Army IG Is On It (PTSD)

Posted on March 22, 2012 by asknod

Boy, this didn’t take long. When Patty barks, everyone lines up and wags their tales down at the Five-sided Puzzle Palace. Sure enough Johnny Judge is on the warpath and looking in every hospital and clinic in search of baaaaad Shrinks. At least the Head Honchos are admitting there was some hanky panky.  Sen. Sneakers couldn’t even get that much out of them last week.

Army Secretary Johnboy McHugh told the 535 Anointed down at Constitution Ave. NE that his military Sherlocks are busy trying to determine whether this was a common practice or merely “isolated to that little fort up in Washington state.”

Sen. Sneakers had this to say (warning! run-on sentence ahead- watch for dangling verbs):

“Not only is it damaging for our soldiers,

but it really furthers the stigma for others

that are – whether they’re deciding to seek

help today”.

The senator didn’t clarify which day “today” referred to.

As most know, depending on what day it is, and who is speaking, we can ascertain that it appears there were a few misdiagnosed here at “the little fort next to I-5”. I’m hearing what appears to be an admission of 290 guys they’re actually admitting that had their diagnoses reversed for the worse out of 1690 soldiers. Yet we hear it’s 40% of the 1680 screened or 690 men and women who were “converted”. All these numbers. I swear its like asking a woman how much weight she lost on her diet. You’ll never get an actual number to write down. I notice that if it’s 2000 hrs on Friday night, the numbers are far worse thant they are on Wednesday morning at the Constitution Ave. Home for the Truth-challenged.

I wonder whose speech writer penned this winner:

“The Surgeon General (Lt. Gen. Patty Horoho) has asked the IG to go and examine all the similar facilities… To this point, we don’t see any evidence of this being systemic. But… we want to make sure that where this was inappropriate, it was an isolated case, and if it were not, to make sure we address it as holistically as we’re trying to address it at Madigan”.

Huh? Go and examine all the similar facilities? Holistically?

ho·lis·tic  adj.   hō-ˈlis-tik

1:  of or relating to holism

2 : relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts <holistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body> <holistic ecology views humans and the environment as a single system>

— ho·lis·ti·cal·ly  adverb

That’s probably the first time Johnboy has used the word. I commend him for his concern for the troops. The best news the IG ever heard is that he gets to go on a fact-finding mission and travel all over the U.S.  Better yet, he won’t get dinged any leave time for it and it’s free room and board. If he can get his wife on a MATS flight Space A, he’ll really be in high cotton.

This will resonate with troops everywhere:

Army officials insist that soldiers sent to war are (or may be) checked up to five times:

1) before deployment

2)during combat

3) one time after their return

4) six months later

5) a year later

I’d love to hear from all you active military who see this just how many times you recall this happening. My guess is 5 trips to the brain zoo began 3 weeks ago.

Army officials also insist troops returning from O/S complete a Post-Deployment Health Assessment and a by God, face to face with a bent-brain specialist. Those who set off the mental detector are sent to the Group W bench and sit with the likes of the Arlo Guthrie and his ilk. Oddly, the disclaimer is in small letters at the end- ” There is no test diagnostically definitive for mental illness in general and PTSD in particular.”

Perhaps that explains all the errors in identifying all these guys trying to commit suicide. Tell me again? How much are we paying these shrink guys to read chicken entrails?

Posted in All about Veterans, General Messages, Gulf War Issues, Medical News, PTSD, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Teleprevir vs. Boceprevir

Posted on March 22, 2012 by asknod

What to do? Two new drugs on the market (or virtually there) and much said of each.What hard facts do we know at this point and what is conjecture?

School of thought number one holds that Teleprevir (marketed as Incivik)  seems to be the more successful. This is based somewhat on the use of Pegasys versus Pegintron(pegylated Interferon). Both test regimens include Ribavirin (Rebitrol) as well. The protocol is three doses a day every eight hours. To say this is brutal on the body is probably the most understated part of the regimen. In order for the body to survive this assault, it’s necessary to keep eating, to include fats and other nutrients while faced with nausea, emesis and general malaise. Trying to keep food down seems to be a major project from talking with my neighbor who did this. Anemia is one of the primary problems as well.

Steve, who had (has?) Genotype 1A, had previously done the cure and SVR attainment evaporated six months later. He tells me he was counseled on the poorer showing of Teleprevir when used a second time after a failed course of the Pegintron/Ribavirin for 44 weeks back in 2009. Nevertheless, he’s SVR today and alive. I say alive in a guarded tone. He compared it to “being drug backwards through a knothole”. I was hospitalized in 09 when he did this and only found out around Christmas 2009.

The newer Vertex treatment was paid for in full by his employer’s medical which must be exorbitant. Steve said he had long discussions with his sig. other about going through this again. He’s not a Veteran so this has no bearing on the vA financing it. Documented results from the trials show a greatly improved (up from 50% to as high as 80%)  success rate for first time candidates and 66% for second or third time do overs.  He’s still SVR as we speak so he will be entered in the books as a member of those 66% unless or until he isn’t SVR again.

School of thought number two is  the Boceprivir(marketed as Victrelis) regimen. While it is showing decidedly poorer percentages, this may be in part due to the use of Peginton/Ribavirin rather than the newer Pegasys/Ribavirin protocol.  Here’s the difference:

Pegasys 

Pegintron

To my way of thinking, they are both rat poison. The stuff almost killed me because I’m autoimmune. Worse, the doctor knew it and proceeded apace.

Although there is a marked difference in the two drugs, as a layperson I cannot delineate the two. The mere fact that the rate of cure for genotype 1A and 1B has gone up dramatically is reason for hope. Before, the SVR response rate on the original cocktail of Pegintron/Ribavirin was 33-40%. It was a high as 80% for genotype 2A, 2B and the 3A ,3B subgroups. Apparently, the new protocol is not recommended for them. I’m unsure why but it is immaterial to this. Suffice it to say it’s a non-starter for a cure. As a side note, my vA ARNP, Eileen, was all atwitter about this and how I should seriously entertain it. She must not read my medrecs because I’m not a candidate (AIH and genotype 3A).

Steve tells me he could discern little difference between the two programs. He said he was equally sick on both. He lost weight, became anemic and extremely depressed. He resorted to smoking  left-handed Marlboros in an effort to keep his appetite  stimulated and the nausea down to a dull roar. Of course, that doesn’t explain why he feels the need to continue this medication plan afterwards. What do I know? As the vA is fond of reminding me, I have no medical training. I was the rocket scientist in Laos who reasoned that if the insect repellent they gave you worked well on the skin ( it didn’t in Monsoon) then it should be a no brainer if you brushed your teeth with it.

Of the two to three dozen who who have related their failed IFN horror stories, I see one common thread. In spite of predictions of “some discomfort and a flu-like feeling” after doses, most have had far worse. The absolute worst cases that failed have included the oft-repeated tale of cognitive dysfunction (brain fog), onset of DM2, and even rare cases of cancers. These are just a few of the many side effects.

Granted, these new regimens are modeled around three eight hour applications of the drug rather than a nuclear strike of once to three times a week in huge doses.  Medical science always starts out with an aggressive, 1,000 lb. bomb policy and ratchets back when the test subjects start falling like flies. In the early days, this stuff was so insidious that many had to bail out after a short period due to the inability to hack the course. Their medical complications far exceeded the day to day debilities associated with chronic HCV. I had to quit after one dose due to the autoimmune factor. Others would do well to observe this danger, too.

The new regimen is not for everyone. Talking it over with your doctor is not the only thing you should do. Read and Google the internet for as much as you can find. You are going to subject yourself to a mind and body-altering substance that may not be the panacea that you anticipate. Science is not static on this subject. We have recently seen new drugs and studies on the market such as these I describe here which may indeed prove successful. Condemning yourself to any one therapy may be risky beyond a safe parameter.

Check some of these out:

New drugs for Hep. C

Boceprevir in untreated HCV 

Boceprevir trial results 

There are many more on the net. Put aside the Big Pharma/Big Brother/ Big money To Be Made when you view these. We’re talking about your health. There is no such thing as spending too much to stay alive. I’m a poster child for that but not because of the Rat poison. I cringe to think what I cost the vA for a year at the Seattle VAMC and four operations. Those costs were born entirely by American taxpayers.  I apologize to you. It was the Doogie Howser brigade in Seattle.

With this knowledge in hand, perhaps some of you can educate yourselves and decide what is best for you rather than become swept up in this cattle drive rush to the Interferon trough. Now that I have graduated to Stage 4 and cirrhosis, my abiding hope is for a cure that is not more debilitating than the disease. I envision a drug that will envelope the virus and neutralize or encapsulate it. HCV is so remarkably successful at surviving for one reason. It mutates so frequently into a slightly different animal that your body cannot respond and destroy it quickly enough. Putting a ziploc baggie around every one is the ticket. When we figure out how to do it, we’ll be the masters of the universe. Cancer should be a piece of cake after this.

Please do not take this to be the begin all or end all of the discussion about this subject.   I know many come here looking for a thumbs up or down as to whether to embark on the therapy. I have no druthers on it. I can’t do it myself. I know others who have with no success. My neighbor conquered it (or so we hope) with the newer program but he is just one of a new test cohort. My gut feeling is that the jury is still out. In the interim, to stay alive is paramount.

Over the years, I have had occasion to observe new products in the building industry. I am not one for being the guinea pig on these things and usually sit them out until they are proven bulletproof. In more cases than not, I was proven right. Let’s hope a newer, less obnoxious way of killing this bug and making it extinct will come to pass. It will piss me off if it happens a week after I punch out, though.

Posted in General Messages, HCV Health, Medical News, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Picture For Veterans

Posted on March 21, 2012 by asknod
This one will give you goose bumps – beautiful!

Picture taken at the National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN on a June morning – as it appeared in the Minneapolis Star/Tribune.
Talk about a picture being worth a thousand words! It says everything .
This could become an official Memorial Day, 4th of July and/or Veterans Day remembrance photo;
“Our symbol standing guard”

I can’t quite begin to tell how much this moved me when I viewed it. I would like to thank eagle-eyed member Cal  for seeing this this AM and sending it in.

Posted in All about Veterans, General Messages, Milestones, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Old Growth Spinach and the AMC

Posted on March 21, 2012 by asknod

Old growth spinach. You know you have old growth spinach if you have to use climbing spikes, a belt and a small chainsaw to cut it. I planted this stuff in November and all it did was fester. Now its producing but I’ve never seen stalks like this.

Thought I was funnin’ you? Notice that horse apple in front of it? It’s what makes the stuff grow.

What this has to do with the AMC escapes me. Before I went out to chop down spinach,  I noticed one of you who comes here is always running the search engine for AMC or Appeals Management Center.

I’ll bet you all thought there were only 56 vA Regional Offices. Boy, would you lose on Jeopardy bigtime. Most Vets don’t realize that the BvA decided one day back in 2005 that they needed their very own, on site Regional Office power complete with Senior Raters and DROs. For you guys from St. Petersburg, Senior Raters is not a man. Its the plural of an older rater. Just wanted to clear that up.

Back to the AMC. This newly inaugurated body was designed to speed up the process when a minor glitch in a claim caused a remand.  The road to denial is paved with vA intentions. The concept was poorly conceived and the execution was a fiasco. Where a remand might have been an 8 month round trip outing, it now became an 18 month ordeal. Adding to the comedy is the fact that the new “RO” manages to lose and misplace things much like it’s siblings. It has now become synonymous with watching grass grow. The error rate there is just as egregious as the AOJ process, too. At least they didn’t lie and name it the Appeals Mediation Center. Some who work there think that is what they do. Not.

What happened? Think this process through. What, exactly, is broken? I submit it is the inflexible reading of the M-21. Computerizing it with extremely narrow perimeters is like a funnel with one exit. There is no dissection and  nuanced reading for details. Everything is a 0 or a 1 digitally. If the default setting is deny-or 0000- a 1 will never filter into the formula. It might be if it is manually entered. I think this happens 12% of the time. Exporting this mode d’emploi to the AMC is not a recipe for improvement. The basic concept is faulty regardless of where it occurs.

Let’s follow Imaginary Joe Vet’s claim to D.C.

Joe decides to follow his wife’s suggestion for a New Year’s resolution to do something about his HCV. He starts out in Whacko, Texas RO in January 2007. He goes belly up there in June 2008.  His gung ho VSO says “Go for the DRO review”. Joe, being a trusting guy, says “Roger that”. A year goes by and he motors on down to  701 Clay Ave.,Whacko 76799 and gets his DRO hearing. He brings in new stuff and is pumped. It’s Summertime in 2009 and he’s too cool for school. This is in the bag-until it isn’t.

Joester has struck out again and now its almost Christmas 09. He follows the “new” VSO advice and belatedly files the Form 9. VA goes into high gear and starts prepping the file for transport to D.C. Joe decides on another stab in the dark when his SO says “Go for the video teleconference, dude”.  This is finally the beginning of a sensible offense.

Joe does the V/C in front of the camera even though he wanted to meet the Judge face to face. It’s July of 2010 and Joe is getting sick. Sick of diddling around waiting for justice. Sick with nausea and RUQP. Sick with near constant debilitating symptoms. And sick of the guy who’s “helping” him with his claim.The lady at the R.O asks if he would like to sign a waiver allowing the BvA to adjudicate the claim without a bunch of remands. Joe thinks this is pretty smart and will get this ball rolling.  The VSO guy is shaking his head “NO!” but Joe wants this  game done. Off goes the claim about a year later all wrapped up with vA’s Form 8 on top certifying it to the BvA. Yep. A YEAR later, pilgrims unless its up for a 20.900(c) advancement on the docket.. Most people don’t know it sits there that long. The waiver form is on top too.

First thing after they open it is to discover that his SSD records aren’t there. The RO forgot to send out for them. They knew the BvA was going to want to see them, but they mailed it off incomplete. Here’s the catch now. The vLJ has to remand it back but it now goes through the AMC  to get them.  Joe gave them the waiver, remember?  They in turn remand it back to the RO. The RO plays Rover and fetches. They send it back to the AMC who fiddle around for a while, readjudicate it themselves and and finally send it back to the Judge for the BIG appeal. Add eighteen months to the July 2010 and it’s now January 2012. The claim is in the docket lineup and all’s ready for a decision. This can happen several times if the RO in Whacko is having a bad hair year.  Add 18 months to each occurrence.

You see what’s wrong with this picture? If your claim is somehow incomplete and you turn it loose to them with a waiver, you may be awaiting justice  for quite some time.

There is a time or place for a waiver. If your record is complete in every respect and you submit the last of your evidence at your Board hearing, there ostensibly will be no reason for a remand.  This allows them to proceed to make a hangman’s noose sooner if that is their intent. Conversely it may speed up your appeal dramatically. Without a waiver, the vLJ can elect to remand due to a procedural flaw or a failure to assist. This may entail a long R/T to Whacko for a redo adjudication by a DRO and another denial/delay. The delay at the RO is nothing compared to allowing the chowderheads at the AMC to tamper with it. That’s what makes no sense. How can it be faster to send it to Whacko  for a do over than to have an in-house procedure? Apparently you don’t file very frequently with vA. It’s ugly, bubba.

 One place a waiver is almost a prerequisite is a CUE motion. As CUE is based strictly on the record as it was in the year you lost, there will be no remands for IME’s, or developing new evidence.

Most Vets are unsure which path to follow. Many VSOs are caught up in the old school theory that Joe Vet’s chances of winning increase with the number of iterations before a DRO. Wrong. If you get the wave off and the Red Light on approach #1, chances are you’re gonna splash that bird before you ever get her down on the RO deck. Making ten passes doesn’t increase the odds when the Green Light has been disconnected.

I have a process I swear by after having done this a few times. When you get the denial from the initial claim, file a NOD and submit your argument as to why they are retarded.   If they deny again, it will  come in the form of a Statement of the Case (SOC). Since it takes them a year to get one of these puppies out to you, you have time to amass new evidence. As soon as you get the SOC, file the Form 9 and ask for a Board hearing face to face at your local Puzzle Palace.

Go to the Board hearing and submit new evidence if you have it. Do not grant a waiver unless you are sure you have all the bases covered and the SSI/SSD info on board.

The vLJ can cart all this back to D.C. and put it together in about a year from the time they get it if there isn’t a remand. Speed is of the essence in most cases. VSOs seem to overlook the fact that when you get sick, several things happen. One is that you can’t work and the other is that the bills don’t get paid. You don’t have time, as the VSO measures it, to wait for this ping pong remand game to conclude. You most certainly don’t have time for the AMC’s version of it. Without a waiver, the claim can come back to Whackoland as many times as is needed to give you a fair shake and yet another bite  of the apple. The problem is the DRO is not going to have a change of heart. I doubt they even read the things before they stamp out a new SSOC on it. It may be the same at the AMC but they take a lot longer.

The above illustration is a rapid one with one remand. Several can stretch this into a decade. vA likes to be cheerful and tell you that Justice delayed is not Justice denied. Its a pithy comment to make and unnecessary. There is no cheer in these things. Few Vets relish the idea of losing their health and ability to work. The remuneration (without interest) is minuscule and the intervening poverty often destroys his or her family.

  That is what the AMC is all about. The 57th RO  is unbending and measurably the slowest. Avoid it at all costs when possible. J1Vo. Scylla and Charybdis have nothing on these AMC guys.

Posted in BvA Decisions, General Messages, Tips and Tricks, vARO Decisions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

VN Vets A Dying Breed?

Posted on March 21, 2012 by asknod

I found this on Tricia’s page too. It was written in 2009 and is food for thought.

http://tucsoncitizen.com/veteranveritas/2009/10/03/vietnam-veterans-fast-a-dying-breed/

Posted in All about Veterans, General Messages, HCV Health, vA news | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

New Drugs to Inhibit HCV?

Posted on March 20, 2012 by asknod

I just found this on my Facebook page from Founder Patricia. This is pure gold if it pans out. Hopefully it will be available to me before I reach bingo. Considering I just hit Stage 4 last Monday, it couldn’t come too soon.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120319163805.htm

Posted in General Messages, HCV Health, Medical News | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

vARO–Waiting For Mr. Goodbar

Posted on March 19, 2012 by asknod

Diane privately emailed me to inform my site has been invaded by a merry prankster/hacker. All my capital Vs have been reduced to lower case whenever vA is used. Relax Diane. I did it. If vA insists on treating us as untermenchen, then we will consider them anti-Veteran and address them appropriately.

The title above concerns the Independent Living Program. I called Kris, my parole officer claims supervisor for ILP several weeks ago. He got back to me on Friday. Apparently his supervisor, the Grand Poohbah of all things VR&E in the Pacific Northwest,  has had my NOD sitting on his desk for over a fortnight or more and hasn’t even looked at it yet. Kris tells me he is a Very Busy Man and Very High Up. He feels that there will be some resolution to it soon and refused to commit on whether Mr.  Goodbar might approve or deny it. He did his special:

” Well, You know, Mr. Nod, we’re in uncharted territory here. VA is not in the habit of handing out computers. Too many Vets in the past have, you know, well, used them to view, heh, pornography and vA certainly isn’t going to facilitate that. While we feel your case is different, there’s no precedent for this that we can cite to. Independent Living is, well, independence in daily living which means you could take the bus down to the local library and use their- excuse me? no bus and library? Well, rural living has it rewards, too. Have you considered taking up birding? vA could put in a nice bird feeder and you can watch “bird TV” I hear it’s very soothing.”

I look forward to this battle. The VA has chosen to fieldstrip the ILP and remove all but cordless phones and grab bars from the remunerations program. I know you guys are looking at this and saying “Hell, thet Nod dude is trying to smoke them fellers down at the vARO.  Computer? Shoot. Rots a ruck!”

Well, think about it. This battle is for the lapidary guy who need a new rock polisher. Face it. $36,ooo.00 a year for serving your country and getting dinged up badly? Give the guy a pastime. What’s a rock polisher go for? $350.00?  This battle is for a guy with PTSD who never leaves home due to agoraphobia. Let’s say he wants some photo gear for $1000.00. So what? vA throws millions at a study to see if homeless Vets have clean socks and underwear in winter months. They give them cel phones in D.C. so they can call 911 or St. Elizibeth’s if they OD.

In short, what is a computer for spewing out this  HCV drivel worth? Helping Vets is a noble endeavour just as much as giving a 20% SC Vet an open-ended grant for $16K to finish his/her degree in acupuncture or a Poly Sci  goatskin.

A veteran that is 100% P&T qualifies for this and Congress specifically funded it and provided for it in 1982. Vets who are never going to be part of the workforce again still deserve more than lip service in 2012. The problem as they see it is simple. We are no longer productive therefore we cannot be “rehabilitated”. Better any monies spent are diverted to the potentially productive Vet. Nevertheless, they still go through the pretend motions as if this older version of ILP is viable. The dude comes out to the house and surveys it. He makes sure you can get into and out of the shower and are not in need of A&A. They search the bathrooms for ADA grab bars and take notes. They thank you profusely for applying and you never hear from them again. Finally after several months and some prodding, they send you the Dear John letter and allow as there is little they can do to make you more “independent” as it appears you already are. I mean- come on. You’re not living in a group home. Right? That’s pretty friggin’ independent in their book. This is generally followed by what I could best characterize as the Jed Clampett sendoff- “Y’all come back now, hear?”

It’s usually up to the savvy Vet to obtain a 4138 and file his own NOD. The VR&E guys don’t get into that whole claims thingie. They all have degrees and titles indicating a Human Resources background with a Rodney King minor in “Can’t we all just get along?”  This is where I find myself. Now, it could be that they are stymied because my C-file currently resides in D.C. They cannot legally shoot down my NOD without reviewing my file. That’s what those VA examiners do. That would leave it in limbo until the file comes back some time in the future. I can’t wait for electronic files. It would allow them to be viewed by multiple parties-including the guys who hack into the system.  If they can screw up the paper ones this well, you can imagine what the future holds.  Onwards through the fog. Vote for Hungry Chuck.

Posted in All about Veterans, General Messages, Independent Living Program, Tips and Tricks, vARO Decisions, VR&E | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

BvA– Grampa Goes to D.C.

Posted on March 19, 2012 by asknod

I was looking through the library of BvA claims from 2011. I noticed this one and everything struck me as off about it. The Vet was recently rated in 2008 and is asking for a Fenderson of his original rating.  All well and good. but they are reluctant to grant any more than the 10% from 2010 to 2012. Instead, they grant the 10% backwards to his immense pleasure to his filing date in 2007.  No 20% forRichard Simmons here.  He’s announced that he’s smoking his peers on the golf course. Huh? Why would you sandbag your chances for a good rating by telling Dr. C&P that you’re   hitting to an 8?

The Vet has a Service Rep to put a hand over his mouth, but to no avail. This was where I got to thinking. How old is this dude? 10% for hep? How long has he had it? What’s going on? When you breeze through the beginning on these in a rush to get to the meat, you miss the beginning credits and who stars it it. This old boy was from the Civil War-almost. He probably got drafted in 1950 at 18. That would make him about 80 or so. If he’s just now getting the dirty dozen from this bug then he must have gotten it  from a recent (pre-92) transfusion or one of those Famous Amos vA colonoscopies with a surprise in it.

File this one in “Somebody stop me from talking”  under D in the Diarrhea of the Piehole file. I always ask those who seek to file to look at DC7354 and see where they fall in the code. This gives you two valuable things-what to look for and why your right upper quadrant near the rib cage hurt for the last ten years. Most importantly it discusses how many days you were incapacitated in the most-recent last twelve months. For those of you from Pomona that would be how many days did you miss from March 2012 to March 2011 if counting backwards from today. If it’s less than 7, then you need to act sicker.

I will share this baking tip with you. We all love to use sugar when we cook. If you have hep and you’re at Stage 3-4, I found out (quite by accident) that if you eat too much fatty red meat and too many sweets and desert, your AST/ALT will go up dramatically. I mean WAY up. I wouldn’t suggest doing this if you’re diabetic. It will kill you, but for all the other daring individuals, it’s a neat hepatitis hat trick. The Mary Kaye #4 black eye shadow is a must for under each eye and don’t forget to accessorize with a drop of Schilling’s FD&C #2 Yellow food dye in each eye before that all-important C&P  Meet and Greet.  Wear shabby, loose-fitting clothes and say little. You impress them to no end. I guarantee it.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jack LaLanne :

http://www.va.gov/vetapp/wraper_bva.asp?file=/vetapp11/Files4/1136713.txt

Posted in BvA HCV decisions, C&P exams, Tips and Tricks | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Praetorian Guard?

Posted on March 19, 2012 by asknod

When Julius Caesar ascended to power. all military forces in his presence were disarmed except for his personal bodyguard-the Praetorian Guard.

When Hitler came to power, all military men in his presence were required to remove or turn in their sidearms except for his personal bodyguards-the SS.

Remember Leon Panetta? The one who got caught with purloined documents stuffed down his pants coming out of the Library of Congress several years ago? When he went to Kabul last week all American military guards on the flightline at Bagram Airpatch were relieved of their clips for their M-16s-ergo no ammo. I received this tidbit from my son in law’s brother who was there (unarmed). The only ones allowed arms were the private-contract security guards (read Blackwater) who accompanied him. What does this  tell us about our leaders? Can it be that paranoia strikes deep? Do our elected leaders and their shills fear our very own troops? I could understand it if they took Afghan soldiers’  weaponry as they are a documented risk.

Recall that the crazed muslim shooter at Fort Hood, Major Hassan, was unopposed because America’s very own troops on an American Base in America were effectively neutered and the only armed souls about were private security? Gee, what’s wrong with this picture? Loyal American troops taught in the arts of weaponry and war, instructed in their use and implementation, yet deprived of the possession of same for fear of…? Shucks, you say. There’s no threat to troops on base in America except for the occasion lunatic muslim shrink. When you train for war, you keep the implements of it at hand. Using troops to police the parade grounds for cigarette butts went out after Basic.

Many progressive types insist on a tortured reading of the Second Amendment to arrive at the consensus that the right is a collective militia or military one. Now we are greeted with the prospect that our leaders don’t even trust them. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. When the current leader of the free world proposes striking a medal and awarding it to those who refrain from shooting, and instead, attempt to beat their opponents to death with their lips, it’s time to start worrying.

When you are forced to disarm your own troops for fear of getting fragged, you’ve lost the war. We learned that 40 years ago. Trust in the military was implicit. You trusted that the idiot in front of you and behind you knew how to safety his/her weapon. You prayed that these fellow warriors had enough sense to bend the cotter pins over on the M-26s when they took them out of the box. The operable word is trust in each statement. Your train for this. You prepare for this. It’s ingrained into your very soul like breathing. You eventually don’t even need to think about it. Your thumb just automatically stroked the safety every so often to make sure it hadn’t inadvertently been  bumped or moved. You probably tickled your grenades occasionally to assure yourself those cotter pins hadn’t snagged on your Alice Pack.

Yet we are now faced with a Command structure that only hands you your weapon when you get to the boonies. Likewise they issue ammo and request it be turned in when not in use. Trust, as a major component of our military is evaporating before our eyes. A closer examination of why seems to focus on the mental aspect of too many deployments. Perhaps there is a darker side to this personality disorder discussion which the Madigan shrinks are avoiding.

If you have a no deposit, no return philosophy about your troops and use them up like toilet paper, then this makes sense. Use them, abuse them and then lose them. At some point there is going to be a reckoning. Soldiers are rapidly coming to the conclusion, due to this “personality disorder” paradox down at JBLM, that there is something amiss. The advent of the internet allows all things to become known in short order. The days of the Stars and Stripes fishwrap as the sole source of info is long gone. Where once commanders were highly respected by their troops, the norm these days is one of benign tolerance. No longer is the “One man is an Army” philosophy taught. Hillary Clinton’s “It Takes A Village” is now de rigeur and required reading.

Wars in ages past had a purpose, such as it was. There was a clearly defined goal and an identified, uniformed enemy. We were “in the right” morally and philosophically, and “they” were wrong. In conflicts today, the ROE’s are numerous and the punishment for error is sudden and swift. No more is there a clear definition of enemy. They wear no uniform, have no respect for life, including their own, and can trade allegiances in a heartbeat. They have to be accorded respect and given a voice to present their grievances. Our soldiers have to attend sensitivity classes now so as not to hurt their feelings or offend them. They object to the drinking of alcohol but there is mere silence when the subject of hashish or opium is raised. The object of war is to turn the enemy’s territory into a parking lot. The concept is to demoralize them so thoroughly that they have no will to resist. Once hostilities cease there is time for milk and cookies, but not a moment sooner.

Our troops are not being employed to sweep the field. They’re being utilized as policemen. They have been deprived of the training they prepared for and are now helping build schools and latrines.  They distribute candy and toys to children in hopes that it will placate them. Throw in an IED every once in a while and you have a recipe for unmitigated, uncontrollable rage. Why would this docile populace rise up and strike back? Haven’t they been given all manner of presents?

What Sgt. Bales did last week should not come as a surprise to anyone in the military-neither in the rank and file or in the command structure. Watching your future and your finances at home go up in smoke while you are afield three thousand miles away has to weigh on your mind constantly. Having committed yourself totally to a life in the military and being turned down for a promotion a few times when you’re qualified can make you question your career path and the choices you’ve made.  Four combat deployments in his eleven years? Hello? McFly?

The fact that the media have already been the judge and jury on this will sway public opinion in a negative way. The decision on the good Sgt. has already been made. His fate is sealed even though they haven’t even assembled the Judge, jury and the firing squad. An example will be made to cow the others. Further restrictions will be implemented to curb the indiscriminate possession of ammo unless needed to shoot back when shot at. Hand grenades will be stamped with serial numbers and accounted for every evening at 1800 hrs before chow call. Pretty soon recruits will have to be neutered or spayed when they enlist to curb “undesirable impulses”. Paxil will become standard issue like salt tablets and they will check to make sure you swallow them while standing in line at the mess hall. And we were worried about the sunset and rescission of DADT?  Shoot, bubba. You ain’t seen nothing yet. It’s a brave new world out there and its getting more politically correct every day. Cowboys and “personal initiative” are a thing of the past. Marching in lockstep is the order of the day, now.

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HANG ‘EM HIGH–Gee, what about the Muslim Dude?

Posted on March 18, 2012 by asknod

Member Tom ( the guy currently holding the most ratings here at about 260%) had this to contribute:

After reading the headlines today about the US soldier who shot up Afghanistan civilians, I couldn’t help noticing an irony.  There is all this clamor to try this guy quickly and execute him, never mind his having suffered a traumatic brain injury.  Yet this Major Hasan, who shot up Fort Hood while screaming Allah akbar, still hasn’t stood trial, and they are still debating whether he was insane, even with the clear evidence regarding his motive: slay as many infidels as possible.  So we have a guy in a war zone who cracks, and he must be executed immediately.  But this Muslim psychiatrist who was stateside in a nice safe office all day murders 13, wounds 29 of our own guys, and they try to argue the poor lad suffered post-traumatic stress syndrome, from listening to real soldiers who had actual battle experience.  Two and a half years later, they still haven’t tried the murderous bastard.

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