There is growing evidence of the short-term effects on children of all ages, said Sherman, who is also a professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.Research shows that some, but not all, military kids are affected in various ways, she said, including “decreased academic function, emotional toll, increased utilization of mental health care, and significant increase in the use of psychiatric medications by military children in the years since the war began.”  http://fb.me/AIJYzcEJ

@ http://bit.ly/icpcQH  In his book “Sex and War”, retired Special Forces Master Sergeant Stan Goff discusses the disastrous impacts of the “military’s propensity to absorb, conceal, and sidetrack interrogations into its outrageous institutional misogyny.” Drawing on experience from his decades in the service, Goff discusses with chilling foresight the impact of rape culture within the U.S. military on U.S. society as a whole. “Before we say that military men sexually assault women, we have to concede that men sexually assault women,” Goff said.

But while honouring female service members, Obama omitted a fact that critics say is being deliberately concealed from the public – namely, the staggering rate of sexual abuse within the U.S. military. In 2007, the Department of Defence (DoD) reported 2,200 cases of rape in the military. In 2009, the figure jumped to almost 3,300. One in every three women in the army has experienced some form of sexual assault, from harassment to rape; 37 percent of victims are raped multiple times, 14 percent are gang raped. Overall, the rate of rape within the military is twice that of the civilian population.

Veterans and Suicide – We Must Overcome -You Tube video @ http://bit.ly/falnc5 / Please take the time to watch and then get involved

A late 2009 report from New York’s Fort Drum, home to the 10th Mountain Division, found “backed up” mental health clinics on and off base for soldiers suffering from depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nationwide, more than one out of every five of the 9,300 Warrior Transition patients suffers from diagnosed PTSD, according to the files. / http://bit.ly/invictusFdn

that the healing gained by war-traumatized children resulted in an 80 percent reduction in their symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). …http://bit.ly/ek7XLK

Since 2005, Dr. James Gordon, a Georgetown University medical doctor, has taught health care providers worldwide his techniques to reduce anger, ease family tensions and ultimately give patients a sense of control in an out-of-control environment.

Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs,  “The issues of the service member and family members are not really separate at all,” Woodson explained. “If the family is not well, the mission is in doubt.” /http://bit.ly/ge6F68

David Roever speaks to Joint Base Balad on resilience – http://fb.me/L2j0FWt7– An emotional read -A Vietnam wounded warrior speaks to the interactivity of physical and emotional healing

“I will never apologize for my tears,” he said.
He added that bottling up his emotions during Vietnam and not allowing himself to cry when he felt the need made him angry and ultimately more vulnerable.

In 2010, the United States suffered a doubling in the suicide rate of National Guard soldiers.  All branches of the military have seen dramatic increases in suicides over the past eight years.  Yet when viewed as a percentage of total service members, this tragedy is most pronounced within the National Guard. This past week, the acting director for the Army National Guard called for solutions to build individual resiliency, not just within the National Guard, but within society as a whole. /http://t.co/KA2ZWsL

The power of a Mother’s love and resolve that absent his stilled voice, she would speak for him /http://bit.ly/lindabean  Notice the date of the article and how little traction has been gotten to move this issue from thirty second sound bites to marshaling of resources

A General Officer overseeing Special Operations Forces speaks to his addiction to pain killers and reveals powerful insights into his own continuing recovery from addiction to pain killers and how he turned it into a teaching moment for military medicine. A quick read and well worth the time

This article was provided to me by Eric Greitens, CEO of The Mission Continues @ www.missioncontinues.org