Ensuring Military Readiness- Supporting the Troops

There is a lot of frustration with the 110th Congress, as there should be. This country sent a resounding, very loud message to Washington in November of 2006. We wanted a change and in particular,we want to bring our troops home from the misguided, illegal occupation in Iraq. There was much rhetoric, "We hear you", they told us, but amidst all the acrimony and political posturing, not much has been accomplished.

Last week a bill introduced by Ellen Tauscher (CA-D) was passed in the House by roll call vote. H.R. 3159: Ensuring Military Readiness Through Stability and Predictability Deployment Policy Act of 2007. The totals were 229 Ayes, 194 Nays, 9 Present/Not Voting. No surprise that the votes went pretty much by party lines, but fortunately there were enough Republicans who do support the troops (if not the war) who voted for this bill. 98% of Democrats supporting, 97% of Republicans opposing.

HR 3159 says: To mandate minimum periods of rest and recuperation for units and members of the regular and reserve components of the Armed Forces between deployments for Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. (to read the summary from the Congressional Research Service, go here) Basically it says, if you are deployed for 15 months, you would receive 15 months at home and the Reserve, our citizen soldiers, would have at least three times the amount home as that time deployed.

It's really quite simple. The body and mind need to heal after being subjected to war, 24/7/365. We MUST support the troops by giving them time to heal and time to be with their families. We know that troops are serving multiple deployments with little in the way of mental or physical care with their time at home much too short. HR 3159 would go a long way towards providing some time to heal. We owe the soldiers and their families that much.

When Skeleton introduced the bill he said, in part:

Our troops and their families are tired. They are being stressed by the continued and extended deployments. It's time that Congress takes a stand on behalf of our families and states in a clear, unequivocal voice that it is time that servicemembers have a minimum dwell time between deployments.
Servicemembers and their families are entitled to a predictable and stable time between deployments. Congress needs to step up on behalf of the troops, as well as their families, and say enough is enough.
We need to hold the Department accountable to their own policies and protect the readiness of our forces. That's no small thing. We have a moral responsibility to our troops to ensure that their quality of life is reflective of the sacrifices that we ask them to make.

I urge my colleagues to stand with us in support of our troops and in support of our families.

In response, Duncan Hunter (CA-R) the prowar, anti troop representative from southern California said this:

I think that this bill does not accrue to the benefit of the troops. I think it hurts the troops. I think that is a question every Member of the House has to ask themselves: Is this going to be good for the troops, or is it going to be bad for the troops?

I think it will be bad for the troops, for this reason: We are fighting a war in Iraq which requires innovation, flexibility and experience. This bill, which will put a straitjacket on our ability to deploy troops on the basis that their clock has not yet expired back in the United States before they go over, is going to have an incredibly detrimental affect on our ability to project a well-rounded, effective fighting team in the warfighting theater in Iraq.

Americans have no clue what the personal and medical costs of this war will be. The costs won't stop accumulating when the last soldier leaves, or when the helicopters come to evacuate people from the embassy. The medical costs to care for our military for PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), TBI (traumatic brain injury)- the signature, and frequently undiagnosed injury from this war, is unimaginable. I doubt that these costs have been included in the presumed $1 trillion cost that is being thrown around. We owe these soldiers and their families for the rest of their lives. We owe them a debt that however grateful and sincere we are, we will never, ever be able to repay. HR 3159 is a start towards minimizing and understanding the risks and cost of this war.

Thank you to Ellen Tauscher and the 22 co-sponsors of the bill, one of whom is my Congresswoman, Anna Eshoo for your courage in standing up and showing your support for the troops. Thank you to the 229 representatives who voted yes and who support the troops.

If your name is on this list who voted no, do NOT ever say you support the troops or their families. These legislators do not support the troops; they are supporting this war and this president's failed policies. I don't know how any of these people can look into the eyes of any soldier or their family and say that they are doing everything they can to support them. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!

AL-4 Aderholt, Robert [R]
MO-2 Akin, W. [R]
LA-5 Alexander, Rodney [R]
MN-6 Bachmann, Michele [R]
AL-6 Bachus, Spencer [R]
WA-3 Baird, Brian [D]
LA-6 Baker, Richard [R]
SC-3 Barrett, James [R]
MD-6 Bartlett, Roscoe [R]
TX-6 Barton, Joe [R]
IL-13 Biggert, Judy [R]
CA-50 Bilbray, Brian [R]
FL-9 Bilirakis, Gus [R]
UT-1 Bishop, Rob [R]
TN-7 Blackburn, Marsha [R]
MO-7 Blunt, Roy [R]
OH-8 Boehner, John [R]
AL-1 Bonner, o [R]
CA-45 Bono, Mary [R]
AR-3 Boozman, John [R]
LA-7 Boustany, Charles [R]
TX-8 Brady, Kevin [R]
GA-10 Broun, Paul [R]
SC-1 Brown, Henry [R]
FL-5 Brown-Waite, Virginia [R]
FL-13 Buchanan, Vern [R]
TX-26 Burgess, Michael [R]
IN-5 Burton Dan [R]
IN-4 Buyer, Stephen [R]
CA-44 Calvert, Ken [R]
MI-4 Camp, David [R]
CA-48 Campbell, John [R]
UT-3 Cannon, Christopher [R]
VA-7 Cantor, Eric [R]
WV-2 Capito, Shelley [R]
PA-10 Carney, Christopher [D]
TX-31 Carter, John [R]
OH-1 Chabot, Steven [R]
NC-6 Coble, Howard [R]
OK-4 Cole, Tom [R]
TX-11 Conaway, K. [R]
WY-0 Cubin, Barbara [R]
TX-7 Culberson, John [R]
TN-1 avis, David [R]
VA-11 Davis, Thomas [R]
GA-9 Deal, Nathan [R]
PA-15 Dent, Charles [R]
FL-21 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [R]
FL-25 Diaz-Balart, Mario [R]
CA-4 Doolittle, John [R]
VA-2 Drake, Thelma [R]
CA-26 Dreier, David [R]
TN-2 Duncan, John [R]
MI-3 Ehlers, Vernon [R]
MO-8 Emerson, Jo Ann [R]
AL-2 Everett, Terry [R]
OK-5 Fallin, M ry [R]
FL-24 Feeney, Tom [R]
NJ-7 Ferguson, Michael [R]
AZ-6 Flake, Jeff [R]
VA-4 Forbes, James [R]
NE-1 Fortenberry, Jeffrey [R]
NY-13 Fossella, Vito [R]
NC-5 Foxx, Virginia [R]
AZ-2 Franks, Trent [R]
NJ-11 Frelinghuysen, Rodney [R]
CA-24 Gallegly, Elton [R]
NJ-5 Garrett, E. [R]
PA-6 Gerlach, Jim [R]
OH-5 Gillmor, Paul [R]
GA-11 Gingrey, John [R]
TX-1 Gohmert, Louis [R]
VA-5 Goode, Virgil [R]
VA-6 Goodlatte, Robert [R]
TX-12 Granger, Kay [R]
MO-6 Graves, Samuel [R]
TX-4 Hall, Ralph [R]
IL-14 Hastert, J. [R]
WA-4 Hastings, Doc [R]
NC-8 Hayes, Robin [R]
NV-2 Heller, Dean [R]
TX-5 Hensarling, Jeb [R]
CA-2 Herger, Walter [R]
OH-7 Hobson, David [R]
MI-2 Hoekstra, Peter [R]
MO-9 Hulshof, Kenny [R]
CA-52 Hunter, Duncan [R]
SC-4 Inglis, Bob [R]
CA-49 Issa, Darrell [R]
LA-1 Jindal, Bobby [R]
IL-15 Johnson, Timothy [R]
OH-4 Jordan, Jim [R]
FL-8 Keller, Ric [R]
NY-3 King, Peter [R]
IA-5 King, Steve [R]
GA-1 Kingston, Jack [R]
IL-10 Kirk, Mark [R]
MN-2 Kline, John [R]
MI-9 Knollenberg, Joseph [R]
NY-29 Kuhl, John [R]
IL-18 LaHood, Ray [R]
CO-5 Lamborn, Doug [R]
IA-4 Latham, Thomas [R]
OH-14 LaTourette, Steven [R]
CA-41 Lewis, Jerry [R]
KY-2 Lewis, Ron [R]
GA-7 Linder, John [R]
NJ-2 LoBiondo, Frank [R]
OK-3 Lucas, Frank [R]
CA-3 Lungren, Daniel [R]
FL-14 Mack, Connie [R]
IL-16 Manzullo, Donald [R]
TX-24 Marchant, Kenny [R]
GA-8 Marshall, James [D]
CA-22 McCarthy, Kevin [R]
TX-10 cCaul, Michael [R]
MI-11 McCotter, Thaddeus [R]
LA-4 McCrery, James [R]
NC-10 Mchenry, Patrick [R]
NY-23 McHugh, John [R]
CA-25 McKeon, Howard [R]
WA-5 McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [R]
LA-3 Melancon, Charles [D]
FL-7 Mica, John [R]
MI-10 Miller, Candice [R]
CA-42 Miller, Gary [R]
FL-1 Miller, Jeff [R]
KS-1 Moran, Jerry [R]
CO-4 Musgrave, Marilyn [R]
NC-9 Myrick, Sue [R]
TX-19 Neugebauer, Randy [R]
CA-21 Nunes, Devin [R]
NM-2 Pearce, Steven [R]
IN-6 Pence, Mike [R]
PA-5 Peterson, John [R]
WI-6 Petri, Thomas [R]
MS-3 Pickering, Charles [R]
PA-16 Pitts, Joseph [R]
PA-19 Platts, Todd [R]
TX-2 Poe, Ted [R]
NV-3 orter, Jon [R]
GA-6 Price, Tom [R]
OH-15 Pryce, Deborah [R]
FL-12 Putnam, Adam [R]
CA-19 Radanovich, George [R]
MN-3 Ramstad, James [R]
OH-16 Regula, Ralph [R]
MT-0 Rehberg, Dennis [R]
WA-8 Reichert, Dave [R]
AZ-1 Renzi, Rick [R]
NY-26 Reynolds, Thomas [R]
KY-5 Rogers, Harold [R]
AL-3 Rogers, Michael [R]
MI-8 Rogers, Michael [R]
CA-46 Rohrabacher, Dana [R]
IL-6 Roskam, Peter [R]
FL-18 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R]
CA-40 Royce, Edward [R]
WI-1 Ryan, Paul [R]
ID-1 Sali, Bill [R]
NJ-3 Saxton, H. [R]
OH-2 Schmidt, Jean [R]
WI-5 Sensenbrenner, F. [R]
TX-32 Sessions, Peter [R]
AZ-3 Shadegg, John [R]
IL-19 Shimkus, John [R]
PA-9 Shuster, William [R]
ID-2 Simpson, Michael [R]
NE-3 Smith, Adrian [R]
NJ-4 Smith, Christopher [R]
TX-21 Smith, Lamar [R]
IN-3 Souder, Mark [R]
FL-6 Stearns, Clifford [R]
OK-1 Sullivan, John [R]
CO-6 Tancredo, Thomas [R]
NE-2 erry, Lee [R]
TX-13 Thornberry, William [R]
KS-4 Tiahrt, Todd [R]
OH-12 Tiberi, Patrick [R]
OH-3 Turner, Michael [R]
MI-6 Upton, Frederick [R]
MI-7 Walberg, Timothy [R]
OR-2 Walden, Greg [R]
TN-3 Wamp, Zach [R]
FL-15 Weldon, David [R]
IL-11 Weller, Gerald [R]
GA-3 Westmoreland, Lynn [R]
KY-1 Whitfield, Edward [R]
MS-1 Wicker, Roger [R]
SC-2 Wilson, Addison [R]
NM-1 Wilson, Heather [R]
VA-10 Wolf, Frank [R]
FL-10 Young, C. W. [R]
AK-0 Young, Donald [R]

Still Seeking the Truth

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld came out of retirement to testify at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to discuss the investigation into the killing of Army Ranger Pat Tillman. He should have stayed home.

He sat in that room and lied. He lied knowing that Pat's mom, Mary, his dad, brother and widow were sitting behind him. There are no words to adequately describe the contempt I have for these so called men who come to Congress with little regard for a family's search for the truth. These men who had taken the job of leading this generation of men & women who entrusted them to respect their service to their country. These men do not deserve to call themselves leaders because they failed their men and women when they failed to tell the truth about this war before it started and they failed to tell the truth to the Tillman families and many other families who were denied the truth. History will judge them to be so much less than the leaders they purport themselves to be. History will also judge them to be small men with small minds and smaller hearts.

This hearing was another example of these people using their personal dictionary to define words as they see fit. Rusmfeld says there was no coverup.

What is a coverup if not ordering a young soldier to not tell the Tillman family the truth when he attended the memorial service in Pat's home town, 11 days after he was killed.

What is a coverup if not Lt General Kensington sitting at that same memorial service- he knew the whole truth on that day and he failed to tell the family and the nation the truth?

What is a coverup if not Army commanders recommending Pat Tillman for the Silver Star for gallantry in action, while withholding evidence of friendly fire from his family for five weeks?

And when the president plays the executive privilege card because he doesn't want to say what he knew and when he knew it, it is a coverup, I don't care what he wants to call it.

What is a coverup if not Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal sending a high-priority "Personal For" on April 29, 2004, to Gen. John Abizaid and two other generals, warning that Tillman's April 22, 2004, death was likely friendly fire. The cable urged them to contact "POTUS" (the president of the United States) "in order to preclude any unknowing statements by our country's leaders which might cause embarrassment if the circumstances of Cpl. Tillman's death becomes public."

Gen. Richard Myers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged discussing with his public affairs director how "we portray this situation" to the news media. And still when asked why he did nothing, he responded "I don't think there's any regulation that would require me to do anything," Myers said. "This is the responsibility of the United States Army, not the office of the chairman, so I regret that the Army did not do their duty here and follow their own policy." In other words, "not my problem" If chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff believes that, then why would any other military leader believe they should step forward for anything that is not being done right? Let's not stand up for those soldiers and their families who look for leadership to do the right thing, because no, it's not my responsibility. It's pathetic, really.

Rumsfeld said The Tillmans were owed the truth, delivered in a forthright and timely manner. And certainly the truth was owed to the memory of the man whose valor, dedication and sacrifice to his country remains an example for all." Of course they are owed the truth, but if Rumsfeld thinks the family believed him at the hearing or any other time or anything that is being offered the family as truth, Mary Tillman responded by saying "it is a complete donkey show. "I believe that this (the cover-up and misinformation about Tillman having been killed by friendly fire) came from (former Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld," Mary said. "And they're just protecting him. . . . The public doesn't understand what is going on. No matter what has been put out in the news, it hasn't made a dent in what actually took place. Nobody quite understands how nefarious this is. I can tell you that there wouldn't be this big show of punishment if there wasn't something to this."

People tell us Gold Star families to get over it, get on with our lives; your loved one is never coming back. They ask us why the truth matters and that we are disrespecting our loved one's death by not accepting what the military has told us. We are the voices of our loved ones who can no longer speak. The Tillman family deserves our gratitude for their persistence and courage in holding those responsible who do not have the same moral courage. The military seems to think we can't handle the truth, but as Mary Tillman rightfully said "all you have is the truth."

Happy 30th Birthday, Ken

July 21, 2007 was an especially hard day. Since Ken was killed in Iraq on 5.30.04, we have celebrated his life on his birthday and on his deathday. For the anniversary of his death, we travel to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to celebrate his too short life. For his birthday in July, we go to a local park in Mountain View, CA. This is our local community who have always been supportive of me as I travel this journey of bereavement.

This birthday, Ken would have turned 30. I'm not sure what made the day more difficult; that we were celebrating this 30th anniversary of his birth. 30 should have been one of his milestone birthdays, so we celebrated without him physically present, but always in our hearts and on our minds (some of of on our bodies, with the tattoos in Ken's honor. Or was it that we were celebrating on his actual birthday? I had always run away from home in previous years and being around people, especially on Ken's birthday was difficult.

My local paper, the San Jose Mercury News wrote a very nice accounting of our celebration. The reporter is Kim Vo, the photographer is Pauline Lubens. I am grateful that they both saw a story in this celebration and understood that our loss is not only Ken's families. His death was a pebble dropped into a smooth pond and touched lives of his friends, his community and of our country. I heard from friends and family all over the country wishing me well and acknowledging missing Ken, too. I am not alone in missing Ken. I do not know if I will ever know the lives that Ken touched in his short time here, and we must always remember that our loved ones lived and not just how they died. Happy birthday, buddy!

Here is an audio slide show, too "Celebrating Ken's Life" (thanks, Pauline, as always, for your amazing photography)

==============
Keeping a soldier's memory alive
SON'S BIRTHDAY STILL CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION

Like most birthday parties, there were balloons, bubbles and stories. What was missing was the birthday boy.

Ken Ballard died May 30, 2004, in Iraq. He would have turned 30 on Saturday.

"He shouldn't just be remembered for how he died," said his mom, Karen Meredith. She has held posthumous birthday parties the past three years "as a celebration of his life."
For military families who've lost loved ones in the war, such events are common. They host backyard barbecues and park picnics.

Every year, Fremont mom Diane Layfield, whose son Travis died in Iraq, goes to El Burro restaurant. She places his photo at the head of the table, then orders their favorite: two cheese enchilada verde.

For the Meredith family, Cuesta Park in Mountain View is the spot. It's where they celebrated after Ballard graduated from Mountain View High School in 1995. It's where they wilted under the sweltering heat last year, cooling themselves with ice cubes as they toasted his memory.
Celebrating is a must for Meredith, who raised Ballard as a single mother. When he was young, she indulged him with "Star Wars" and firefighter-themed birthday parties. She even baked a firetruck-shaped cake. After he joined the Army, she shipped brownies to the Middle East, packing candles in the box so his fellow soldiers would get the hint.

The day after his burial, five of his relatives inked their bodies with memorial tattoos. Others followed suit.

At Saturday's gathering, the body art ranged from black ribbons to gold stars to a banner that read "Ken-21-RTFO" - a reference to Ballard, the number of his tank and his profane utterance to "Rock the f--k on."

Power in numbers
Still, even with all the past memorials and tributes, Saturday was tough. Thirty is a milestone year, one usually marked with black balloons, over-the-hill jokes and hints about marriage.
In past years, the parties hovered near his birthday. This year, it fell smack on: Ballard, who made first lieutenant, was born July 21, 1977.

Other years, "I could run away, go to the beach, pull the covers over my head" on Ballard's birthday, Meredith said. She never knows how she's going to feel, when a memory will make her smile or steal her breath, leaving her sobbing. "You don't know when you're going to get slammed."

It's a sentiment shared by Ballard's family, who were among the 30 guests at the park - including Ballard's grandmother, Pat Meredith.

When asked how many grandchildren she had, she momentarily flinched.

"We've got 14 now," she said quietly.

"This is a hard day. Usually we're well," she said. "But it's good for people who know Ken and understand. Most of our friends don't have a connection to the war, so they don't understand days like this."

Among the guests were other moms who've lost sons in the war and parents who are about to send their children overseas. Ballard's former Mountain View High teacher also came, as did peace activists, people who knew him as a boy and those who only heard about him after his death.

"I met all these people through the loss of our sons and daughters," said Layfield, whose son Travis was killed in 2004. "We've become a family through that."

The guests held varying opinions about the war. Meredith has criticized the government for not telling her for 15 months that her son was killed by a machine gun accidentally discharging - not in combat as the military initially reported. But none of that mattered Saturday, she said. Saturday was about Ballard.

A new family ritual
Guests flipped through photo albums, swapping stories. Here's Ken wearing that loud red Hawaiian shirt over his fatigues. Remember how the cousins loved riding his back while he did push-ups? Ken declared "No Pants Days" in Iraq, allowing his unit to wear only boxers in their tank, where the heat could rise to 160 degrees.

Cathy Patton stopped at a photo of Ken with his cousin Elizabeth, Patton's daughter. The two were born four months apart and raised like siblings. Elizabeth turns 30 this November, another reminder of something Ballard was supposed to achieve first - but never did.

"It's all things, like when my daughters have babies, he won't," she said. "Get married, he won't."

Throughout Cuesta Park on a picture-pretty Saturday, other families gathered for their own rituals: a summertime picnic and volleyball game, a baby's first birthday party with purple and orange balloons hanging from the tree like fat Christmas ornaments.

Meredith had balloons, too. People attached notes to the long, thin ribbons: "Thank you for your service," "Happy 30th Birthday, Ken" and "Kenny, I miss you so much."

The man at the balloon store had asked her how much helium she needed. It didn't matter, she said, she was releasing them into the sky. He looked horrified - such disregard for the environment!

"How else," she asked the clerk, "are they going to get to heaven?"

When it was time, she invited up all the women like herself - Travis' mom, Erik's mom, Pat's mom - who had lost their sons. They clutched at the balloons, red as hearts and carrying loving thoughts.

Then, they opened their fists and the breeze blew by, carrying the balloons high and away from this earth. People kept staring after them, long after they had disappeared from view.

What I Learned from Bush

What I learned from BUSH

1. Lying is O.K.

2. Cheating is O.K.

3. Torture is O.K.

4. Taking people's rights is O.K.

5. Neglecting the poor is O.K.

6. Being a religious hypocrite is O.K.

7. Killing is O.K.

8. Incompetence is O.K.

9. Cronyism is O.K.

At military burn unit, difficult recoveries bring stresses and deep bonds

From the Asociated Press, here is a glimpse inside the daily activities at Brooke Army Medical Center and treatment of the members of the military who have been severely burned in Iraq & Afghanistan. They have been sent to San Antonio, TX to begin their long, painful journey of recovery. The soldiers & marines are not the only heroes; so are the medical staff who do this day after day after day. May all of their families find some peace and respite.

If you dare read the whole thing and do not shed a tear, I worry about your soul.
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The five badly burned soldiers arrived around 11 p.m., sedated and swathed in bandages from head to foot _ the screech of the plane’s wheels on the tarmac and waiting ambulances marking the end of a 7,500-mile journey.
Dr. Kevin Chung had just returned from dinner as the ambulance convoy zipped through the gates of Brooke Army Medical Center. He paced back and forth from his office to intensive care, waiting for the soldiers who were coming in from Germany, after being evacuated from Iraq.
A three-continent marathon, and this was the finish line.
Chung had reviewed the soldiers’ charts and ordered medicine. He donned a blue surgical gown and put on his mask and gloves as the men were wheeled in one by one, tethered to a blinking, beeping, buzzing nest of tubes, ventilators and monitors.
Now Chung and some 30 doctors, nurses and others took over.
They cut open the men’s bandages and, using diagrams of the human body, mapped the soldiers’ burns _ shading in red for third-degree, blue for second-degree _ to plan for surgery.
They called the soldiers’ families. They needed permission to operate.
Quickly.
The men had been injured days earlier when a roadside bomb in Iraq turned their Bradley fighting vehicle into an inferno. One man who had escaped ran back to help a trapped comrade.
"This one’s the hero," Chung said, as the first stretcher rolled in.
"They’re all heroes," a nurse replied.
The "hero" was in the worst shape, with burns ravaging more than 70 percent of his body. His skin was leathery, his eyes swollen shut, his body bloated.
Chung did a bronchoscopy to check his lungs. He threaded a fiber-optic scope into the tube connecting the soldier to a ventilator. Tar-like soot deposits appeared on a video monitor.
To Chung, it looked as if someone had smoked 100 packs of cigarettes in 10 minutes.
If this soldier _ the one who had escaped _ had so much lung damage, what about the men who had been trapped?
He examined them and answered his own question.
Their lungs were worse.
__
Brooke’s burn center _ the only one of its kind for the nation’s military _ has its own rhythms and rituals.
The center’s 40 beds are tucked in a fourth-floor wing of the sand-colored hospital at Fort Sam Houston. In the halls and on the walls, there are constant reminders of the war _ the scarred young men, the clocks set to Iraq and Afghanistan time.
This is a place where the wounded celebrate small steps toward recovery, even bending a pinkie finger, and mourn the loss of the pain-free lives they once led. Where patients can spend months in intensive care and years in rehabilitation.
It’s a place where a groan or a clenched-teeth grimace speak more eloquently than words.
And it’s a place with a quiet sense of urgency.
Doctors operate in womb-like, 90-degree heat, sometimes six at once working on a soldier; nurses, in boots, masks and long gowns, sweat as they scrub down patients in steaming showers; families congregate, longing for the day loved ones will emerge from the cocoon of bandages.
In another era, another war, many patients probably would never have made it this far.
But troops today have better body armor, fast evacuation from the battlefield to war zone hospitals, then state-of-the-art treatment in Germany and the United States.
Brooke has special teams that fly to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to bring home the most severe cases on a C-17 transport, sometimes handling emergencies in midair.
A soldier burned in Iraq can be in a hospital bed in San Antonio within 72 hours, sometimes less. In Desert Storm, it took nearly 12 days. In Vietnam, it was closer to 17 days.
Once patients arrive at Brooke, skin grafts are usually done within 24 hours to stave off infection, the major cause of death. Decades ago, doctors waited days or weeks to do surgery.
"The faster you get the burn off the patient, the better off you’re going to do," says Dr. David Barillo, chief of the flight evacuation team.
Brooke’s burn center also treats civilians. But these days there is a steady flow of wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan _ more than 570 thus far, of which only about 6 percent have died. Many survivors, however, are permanently scarred. Some also suffer from blast-related wounds, such as head injuries or fractures. Others can’t walk, sign their names or tie their shoes.
"We now have an entirely new population of burn survivors ... with oftentimes lifelong and life-changing injuries," says Dr. Evan Renz, a Brooke surgeon.
Some will recover. Others will learn new ways to become independent.
"You have to believe that you’re doing the best thing for the patient by helping them survive," Renz says. "You have to believe that in the end, when all is said and done, they will be glad they made it through."
There are always people, he says, who will look at severely burned patients and ask why put them through all the agony.
"We try not to judge too much," he says. "When you’re talking about how far should you go to save someone’s life, I think in the case of these tragic injuries you have to be realistic. You have to look at what can be done. Just because we can do it, should we do it?"
He pauses, then adds: "I certainly have no regrets about those things I’ve been able to do."
___
Chung woke from a quick nap on his office couch the morning after the five badly burned soldiers arrived, and walked down the hall to check on them.
All were stable. But the news quickly turned grim.
One soldier went into shock. His heart, lungs and kidneys failed. He never regained consciousness to see family members who had flown in to be at his bedside.
It was not Chung’s first loss, but, he says, every one leaves him shaken.
Chung had treated seriously wounded troops as a fellow at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. But Brooke, he says, is more intense. Patients rally, nearly die, rally again _ and then sometimes lose the struggle.
"I can’t think of a more devastating injury," Chung says. "In the most tragic instances a lot of us say to ourselves ... sometimes life is worse than death."
Some burn survivors say that, too.
"We have patients that tell us, ’I want to die. I want to die. Let me go.’ ... That’s very tough," Chung says. "The best we can do is manage the pain."
Of the five patients arriving that night, one was transferred out of intensive care.
The "hero" was rebounding, too. He was talking with his family. Everyone was excited. But it was that roller coaster again. This was the top. Then, the dip: An abdominal infection set in.
The "hero" died. Within three weeks, four of the five were gone.
Chung was reeling.
"You start wondering, ’Do I even matter?’" he says. "You start doubting whether you’re making any difference. Looking back, I felt I was very naive. I was thinking, ’I’m a young physician. I have all this knowledge. I can do all these great things. Maybe I can help save them.’ You quickly realize that that’s not the case. You have absolutely no control. I felt completely helpless."
And stressed out.
He couldn’t sleep. He was irritable with his two young children. He didn’t always want to talk with patients’ families.
Chung knew he had to change _ and he did, in several ways.
Working with other doctors, he immersed himself in developing a new treatment to help burn survivors in shock. He also made sure he spent more time with his kids.
Sleep began to come more easily. So, too, did energy for the next day’s emotional whirlpool.
"I still have my compassion," Chung says. "I want to hold on to that."
He needs it.
"You walk a tightrope," he says. "I tell the family members that they need to be realistic. ... At the same time, I don’t want to be the person to take away hope. How can you justify giving up on anybody?"
Chung always reminds himself of the most critically burned patient he helped treat who survived.
One name instantly comes to mind: Sgt. Merlin German.
___
German’s survival is a story of numbers:
Burned over 97 percent of his body.
In intensive care 11 months.
Nearly 17 months in the hospital.
More than 40 surgeries, and counting.
Practically everyone who has met German describes him with one word: Miracle.
How in the world did this Marine survive, rebound from infections, and manage to exceed doctors’ expectations so many times?
Renz, one of German’s doctors, offers an explanation: "God meant for him to do something else. He wasn’t meant to be beaten by this."
German knows he’s one for the medical journals.
Sitting in the therapy gym, sucking on a "fentanyl pop" _ a plastic stick tipped with a morphine-like painkiller _ he pulls a T-shirt of his own design from his gym bag.
On the front, it says: "Got 3 percent chance of surviving; What ya gonna do?" The back lists four options: "a. Fight Through. b. Stay Strong. c. Overcome Because I Am A Warrior. d. All Of The Above!" The last one is circled.
But living choice "d” means one surgery after another to replace almost every square inch of your skin.
It means learning to walk again because your new skin doesn’t allow you the mobility, strength and balance you once had.
And it means looking into the mirror at a ripple-scarred face, learning to make do without fingers (German was a saxophone player) and figuring out, at age 21, what to do with the rest of your life.
But more than two years after the former Marine turret gunner nearly died from a roadside bomb, German accepts what is _ and all he has going for him: A steel resolve. Great genes (his doctor calls it "wonderful protoplasm"). And a tremendously supportive family led by his mother, Yvonne, who moved from New York to tend to her son.
"At the beginning, my mother was the one to tell me ... ’You look great,’" says German, a baseball cap pulled low on his head. "She was the one who made me survive. Her and God. ... Me and my mother pray three, four times a day."
German’s determination has wavered at times, though, as he considers college and a career. "Sometimes I do think I can’t do it. Then I think: Why not? I can do whatever I want. ...
"Nobody has ever been 97 percent dead and survived, and lived to walk ... and dance."
Dance?
Last December, after months of practice so he could lift his arms, turn and pivot, he donned his Marine dress blues and hit the dance floor at Brooke’s Holiday Ball.
He surprised his mother, taking her into his wounded arms, gliding smoothly across the room to a melody he chose _ a Rod Stewart song, "Have I Told You Lately That I Loved You?"
The crowd stood and applauded. And cried.
___
German’s path to the dance floor began in the intensive care unit.
It’s where Capt. Kristine Broger, an ICU nurse, thrives in heat and silence.
She’s accustomed to rooms set at 80 degrees or warmer if heat lamps are on to help those who can’t control their body temperature after their burned skin has been removed.
And she’s familiar with patients who can’t speak _ at least, at first _ because they’re sedated or hooked to ventilators.
Broger meets those patients by talking with loved ones and looking at photos they tack up on the walls _ snapshots that remind everyone of the person beneath the bandages.
Seeing these "kids" month after month, "it’s very difficult not to get attached," says Broger, just 27 herself, a veteran of Iraq with piercing blue eyes and a direct manner. "They become part of you and you get to know the family like your own."
There was one badly burned young soldier she particularly remembers. His mother, a nurse, stood vigil at his bed, day and night for four months. Early on, he was on a ventilator. But he gradually improved and was able to joke and chat. He seemed to be recovering.
Then, suddenly, he died. Broger broke down in tears.
With burns, she says, there is no timetable, no guarantee of recovery.
"Sometimes," she says, "God has another plan for you."
Broger has a strategy for coping with the ICU’s stresses. Work stays at work. When she and a colleague have dinner, hospital talk is taboo.
"After the locker room, I try not to bring anything home with me. But some days," she says, "it’s more difficult than others."
__
Chris Edwards is in Year 3 as a burn center regular.
The Army staff sergeant was wounded when a 500-pound bomb exploded under his Bradley as he was crossing a bridge in Iraq. Sitting just inches from 100 gallons of diesel fuel, his body was set ablaze.
Edwards was burned over 79 percent of his body.
Since then, he has endured 34 surgeries. He ticks them off as if reading a grocery list: Grafts over his entire body, eye operations (including a cornea transplant), corrective work on his ankles and fingers, holes drilled through his lower right leg bones and heel and metal rods inserted to stabilize them.
And more.
"You start thinking, what did I do to deserve this?" says Edwards, who also served in the Marines. "It really tests your faith. Not only that, you’re really thinking: What did my family do to deserve this?"
Edwards, 36, wonders how he can make up lost time with his 5-year-old son and make his older boys, 10 and 13, understand why he can’t play catch as he once did.
He worries, too, about pressure on his wife, Tammy, who helps bathe him. "That’s not something you just expect to do when you marry someone physically fit," he says.
Then there’s the pain. Some days, it’s tolerable.
Other days, he says, "I just ... beg somehow for God to kill me and take away the pain and let me die. ... It’s like walking on hot coals, having your hands put in boiling water ... and breathing with a 10-ton weight on my chest."
But as hard as it has been, Edwards still finds humor _ as he has all his life.
"If you’re a patient and you laugh for a second, that’s one second more that you don’t have to worry about how bad things hurt. ... For that second, you’re a regular person. I try to keep people laughing as much as I can."
__
Sgt. Shane Elder patched up the wounded in Iraq and sent them home to be healed.
Now he’s home, treating burn survivors at Brooke, gently massaging and stretching their scars so they don’t shrink and turn fingers into claws.
Elder, a former medic with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, is an occupational therapist’s assistant. Off-duty, he’s just one of the guys, hosting an occasional poker game for patients at his home or joining them for dinner or a movie.
"They’re my comrades," he says. "You don’t work with these guys an hour, an hour-and-a-half every day and just talk about your burn scar. They become your friends."
One of his first patients was a severely burned Marine who had part of his brain’s left frontal lobe removed because of shrapnel. Elder figured he wouldn’t be able to talk. But when he entered his room, the Marine started chatting amiably.
The men found they shared the same dry wit and taste in rock music. And when the Marine was about to be discharged, Elder invited him over.
Elder prepared his older son, then 3, knowing he might be frightened by the Marine’s disfigured face. Instead, the little boy was fascinated by his prosthetic arm and asked:
"Are you a robot?"
"Sort of," the Marine replied.
After that, Elder’s son would joyfully squeal the Marine’s name every time he visited. And last fall, Elder was a groomsman at his wedding.
At Brooke, Elder helps patients face their fears.
"They’ll say, ’I’m a 19-year-old single male,’ " Elder says. "’What girl would ever want to date me? How will I ever have a family? I was a young healthy stud fighting the good fight. Now I need help buttoning my pants in the morning.’"
His advice: Move on with your life.
"You’re not the same person you were before," Elder tells them. "If anything, you’re a stronger person. ... Get back out there."
___
Marine Cpl. Roy VanWey is plotting his path away from the burn center.
A year ago, a bomb turned VanWey’s Humvee into a fireball, killing three Marines who were with him and leaving him with burns over 70 percent of his body.
Since then, he has been through 10 surgeries _ he recently had one to hold his head straight. Slowly, he is regaining his independence. He can now spool pasta, draw and sign his name, even though he lost most of the fingers on his right hand. But he still is adjusting to his changing face _ pink, blotchy, raw.
He knows people stare when he goes to the mall, the movies or out to dinner.
"When I’m talking to people, I feel like the same person inside," he says. "But when I look in the mirror, I feel like I’m looking at a stranger."
His wife, Cassi, offers a visitor a laminated Marine photo identification card showing a handsome man with bright eyes and a wide smile. Then she turns to her husband of 18 months and says: "I don’t care what you look like. I love both faces the same."
With her at his side, VanWey sorts out his life after Brooke, "mourning the death of the person I used to be," he says, "and having to come to terms with who I’m going to be the rest of my life."
Determinedly, he looks ahead.
"I’ve got to make the best of it," he says. "At least I’m alive."

© Copyright 2007 Associated Press.

http://news.bostonherald.com/national/view.bg?articleid=1011457

2 1/2 Hours

2.5 hours is what Colin Powell is telling us he spent trying to talk George Bush out of invading Iraq. He said I took him (Bush) through the consequences of going into an Arab country and becoming the occupiers.

Those 2.5 hours that Colin Powell spent trying to talk the Commander in Chief from illegally invading a sovereign country averages out to .04 minutes for each of the 3606 US military fatalities from Iraq since the war began. I'd like to think that my son's safety and ultimately his life was worth more than .04 minutes of trying. What kind of General places such little value on the lives of his men? Not much of a General, and even less of a man.

One might point out that Powell was a former General back in 2003, but that argument is lost with me. Members of the Bush administration have a decided lack of military experience, and even less with combat. Colin Powell served in the military for more than 33 years during peacetime and in combat. Another General, the 34th president of our United States, Dwight Eisenhower said I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. Colin Powell knows of war's brutality, futility and stupidity. He owed every member of the Armed Forces more than .04 minutes. He owed our country a voice.

I have no sympathy for Colin Powell, the man, the general or the former secretary of state. He has to get up in the morning and look himself in the mirror and know that he sacrificed the lives, limbs and mental status of each and every casualty from a war that he should have been able to stop and he knows it. Colin Powell has to stand in front of the citizens of this country and know that his inability to convince his boss that he was doing the wrong thing had deadly results. The blood on his hands is no different than those on Dick Cheney's, Condoleezza Rice, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Don Rumsfeld or the rest of the PNAC neocons who started this mess.

Frankly, the mea culpa's coming from Washington are tiresome and disingenuous. Where was George Tenet before the invasion? Did Paul Wolfowitz express any concerns in the run-up to the war? They were keeping good enough notes to write books about their concerns well after people realized that this war was wrong. If they had fears, you wouldn't have known it back in 2003 and it's a little too late to say "I told you so" after hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's and nearly 4000 US military have been killed. That kind of a judgement error deserves more than "told ya".

Colin Powell is correct about one thing. “It is not a civil war that can be put down or solved by the armed forces of the United States.” He adds “It’s not going to be pretty to watch, but I don’t know any way to avoid it. It is happening now.”He added, “The civil war will ultimately be resolved by a test of arms,” “It’s not going to be pretty to watch, but I don’t know any way to avoid it. It is happening now.” A man of his supposed intellect and tenure as a Secretary of State fails to discuss diplomacy as an option.

On a side note, those of you who support Senator Barack Obama on his run for the presidency, you should know that he is conferring with Powell on foreign policy. Be very afraid! Obama supports a phased withdrawal that could leave a “significantly reduced force” in Iraq for “an extended period”. That doesn't sound anywhere near "Bring the troops home now", so please don't be fooled when Obama says he supports the troops. That doesn't fly anymore and our troops deserve much better.

4th of July Wishes

I wish that this war in Iraq had never started.

I wish for our troops in harms way that this 4th of July, there will be no explosions, no RPG's, no fireworks in Iraq and I wish that our military wouldn't be waiting for them to start again on July 5th because the war would really be over and they could all come home.

I wish that the person who resides in our White House, the people's house, would just resign and let us heal this country. But I'm afraid, really afraid that he doesn't think he has done anything wrong. I'm more afraid that he really believes he is doing right by this country.

I wish that our Congress would stand up to this administration, really stand up, and use the powers that the Framers of the Constitution gave them more than 200 years ago. It's okay, we will back you, I promise.

I wish that I had never heard the names Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Perle, Rice, Hannity, O'Reilly, Coulter, Limbaugh. They are all a pox on our nation.

I wish that 3586 families were whole again, that those families hearts were not broken by this hideous, endless war. I wish for them one more hug from their loved ones, one last goodbye.

I wish that 20,000+ families did not have to worry whether, when or if their soldier was going to get the medical treatment that she or he needed to make their life as whole as we could get them. We owe them that....for the rest of their lives. If this nation cannot or will not care for our military; we have no business sending them to fight for us.

I wish that the Iraqis will someday forgive us for invading their country on false pretenses and for their oil. The lies of this US administration are forever the fabric of their nation, too.

I wish that the citizens of this country would awake from their slumber and realize that they can and MUST do something to change the misguided course this administration has set this country on. Read the US Constitution; if you don't have time, read the study guide. The work of many minds, the US Constitution stands as a model of cooperative statesmanship and the art of compromise- words that are unfamiliar to this administration.

I wish that Ssgt Keith Maupin, Ahmed Qusai al-Taei, Spc Alex R Jiminez, Pvt Byron W Fouty would all come home alive soon. These are the MIA from Iraq, regardless of the DUSTWUN (Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown) status as the Department of Defense refers to them.

I wish that hundreds of thousands of military families did not live in dread every single day that hearing a knock on their door, was the knock on the door that would change their lives forever.

I wish our country well. We have been battered and bruised before, but never, ever like this and not from inside our government, the people who should be trusted to hold our country firm and safe. I truly believe that there will be better days, but I don't know if it will be in my lifetime.

I wish for all of America, a day with family and friends and a day to remember our country's birthday and our independence from a King with a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.

Finally, a wish from the Declaration of Independence that we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

WASHINGTON IS KILLING AMERICA'S TROOPS

I have not had the opportunity or the pleasure of meeting Jim Hightower yet, but I suspect that someday I will. If you haven't read anything by him, this is a good place to start. I would not attempt to say what he did; I would not be as eloquent. But I agree. Protest more. Protest louder. PLEASE!

WASHINGTON IS KILLING AMERICA'S TROOPS

Let’s be blunt. It’s no longer the Sunni insurgents, Shiite militias, or al Queda bombers killing our troops in Iraq. Washington is killing them.

George W – still clinging to his disgraced neo-con fantasies – and the congressional leaders of both parties – unwilling to use their budgetary and oversight authority – are the ones who have 150,000 American men and women trapped in Iraq’s civil war. The troops are doing all they can, yet they have been betrayed by a White House and Congress that has no strategy to make “victory” possible and is unwilling either to provide the massive troop strength it would take to secure that country… or to bring our troops home.

So, our men and women are locked in a gruesome shooting gallery by U.S. politicians who apparently intend to keep them there for the year and a half or so left in Bush’s term. Hundreds of them will die, thousands will be horribly maimed, and all will suffer trauma. They are not victims of the “enemy,” but of America’s own failed “leaders.” It is immoral to do this to them, but there they are.

Meanwhile, Bush keeps saying that his war is essential to America’s own security and is the “challenge of our generation.” But he is obviously lying to us. If it was true, all Americans would be enlisted in the cause. If it was true, we’d have half a million troops in Iraq, or more.
But that would mean that the families of the elites would have to be called to duty – and this is politically unacceptable to Washington. As one Bushite, Sen. Jeff Sessions, put it: “We have a limited number of men and women we can send to Iraq.” In other words, don’t call on his family or friends to make any sacrifices for this "essential" war.

They are killing Americans in a war they know they can’t win – and a war their families won’t join. This is a dishonorable sham, and only We the People can stop it. Protest more. Protest louder.

Florence Nightengale Spring 2007 update

This posting is one of a series of updates from the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq. Our Florence Nightengale has been in Iraq since September 2006 and has had her tour extended, so will not be returning in September, as she was told, but will come home to a warm welcome in November 2007.
================
(13 May 07)
Hello All!
I found some inspiration to write an early May update. Today is Mother’s day. I’m wishing you a, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all my family and friends. I wish I could be home to give you all a great big hug and tell you how much I appreciate all of you. It is on the holidays that you realize how important your family is. It doesn’t matter if you get along well with everyone in your family or not, when you are over here in Iraq you start to learn how to appreciate certain things in your life and the importance of family and friends.
I was very lucky this past week. I was able to go over to my younger brother’s FOB and reenlist him. Luckily with the help of my Head Nurse, we were able to make the visit possible. I was able to spend 3 days with him and I have to say I had the best time. My brother and I are very close. You could say it is because we are so much alike.
I took a helicopter over to his FOB which was all of five minutes away. The catch is that it is in the Red Zone. My hospital Commander has a policy that no one will convoy into the Red Zone so permission to leave the FOB must be obtained through both the company commander and him. My brother’s unit was aware that I was coming over, but when I arrived there was no sign of anyone from his unit. Luckily the SPC that is in charge of the LZ gave me a ride over to an area where he said that some 504th guys usually were. Well, of course when I arrived no one is there. Someone was able to call the unit and a SGT came over and took me to Matt’s unit CP (command post). They were then able to get in touch with Matthew and he came to pick me up.

Matthew and I spent the next three days watching movies, playing pool, walking around the FOB, and talking. I swear Matt and I can go on and on forever with conversation. It was funny because we went to lunch when I arrived and as soon as I walked inside the DFAC it was like everyone stopped eating and stared at me. It was creepy. There are females on this FOB, so I was like what are they staring at. Matt said it was because there are not that many female officers around so I was a rare sight. The staring continued for the next three days. We were also approached my several of Matthew’s NCOs along with the chaplain that did his marriage counseling. Yeah, they were all checking out who he was talking to and why he was sitting alone with a female soldier at chow. He quickly introduced me as his sister and the look of relief washed over their faces. Too funny. Apparently they are really big on fraternization especially male female type. So they were basically checking up on him.

(17 Jun 07) So, with good intentions I started my May update on Mother’s day, however, as you can tell I didn’t finish it. Let’s just say from that day forward was a whirlwind month. The number of patients and sadly the number of soldiers we care for in the month of May surpassed our numbers in October which was our busiest month thus far. It was sad because this is the month of Memorial Day where we should take time to remember all those who have served and made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. It is also the day in which, 3 years ago my boyfriend, Ken was killed. I was upset that I could not join my California family and visit him in Arlington to celebrate his life as we have for the last 3 years. I was upset that I was here in Iraq fighting in a war I just can’t see an end to. I was upset because I was taking care of wounded soldiers and knowing that some of their buddies had died beside them. I was upset that they were getting hurt and killed in this country for some unknown reason that escapes my mind. "

On the 30th, the 3rd year anniversary of Ken’s death, I took care of an American soldier that came in with massive head trauma and a large open wound from his hip around to his butt. The plan was to receive this patient from the OR and then immediately air evac him out to Balad since he had a head injury. This kid arrived on a litter because I figured if we are immediately evacuating him out, it would be better to package him on a litter already and save us an extra step. I like the philosophy of work smart not hard. When the soldier arrived he was accompanied by the anesthesiologist and the surgeons. Our ICU doc was also right at the bedside too. This poor kid had extensive swelling in his face and head, black and blue eyes, and a head wound. He also had a chest tube, foley catheter, a large wound from his hip to his butt with a large dressing on it and all dressings were already bloody.

This kid needed blood and he needed blood right away. My fellow co workers helped me get the monitor on him and we connected him to the ventilator. We were getting vital signs and I was assessing the patient from head to toe as someone else was running downstairs to get the blood. We rapidly infused this kid with over 16 units of red blood cells, 10 units of fresh frozen plasma, 3 units of platelets and gave him two rounds of factor 7. His blood pressure at times dipped down low and we would have to give him fluid boluses to bring it back up. On top of that we were trying to keep him pain free and somewhat sedated so he could tolerate the endotracheal tube helping him breathe. Once we infused a number of these blood products into this kid and the pace was starting to slow, I took a step back away from his side and looked down. I was covered in blood as well as standing in a puddle of it. I had it all over my shoes and pants. I looked under the litter and found that this soldier was bleeding from his wounds on his hip and from his head.

We redressed his head wound and applied a pressure dressing to the bleeding area. We also reinforced and created a pressure dressing on his hip wound. The two round of factor 7 that we gave him is supposed to help stop bleeding. It was a structured chaos as I tried to manage this patient. Oh, and let’s not forget that I also had another patient that was intubated and vented and had to maintain a blood pressure map in the 60’s to prevent him from bleeding because a gun shot wound he sustained shredded his liver. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? I hated being me that night. I am a good nurse and my standards are high so if things don’t get done, I tend to beat myself up for them.

The next issue we faced was the weather and the sky/flight conditions. There are certain weather conditions that our helicopters can and cannot fly in. There is green status which is a perfect weather condition. Amber is cautionary flight conditions. The wind may be moving too fast or there may be a lower level of visibility. Red is usually when the visibility is nil and it would be too dangerous to fly with out jeopardizing the lives of the flight crew and patients. The colors also pertain to enemy contact potential as well. The problem with being stuck at our CSH is that we do not have any neurosurgeons. The patient was potentially going to need a craniotomy to relieve the pressure and swelling on his brain and Balad is the best place for him to have that type of procedure done.

I have to thank God for my battle buddy Kim. She is the best. She really helped me out with everything going on. She keeps me calm and focused and we work as a tag team to give the best care possible.

I also had some much needed help from “Papa Bear”, a Captain with 30 years of Army experience. He jumped right on in after he stopped by to check in on us on his day off. There were no questions, no complaints, he just jumped on in and helped. Without these two awesome people, I would not have been able to handle my overwhelming assignment.

I think I will close this update for now. I need to start on the upcoming June one. I am amazed everyday here with the different things I see and experience. I just hope that I can stay positive and close this chapter in my deployment with a happy ending. I have made some good friends and worked hard. I have seen soldiers survive unimaginable injuries and have eased them into death. I remember today and everyday the sacrifices of my fellow soldiers for the freedoms I live to enjoy. Remember, FREEDOM ISN”T FREE.

Love to all,

Stem Cell Presidential Veto- Part II

Back in July 2006, George Bush vetoed the first embryonic stem cell research bill that was presented to him, saying "It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect. So I vetoed it." and If this legislation became law, it would compel American taxpayers for the first time in our history to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos. I made it clear to Congress and to the American people that I will not allow our nation to cross this moral line This veto is another example of how George Bush has not listened to the will of the American people, 60% of whom support this legislation.

The problem is, Bush doesn't have a moral bone in his body and is therefore unqualified to make such a judgement and I would prefer that he leave my moral choices to me.

I wish George Bush knew where that moral line was that values life when he crossed it and sent our military into an endless war in Iraq.

I wish that George Bush had the same morality concerns for the life of my son, Ken and the other 3533 US troops whose lives weren't that valuable in the eyes of this president and who were killed in this president's misadventure in Iraq. These precious men & women, sons and daughters had full lives ahead of them before their lives were cut short.

I wish that George Bush had the same morality concerns for the quality of life of the soldiers & marines who returned home from the battlefront, broken and paralyzed and who would surely benefit from this promising science.

I wish George Bush had some, any, morality concerns with the lives of the Iraqi people who have been devastated by Bush's occupation of their country.

I wish that George Bush would listen to the experts in this science and not pander to his religious base............again.

How dare he deny treatments and cures of fatal and life-threatening diseases to sufferers of Parkinson's disease, diabetes, cancer and paralysis. How dare he deny hope?

I wish I could think of one good thing to say about this president, but I can't.

US Revisits Length of Iraq Combat Tours

I was revolted to read that the Army is once again revisiting the length of Iraq combat tours. The Acting Secretary of the Army says “We have to look into our options” including utilizing forces from the Navy & Air Force so as not to put more pressure on the already stretched active duty force.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va said, that after four years of combat, the strategy in Iraq cannot "justify doing this to the soldiers in the Army and the families back here." (Senator Webb has recently introduced legislation to restrict the length of deployments, and to maintain at least a "one for one" ratio between deployments, unless a national emergency occurs. This is how to support the troops.)

Sen. Joe Lieberman, Traitor-Conn., disagreed and said the Army should do more to add soldiers to its payroll. With our military stretched thin, we've got to be creative about where we might find fresh troops.

I've got an option that I'm sure Lieberman has not considered. He is the proud father of 4; 2 young men and 2 young women. Here's a photo of the happy family, I'll let you decide how many of them look fit for military service. The Senator's website claims he advances public policy that honors the core American values of responsibility, opportunity, and community. What better way to demonstrate these values than sending your children to serve in the military? It's just a thought.

Military families know well the burden that more than 4 years of war, extended duty, and multiple deployments have brought to our families with resultant PTSD, increased number of divorces and suicides and other extreme stressors. Increasing the length of combat tours will also surely increase the numbers of wounded and dead.

With more than 30,000 wounded and dead Americans and countless displaced and dead Iraqis, it’s time to consider all options, including the one thing that doesn’t seem to be under consideration- ending this occupation and bringing the troops home NOW!

It’s the least they can do for an already stretched military and their families.

When will the rest of the country accept and bear some responsibility for this endless war? It is long past time to show respect to the men & women who have borne the burden of this unnecessary war as they selflessly serve their country. Despite their status as professional soldiers, they are real men and women who love and hurt and feel and experience fatigue & stress. They deserve better than being treated as if they are little plastic army figures.

Raising the bar

With approval ratings hovering in the 20 percentile, in Bush territory, the new Congress isn't doing so well with the folks at home. "I understand their disappointment," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. "We raised the bar too high." The Senator does not understand our disappointment and apparently the voters of America raised the bar too high in sending this new Congress to Washington. They are not getting the job done.

Nancy Pelosi calls herself "unhappy" but "we can only do so much". The whining is getting annoying.

The Republicans who continue to stand by Bush in some sense of misplaced loyalty will pay the price in 2008 and end up in the unemployment line back home.

My suggestions? Don't give up; never give up! This peace work is hard business, especially as the war machine in this country continues to consume so much of our resources, human and financial. With nearly half a trillion spent so far, every household in the US has paid $4100. That's a far cry from the $50-$60 billion the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
stated that the Iraq War would cost.

With Congress’ recent vote for an additional $100 billion in war spending, the total spent or allocated for the Iraq War alone rises to nearly half a trillion dollars. The cost to taxpayers of California now totals $57.8 billion.

It is not so much to meet with or write to your Congressional representatives in an attempt to change their minds and their vote. Writing a letter to the editor and getting the local media involved to let the readers and viewers know how their representative is voting. The public needs to wake up and remember that Congress represents you and they work for you. We, in the peace movement said that if Congress voted for the Supplemental bill in May, the war is no longer George Bush's war, it was theirs; they bought it, they paid for it, they own it.

To take that calculation further; if you don't do anything to end this war, then you own it, too. Take a look in the mirror and ask yourself if that is okay? DO NOT look away! Ask yourself what your responsibility is in the continuation of this war. They are telling us that the US will be in Iraq for 50 years, so I'm talking about your children, your grandchildren and possibly their children, too. How many dead Americans is acceptable to you? How many dead or displaced Iraqi's is acceptable?

“Iraq Summer” launched last week as Americans Against Escalation in Iraq prepares to dispatch nearly 100 organizers to the home states and districts of Republican Senators and Representatives who have opposed setting a timeline to end the US war in Iraq. The program is modeled on the “Freedom Summer” civil rights project. Organizers will be in fifteen states from Nevada to Maine, a total of 40 congressional districts. “This summer we will force Members of Congress to make a choice: vote to responsibly end the war or face political extinction,” said Tom Matzzie, Washington Director of MoveOn.org

Pick up a pen, crank up the computer; your representative loves hearing from you. Yes, really, they do. To make it easy for you, here is the list of targeted Republicans:

Illinois
10 - Kirk
15 – Johnson
18 – LaHood

Maine
Senate (Collins & Snowe)

Michigan
3 – Ehlers
6 - Upton
7 – Walberg
8 – Rogers
10 – Miller
11 – McCotter

Minnesota
Senate (Coleman)
3 - Ramstad
6 – Bachmann

New Hampshire
Senate (Sununu)

New Jersey
4 – Smith
7 – Ferguson

New York
25 – Walsh
29 - Kuhl

Ohio
Senate (Voinovich)
14 – LaTourette
15- Pryce

Pennsylvania
Senate (Specter)
3 - English
6 – Gerlach
15 – Dent
18 – Murphy
19 - Platts

Virginia
Senate (Warner)
2 – Drake
10 – Wolf
11 – Davis

Arizona
1 – Renzi

Iowa
Senate (Grassley)
4 - Latham

New Mexico
Senate (Domenici)
1 -Wilson

Nevada
2 – Heller
3 – Porter

Delaware
1 – Castle

I'm weary and I'm frustrated at the lack of progress in ending this war, but mostly I miss Ken and I cannot bear the thought of another family burying their loved one.

At War With the Army

Here's an article from the current "#1 weekly newspaper in Silicon Valley", The Metro. The reporter got it mostly right; there are a few things that don't add up, but I've learned to not sweat the small stuff. By keeping these kinds of stories in the paper and in front of people, maybe some more people will be touched by this war.
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At War With the Army
How two South Bay mothers uncovered the truth about their sons' deaths in Iraq

By Michael Shapiro

This story is a follow-up to Michael Shapiro's cover story last week about the Army coverup of Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire in combat.—Editor

THE STORY of Pat Tillman, the pro football player who grew up in San Jose and turned down a multimillion–dollar contract to join the Army, made national headlines when Tillman was killed in Afghanistan. Tillman's mother, Mary, has worked tirelessly to try to find out how her son died and who covered up the truth about his death.

But she's not the only mother of a soldier who was deceived about the circumstances of her son's death in combat. In a span of just two months during the spring of 2004, the families of two other South Bay soldiers were lied to after their sons died while serving their country. And they too had to employ dogged persistence to uncover the truth about their sons' final hours.

Nadia McCaffrey's Story
In the spring of 2004, as the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal inflamed the Middle East, Sgt. Patrick Ryan McCaffrey, assigned to train Iraqi soldiers allied with American troops, became worried about his safety. A manager of a Palo Alto automotive shop, McCaffrey had told his mother, Nadia McCaffrey of Tracy, that he feared the Iraqi troops would turn on him.

"He had said in an email that because of Abu Ghraib every [U.S.] soldier had a bounty on his head," Nadia McCaffrey said. Patrick was "ashamed" of the reports and images of torture in Iraqi prisons and said the United States had "no business in Iraq," his mother said.

A divorced father of two young children, Patrick grew up in Sunnyvale and attended De Anza College. He had no desire to fight overseas, but wanted to serve his country after the 9/11 attacks.

"He was not a military person," Nadia McCaffrey said of her son. "He earned $100,000 a year—he didn't need anything from anybody."

McCaffrey met with a recruiter who, according to Nadia, told Patrick that if he joined the National Guard he wouldn't be deployed because of his age (over 30). McCaffrey was assigned to the Army National Guard's 579th Engineer Battalion in Petaluma.

In late June, Nadia McCaffrey got the news that every military mom dreads: her son had been killed while on patrol near Balad, Iraq. "They told me my son was shot and killed in an ambush by insurgents," she said. He was 34.

"I lost it—I asked if he had suffered, and how long after he was shot did he die. They said he was shot three times and didn't feel any pain, that he died immediately." McCaffrey kept asking questions and enlisted the help of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D–Calif.) to get the autopsy report.

Though soldiers in McCaffrey's unit knew immediately who killed him, it took his mother two years to get the truth: On June 22, 2004, "Patrick got shot eight times by three people with AK–47s," Nadia McCaffrey said. He was shot in the back, murdered by two Iraqi civil defense force soldiers he was training, according to the military's autopsy report.

After speaking with soldiers who were with Patrick after he was shot, his mother says her son was alive for some time after the shooting.

"He was bleeding and had a pulse," she said in a phone interview with Metro earlier this month. A criminal investigation is ongoing, she said. "The whole mission did not make sense. It was incomprehensible."

McCaffrey said one of the two Iraqi soldiers who killed her son was shot to death by U.S. troops—the other is awaiting trial in Baghdad. "No one wants the trial to take place," she said, suggesting U.S. and Iraqi officials fear the publicity a trial would engender. But McCaffrey wants to see her son's killer brought to justice, adding "I want to be there when it [the trial] happens."

Like Mary Tillman, McCaffrey is outraged by what happened to her son and by the lies the military told her about his death. "I want to know why," she said. "Trust me, I'm on their case for this and I won't let it go."

McCaffrey asked reporters and photographers to be present when Patrick's flag-draped coffin arrived at the Sacramento airport a week after he died. "Patrick was not a private person," she said. "Why should I have hidden him when he came home?"

In August 2005, Nadia joined Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, Texas, when members of the Gold Star Families for Peace asked to meet with President Bush, a request the president ignored while on vacation at his nearby ranch. (Gold Star families are those who have lost a soldier in military service. Some families place "service flags" with gold stars in the front windows of their homes to show their sacrifice. ServiceFlags.com sells these flags, but when I checked they were sold out.)

McCaffrey traveled to Jordan with an aid delegation sponsored by Global Exchange, meeting the mothers of slain Iraqis and distributing $600,000 for Iraqis injured in the war. She's a founder of VeteransVillage.org to aid soldiers, especially those suffering from stress disorders and emotional trauma.

The daughter of a Serbian father and a French mother, McCaffrey was born in France in the final months of World War II, known as "The Good War." In contrast to that conflict, McCaffrey said the occupation of Iraq is "not a good war, not good at all."

Karen Meredith's Story
On April 3, 2004, Karen Meredith's son Ken Ballard was completing his yearlong tour of duty in Iraq. As all soldiers do before returning home, Ballard turned in his weapons—7,500 miles away, in Mountain View, his mother planned Ballard's welcome-home party. The next day "all hell broke loose" in Baghdad, Meredith said. Ballard's tour of duty and the tours of 20,000 other soldiers were extended. Meredith hadn't seen her son since Christmas in 2002 and couldn't wait to see him again. She never would.

Kenneth Michael Ballard was born in Rome, N.Y., on July 21, 1977—7/21/77—weighing a lucky 7 pounds, 7 ounces. The family moved to Mountain View in 1981; Meredith and her then–husband divorced when Ken was a young child.

Meredith said she was proud to see Ken join the Army when he graduated from Mountain View High School in 1995. Ballard later won a Gold to Green ROTC scholarship and graduated in 2002 from Middle Tennessee State University, where he majored in international relations. He returned to the Army, trained as an officer and was deployed to Iraq.

"Ken was given his own platoon, 2nd Platoon, part of the Crusaders of Charlie Company in the summer of 2003," Meredith said. "He felt a tremendous responsibility in keeping his guys safe from harm."

On May 27, 2004, Meredith spoke to her son for about 40 minutes and discussed plans for his month-long vacation to California and Tennessee. She asked him to bring home some prayer beads—he joked that he'd bring her a burka.

Four days later, Karen received another long-distance call, but this time Ken wasn't on the other end. The voice of someone she had never met said her son was killed by small arms fire on May 30 in Najaf. Meredith's only child, the boy she raised almost single-handedly to become an honorable and honored man, was dead. He was 26.

At Ballard's memorial service the following month, an officer said Ballard's heroic efforts saved the lives of some 60 soldiers. Ballard was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star. Even during the time of her deepest grief, Meredith sensed there was something amiss, believing that such valor would warrant the Silver Star.

Meredith asked for a copy of the incident report about her son's death and was told she'd have to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. She didn't get the report until May of 2005, on the eve of the one–year anniversary of her son's death.

Military officials brought the report to Meredith's home. "The autopsy report was not sealed—I asked the officer why," she said, but she was not given an answer. Without looking at the reports, she stashed them in a safe place and left for Arlington National Cemetery, where her son rests.

"When I got back I'd hid the reports so well that I couldn't find them," she said. After scouring the house "I found [the reports] the third week in July, the week of Ken's birthday." The five-page autopsy report was "very medical, very technical," Meredith said. "But one thing stood out: the report showed that the angle of the bullet's entry could not have come from a rooftop or a sniper."

The daughter of a lieutenant colonel, granddaughter of a colonel, sister of a lieutenant colonel and ex-wife of a former Air Force serviceman, Meredith kept asking questions of military officials. On Aug. 2, 2005, she says she received an email from Lt. Col. John Tien, saying, "Are you telling me you don't know what happened the night Ken was killed?" But Meredith said Tien's email didn't say more about how Ballard died.

Later that month, Meredith got a call from a casualty officer saying "the Army is coming to see you about the incident report." Knowing that meant that the incident report was being changed, Meredith "went to my bed and cried for an hour." She called the office of U.S. Rep Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) and asked a member of her staff to attend the meeting with military officials.

"I wanted the message to be, 'Don't fuck with this mother—she's got Congress behind her,'" Meredith said. Supported by Eshoo's chief of staff, Meredith met with Lt. Col. John O'Brien, head of the Army's casualty division, at her home. He told her that the story about Ballard providing cover for 60 comrades was untrue.

Here's what happened: an accident occurred as Ballard's tank was backing over a median strip. Under heavy fire, Ballard had instructed his gunner to get down, Meredith says she was told by the casualty officers. As the tank reversed, a tree branch engaged the machine gun just as Ballard poked his head out of the tank to survey the scene and give orders to the driver. The gun discharged and killed Ballard.

"Everyone in his unit knew," Meredith said. "They had taken statements within an hour of him being killed. I don't know if they were given orders to not tell or if it's implicit, just this veiled assumption: if the high-ranking officers are not telling then I better not tell either."

Meredith said the Abrams tank's thermal imaging system was broken and that soldiers were reluctant to use the tank, but a captain ordered them to use it. "If it [the imaging system] had been working, Ken wouldn't have needed to be outside the tank that night," Meredith said.

On Sept. 9, 2005, Meredith says she met in Washington, D.C., with Lt. Col. O'Brien and received a letter of apology. Four days later she met with Col. Bradley May of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"I finally got to hear what Ken's last words were: 'Hard left, go straight, take us home.' He was taking care of his guys," Meredith said, her voice cracking with emotion. "It was the last hour of his life. Everyone thinks you're just finding out details but these were his last words; that's what people don't understand."

Meredith, who once worked for FMC, the company that manufactures the Bradley fighting vehicle, said she's not anti-military. But after the Army misled her about her son's death, Meredith vowed to try to prevent other military families from being subjected to similar indignities.

On Sept. 27, 2005, she met with Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey and asked him to promise that soldiers' families would be told the truth about casualties in a timely manner. She asked for pictures of Ballard's body being returned to Dover Air Force Base, but she says that request was denied.

"They knew that I'm antiwar and they didn't want me to have it," she said. "We believe these photos are no longer being taken so that there will be no record of this part of the war forever," she added. "If there are no pictures, they don't have anything to release."

The military has made "some changes based on my comments," Meredith said, including instituting procedures regarding condolence letters and follow–up calls. "But they still won't let us see the pictures from Dover," she said. "We call it the Dover test—if the country would be upset by seeing pictures, then they are not shown. Their goal is to not tell the truth."

"Why does the Army culture allow this?" Meredith asked. "My son is a fourth-generation Army officer. He was raised to believe that the Army takes care of its own. He gave everything and they disrespected him and his family," she said. "To me this is unforgivable."

Meredith remains outraged, not just for the loss of her son, but for the injustice of the war and the disproportionate suffering of soldiers and their families.

"One percent of the country is fighting this war—our country is not at war," she said. "Only military families are carrying the burden of this war."

Meredith, who now works for a networking company in Sunnyvale, says she'll keep telling her story: "People need to be touched by this war. I was opposed to the [Iraq] war before it began but I didn't start speaking publicly until shortly before Ken was killed. I always supported soldiers but never supported the mission—whatever 'the mission' is."

President Bush is treating the military like "little green Army men," Meredith said, citing what she believes to be the president's detachment from the suffering and concerns of soldiers and their families.

Asked if her son supported the Iraq war, Meredith said: "When I asked Ken what he thought about Rumsfeld or Abu Ghraib, he'd say, 'I don't have time to think about that. My mission is to get my buddies home alive.' "

Michael Shapiro's stories, which range from investigative reporting to travel topics, have appeared in the Washington Post, National Geographic Traveler and The Sun. He is the author of 'A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives, and Inspiration.' For more about Shapiro and his work, see www.michaelshapiro.net.

Find this article at: http://www.metroactive.com/metro/05.30.07/soldiers-mothers-0722.html

3 years since Good Bye

There are some days I just want to tear out of the calendar. Today, May 30, is one of them. 3 years ago, today, my only child Lt Ken Ballard was killed in George Bush's war. I never supported this war; I never supported this president or his administration.

I spent Monday at Arlington with family and friends celebrating Ken's life. It is our job to make sure that Ken has the most decorated headstone in the cemetery, so we bring flowers, and flags and other mementos. We drank champagne & beer and we remembered a life that was cut short. All things considered, Arlington is where one should be on Memorial Day, after all, it is the day our country honors our veteran's who gave their last full measure of devotion.

Even now, 3 years later, I find it difficult to believe the words that I speak so often, "my son was killed in Iraq". I guess there is some mental mechanism that protects me from the magnitude of what that really means. It is unimaginable and I would not wish this pain on anyone, ever. A parent should never bury a child, never.

As a soldier, I have been told that Ken was fearless. He was well respected by his peers and many superior officers. As prior service, his soldiers respected him because they knew he knew their jobs. He was "great guy and an excellent leader", a "soldier's soldier", Ken would not have asked anything of them that he would not have done himself. The mission in Iraq, however politically muddled, is clear to the men & women in combat- bring each other home safely. It did not work out that way for Ken's unit.

As a friend, I have been told, Ken was second to none. Everyone considered Ken to be their best friend. He had an "explosively outgoing, contagiously fun-loving personality that was always hungry for adventure". He would always be there when needed and more often when you didn't know you needed a friend. He lit up any room he entered with joy for life unparalleled.

As a son, Ken was the best. We left New York when he was 10 months old and headed for our new life in California. Being Ken's mom was always an adventure. When Ken was 3 years old, after my divorce, I changed my name to revert back to my maiden name. Ken asked me "when we get married, can you be Ballard again?" That's just the way things were with us. Ken was born with a spirit filled with mischief and love. When Ken left for the Army the fall after high school graduation, he left with a purpose & desire to serve his country. I cannot begin to describe my pride in being Ken's mom and in watching him grow to be the man he became.

Ken brought laughter and love to us in a million ways. I miss him every moment of every day, but these milestone days are the worst.

Let us never forget Ken or any of the 3468 soldiers killed in this horrible war/occupation.