Stop Lossed? Don’t Get KeyserSözed! Get paid!

One of my favorite films is “The Usual Suspects”.  The film is about a group of criminals who are led by a mysterious puppeteer that no one has ever actually met by the name of Keyser Söze.  Because no one actually ever sees him, people start believing that he is not real, and he conducts his criminal schemes under an impregnable veil of secrecy.

One problem — he was real, and in their hesitation and debate about whether he existed or not, the good guys let him get away — right under their noses.

 One of the best lines in the film was delivered by a “witness” during an interview.  They believed that their “witness” had information about the mysterious figure.  At one point, the witness starts telling them about the great feats of Keyser Soze and the Cops get irate.  The cops shout down the witness – these are myths, they say, criminal fairy tales!    Keyser Söze does not exist.

The “witness” chastises them along by saying that “the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist… and like that, he’s gone.”  Unconvinced, eventually, the cops fall victim to the myth that he does not really exist and Keyser Söze walks free and disappears with his ill-gotten gains, never to be seen again.

Before the end of the year, one of the greatest benefits  offered to Service members who served after 9-11 will vanish.  Some still beleive it is a myth, and some have still not applied.  This is a benefit that may pay up to $500 a month for every month that the Service member’s contract was extended, also known as “stop-lossed”.

 The application deadline is now October 21st, 2011, and there is still money on the table. Some suspect that folks are not applying because they don’t believe it’s real, or that it is a trick to get them to re-enlist or somehow extend their service.  That is a myth.  

 Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay compensates members, who, at any time during the period beginning on September 11, 2001 and ending on September 30, 2009, served on active duty while the member’s enlistment or period of obligated service was involuntarily extended due to the provision of law commonly referred to as “Stop Loss Authority”, or similarly, whose eligibility for retirement/transfer to the Fleet Reserve was suspended due to application of “Stop Loss  Authority.”

There is still money in the bank, and many of the eligible Service members, Veterans, and eligible beneficiaries are not taking up Uncle Sam on the offer for fear of somehow being pulled back into service, or some other urban legend.  It is like Söze has mounted a counter-information campaign, and Veterans are being snookered.  

 The myth may/may not be playing a role in folks not filling out the easy application to get paid for the time that they got extended, but myths have a way of becoming reality if enough people are willing to silently let the Devil whisper in their ear that he does not exist.

 President Obama himself has weighed in on the benefit he signed into law last year by issuing a Public Service Announcement stating that:  “As your commander in chief, I’m here to tell you that this is no gimmick or trick. You worked hard. You earned this money. It doesn’t matter whether you were Active or Reserve, whether you’re a veteran who experienced “stop loss” or the survivor of a Service member who did — if your service was extended, you’re eligible.”

 Although many Service members may not want to apply, or simply do not know about it, the real loss is to the survivors of those would have been eligible – these spouses or children may be eligible to receive the benefit directly themselves.

 Even if you are not sure about your eligibility, the average benefit is $3,700.  I know some families could really use that kind of money, and taking a few minutes to fill in the online application would be worth it. 

Don’t get KeyserSözed, get paid.

Army?  Apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Pay HERE.

Navy? Apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Pay HERE.

Airforce?  Apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Pay HERE

Marines?  Apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Pay HERE.

 #stoplossedgetcash

 – Movie Spoiler-

A Woman in History with Lessons for New Generation of Wounded Warrior Researchers

I would like to share a nice blog article by my fellow cause blogger, PPandMe.  She recently blogged about an icon of Americas equality movement– Dr. Dorothy Haight.  It is appropriate to mention Dr. Dorothy Haight not only because of her contributions to the fabric of the American ideals of equality under the law, but because of her willingness to address difficult and complex issues that touched on class, race, and educational status.   

Dr. Haight was first and last, a champion of moral and ethical treatment of those most in need of protection.  

PPandMe mentions Dr. Haight’s work on the Belmont Report in response to governmental research and withholding of treatment to impoverished farm workers who had contracted an easily curable disease.  The Belmont Report gained acclaim in the medical community as a benchmark in ethical standards for medical research.  The Report parsed down the Hippocratic Oath down to easy to apply rules of research — first, do no harm; second, protect those who need it the most.

The Belmont Report was co-written by Dr. Haight, and was response to a Health and Human Services study conducted from the 1930s until the early 1970s on poor, African-American farmers, who had contracted syphilis.  They were enrolled in a study on the effects of syphilis, and were given free general medical care, but were not counseled on treatment options for the disease and/or provided medication that would have cured their condition.  Many died from it, and other passed the easily curable condition onto their children via congenital syphilis.  Eventually, the United States settled a claim by the families, and compensated them for their failure to treat, and withholding of treatment. 

This was a watershed moment for ethical governmental research that led the way for modern-day “informed consent” and challenged researches to take a more active role in treatment and prevention.

Why do I find this story an interesting topic for a Wounded Warrior blog?  Because it is a bellwether moment for research.  What the Belmont Report means for me is embracing  research that is substantively more proactive and progressive in nature.  Not for the sake of research, but because it is the right thing to do.   

The Belmont Report moved research, and researchers to acknowledge that they must do more than observe and report, that they have an ethical obligation to do no harm, and to protect those most at need.  They could not simply observe and report — they must prevent and treat.

When I returned from Iraq, I began to hear stories from my buddies who had served with me about unexplained ailments and difficulty in getting diagnosis and treatment.  The returning Veterans of modern conflicts are reporting exposure to a plethora of unfriendly things from their time in combat, such as depleted uranium. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs, under the leadership of Secretary Eric Shinseki and Deputy Secretary Gould  have taken pro-active steps to expand compensation to Veterans for things like exposure to Agent Orange, and as of last year, for Veterans of the First Gulf War, the Department of Veterans Affairs now compensates for complex maladies associated with service in the Gulf War theater. 

Last year, they stood up a Task Force to develop the policy of compensation and issued a report for this era of Veterans.

The perceived modus operandi has been for the government to compensate for these issues after the science catches up with the complaints, rebuild the record, and back-pay the claimant — an expensive way to do business. Compound this poor business model with the ethical quandary this presents, and there is not a problem, but a new opportunity.  An opportunity to make another break-thru moment in government research. 

We see Service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with similar reports of exposures and complex medical issues.  Do we invest in the science now and push the researchers now to start the process in order to ensure that we are not creating another generation of Veterans who will, twenty years later, stand at the doorway of the VA with tattered medical record in hand and  a series of unexplained illnesses?

Is this an ethical imperative for the medical establishment to take a leap forward in their thinking in the same way that the Belmont Report did?  It is beginning to look that way. 

There has been historic progress that cannot be overlooked.  For the first time, VA worked with the DoD in researching potential battlefield exposures while combat operations were still underway.  

This new era of collaboration is timely given the increasing debate about toxic exposures from “burn pits” in Iraq, written extensively about by groups like IAVA in their 2011 Policy Agenda and DAV.

The moral leadership of today, much like the researchers who pushed for the Belmont Report,  are pushing the establishment from observe, report and eventually compensate, to prevent and treat.  Although history can repeat itself – if our leadership looks back to figures like Dr. Haight — it will not

I know the line when I see it. Protesting Funerals and the First Amendment

So I was sitting in a Federal Court house in the Federal District Court of Maryland a few years back, and was witness to one of the most vitriolic and offensive diatribes that I had ever witnessed in my life.

The “minister” of the Westboro Baptist “church” was explaining to the Judge how God was punishing Mr. Snyder for his son being a part of the military that condones homosexuality. Mr. Snyder lost his son to combat in Iraq. On the day of his funeral, the Westboro Baptist Church found it fit to conduct a protest, holding the most offensive signs imaginable – like these.

I was sitting in the courtroom that day because my good Army buddy, Sean Summers was arguing the case for Mr. Snyder, who was suing the “church” for their outrageous display at the funeral of his son. I can go on for hours about all of the venom that Mr. Phelps had to share with the court that day but the signs speak for themselves.

Sean won that day, the “church” appealed, and then argued the case before the Supreme Court. Yesterday, he lost his case before the Supreme Court, and today, I could not have been prouder of him. I was proud of him for standing up for decency and the sanctity that should accompany the one moment, the one hour, the one second in lifetime that a one soul looks to the other, and says farewell.

For a moment, take away the context that this was a War hero who was laid to rest, deserving of a Nations respect and gratitude for his last full measure of devotion … take away the context that this was where friends and family were met with the knowledge of this ugly protest … take away the fact that this was a father grieving for his son, knowing that there were others there to steal that final moment from him.

You don’t need to take away the fact that we have acknowledged that almost all speech in this country is protected, and rightfully so.  I consider myself a free-speech advocate, but I know the line when I see it.

But take all of that away for just one moment, and focus on two simple truths for every person reading these words, and the billions others on this spinning mass of humanity. Focus on this one simple truth — you are born once, and you die once. Who one amongst all of us has the right to steal that joy, and that pain from any one of those whom have loved us?

Today, the Supreme Court said that Mr. Phelps could … so today I pray to the heavens that he doesn’t come to the funeral of anyone you love. I offer this prayer, because after today in America, that is the only thing standing in the way.

See Mr. Snyder’s reaction to the Supreme Court decision Here.

The Dog Blog and Wounded Warriors

So, I have to say that this blog about Dogs is one of my favorites! It may seem like there is nothing about Dogs and Wounded Warriors that seem relevant in the Blog “niche” discourse.

Not the time or place right? Well, first impressions are less about the timing and more about the lack thereof.

So if you stay with me for a second or two, I will tell you how dogs and wounded warriors make perfect sense. Or, to be more accurate, they make sensible solutions to the ill effects of war-torn psyche.

What many of you may not know is there have been previous attempts on studies about how dogs have direct and quantifiable benefits on behavioral health – things like stress, anxiety and general well-being. Now pet owners know this for a fact. They can attest to the comfort of a warm welcome at home after a stressful day.

But can dogs actually have a medically cognizable impact on the kinds of depression and post traumatic stress that combat soldiers experience?

Well, several folks seem to think so.  some even note that Dogs that have “served” overseas also have unique challenges to overcome on their own.  I can’t say one way or the other whether I think the science supports it, but what I can say is that the one thing that kept me grounded when I returned from Iraq was my dogs. One in particular, all eighty-five (85) pounds of the lap dog known as “Airborne Ally.” Airborne Ally earned her nickname after I snuck her into a “fun” jump out of a perfectly good aircraft on an anonymous drop zone on an anonymous post in North Carolina (that’s paratrooping, not parachuting for the military lingo challenged).

Before I deployed to Iraq, I placed a picture of Airborne Ally in my ballistic helmet right next to an emergency chem. light and an emergency mini of Jack Daniels. When I walked off of the plane after witnessing atrocities I still wish I could forget, my thoughts were to my furry Airborne buddy who would surely be there to lick me back to sanity.

While I was gone, however, Ally was lost to me forever,  and I would never have a chance to share my experiences in Iraq (good and bad) with her.

I don’t know about the science of it, but I know one thing – dogs make people happy – soldiers included.  So here to pet blogs, service dogs, and my airborne buddy Ally – may she rest in peace.