Salem-News.com Ptsd articles Page 44

Wyden, Merkley Announce Funding To Improve Access to Mental Health Treatment for Rural Veterans

Program will reach out to veterans in Bend, The Dalles, Eugene, Grants Pass, Klamath Falls, and other communities.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced today that the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center will receive $1.9 million to improve mental health treatment for veterans in rural Oregon.

“As more and more of our veterans confront the sometimes severe mental health effects of serving in a very dangerous environment, we must commit to providing the best possible treatment to get these men and women back on their feet,” Wyden said.

VA Medical Center Third Annual Welcome Home OEF/OIF Vets

Veterans attending will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to learn about services, benefits, compensation and pension, eligibility, OIF/OEF specific information and Women Veterans Programs.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The Portland VA Medical Center says they will show appreciation to Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans with their Third Annual Welcome Home celebration event.

The Welcome Home event is Saturday, June 13th at PGE Park. OEF/OIF veterans and their families are invited to enjoy an evening at PGE Park as the Portland Beavers play the Fresno Grizzlies at 7:05 p.m.

Remembering Bloody Tarawa

Leon Cooper, former Navy Ensign and amphibian boat commander, not only remembers the battle in November 1943, but is now fighting to clean-up the battlefield to make it a fit memorial for thousands who died there.

(Somerdale, N.J.) - Garbage now litters the beaches on Betio Island in the Tarawa atoll, one of the bloodiest battles fought by Marines in WW II.

The first amphibious assault against fortified positions in the Pacific War, it would serve as a model and lessons learned for future assaults. The 2nd Marine Division paid the price for the lessons.

Average Age Among 11 Recent War Casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan is 32

Seven of the eleven deaths took place in Iraq, the remaining four occurring in Afghanistan.

(SALEM, Ore.) - This report accounts for the most recent eleven U.S. casualties in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, that have been reported by the Department of Defense over the period of the last 11 days.

An Army Major from Arizona who was sixty-years old; Major Steven Hutchison, was the oldest U.S. soldier to have been killed in Iraq, and he was a Vietnam Veteran.

Should American Tax Dollars Fund the Taliban?

This Memorial Day Let's Remember Not to Forget Our Mistakes.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The U.S. government is not one that easily learns from its mistakes, and George W. Bush's Iraq "Surge" of 2007 will likely go down as one of that war's greatest errors and oversights. Now it looks like the U.S. and Afghan governments may be softening to the idea of paying the Taliban to back off.

That's what happened with the famous Iraq Surge which lowered violence, but was really just a flash in the pan. There was no security in it for the Iraqi people, because it wasn't designed to last. Are we capable of making that mistake twice in the same decade? That would surely be a record of some kind.

Gaza Strip: Trucks Carrying Medical Aid Supplies Arrive

Numerous attempts to help the people of Gaza have be thwarted by the Israeli Defense Force, but this load of eight trucks were allowed inside the Gaza border.

( GAZA – Ma'an) - A convoy of much-needed medical aid arrived in Gaza Saturday. The supplies were delivered by the Organization of Islamic Conference in support of the Palestinians.

A'wni Al-A'klouk, head of the public service hospital in Gaza, said the hospital has received this delivery which contained eight truckloads of medication, equipment and other aid.

June Sixth 1944: Civilization`s D-Day
Is Memorial Day a Happenstance?

My last three months of the war gave me a real respect for the about 300,000 Combat Infantrymen who died and the near 1,000,000 wounded.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - As a grizzled World War II Combat Infantry Veteran, I reminisce about both June 6, 1944 and the meaning of Memorial Day. It seems providential that they are only days apart.

In 1940 etcetera, I didn’t have a thought in my mind about being shot at with artillery, mortars, air strafing or bombs. WW II was 6000 miles away but I did help build an Air Base in Alaska and the Swan Island Shipyard in Portland.

`Give Me a Smile Instead of a Bullet`,
`We are Children for Life not for Death` -
Slogans by the Children of Gaza,

The revolution of the children of Gaza and the realization of their dreams, the desire to create, to express themselves, to be happy and free, contrasting the absurd supremacy of the big powers.

(GAZA STRIP, Occupied Palestine) - Palestine, a land of peace and hospitality, not of war and violence: this is the message that Palestinian children are launching through the slogans they have created for the campaign promoted by the artistic project Palombology.

This is the first spiritual activist brand: a new artistic and cultural movement founded by the artist, illustrator, author and designer aleXsandro Palombo, one of the most inspiring designers of the Italian and international scene.

Oregon Military Department Braces for Lean Budget Years

The cuts could include service, support and operations reductions, four armory closures, and elimination of state personnel positions.

(SALEM, Ore.) - In light of legislative budget proposals for the 2009-2011 biennium, the Oregon Military Department is reviewing cuts it would have to make as the state budget may decrease in the years ahead.

The Joint Committee on Ways and Means proposed a cut to the OMD budget for more than $4.7 million, which is approximately 16.8% of the essential budget level.

Marijuana and the Wall Street Journal

As more Americans discover the therapeutic and industrial value of the cannabis plant, some hold onto the old propaganda like it was the gospel.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - Every once in awhile I pick up this esteemed newspaper and around May 5, 2009 I chanced upon Letters to the Editor: IS THE WAR ON DRUGS WORTH THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE.