ALUMINUM PATIO FURNITURE PARTS

The Veteran's Survival Guide: How to File and Collect on VA Claims, Second Edition

"Claim denied!" All too often millions of veterans have received this response to their legitimate claims for federal benefits. In most cases, writes veterans' advocate John D. Roche, the claimant didn't understand the procedures needed to meet the myriad requirements of the Department of Veterans Affairs. With the appeals process requiring years to resolve disputes, deserving veterans and their dependents are left confused and frustrated by the agency and a system that was created to serve them. The answer is to submit a well-grounded claim initially, which The Veteran's Survival Guide, now in a revised, second edition, analyzes in detail. This unique book, written in an accessible self-help style, will be required reading for any veteran or veteran's dependent who wishes to obtain his or her well-earned benefits and for those officials of veterans' service organizations who assist veterans with their claims.

This is not a photo I took.

In this photo is Todd Harris, a friend of mine. We went to Jr high and high school together. We also served together in Afghanistan in 2002 as part of the 82nd Airborne Division. On Novemeber 3, 2010 Todd was killed in action in Afghanistan by small arms fire when his unit came under attack while on patrol. He was on his fifth deployment. Todd spent a few years in the special forces as a Green Beret and lived the motto "De oppresso liber" translated it means "to free the oppressed". I post his photo to honor him and all the men and women that have and/or currently serving their country. Thank You all and Happy Veteran's Day.

The American Legion of New Jersey donated furniture to the nearly completed addition to the Veterans Haven in Winslow Township, N.J. on July 19. The Veterans Transitional Housing Program (Veterans Haven) is a New Jersey State operated facility for homeless veterans. After being medically evaluated at a VA Medical Center, eligible veterans must agree to a long-term program focusing on psychological, social and vocational rehabilitation. (Photo by Mark C. Olsen, NJDMAVA/PA)

If you consider Iraq--like I do, probably twenty-nine out of thirty days--to be the pinnacle of your life, then where do you go from there? And I'm sure that a lot of veterans feel that way. To them, that was it. That was everything. So now what? They have to find something meaningful and purposeful."
"When I got back from Afghanistan, there was not even so much as a briefing that said, Let us know if you're having problems. There wasn't so much as a phone number. There was literally nothing. I knew it was crazy. I was thinking, the guy on the roof's either a sniper or he's going to radio ahead. And then I thought, this is San Antonio. There's not snipers on the roof, nobody's going to blow me up here."
"Whenever I look at people back here at home, I know what they're going to look like dead. I know what they look like with their brains blown out or jaws blown off or eyes pulled out. When I look at somebody I see that, to this day."

--Voices of veterans interviewed in Fields of Combat

For many of the 1.6 million U.S. service members who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, the trip home is only the beginning of a longer journey. Many undergo an awkward period of readjustment to civilian life after long deployments. Some veterans may find themselves drinking too much, unable to sleep or waking from unspeakable dreams, lashing out at friends and loved ones. Over time, some will struggle so profoundly that they eventually are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress Disorder (PTSD).

Both heartbreaking and hopeful, Fields of Combat tells the story of how American veterans and their families navigate the return home. Following a group of veterans and their their personal stories of war, trauma, and recovery, Erin P. Finley illustrates the devastating impact PTSD can have on veterans and their families. Finley sensitively explores issues of substance abuse, failed relationships, domestic violence, and even suicide and also challenges popular ideas of PTSD as incurable and permanently debilitating. Drawing on rich, often searing ethnographic material, Finley examines the cultural, political, and historical influences that shape individual experiences of PTSD and how its sufferers are perceived by the military, medical personnel, and society at large. Despite widespread media coverage and public controversy over the military's response to wounded and traumatized service members, debate continues over how best to provide treatment and compensation for service-related disabilities. Meanwhile, new and highly effective treatments are revolutionizing how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides trauma care, redefining the way PTSD itself is understood in the process. Carefully and compassionately untangling each of these conflicts, Fields of Combat reveals the very real implications they have for veterans living with PTSD and offers recommendations to improve how we care for this vulnerable but resilient population.