January 10, 2012 – New York Times

Before going to war, Susan Max loved tooling around Northern California in her maroon Mustang. A combat tour in Iraq changed all that.

Back in the States, Ms. Max, an Army reservist, found herself avoiding cramped parking lots without obvious escape routes. She straddled the middle line, as if bombs might be buried in the curbs. Gray sport-utility vehicles came to remind her of the unarmored vehicles she rode nervously through Baghdad in 2007, a record year for American fatalities in Iraq.

“I used to like driving,” Ms. Max, 63, said. “Now my family doesn’t feel safe driving with me.”

For thousands of combat veterans, driving has become an ordeal. Once their problems were viewed mainly as a form of road rage or thrill seeking. But increasingly, erratic driving by returning troops is being identified as a symptom of traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder, or P.T.S.D. — and coming under greater scrutiny amid concerns about higher accident rates among veterans.

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January 13, 2012 – American Forces Press Service

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. Amos has appointed a three-star general to investigate and take any required administrative or disciplinary action stemming from a video circulated on the Internet that appears to show four Marines urinating on the corpses of enemy fighters in Afghanistan.

Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, commander of Marine Corps Forces Central Command, is officially designated as the “consolidated disposition authority” for the allegations surrounding the video. That designation places authority in one commander to initiate any necessary investigations and take any administration or disciplinary action that results from those investigations, Marine Corps officials said.

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January 13, 2012 – American Forces Press Service

Service equities, the U.S. relationship with Iran and Pakistan, and the future of women in combat topped the questions put to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at a town hall meeting here yesterday with ROTC cadets.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey spoke to 400 tri-service cadets from Duke University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, St. Augustine College and Meredith College.

ROTC is a college-based officer-commissioning program that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning and professional ethics.

“Think about leader development as job No. 1 and you’re off to a good start,” the chairman told his audience.

Faced with a dynamic between the two world wars that is similar to the Pentagon’s transitional situation today, Army Gen. George C. Marshall invested most heavily in leader development, Dempsey said.

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Heavy alcohol use is steadily rising among service members and veterans. For example, according to findings in the 2008 “Department of Defense Survey of Health Related Behaviors Among Military Personnel”, rates of heavy alcohol use among service members increased from 15 percent in 1998 to 20 percent in 2008.

Although alcohol treatment services are available in the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), many service members are reluctant to seek care because of stigma and possible career consequences. Secondary prevention methods (i.e., screening and brief interventions) in non-specialty settings (i.e., behavioral health care) may engage service members at an early stage of risky or hazardous drinking who otherwise would remain undetected and untreated.

Are you aware of SBIRT?
The screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment model (known as SBIRT) is a system-level approach to identify and treat persons with drinking problems. Research has demonstrated that SBIRT is effective in identifying persons at risk of developing serious alcohol problems, reducing the frequency or severity of alcohol use and increasing the percentage of patients who enter specialized alcohol treatment. The SBIRT model is consistent with the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Substance Use Disorders and will aid health care providers in integrating a step-by-step process for clinical decision making. 

Register for the webinar

Visit http://es.adobeconnect.com/e8gvznpadmf/event/registration.html to register for the webinar featuring presenters from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the VA who will discuss how SBIRT is being implemented in health care settings.  Continuing education units and continuing medical education credits are now available from Saint Louis University. For credits information visit http://www.dcoe.health.mil/Content/Navigation/Documents/DCoE%20Accreditation%20CEU.pdf

January 12, 2012 – Commonwealth of Virginia – Office of Governor Bob McDonnell

Measures will ensure in-state tuition for all members of the Virginia National Guard; improve delivery of benefits; address veteran homelessness~

RICHMOND – In an address to the Joint Leadership Council of Veterans Service Organizations, and joined by veteran and Virginia National Guard leaders, Governor Bob McDonnell announced today legislative and administrative initiatives to continue his effort to make Virginia the most veteran-friendly state in America.  Legislative initiatives include ensuring that all members of the Virginia National Guard receive in-state tuition, improving absentee ballot access for overseas military and guaranteeing that unclaimed remains of veterans receive honorable burials.  Budget initiatives include several measures to better deliver services and benefits to veterans, to construct a new veterans care center in Hampton Roads and to assist localities affected by BRAC.  In addition to the legislative and budget initiatives, Governor McDonnell’s administrative initiatives include the creation of a veterans ID card to serve as proof of veteran status and increasing access to DMV services to better serve the unique needs of Virginia’s active duty military personnel and veterans.

Speaking about the military and veterans legislation for the 2012 General Assembly Session, Governor McDonnell said, “The one in 8 Virginians who serve or have served in the armed forces deserve our eternal thanks for putting themselves in harm’s way to protect our freedom.  They serve Virginia. Virginia must serve them. Building on the last two successful legislative sessions, our legislative and administrative initiatives for 2012 continue to make Virginian the most veteran-friendly state in America and improve services for the brave men and women who have worn the uniform.  I propose that we provide in-state tuition for all members of the Virginia National Guard, regardless of how long they’ve lived here. They have stood up for the Commonwealth, now we need to open the doors of our colleges and universities to them. Additionally, it is unacceptable and heartbreaking that some veterans, after serving and defending their country, find themselves homeless.  We will launch a coordinated state effort led by the Department of Veterans Services, in partnership with the Department of Housing and Community Development and other state agencies that will help Virginia communities maximize new and existing resources in combating homelessness among our veterans and their families.”

Read the full release.