WASHINGTON, D.C. — Medical officials estimate that 25% to 35% of about 10,000 ailing soldiers assigned to special wounded-care companies or battalions are addicted or dependent on drugs — particularly prescription narcotic pain relievers, according to an Army inspector general's report made public Tuesday.
The report also found that these formations known as Warrior Transition Units — created after the Walter Reed Army Hospital scandal in 2007 as a means of improving care for wounded troops — have become costly way stations where ill, injured or wounded soldiers wait more than a year to receive a medical discharge.
The newly appointed commander of the warrior units, Col. Darryl Williams, criticized the report's assertions about drug addiction. He said the high rate of drug addiction and dependency cited in the report was based on estimates made by case managers and nurses working with troops and are not statisticaly valid.
"It kind of caught me by surprise," says Williams, who has asked his inspectors to see of the numbers are accurate. He says most of the report's recommendations for change will be in place by summer.
""This report shows that there continue to be soldiers falling through the cracks of the Army's efforts to care for their wounded, ill, and injured," says Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a senior member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committe who was briefed on the report because of her work to improve health care for troops. "It illustrates that soldiers are waiting too long for routine examinations, that many (warrior units) have not been provided the uniform guidance they need, that access to mental health professionals is too often scarce and that too many soldiers are abusing drugs as they struggle to recover both mentally and physically."
Most case managers and nurses interviewed by investigators said 25% to 35% of soldiers in warrior units "are over-medicated, abuse prescriptions and have access to illegal drugs."
They said most soldiers arrive in the units with narcotics provided by battlefield doctors or military bases. They also said a few soldiers under their care are buying narcotics out of pocket and may be mixing legal and illegal drugs.
About three out of four soldiers in the warrior units either leave the Army or active duty.
After nine years of war, the Army medical-discharge process has become a bureaucratic backlog where nearly 7,800 soldiers from across the Army wait for their cases to be reviewed. That's nearly a 50% increase since 2007, according to the investigation.
The "process is complex, disjointed and hard to understand," the report says.
For the high-care warrior units, it means many of their soldiers wait more than a year for a medical release from the Army, the report says.
"Medical resources (are) tied up for soldiers who will not be returning to the fight," investigators say.
Murray says "too often soldiers are finding themselves stuck (in warrior units). This is unacceptable."
The warrior units were created across the Army in June 2007 in response to media reports that the processing of wounded and ill soldiers at Walter Reed was poorly managed. The warrior units — where many ill, injured or wounded troops are temporarily assigned — have nurses, case managers and squad leaders to guide each soldier through the health system.
Only about 10% of the soldiers in these units are wounded in combat. The rest are there for injuries, illness or mental health issues.
The report says most people "generally" feel the units are the best place in the Army to heal up.
Other issues raised in the report:
•The Army does not have the resources to "appropriately treat drug dependence or abusers."
•The Army doesn't have enough doctors to review requests for medical discharges.
• A growing number soldiers returning to duty from the warrior units may have unresolved medical problems — such as mental health or brain injury issues — from past deployments.
Reprinted from USAToday
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
More Army Guard, Reserve soldiers committing suicide...
An increase in suicides among National Guard soldiers largely in states across the Midwest — such as Missouri and Wisconsin — is responsible for a 24% increase in Army suicides last year, the service reported Wednesday.
Missouri and Texas each reported seven suicides among their National Guard troops in 2010, Wisconsin had six, and there were five each in the National Guard units of Minnesota, Ohio, Arizona, California and North Carolina.
Soldiers, both active duty and on inactive status, died by suicide at the rate of 25 per month in 2010, Army figures show.
"All of us are stunned by it, and we wished we knew why," says Army Lt. Col. Jackie Guthrie of the Wisconsin National Guard. "It is especially hard when it's suicide, when it's someone hurting in our ranks."
USA TODAY reported in November that suicides had doubled among National Guard soldiers who were on inactive duty in a year when the Army was seeing a slight decline among active-duty soldier suicides.
The Army released final year-end statistics Wednesday. There were 301 confirmed or suspected soldier suicides in 2010, including those on active duty and reservists or National Guard troops on an inactive status, the Army reported Wednesday. This compares with 242 in 2009.
The Marine Corps reported a decline in suicides from 52 in 2009 to 46 confirmed or suspected cases in 2010.
Among active-duty Army soldiers, there were 156 potential suicides in 2010, down slightly from 162 in 2009.
Among National Guard soldiers on inactive status in 2010, there were 101 confirmed or suspected suicides, more than double the 48 deaths among Guard members on inactive duty in 2009.
Suicides among National Guard troops in Missouri and Wisconsin not only outnumbered such deaths in previous years but were also far more than combat deaths for these units during any year since 2001, says Guthrie and Maj. Tammy Spicer of the Missouri National Guard. As an example, the largest number of Missouri National Guard members killed in combat was three in 2006, less than half the seven suicides in 2010.
Members of the National Guard or Army Reserve who are on inactive duty are civilians much of the time, wearing a uniform only to drill one weekend a month and two full weeks a year.
Army leaders said Wednesday that more must be done to monitor and keep tabs on troops, and section leaders should checking in with them more frequently.
"We recognize we must be even more aggressive," says Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff.
Chiarelli says programs designed to help soldiers deal better with stress, make it easier for them to seek substance-abuse treatment and obtain marriage and family counseling are helping prevent suicides among active-duty troops.
Reprinted from USAToday
Missouri and Texas each reported seven suicides among their National Guard troops in 2010, Wisconsin had six, and there were five each in the National Guard units of Minnesota, Ohio, Arizona, California and North Carolina.
Soldiers, both active duty and on inactive status, died by suicide at the rate of 25 per month in 2010, Army figures show.
"All of us are stunned by it, and we wished we knew why," says Army Lt. Col. Jackie Guthrie of the Wisconsin National Guard. "It is especially hard when it's suicide, when it's someone hurting in our ranks."
USA TODAY reported in November that suicides had doubled among National Guard soldiers who were on inactive duty in a year when the Army was seeing a slight decline among active-duty soldier suicides.
The Army released final year-end statistics Wednesday. There were 301 confirmed or suspected soldier suicides in 2010, including those on active duty and reservists or National Guard troops on an inactive status, the Army reported Wednesday. This compares with 242 in 2009.
The Marine Corps reported a decline in suicides from 52 in 2009 to 46 confirmed or suspected cases in 2010.
Among active-duty Army soldiers, there were 156 potential suicides in 2010, down slightly from 162 in 2009.
Among National Guard soldiers on inactive status in 2010, there were 101 confirmed or suspected suicides, more than double the 48 deaths among Guard members on inactive duty in 2009.
Suicides among National Guard troops in Missouri and Wisconsin not only outnumbered such deaths in previous years but were also far more than combat deaths for these units during any year since 2001, says Guthrie and Maj. Tammy Spicer of the Missouri National Guard. As an example, the largest number of Missouri National Guard members killed in combat was three in 2006, less than half the seven suicides in 2010.
Members of the National Guard or Army Reserve who are on inactive duty are civilians much of the time, wearing a uniform only to drill one weekend a month and two full weeks a year.
Army leaders said Wednesday that more must be done to monitor and keep tabs on troops, and section leaders should checking in with them more frequently.
"We recognize we must be even more aggressive," says Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff.
Chiarelli says programs designed to help soldiers deal better with stress, make it easier for them to seek substance-abuse treatment and obtain marriage and family counseling are helping prevent suicides among active-duty troops.
Reprinted from USAToday
Monday, January 17, 2011
'Stop loss' bonuses go unpaid to 35,000 soldiers
The Army is struggling to find about 35,000 soldiers, most of them veterans now, who are owed bonuses because they were forced to remain in the military beyond their normal enlistment.
The government authorized the "special pay" in 2009 following criticism from some troops and Congress who said the "stop loss" policy that extended enlistments amounted to a "back door draft." Most of the troops fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Veterans groups have faulted the Pentagon for not being able to locate the troops.
"In this economy, I haven't met a single stop-loss veteran who can't use this money for their family or school," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
The Army has paid $245 million in bonuses for 84,000 soldiers since the law passed, said Army Maj. Roy Whitley, who is managing Army efforts to provide the special pay.
The Army has yet to pay up to $160 million to 57,000 current or former soldiers, or to families of those who have died or were killed while on stop-loss. That includes 22,000 requests that are currently under review and about 35,000 people the Army cannot yet locate.
The Army used stop-loss extensively to maintain troop levels as fighting in Iraq ramped up. Other services also used the program, but less frequently.
There are about 15,000 unpaid cases among other services, the Pentagon says.
The military has ended the practice of stop-loss.
Congress passed a law in 2009 to compensate the troops with retroactive bonuses of $500 for every month served beyond enlistment. The average payout is about $3,800.
The Pentagon is barred from using the Internal Revenue Service or other government data to track the troops, IRS spokesman Eric Smith said.
Many servicemembers are young people who may be in college or have moved from the address that the military has for them.
The law requires servicemembers to apply for the special pay. Congress has extended a deadline for people to apply for bonuses to March 4. The Pentagon urges anyone owed money to get more information at www.defense.gov/stoploss.
The Army has used direct mail, worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs and veteran organizations and placed notices in the media. Another plan is to reach out to new GI Bill recipients and see if any of them are owed the bonuses.
Navy Cross recipient Scott Montoya, 41, said he was stop-lossed for several months in 2003 while fighting in Iraq and has yet to be paid.
The former Marine Corps reserve sergeant, who received the second-highest combat valor award for rescuing wounded civilians and Marines while under fire in Baghdad on April 8, 2003, said he received mail alerting him to the bonus last year and responded. But he has received no reply.
The Marine Corps confirmed that Montoya may be owed a stop-loss bonus and is looking into it.
For the months he says he was on stop-loss in 2003 a bonus could amount to several thousand dollars.
"Oh God, that would be helpful," he said.
Reprinted from USAToday
The government authorized the "special pay" in 2009 following criticism from some troops and Congress who said the "stop loss" policy that extended enlistments amounted to a "back door draft." Most of the troops fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Veterans groups have faulted the Pentagon for not being able to locate the troops.
"In this economy, I haven't met a single stop-loss veteran who can't use this money for their family or school," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
The Army has paid $245 million in bonuses for 84,000 soldiers since the law passed, said Army Maj. Roy Whitley, who is managing Army efforts to provide the special pay.
The Army has yet to pay up to $160 million to 57,000 current or former soldiers, or to families of those who have died or were killed while on stop-loss. That includes 22,000 requests that are currently under review and about 35,000 people the Army cannot yet locate.
The Army used stop-loss extensively to maintain troop levels as fighting in Iraq ramped up. Other services also used the program, but less frequently.
There are about 15,000 unpaid cases among other services, the Pentagon says.
The military has ended the practice of stop-loss.
Congress passed a law in 2009 to compensate the troops with retroactive bonuses of $500 for every month served beyond enlistment. The average payout is about $3,800.
The Pentagon is barred from using the Internal Revenue Service or other government data to track the troops, IRS spokesman Eric Smith said.
Many servicemembers are young people who may be in college or have moved from the address that the military has for them.
The law requires servicemembers to apply for the special pay. Congress has extended a deadline for people to apply for bonuses to March 4. The Pentagon urges anyone owed money to get more information at www.defense.gov/stoploss.
The Army has used direct mail, worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs and veteran organizations and placed notices in the media. Another plan is to reach out to new GI Bill recipients and see if any of them are owed the bonuses.
Navy Cross recipient Scott Montoya, 41, said he was stop-lossed for several months in 2003 while fighting in Iraq and has yet to be paid.
The former Marine Corps reserve sergeant, who received the second-highest combat valor award for rescuing wounded civilians and Marines while under fire in Baghdad on April 8, 2003, said he received mail alerting him to the bonus last year and responded. But he has received no reply.
The Marine Corps confirmed that Montoya may be owed a stop-loss bonus and is looking into it.
For the months he says he was on stop-loss in 2003 a bonus could amount to several thousand dollars.
"Oh God, that would be helpful," he said.
Reprinted from USAToday
Monday, January 3, 2011
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI)
Life Insurance is a very important and valuable benefit for service members. At the time I wrote my book, The Service Member’s Guide to Deployment; What every Soldier, Sailor, Airmen and Marine should know prior to being deployed., service members who died while on active duty received up to $400,000 and under certain situations could receive even more money. Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance or SGLI is life insurance policy the covers service members who die or are killed. The money is paid directly to the named beneficiary or beneficiaries upon the death of the service member. This money could also be used to fund a Trust. The trustee would then carry out the wishes of the deceased service member. Additionally, there are other monies paid to the family upon the death of a service member in combat. I discuss those benefits in greater detail in my book.
It is very important that as a service member you review your SGLI policy to include beneficiary information for changes or necessary modifications. A thorough review of your insurance policy is a must and should be done yearly regardless of your deployment status. You need to review your beneficiary information just in case something unfortunate happens to you the service member. You want to make certain that the person receiving the death benefit actually is the intended recipient or beneficiary. You certainly want to ensure your intended beneficiary is provided for if you are killed while serving your country.
I know of several cases where because the service member did not update their SGLI policy, an ex-spouse or someone other then the intended beneficiary received the insurance money. In situations like that, there is little the intended beneficiary can do, especially without court intervention. Even then, the intended beneficiary has very little to adequately show they were the intended beneficiary. Think of it this way, if it were that easy to contest the named beneficiary, courts would be tied up more then they are already with cases of folks trying to overturn what the court assumes is the “will” of the deceased. If you find yourself in a situation like that, contact an attorney immediately to discuss all of your possible options.
It is very important that as a service member you review your SGLI policy to include beneficiary information for changes or necessary modifications. A thorough review of your insurance policy is a must and should be done yearly regardless of your deployment status. You need to review your beneficiary information just in case something unfortunate happens to you the service member. You want to make certain that the person receiving the death benefit actually is the intended recipient or beneficiary. You certainly want to ensure your intended beneficiary is provided for if you are killed while serving your country.
I know of several cases where because the service member did not update their SGLI policy, an ex-spouse or someone other then the intended beneficiary received the insurance money. In situations like that, there is little the intended beneficiary can do, especially without court intervention. Even then, the intended beneficiary has very little to adequately show they were the intended beneficiary. Think of it this way, if it were that easy to contest the named beneficiary, courts would be tied up more then they are already with cases of folks trying to overturn what the court assumes is the “will” of the deceased. If you find yourself in a situation like that, contact an attorney immediately to discuss all of your possible options.
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