Philadelphia's newest specialty court is specifically aimed at military
The criminal court operates Wednesday afternoon at the Criminal Justice Center, and includes a representative of the Veterans Administration to help provide additional services for the men and women who have served their country.
Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCafferty is the driving force behind the court. The veteran and former Philadelphia Police officer says the court offers special treatment for those who have served. >>>>>
N.J. Veterans Helpline is hailed as a national model for post-military mental health help
March 03, 2010
Michael Manna, 27, of Glen Gardner, called a helpline for veterans and is now getting the counseling he needs once a week. Manna suffered from depression while in the Navy and after being released. He says the network of help available once he returned to New Jersey is "extremely effective."
When Michael Manna left the Navy in the summer of 2009, he was suffering from depression but didn't know where to turn for help.
A Marine friend saw in Manna the post-traumatic stress he had experienced and urged the 27-year-old from Glen Gardner to call the New Jersey Veterans Helpline.
"It's the first time when I've reached out and have said I need help and I got a response," Manna said.
During a 20-minute conversation, Master Sgt. Chuck Arnold, a Vietnam veteran trained in counseling, talked to Manna about what was troubling him and the negative thoughts he was having. >>>>>
A veteran's affair
For many veterans, obtaining help for PTSD is no easy task
Unlike the movies when a lone veteran is pushed to his limits by society, those of assumed authority in the military or who are placed in situations where only they can "save the world," every day is a struggle.
How does someone burdened with the pressure of protecting Americans and our country's interests, as well as the unspoken "oath" to their military family of watching each other's backs, ensure their own safety?
How does one transform from a high school senior to a government-trained killing machine, only then to be expected to just simply shut it off and become an ordinary member of society again?
The answer: >>>>>
VA Department Chief of Staff Gingrich Speaks to VA Research Advisory Committee on gulf War Illness
VA cites "Culture Change" for Gulf War veterans
VA's new Gulf War Task Force report - which will be open for public review - will be "a step in the right direction," says a top official
Chief of Staff John Gingrich of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the highest ranking Gulf War veteran in the Obama administration, today provided an encouraging view of what he called a major "culture change" in his agency with regards to veterans of the 1991 Gulf War. The comments were made as part of a public presentation by Gingrich to the Congressionally chartered Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses at the VA's offices in Washington, DC. >>>>>
New Suspect in Gulf War Illness
On February 26, 2010, the Veterans Affairs Department announced that it will re-examine the disability claims of thousands of Persian Gulf War veterans still suffering from the mysterious Gulf War illnesses two decades after the war ended. At a meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veteran's Illnesses held yesterday in Washington, D.C., scientists from around the country presented their latest research to committee members searching for clues to this mysterious illness. Early in the meeting a new culprit emerged - "the other brain" - the non-electric portion of the brain composed of brain cells called glia.
"This is one of the best explanations I've heard," commented distinguished neuroscientist Floyd Bloom, after a presentation by Dr. Linda Watkins of the University of Colorado speaking about her latest research showing that glial cells, called microglia, are the unsuspected agents in chronic pain and drug addiction. Previously neurons were thought to be the sole cause of chronic pain and morphine tolerance. However, the new insight into how these "immune cells" of the brain aggravate neurons after an injury by releasing substances that produce excruciating pain, a parallel with Gulf War Syndrome became apparent. >>>>>
















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