Parastalker

well bye bye Alaska  Hello Cape Cod Mass.   Its been a really busy year all over the place.   Only got one more trip to make this year before I can sit at the house for a few months.   Mabey hit up L.A.  for a week or so.  Id really like that.  

Im acually very surprised.....   I didnt think there would be very many beautiful women up here in Alaska...  Well here in Ancorage there is lots!!!!  Not only are they hot there is lots that are inked up!!!  Who would have knew?    Kinda digging the no dark thing right now.  When we go out and tear up the town.  Its kinda awsome to walk out of the bar at 2 am and it still be light outside.   The only problem is when we have to get up in a couple hours for work..   :p  Oh well totally going to enjoy it while it lasts.   Got only till the 27 then I got to head back down south to GA

Im acually very surprised.....   I didnt think there would be very many beautiful women up here in Alaska...  Well here in Ancorage there is lots!!!!  Not only are they hot there is lots that are inked up!!!  Who would have knew?    Kinda digging the no dark thing right now.  When we go out and tear up the town.  Its kinda awsome to walk out of the bar at 2 am and it still be light outside.   The only problem is when we have to get up in a couple hours for work..   :p  Oh well totally going to enjoy it while it lasts.   Got only till the 27 then I got to head back down south to GA

Beyond the yellow ribbons

Both the Veterans Administration and private veterans service organizations are already stretched, providing services for veterans of previous conflicts. For instance, while an estimated 500,000 veterans were homeless at some time during 2004, the VA had the resources to tend to only 100,000 of them.


"You can have all of the yellow ribbons on cars that say 'Support Our Troops' that you want, but it's when they take off the uniform and transition back to civilian life that they need support the most," says Linda Boone, executive director of The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.


After the Vietnam conflict, it was nine to 12 years before veterans began showing up at homeless shelters in large numbers. In part, that's because the trauma they experienced during combat took time to surface, according to one Vietnam veteran who's now a service provider. Doctors refer to the phenomenon as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).


A recent study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that 15 to 17 percent of Iraq vets meet "the screening criteria for major depression, generalized anxiety, or PTSD." Of those, only 23 to 40 percent are seeking help - in part because so many others fear the stigma of having a mental disorder.


Many veterans' service providers say they're surprised to see so many Iraq veterans needing help so soon.


"This kind of inner city, urban guerrilla warfare that these veterans are facing probably accelerates mental-health problems," says Yogin Ricardo Singh, director of the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program at BVSJ. "And then there's the soldier's mentality: Asking for help is like saying, 'I've failed a mission.' It's very hard for them to do.
"

Beyond PTSD and high housing costs, many veterans also face an income void, as they search for new jobs or wait for their veterans benefits to kick in.


When Mr. Noel was discharged in December of 2003, he and his family had been living in base housing in Georgia. Since they were no longer eligible to live there, they began the search for a new home. But Noel had trouble landing a job and the family moved to New York, hoping for help from a family member. Eventually, they split up: Noel's wife and infant child moved in with his sister-in-law, and his twins were sent to relatives in Florida. Noel slept in his car, on the streets, and on friend's couches.


Last spring he was diagnosed with PTSD, and though he's currently in treatment, his disability claim is still being processed. Unable to keep a job so far, he's had no steady income, although an anonymous donor provided money for him to take an apartment last week. He expects his family to join him soon.


'Nobody understood ... the way I was'

Nicole Goodwin is another vet diagnosed with PTSD who has yet to receive disability benefits. Unable to stay with her mother, she soon found herself walking the streets of New York, with a backpack full of her belongings and her 1-year-old daughter held close.


"When I first got back I just wanted to jump into a job and forget about Iraq, but the culture shock from the military to the civilian world hit me," she says. "I was depressed for months. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. The worst thing wasn't the war, it was coming back, because nobody understood why I was the way I was.
"

Ms. Goodwin was determined not to sleep on the streets, and so eventually went into the New York City shelter system where, after being shuffled from shelter to shelter, she was told she was ineligible for help. But media attention changed that, and she was able to obtain a rent voucher. With others' generosity, she also found a job. She's now attending college and working with other veterans who are determined to go to Washington with their stories.


"When soldiers get back, they should still be considered military until they can get on their feet," she says. "It's a month-to-month process, trying to actually function again. It's not easy, it takes time.
"
(Graphic)
SOURCE: 2003 GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY, USING 2000 PENTAGON SURVEY DATA; ADRIENNE LEWIS, USA TODAY


we people are so concerned about ourself's..... What about our soilders that give everything for you..... I would like to start something to help my fellow soldiers.... the ones that been to the belly of the beast and come back to nothing.... I feel they desearve more.... dont you? If you are with me hit me up and we can start something...

Daryl
CPL US ARMY

people been visiting my page......  but no one says hi   ;(