PTSD

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February 10, 2012 | 2:40 PM | By

Ex-Marine From Temecula Survives 2 Days in Oregon Snow (Video)

Sgt. Dave Randall / Oregon State Police

Former Marine Jason D. Cooper

Former Marine sniper and current Temecula resident Jason D. Cooper is making headlines today for surviving two days in the snowy Oregon woods – wearing nothing but shorts, a fleece jacket, and sandals. The 37-year-old Cooper is currently hospitalized in critical but stable condition after his harrowing ordeal, according to the Associated Press.

The AP reports Cooper was involved in a minor car accident in rural Oregon on Monday. A veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Cooper fled the scene and ran into the snow-covered Umpqua National Forest. Oregon State Police Sgt. Dave Randall told the AP:

“I found out that he had panic attacks during stressful situations and sometimes just had to run away.”

Randall and Senior Trooper Don Frerichs of the Fish and Wildlife Division searched for Cooper on snowmobiles. When they found him, he was suffering from frostbite and hypothermia. But according to Randall:

“He’s a tough, tough guy, physically and mentally tough. The real deal.“

Here’s more on the story from KVAL-TV:

FILED UNDER: Veterans, Jason D. Cooper, Marine Corps, Oregon, Oregon State Police, panic attacks, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, Roseburg Oregon, Temecula, Umpqua National Forest
February 3, 2012 | 3:09 PM | By

The Risks Female Veterans Face Coming Home (Video)

Eating disorders. Binge drinking. Homelessness. The Pentagon Channel put together this eye-opening video on the numerous and unique problems women veterans can face upon returning home:

FILED UNDER: Veterans, War, Women in the military, binge drinking, Drug Abuse, eating disorders, Female Veterans, Homeless Veterans, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, Women in the Military
February 3, 2012 | 9:14 AM | By

Former Pendleton Marine Alleged To Be Prolific Serial Killer (Video)

Orange County Sheriff's Department / KABC-TV

Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo

Former Camp Pendleton Marine Itzcoatl “Izzy” Ocampo, already facing murder charges in the deaths of four homeless men, is now accused of participating in the double murder of a woman and her son.

Anaheim Police say they’ve connected Ocampo to the stabbing deaths of Raquel Estrada and her son Juan Herrera. Estrada’s other son, Eder Herrera, has already been charged in the deaths of his mother and brother, according to the Associated Press. Policy say Ocampo and Eder Herrera are connected in the murders.

As Home Post reported earlier, Ocampo was an Iraq War veteran who was deployed in 2008 with the Marines’ 1st Medical Battalion based at Camp Pendleton. While there, he was responsible for bagging the bodies of dead troops.

In this video clip from CNN, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas describes the cold, methodical way he believes Ocampo allegedly committed the murders of the four homeless men.

FILED UNDER: Camp Pendleton, Iraq, Life in the Military, San Diego, Spouses & Families, War, 1st Medical Battalion, Eder Herrera, Homeless Veterans, Iraq War, Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo, James Patrick McGillivray, John Berry, Juan Herrera, Lloyd Middaugh, Orange County, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, Paulus Smit, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, Raquel Estrada, serial killer, serial killers
January 17, 2012 | 10:08 AM | By

Record Number of Marine Suicide Attempts in 2011

Cpl. Reece Lodder / USMC

Marine in Helmand province, Afghanistan

More active-duty Marines tried to kill themselves in 2011 than in any other year that records were kept, according to the North County Times. A report by the Marine Corps’ Suicide Prevention Program finds that 175 active-duty Marines attempted suicide last year.

Statistics show 33 Marines killed themselves in 2011, and at least 11 of those Marines were based at Camp Pendleton, according to the North County Times. All of the suicides victims were men.

Bill Rider with American Combat Veterans of War told the NC Times that servicemembers often feel isolated when they return from a war zone:

“They feel they are alone and that creeps into questions of ‘what can I do’ or ‘what should I do,’ and that can lead to them considering suicide as an option, particularly if they have been drinking or taking drugs.”

The Marine Corps has a completely anonymous help line for troops feeling suicidal, staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That number is 1-877-476-7734. Troops more comfortable using the internet can visit www.dstressline.com for help.

FILED UNDER: Afghanistan, Camp Pendleton, Iraq, Life in the Military, San Diego, Veterans, War, Afghan war, American Combat Veterans of War, anxiety, Camp Pendleton, Depression, DSTRESSLINE, Iraq War, Marine Corps, Marine Corps suicides, military suicides, Multiple Deployments, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, Suicide Prevention
January 17, 2012 | 8:56 AM | By

Ex-Camp Pendleton Marine Accused of Serial Murders (Video)

Orange County Sheriff's Department / KABC-TV

Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo

Authorities are expected to charge former Camp Pendleton Marine Itzcoatl “Izzy” Ocampo today with multiple counts of murder. The Los Angeles Times reports Ocampo is allegedly responsible for the stabbing deaths of at least four homeless men in Orange County, California.

Ocampo was an Iraq War veteran who was deployed in 2008 with the Marines’ 1st Medical Battalion based at Camp Pendleton. While there, he was responsible for bagging the bodies of fallen comrades, according to the Orange County Register.

Fellow Marine Robert Hays told the Los Angeles Times of Ocampo:

“He came back totally changed. It was almost like he didn’t care anymore. He’d get fidgety, he’d start shaking, spacing out. You’d see him staring off.”

Ocampo’s family believes he is innocent. They spoke with Los Angeles television station KABC-TV to explain why:

FILED UNDER: Camp Pendleton, Iraq, Life in the Military, San Diego, Spouses & Families, Veterans, War, 1st Medical Battalion, Homeless Veterans, Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo, Orange County, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, serial killers
January 13, 2012 | 2:12 PM | By

Former NFL Players to Visit Camp Pendleton (Video)

Parker Anderson / Flickr

NFL Football

Are you ready for some football? Or rather, are you ready to hang out with some football players?

This Sunday former NFL players will visit with Marines and their families at Camp Pendleton as part of the the Real Warriors Campaign. The campaign’s purpose is to encourage troops to get help for psychological war wounds like PTSD.

The event, called “Game Day,” will take place at 11:45 Sunday morning at the Pacific Views South Mesa Club on base.

According to the Real Warriors Campaign:

[F]ormer players will join service members and their families to watch NFL games, socialize and discuss the importance of reaching out for support during life transitions.

Last Sunday the NFL players who participate in “Game Day” events visited Colorado. Take a look, courtesy of Fox21News Colorado, to see what you can expect at Camp Pendleton this weekend!

FILED UNDER: Afghanistan, Camp Pendleton, Iraq, Life in the Military, San Diego, Veterans, War, Carolina Panthers, Chris Sanders, Denver Broncos, Fort Carson, Game Day, Leonard Renfro, Marine Corps, National Football League, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, Real Warriors Campaign, Roger Smith, TBI, Tennessee Titans, Tim Tebow, Traumatic Brain Injury
January 13, 2012 | 9:44 AM | By

Med Schools to Focus More on Treating Veterans (Video)

The Pentagon Channel

Doctor treating a servicemember

Doctors-in-training at America’s medical schools will learn more about the illnesses that affect veterans returning from war, according to the Department of Defense.

Conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are often called the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Medical schools that are members of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine have committed to doing a better job of treating these war wounds as part of the Joining Forces campaign.

The Joining Forces initiative includes a commitment by the medical schools to:

– Train their medical students as well as their current physicians, faculty and staff to better diagnose and treat veterans and military families;

– Develop new research and clinical trials on traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder

– Share their information and best practices with each other through a collaborative Web forum;

– Coordinate with the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs

The Pentagon Channel has more on this new initiative:

FILED UNDER: Afghanistan, Iraq, Joining Forces, Life in the Military, Spouses & Families, Veterans, War, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Association of American Medical Colleges, Dr. Jill Biden, medical school, MIchelle Obama, Military Families, Military Spouses, posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD, TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury
December 29, 2011 | 12:05 PM | By

Could a Single Injection Cure PTSD?

Steven DePolo / Flickr

The first-ever study of a controversial method for curing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is going on now in San Diego. Capt. Anita Hickey, director of Integrative Pain Medicine at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, is involved in trying out something called stellate-ganglion block (SGB) on patients, according to Wired.com.

Hickey tells Wired.com:

“I think of SGB as being similar to re-starting a computer, only we’re talking about circuitry of the nervous system and chemical pathways… We’re seeing very positive results.”

KPBS News reports that 40 active-duty servicemembers are taking part in the 3-month pilot study. Dr. Robert McLay, director of mental-health research at the NMCSD, says that if the injection proves to be helpful in treating PTSD, it could be used in conjunction with other treatments:

“The most important thing is to get into treatment, because whether it’s this shot or something else, there are effective treatments out there for PTSD.”

FILED UNDER: Afghanistan, Iraq, Life in the Military, San Diego, Veterans, War, Women in the military, Capt. Anita Hickey, Dr. Eugene Lipov, Dr. Robert McLay, House Veteran’s Affairs Committee, Integrative Pain Medicine, Naval Medical Center San Diego, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, stellate-ganglion block (SGB)
December 1, 2011 | 11:59 AM | By

PTSD on the Rise for Military Working Dogs (Video)

U.S Marine Corps/Flickr

Military dog and his Marine

At least one in five veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a Rand study. And it turns out it’s not just human veterans who are plagued by symptoms of PTSD.

Last September, Home Post reported on the new diagnosis of PTSD in military working dogs, and the expectation by military officials that as the number of military working dogs grew, so would the number of dogs with PTSD:

Lt. Col. Richard A. Vargus, chief of the law enforcement branch at CENTCOM, tells USA Today that as more military working dogs are sent into battle, an increasing number of the four-legged warriors will suffer the consequences.

Now the New York Times is confirming Vargus’s prognostication. Dr. Walter F. Burghardt Jr., of the Holland Military Working Dog Hospital at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, tells the Times:

[M]ore than 5 percent of the approximately 650 military dogs deployed by American combat forces are coming down with canine PTSD. Of those, about half are likely to be retired from service.

There are a total of 2,700 active-duty military working dogs in the United States military, according to the Times. About 500 of those dogs go to Holland Military Working Dog Hospital each year for treatment of injuries suffered in the line of duty. Recently, the hospital started treating dogs for PTSD. Treatment can range from simply giving the pooch a break from duty, to more intense therapy like desensitizing counter-conditioning.

The Army posted a video about the Holland Military Working Dog Hospital, and what they do there. Take a look:

FILED UNDER: Afghanistan, Iraq, Life in the Military, Veterans, War, Afghan war, Afghanistan, Cairo the dog, combat fatigue, Daniel E. Holland Military Working Dog Hospital, desensitization counter-conditioning, dogs and PTSD, Holland Military Working Dog Hospital, IED's, Improvised Explosive Device, Iraq War, Lackland Air Force Base, life in the military, Military Working Dog Veterinary Service Hospital, military working dogs, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, shell shock, Veterans, war
November 16, 2011 | 11:11 AM | By

Dwell Times Between Deployments Tied to Mental Health Problems

Flickr

Military family reunion

A new Pentagon study finds the longer the dwell time a servicemember spends at home between deployments, the more likely he or she will be diagnosed with a mental health problem.

The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center conducted the study over an eight year period, examining the information of more than one million male active-duty troops, and more than 150,000 females, according to the Department of Defense.

According to researchers at AFHSC, there could be a variety of reasons for the study’s findings:

Longer dwell times may offer service members the opportunity to completely readjust to being home, they suggested. It then may be more difficult to transition back to a warrior mindset on the next deployment. In contrast, service members who are home for a brief time may not fully adjust and, as a result, are better able to psychologically handle subsequent deployments.

Air Force Col. Christopher Robinson, deputy director of psychological health for the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, offers a different take on the study:

“Rather than thinking that longer dwell times causes more mental health diagnoses, I’d rather think that longer dwell times give service members time to seek help appropriately… I still stand by the notion that longer dwell times are helpful for the health of our service members.”

The report’s authors say no matter what the cause, the trend of longer dwell times triggering increased mental health issue diagnoses requires further study.

FILED UNDER: Afghanistan, Iraq, Life in the Military, Spouses & Families, War, Women in the military, Afghanistan, Air Force Col. Christopher Robinson, anxiety, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, Defense Medical Surveillance System, Deployment, Depression, dwell time, Iraq, Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, Military Families, Military Spouses, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD