submitted on Tue, 12/30/2008 - 00:00 by William "Bud" B
Returning Afghanistan and Iraq veterans are confronting unemployment, housing unavailability, domestic violence, substance abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injuries. Regardless of the number of tours in a war zone these veterans have served, their second war begins following discharge from the military – the war that begins when they return home.Returning Afghanistan and Iraq veterans are confronting unemployment, housing unavailability, domestic violence, substance abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injuries. Regardless of the number of tours in a war zone these veterans have served, their second war begins following discharge from the military – the war that begins when they return home.
Public awareness/education, adequate public services, and a willingness to take proactive and preventive approaches to assist these young veterans are not apparent. Criminal justice agencies, the courts, and legal practitioners are ill prepared to address the problems confronting these veterans. There are viable solutions, but first there must be a will and a commitment to pursue those solutions.
(click here for complete story: (http://www.cjcj.org/post/adult/corrections/afghanistan/and/iraq/veterans/returning/home/vietnam/revisited/or/vietnam/s/0)
PAT LAMOUREUX
PAT LAMOUREUX - One episode in a person's life, does not define the person.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
GRANT TIME SERVED-FREE PAT LAMOUREUX FOR TREATMENT - IT HAS BEEN A YEAR!
(THIS IS THE CONTENT OF THE NEW PETITION)
Target:
NYE COUNTY NEVADA - NYE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - NYE COUNTY D.A. OFFICE
Sponsored by:
SUE LAMOUREUX jpldefense.blogspot.com
On September 19, 2008 a horrible tragedy occurred in Pahrump, Nevada. A Veteran of the War in Iraq, diagnosed and rated by the VA at 70% disabled for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), "snapped" and became engaged in an altercation with the Nye County Nevada Sheriff's Department.
When the gun battled ended, a Deputy, Eric Murphy, and the Veteran, Pat Lamoureux, lay wounded.
Deputy Murphy was released from the hospital within 36 hours; his injuries were NOT life threatening. Deputy Eric Murphy returned to work within two months.
For the past year, Pat Lamoureux, whose total VA disability is 100% unemployable, has been incarcerated in the Nye County Detention Facility in Pahrump, Nevada pending trial. His trial date has not been officially been set, but he will most likely not see his "day in court" until APRIL 2010.
His bail was set at an astronomical $2.5 million dollars, making it impossible for him to be released to seek treatment.
The Nye County Detention Center in Pahrump, Nevada was recently investigated by the ACLU, those findings included: the facility is contaminated with black mold; there are no protocols for health screening of incoming inmates, thereby incoming inmates are dumped into the general population without knowing if they carry communicable diseases; there are no medical personnel on the premises to oversee the inmates, unqualified personnel make the determination if an individual needs to see a doctor; the facility is over-crowded; the ventilation system at the facility is inadequate resulting in stagnate air-flow which further promotes the spread of illness - the list goes on.
These same findings were brought to light in 2003 - and yet the facility continues to house detainees in 2009 - six years later.
These are the conditions in which Iraq War Veteran Pat Lamoureux has been detained since September 19, 2008.
During this year he has not been afforded any treatment from the VA, and only twice in July and August 2009 was he "seen" by a psychiatrist briefly. He has not received any counseling treatment for PTSD in a year.
Pat Lamoureux suffers from a serious pulmonary condition which is service connected and also rated by the VA at 60% disabling. He has multiple other service connected disabilities as well. Pat Lamoureux has not received any treatment by a physician for his pulmonary condition for a year.
Two months after this incident occurred, the VA abruptly discontinued his medications for PTSD. Through a system error (?) he was able to continue to receive his pulmonary medications; those refills expired in August 2009. It has been a struggle to have this Veteran continue to receive medications.
On September 19, 2009 it will be one year since this horrible tragedy occurred. Prior to this, Iraq War Veteran Pat Lamoureux had NO CRIMINAL RECORD. He comes from a family filled with law enforcement officials. His close friends are law enforcement, or were law enforcement. How can it be explained that a man with no criminal history or vendetta against law enforcement would suddenly engage in such actions? The answer: PTSD and the failure by the VA to appropriately treat the Veteran; Pat Lamoureux was over-medicated by the VA, he was never appropriately treated for PTSD by the Veterans Healthcare System of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas.
Pat Lamoureux has been severely punished for a year and his case will not go to trial until April 2010. As Americans - is this how we thank our Veterans? Instead of helping them in their darkest hours, we throw them in a facility that should be condemned and let them rot for over a year before they even get a trial? The facility that Pat Lamoureux is being detained in should be condemned.
We treat stray animals better than Iraq War Veteran Pat Lamoureux is being treated.
At the time of the incident, a bullet was left in Pat's left leg. A year later, the gun shot wound has become abscessed and severly infected. The bullet must now be removed. Considering the conditions of the facility, is it any wonder he has an infection?
Please help Pat Lamoureux receive the proper treatment. He has been severely punished enough for the past year; he needs help not further incarceration.There was no criminal intent; there was no premeditation. This was not a crime - it was a tragedy. Local Sheriff Anthony DeMeo publicly stated: "He had a battle plan laid out, and he executed that battle plan." For the complete story go to http://www.lvrj.com/news/50575417.html an article which appeared in the Las Vegas Review Journal July 12, 2009, "Iraq War Veteran awaits shooting trial as wife looks for help."
Tell Nye County Nevada, the community of Pahrump, Nevada, the Nye County Sheriff's Department, and the Nye County District Attorney's Office that TIME SERVED is the appropriate answer - IT HAS BEEN A YEAR.
Help this worthy Veteran get the treatment that he deserves - he fought for YOU, he fought for our Country, help save his life!
Thank you for letting your voice be heard.
Petition Sponsored by: Sue Lamoureux, wife
Target:
NYE COUNTY NEVADA - NYE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - NYE COUNTY D.A. OFFICE
Sponsored by:
SUE LAMOUREUX jpldefense.blogspot.com
On September 19, 2008 a horrible tragedy occurred in Pahrump, Nevada. A Veteran of the War in Iraq, diagnosed and rated by the VA at 70% disabled for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), "snapped" and became engaged in an altercation with the Nye County Nevada Sheriff's Department.
When the gun battled ended, a Deputy, Eric Murphy, and the Veteran, Pat Lamoureux, lay wounded.
Deputy Murphy was released from the hospital within 36 hours; his injuries were NOT life threatening. Deputy Eric Murphy returned to work within two months.
For the past year, Pat Lamoureux, whose total VA disability is 100% unemployable, has been incarcerated in the Nye County Detention Facility in Pahrump, Nevada pending trial. His trial date has not been officially been set, but he will most likely not see his "day in court" until APRIL 2010.
His bail was set at an astronomical $2.5 million dollars, making it impossible for him to be released to seek treatment.
The Nye County Detention Center in Pahrump, Nevada was recently investigated by the ACLU, those findings included: the facility is contaminated with black mold; there are no protocols for health screening of incoming inmates, thereby incoming inmates are dumped into the general population without knowing if they carry communicable diseases; there are no medical personnel on the premises to oversee the inmates, unqualified personnel make the determination if an individual needs to see a doctor; the facility is over-crowded; the ventilation system at the facility is inadequate resulting in stagnate air-flow which further promotes the spread of illness - the list goes on.
These same findings were brought to light in 2003 - and yet the facility continues to house detainees in 2009 - six years later.
These are the conditions in which Iraq War Veteran Pat Lamoureux has been detained since September 19, 2008.
During this year he has not been afforded any treatment from the VA, and only twice in July and August 2009 was he "seen" by a psychiatrist briefly. He has not received any counseling treatment for PTSD in a year.
Pat Lamoureux suffers from a serious pulmonary condition which is service connected and also rated by the VA at 60% disabling. He has multiple other service connected disabilities as well. Pat Lamoureux has not received any treatment by a physician for his pulmonary condition for a year.
Two months after this incident occurred, the VA abruptly discontinued his medications for PTSD. Through a system error (?) he was able to continue to receive his pulmonary medications; those refills expired in August 2009. It has been a struggle to have this Veteran continue to receive medications.
On September 19, 2009 it will be one year since this horrible tragedy occurred. Prior to this, Iraq War Veteran Pat Lamoureux had NO CRIMINAL RECORD. He comes from a family filled with law enforcement officials. His close friends are law enforcement, or were law enforcement. How can it be explained that a man with no criminal history or vendetta against law enforcement would suddenly engage in such actions? The answer: PTSD and the failure by the VA to appropriately treat the Veteran; Pat Lamoureux was over-medicated by the VA, he was never appropriately treated for PTSD by the Veterans Healthcare System of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas.
Pat Lamoureux has been severely punished for a year and his case will not go to trial until April 2010. As Americans - is this how we thank our Veterans? Instead of helping them in their darkest hours, we throw them in a facility that should be condemned and let them rot for over a year before they even get a trial? The facility that Pat Lamoureux is being detained in should be condemned.
We treat stray animals better than Iraq War Veteran Pat Lamoureux is being treated.
At the time of the incident, a bullet was left in Pat's left leg. A year later, the gun shot wound has become abscessed and severly infected. The bullet must now be removed. Considering the conditions of the facility, is it any wonder he has an infection?
Please help Pat Lamoureux receive the proper treatment. He has been severely punished enough for the past year; he needs help not further incarceration.There was no criminal intent; there was no premeditation. This was not a crime - it was a tragedy. Local Sheriff Anthony DeMeo publicly stated: "He had a battle plan laid out, and he executed that battle plan." For the complete story go to http://www.lvrj.com/news/50575417.html an article which appeared in the Las Vegas Review Journal July 12, 2009, "Iraq War Veteran awaits shooting trial as wife looks for help."
Tell Nye County Nevada, the community of Pahrump, Nevada, the Nye County Sheriff's Department, and the Nye County District Attorney's Office that TIME SERVED is the appropriate answer - IT HAS BEEN A YEAR.
Help this worthy Veteran get the treatment that he deserves - he fought for YOU, he fought for our Country, help save his life!
Thank you for letting your voice be heard.
Petition Sponsored by: Sue Lamoureux, wife
Sunday, September 6, 2009
PTSD Tragedy
THE SPOKES-MAN REVIEW
September 6, 2009 in Opinion
Build in care for veterans
By Jamie Tobias Neely
Former Marine Chad Olson listed his favorite book on his MySpace page. It was called “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell.”
Last weekend Olson and his wife, Jessica Armstrong, both 21, died in his family home in Republic, Wash., each of a single gunshot wound.
The scene was such a mess that a Washington State Patrol spokesman late last week declined to speculate on the exact nature of the case.
Earlier that week, Ferry County authorities said it appeared to be a murder-suicide. And family members linked the deaths to Olson’s tour of duty in Iraq and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.
We protected Americans usually send our military men and women far away to fight our wars, content to clasp our hands over our hearts and ignore the distant carnage.
But those who live and work closely with returning veterans know that the violence and trauma of battle often follows them home. Here it may replay in endless, sleep-robbing loops, binding veterans in anxiety, anger and isolation. In a few cases, it even results in death.
Most of those cases are suicides. From July 2007 to the first week of July 2008, according to a recent internal investigation, at least 22 veterans killed themselves in the Spokane service area.
This internal investigation called for changes at the Spokane VA Medical Center, including better outreach to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It also called for recruiting more behavioral health staff, providing better screening, improving pain management and sharpening techniques for serving high-risk patients.
The military trains its service men and women to wrap themselves in an emotional invincibility. Later, when that false shield cracks under the trauma of war, they hesitate to speak up.
When it comes time to leave active duty, most are in a hurry to return home. Any briefings they receive about VA benefits can be quickly forgotten. Once they arrive back in Eastern Washington, veterans may melt into cities and rural areas without even considering a visit to the VA hospital. While worthwhile outreach programs exist, there has been no simple way to find every veteran who might need care.
If Chad Olson’s MySpace page can be believed, he was impressed by the Marine helicopter in which he flew, but his life appeared chaotic, derailed by a deeper fascination for alcohol. According to the Omak Chronicle, he recently was charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree malicious mischief and third-degree theft after a case of whiskey was stolen from a state liquor store.
A spokesman for the Spokane VA Medical Center says there is no record that Olson ever sought treatment from that facility.
But it appears that if he did suffer from PTSD, he also experienced complicating factors such as unemployment and substance abuse.
Research indicates that early interventions show the greatest promise of preventing long-term negative consequences of PTSD.
A Rand report last year described the potential risks of untreated PTSD: poor work performance, financial hardship, physical violence in the home, substance abuse, homelessness and higher rates of suicide, homicide and accidental death.
Because early intervention is so critical, it makes sense to register military members for Veterans Affairs care before their active duty status ends. They should automatically be scheduled for an appointment at their closest VA health care facility for physical and mental health screening within the first weeks of returning to civilian life.
Additional behavioral health staff members should be hired for the Spokane area and an inpatient program designed to treat both PTSD and substance abuse should be added.
Without peace, we’ll never entirely stop the reverberations of war from exploding in small towns like Republic. Mental health treatment can be highly effective, but it’s not magic.
As the White House deliberates this week about how many extra troops to send to Afghanistan, Americans are likely to hear platitudes about sacrifice and patriotism.
It’s doubtful we’ll stop to calculate the additional numbers of likely PTSD sufferers.
But whether we let the issue enter our consciousness or not, the wreckage of war will continue.
Last week it appeared to extend all the way north to Republic.
Jamie Tobias Neely is an assistant professor of journalism at Eastern Washington University. She may be reached at jamietobiasneely@ comcast.net
September 6, 2009 in Opinion
Build in care for veterans
By Jamie Tobias Neely
Former Marine Chad Olson listed his favorite book on his MySpace page. It was called “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell.”
Last weekend Olson and his wife, Jessica Armstrong, both 21, died in his family home in Republic, Wash., each of a single gunshot wound.
The scene was such a mess that a Washington State Patrol spokesman late last week declined to speculate on the exact nature of the case.
Earlier that week, Ferry County authorities said it appeared to be a murder-suicide. And family members linked the deaths to Olson’s tour of duty in Iraq and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.
We protected Americans usually send our military men and women far away to fight our wars, content to clasp our hands over our hearts and ignore the distant carnage.
But those who live and work closely with returning veterans know that the violence and trauma of battle often follows them home. Here it may replay in endless, sleep-robbing loops, binding veterans in anxiety, anger and isolation. In a few cases, it even results in death.
Most of those cases are suicides. From July 2007 to the first week of July 2008, according to a recent internal investigation, at least 22 veterans killed themselves in the Spokane service area.
This internal investigation called for changes at the Spokane VA Medical Center, including better outreach to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It also called for recruiting more behavioral health staff, providing better screening, improving pain management and sharpening techniques for serving high-risk patients.
The military trains its service men and women to wrap themselves in an emotional invincibility. Later, when that false shield cracks under the trauma of war, they hesitate to speak up.
When it comes time to leave active duty, most are in a hurry to return home. Any briefings they receive about VA benefits can be quickly forgotten. Once they arrive back in Eastern Washington, veterans may melt into cities and rural areas without even considering a visit to the VA hospital. While worthwhile outreach programs exist, there has been no simple way to find every veteran who might need care.
If Chad Olson’s MySpace page can be believed, he was impressed by the Marine helicopter in which he flew, but his life appeared chaotic, derailed by a deeper fascination for alcohol. According to the Omak Chronicle, he recently was charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree malicious mischief and third-degree theft after a case of whiskey was stolen from a state liquor store.
A spokesman for the Spokane VA Medical Center says there is no record that Olson ever sought treatment from that facility.
But it appears that if he did suffer from PTSD, he also experienced complicating factors such as unemployment and substance abuse.
Research indicates that early interventions show the greatest promise of preventing long-term negative consequences of PTSD.
A Rand report last year described the potential risks of untreated PTSD: poor work performance, financial hardship, physical violence in the home, substance abuse, homelessness and higher rates of suicide, homicide and accidental death.
Because early intervention is so critical, it makes sense to register military members for Veterans Affairs care before their active duty status ends. They should automatically be scheduled for an appointment at their closest VA health care facility for physical and mental health screening within the first weeks of returning to civilian life.
Additional behavioral health staff members should be hired for the Spokane area and an inpatient program designed to treat both PTSD and substance abuse should be added.
Without peace, we’ll never entirely stop the reverberations of war from exploding in small towns like Republic. Mental health treatment can be highly effective, but it’s not magic.
As the White House deliberates this week about how many extra troops to send to Afghanistan, Americans are likely to hear platitudes about sacrifice and patriotism.
It’s doubtful we’ll stop to calculate the additional numbers of likely PTSD sufferers.
But whether we let the issue enter our consciousness or not, the wreckage of war will continue.
Last week it appeared to extend all the way north to Republic.
Jamie Tobias Neely is an assistant professor of journalism at Eastern Washington University. She may be reached at jamietobiasneely@ comcast.net
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"Grandpa Pat & Kain"
"Kain-man" the jokester....
Pat Lamoureux - Iraq 2003
"Pat is an extraordinary, thoughtful, kind and generous man...not to mention a wonderful friend, in which one could always count upon to be there when in need." (words of a long time friend)
Pat's Family
Mica & Heather, grandson Kain