000 service members will ship home from Afghanistan during the next year, President Barack Obama told the nation last week.

Amid the gleeful glow of arrivals, many of those troops may quickly confront sensory overloads, social awkwardness and, perhaps, deep cravings for personal freedoms, according to interviews with four younger veterans who weathered such moments.

“The first 30 days are interesting,” said Alex Horton, who spent 15 months in Iraq as an Army infantryman, including during the 2007 troop surge in Baghdad and Diyala Province.

Today, he works for the Department of Veterans Affairs. "I’ll call it the unraveling. That first week back you’re still high on everything, kissing your wife or girlfriend, sometimes seeing your kids for the first time. But then the tension starts to build.

“You experience culture and weather shock, and notice your senses are heightened,” said Horton, adding that another common theme — albeit something he did not go through — involves disrupting the daily routines established by a spouse and kids during a service member’s absence, and consequently, dealing with strained relationships.

To that point, two veterans interviewed for this story, including Horton, said they suffered romantic breakups after returning from combat, and two got divorced.

"Trying to get back to my regular life was hard because I wouldn’t talk much to anybody. I didn’t want to talk about what went on in Iraq, didn't want to describe the details," said Paul Menefee, a former Marine who was deployed twice to Iraq and fought in the Battle of Fallujah in late 2004.

"Things that happened, I didn’t want to remember. I was trying to cope in my own way, not deal with the images in my head," added Menefee, who eventually divorced his wife. "I was distant from my wife, mother, cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles. At Sunday dinners, I pretty much stayed off to myself."


Troops coming home have another challenge. Some stay in the military, but for those completing their duties, or for many reservists coming back...they're out of a job. We've been bad at this part of the transition for a very long time, and the state of the economy hasn't helped. But slowly, finally, things are starting to turn around. There's a new career center that's been built, curiosly overseas near a country we've already left, but it's there nonetheless.


CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait — The center isn’t even complete yet, but a new Army Career and Alumni Program Center is open for business here for soldiers separating from the military.

ACAP centers provide transitioning active-duty, reserve or National Guard soldiers with benefits counseling and employment transition services such as resume writing and interview workshops.

The need for a center in Kuwait derived from fact that at least some of the 13,000 servicemembers serving in Kuwait — mostly soldiers — will be leaving the service. ACAP centers assist soldiers within two years of retirement or one year of separating.

“You tell them I’m interested in being a teacher, and getting an apprenticeship and they will go find the information ... as well as what they can do to get you into the program,” said Spc. David Hunt, who is currently deployed in Kuwait. Hunt will be returning to the U.S. in late February or early March, and will separate in April. He hopes to become a teacher, and at the center, he found there are numerous programs to get him to that goal.

Sgt. Barry Shapiro is also leaving the military in April. “The time line is pretty short,” he said. Without the ACAP center, it would potentially mean sacrificing his terminal leave once he gets back to the U.S. to get the information he gets here.

“It relieves some of that transitional stress,” said Shapiro. “When I get back I’m not wondering how I am going to put a resume together, or what is my strategy going to be,” he added. “This ultimately means I can do my job up to the last minute, get out and be ready and prepared to go to work.”

“I think it provides a little extra security to the soldier knowing that even though he is in a deployed setting, he’s able to get the same services he would be able to get back home,” said Kish Hamilton, a counselor at the center who has been helping Shapiro and Hunt.


Finally today....there's still those soldiers for whom the whole experience is too much. These stories come and go throughout the news cycle, but they never go away. Despite the efforts of the government and support agencies alike, soldier suicides still seem to be constant, although now there's some thought that they might actually be underestimated.


Veterans make up 22.2 percent of all suicides in the U.S., and that startling figure might actually be an underestimate because of difficulty in determining veterans’ status, according to a new report.

The total is roughly 18 to 22 veteran suicides per day.

Two-thirds of veterans who commit suicide are age 50 or older, according to the report on suicide prevention and mental health services released Friday by the Veterans Affairs Department. Twenty percent are under age 40, and just 3 percent are under 30.

Based on a review of deaths in the U.S. since 2009, the report says the suicide rate for young and unmarried veterans could be under-reported, especially for females, because death certificates might not note veteran status.

VA officials, who have dramatically expanded mental health and suicide prevention programs since 2007, are focusing on when people are most at risk and what kind of treatment, if any, they were receiving for depression or other mental issues.

The report shows that beginning in 2012 there was a slight decrease in suicide attempts by veterans who were receiving treatment from VA hospitals and clinics. In a response to the report, VA officials are taking this as a sign their enhanced treatment efforts for veterans at high risk of suicide is working.

In a statement, VA officials said preliminary evidence suggests VA programs are reducing suicides, but victory is not being declared just yet.

“VA must continue to provide a high level of care and recognize that there is still much more work to do,” the statement says. “As long as veterans die by suicide, we must continue to improve and provide even better services and care.”


18 to 22 suicides per day doesn't sound like much, given how vast the population of the country is. But even one is one too many. Somewhere along the line, we're failing our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. Perhaps the only solution is to bring them all home.
 

68 comments (Latest Comment: 02/26/2013 22:57:11 by Mondobubba)
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Comment by wickedpam on 02/26/2013 13:37:33
Morning

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 13:59:16
Why didn't somebody mention that FLOTUS was the presenter for the best picture picture Oscar ®???

Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 14:26:23
Good Morning!

Comment by wickedpam on 02/26/2013 14:53:51
Raine - did you hear Chris Core's commentary last night?

Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 15:24:04
Quote by Mondobubba:
Why didn't somebody mention that FLOTUS was the presenter for the best picture picture Oscar ®???
I thought everyone knew that.


Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 15:28:54
Quote by wickedpam:
Raine - did you hear Chris Core's commentary last night?

No, I'll go look it up.

Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 15:33:56
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Raine - did you hear Chris Core's commentary last night?

No, I'll go look it up.
This? He's such a douche sometimes -- most of the time. Seriously, she was at a state dinner and made the appearance to promote the arts for children. What the fu -- whatever.

and that's a raine value.


Comment by Scoopster on 02/26/2013 15:40:05
Mornin' all..

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 15:40:34
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Why didn't somebody mention that FLOTUS was the presenter for the best picture picture Oscar ®???
I thought everyone knew that.



I had not heard!

Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 15:43:25
Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 15:44:29
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Why didn't somebody mention that FLOTUS was the presenter for the best picture picture Oscar ®???
I thought everyone knew that.



I had not heard!
She was introduced by Jack! Who appeared to be a little


Comment by wickedpam on 02/26/2013 15:50:46
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Raine - did you hear Chris Core's commentary last night?

No, I'll go look it up.
This? He's such a douche sometimes -- most of the time. Seriously, she was at a state dinner and made the appearance to promote the arts for children. What the fu -- whatever.

and that's a raine value.


yep that's the one - almost drove the car off the road when he said the Pres was out of touch - I mean WTF! The man has a stellar approval rating. Every where he goes people want to hug him. Kids make a beeline right for him. How is that out of touch???


Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 15:53:25
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Why didn't somebody mention that FLOTUS was the presenter for the best picture picture Oscar ®???
I thought everyone knew that.



I had not heard!
She was introduced by Jack! Who appeared to be a little


By Jack, you mean Nicholson, not Black? Jack always looks like that at the Oscars.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 15:54:58
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Why didn't somebody mention that FLOTUS was the presenter for the best picture picture Oscar ®???
I thought everyone knew that.



I had not heard!
She was introduced by Jack! Who appeared to be a little


Apparently, Iranian state media put sleeves of FLOTUS's dress. I'm still trying to find the picture.

Comment by wickedpam on 02/26/2013 16:01:24
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Why didn't somebody mention that FLOTUS was the presenter for the best picture picture Oscar ®???
I thought everyone knew that.



I had not heard!
She was introduced by Jack! Who appeared to be a little


Apparently, Iranian state media put sleeves of FLOTUS's dress. I'm still trying to find the picture.



WUSA 9 had a pic of it on their FB page

Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 16:04:18
Comment by clintster on 02/26/2013 16:10:54
Quote by Raine:
Eric Cantor (DICKHEAD -VA) Wants to get rid of overtime for hourly workers.


This is what really pisses me off about this. Businesses have so much to do that they encourage employees to work overtime rather than hire more people to spread the load. Then they want to eliminate time-and-a-half. It's like we're heading back to the days of the robber barons.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 16:12:35
Quote by Raine:
Eric Cantor (DICKHEAD -VA) Wants to get rid of overtime for hourly workers.


He's not just a dick, he is chancre sore covered dick that is dripping pus from the gonnareha infection as well.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 16:16:58
What my really gross description of Eric Cantor's dickishness stunned you all?

Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 16:17:59
Quote by clintster:
Quote by Raine:
Eric Cantor (DICKHEAD -VA) Wants to get rid of overtime for hourly workers.


This is what really pisses me off about this. Businesses have so much to do that they encourage employees to work overtime rather than hire more people to spread the load. Then they want to eliminate time-and-a-half. It's like we're heading back to the days of the robber barons.
Exactly.

We have one party trying to get minimum wage raised to a mere $9.00 and hour and the other party doing this.

and people still try to say that both are the same?

This is really shameful -- even for the GOP.

(btw: Hi clint! )


Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 16:17:59
Quote by clintster:
Quote by Raine:
Eric Cantor (DICKHEAD -VA) Wants to get rid of overtime for hourly workers.


This is what really pisses me off about this. Businesses have so much to do that they encourage employees to work overtime rather than hire more people to spread the load. Then they want to eliminate time-and-a-half. It's like we're heading back to the days of the robber barons.


This will die in the Senate. It still means the Cantor is massive dickhead.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 16:18:55
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Why didn't somebody mention that FLOTUS was the presenter for the best picture picture Oscar ®???
I thought everyone knew that.



I had not heard!
She was introduced by Jack! Who appeared to be a little


Apparently, Iranian state media put sleeves of FLOTUS's dress. I'm still trying to find the picture.



WUSA 9 had a pic of it on their FB page



Nice photoshopping Iranian dude.

Comment by clintster on 02/26/2013 16:19:17
Limbaugh and O'Reilly railing about the "horror" that was Michelle Obama presenting at the Oscars? Where's my goddamned wizard's hat? I called it.

'Course, a blind screaming goat probably could have called it.

Comment by trojanrabbit on 02/26/2013 16:20:36
Quote by Raine:
Quote by clintster:
Quote by Raine:
Eric Cantor (DICKHEAD -VA) Wants to get rid of overtime for hourly workers.


This is what really pisses me off about this. Businesses have so much to do that they encourage employees to work overtime rather than hire more people to spread the load. Then they want to eliminate time-and-a-half. It's like we're heading back to the days of the robber barons.
Exactly.

We have one party trying to get minimum wage raised to a mere $9.00 and hour and the other party doing this.

and people still try to say that both are the same?

This is really shameful -- even for the GOP.

(btw: Hi clint! )


I'd only accept this if Republican Congreecritters' pay was reduced to $0 and they and their families were beheaded when their terms were over.

IOW - Go Fuck Yourself, Cantor.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 16:21:11
Comment by clintster on 02/26/2013 16:23:18


I couldn't get past this sentence:

And yesterday, she participated in a “newsmaker interview” at Patrick Henry College, a conservative evangelical school in Virginia (the man who introduced her said he wished the Tea Party movement had been “a little more conservative”).




Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 16:24:04
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Why didn't somebody mention that FLOTUS was the presenter for the best picture picture Oscar ®???
I thought everyone knew that.



I had not heard!
She was introduced by Jack! Who appeared to be a little


Apparently, Iranian state media put sleeves of FLOTUS's dress. I'm still trying to find the picture.



WUSA 9 had a pic of it on their FB page



Nice photoshopping Iranian dude.


She still looks sexy!
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/318294_10151780956274778_1164019203_n.jpg


Comment by clintster on 02/26/2013 16:26:32
In case you haven't heard about this, it is still apparently an "honor code" violation to call out your sexual attacker.

"Obviously, I'm afraid. I never meant to make anyone mad at me [by speaking out]," Gambill told HuffPost. "I'm mostly surprised at just how crazy it is, that they're willing to charge me with something just because my rapist is feeling uncomfortable."


Comment by trojanrabbit on 02/26/2013 16:27:37
I'm just too busy to look this up, but since the White House released data on what each state would lose due to the sequester, I wonder if there's a similar document for each country we give aid to.

OW...FUCK. Someone just turned on a 4 foot fixture pointed right at me. Fucking things are bright. All I see are colored dots.....

Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 16:29:38
I'm surprised our resident disaster geek hasn't mentioned what today is. 20 years ago.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 16:30:58
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Why didn't somebody mention that FLOTUS was the presenter for the best picture picture Oscar ®???
I thought everyone knew that.



I had not heard!
She was introduced by Jack! Who appeared to be a little


Apparently, Iranian state media put sleeves of FLOTUS's dress. I'm still trying to find the picture.



WUSA 9 had a pic of it on their FB page



Nice photoshopping Iranian dude.


She still looks sexy!
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/318294_10151780956274778_1164019203_n.jpg



Yeah she is. :sigh: :crushing:

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 16:31:37
Quote by Raine:
I'm surprised our resident disaster geek hasn't mentioned what today is. 20 years ago.



I know. It is a disaster geek fail!

Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 16:33:17
Bob and I both crush on FLOTUS.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 16:34:51
Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 16:35:25
Quote by Raine:
Bob and I both crush on FLOTUS.



She is total crush worthy!

Comment by wickedpam on 02/26/2013 16:40:28
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
I'm surprised our resident disaster geek hasn't mentioned what today is. 20 years ago.



I know. It is a disaster geek fail!



believe I saw on FB that he was going to PT this morning - I'm sure he'll have something about it when he gets back

Comment by clintster on 02/26/2013 16:42:00
Apropos of nothing:

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkwl6u1PS31qf3j4ao1_400.jpg


Comment by TriSec on 02/26/2013 16:44:17
Fail, ha.

Cut me some slack - I was off at PT and OT this morning. BBC "Witness" had an in-depth piece about it today.

You're referring to the Alitalia crash, circa 1960, yes? * ducks brick *


Comment by TriSec on 02/26/2013 16:49:43
A certain Mr. Brady will be here through 2017 and age 40, so let the hating begin.

As I have stated repeatedly this year, I'm only a fair-weather football fan, but the weather has been pretty good for an awfully long time...

Now if the Red Sux would stop sucking every dick they find....



Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 16:54:05
JERSEY CITY, NJ - APRIL 6: This 06 April 1993 file photo shows blind Egyptian fundamentalist Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman at a press conference in Jersey City, NJ, ahead of the jury selection in New York in the trial of the spiritual leader and 11 others in the World Trade Center bombing. Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman' attorney during his 1995 conviction for the World Trade center bombing, Lynne Stewart from the US, was arrested 09 April, 2002 apparently on charges she harbored terrorists, her attorney Susan Tipograph said. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced 09 April that the indictment charges four individuals, including Stewart, with aiding Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman in continuing to direct the terrorist activities of the Islamic Group from his prison cell in the United States. AFP PHOTO FILES/HAI DO (Photo credit should read HAI DO/AFP/Getty Images)
I remember this... Does anyone remember what the outcome of her case was?

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 17:01:12
My favorite subset of our clients, the legal weed state entrepreneurs!

Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 17:03:30
I love how the Vatican is telling us what the ex pope (AKA Soon to be 'Pope Emeritus' ) will wear. In great detail, Bravo style.

Comment by trojanrabbit on 02/26/2013 17:04:21
Quote by TriSec:
A certain Mr. Brady will be here through 2017 and age 40, so let the hating begin.

As I have stated repeatedly this year, I'm only a fair-weather football fan, but the weather has been pretty good for an awfully long time...

Now if the Red Sux would stop sucking every dick they find....


Won't help without someone with a brain as DC.

Pats have won nothing since Crennel and Weis left.

Considering the HC is supposed to be a defensive "genius" that defense sure seems to blow goats when the chips are down.

Comment by Raine on 02/26/2013 17:14:22
Quote by Raine:
I love how the Vatican is telling us what the ex pope (AKA Soon to be 'Pope Emeritus' ) will wear. In great detail, Bravo style.
Am I wrong? Doesn't this sound like something from Bravo Channel?


Comment by livingonli on 02/26/2013 17:14:28
Good day, folks. Have to wonder where that Hello Kitty meets Wu-Tang Clan logo came from.

Comment by TriSec on 02/26/2013 17:16:18
It's more a local story, but did you all hear that the Mass Pike just got significantly safer?

Comment by Scoopster on 02/26/2013 17:16:33
Quote by livingonli:
Good day, folks. Have to wonder where that Hello Kitty meets Wu-Tang Clan logo came from.

Ghostface Weeaboo

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 17:19:08
Quote by Raine:
JERSEY CITY, NJ - APRIL 6: This 06 April 1993 file photo shows blind Egyptian fundamentalist Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman at a press conference in Jersey City, NJ, ahead of the jury selection in New York in the trial of the spiritual leader and 11 others in the World Trade Center bombing. Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman' attorney during his 1995 conviction for the World Trade center bombing, Lynne Stewart from the US, was arrested 09 April, 2002 apparently on charges she harbored terrorists, her attorney Susan Tipograph said. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced 09 April that the indictment charges four individuals, including Stewart, with aiding Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman in continuing to direct the terrorist activities of the Islamic Group from his prison cell in the United States. AFP PHOTO FILES/HAI DO (Photo credit should read HAI DO/AFP/Getty Images)
I remember this... Does anyone remember what the outcome of her case was?



Convicted 10 years. Some semi-accurate info from Wiki for you.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2013 17:19:39
Quote by TriSec:
It's more a local story, but did you all hear that the Mass Pike just got significantly safer?



You stopped driving? :ducks brick: