Texas Labor Against the War

July 19, 2011

This evening the Austin AFL-CIO Council [Central Labor Council] was privileged to have members of the Fort Hood Operation Recovery team as guests and presenters.  Visitors to the CLC meeting were Aaron Hughes, Scott Kimball, and Sergio Kochergin of Iraq Veterans Against the War; Lori Hurlebaus of the Civilian Soldier Alliance; Alice Embree of the Fort Hood Support Network (who is also a member of the Texas State Employees Union).

Aaron spoke of the need for solidarity among soldiers, veterans, and workers.  Soldiers are workers–they are public employees; and our unions have many veterans as members.  Many soldiers come from union families and go back to unions when discharged.  But the unemployment rate among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is 21% (12% more than the national average).  The rate is even higher among African-American and female veterans–about 30%.

Many soldiers suffer from war trauma and nonetheless are redeployed.  Suicide rates among active-duty troops are twice as high as that of the civilian population, and veterans with PTSD are 6 times more likely to attempt suicide.  20% to 50% of all service members deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  One in 3 women in the military are sexually assaulted.  1 in 3 soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq say they can’t see a mental health professional when they need to, and nearly 20% of service members are taking some kind of psychiatric drug.

Aaron pointed out the huge expense of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  This money is needed at home–and we owe veterans the benefits and health treatment they need.

Most of the CLC delegates signed the pledge of support for Operation Recovery that our visitors passed around.  It states:  “I pledge to support the Operation Recovery campaign to the best of my ability.  In a war where soldiers are being injured faster than the military can treat them, I will work alongside veterans and service members to end the cycles of trauma and abuse.”  The pledge sheet further explains:  “Join Iraq Veterans Against the War and Civilian Soldier Alliance in our effort to stop the deployment of troops suffering from Military Sexual Trauma, Traumatic Brain Injury, and PTSD.  By signing our pledge, you agree to do what you can to help defend the rights of soldiers to heal and to hold accountable those who are responsible for deploying traumatized troops.  As the Operation Recovery campaign unfolds, we will be calling on you to help in a variety of ways.”

There was discussion from the CLC delegates, several of whom are veterans.  A Teamster rep described their program to get members back into jobs when they get home from the military.  A member of AFSCME indicated she has personal experience with veterans’ mental health problems and wants to get a group she works with in touch with Operation Recovery.  There was also interest among the delegates in U.S. Labor Against the War–USLAW brochures were available as well as Operation Recovery literature.

For more TxLAW stories on Fort Hood Operation Recovery, see http://txlaboragainstwar.org/2011/07/08/killeen-ivaw-its-audacious-and-a-little-crazy-what-were-doing-at-ft-hood/, http://txlaboragainstwar.org/2011/05/27/killeen-ivaw-operation-recovery-action-at-ft-hood/, and http://txlaboragainstwar.org/2011/07/17/killeen-under-the-hood-update-july-2011/

For LOTS of information about Operation Recovery, to sign the pledge, and to donate, see http://www.ivaw.org/operation-recovery

Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/operationrecovery
For more on the Civilian-Soldier Alliance, go to http://www.civsol.org/

–Leslie Cunningham, July 21, 2011

(Photo Larry Kolvoord, Austin American-Statesman)

Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War and supporters constructed a symbolic “guard tower” outside the East Gate of Fort Hood on Thursday, May 26, 2011. During a press conference held at the foot of the tower, veterans Sergio Kochergin, left, and Aaron Hughes stood atop the tower. The group claims that Fort Hood is the center of a mental health epidemic that is sweeping the Armed Forces. 

Austin American-Statesman, http://galleries.statesman.com/gallery/photos-day-may-2011/#170585; also in the print version of the Statesman May 27, 2011. 

E-MAIL FROM IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR, MAY 27, 2011:

IVAW puts Fort Hood Commander on watch

Left – Op Rec Team members at Under the Hood Outreach Center / Right – Op Rec Team at guard tower put Gen. Campbell on watch  

Yesterday morning, 6 members of our Operation Recovery Team went to Fort Hood Commander, General Campbell’s office to deliver a letter requesting he meet with us about the plight of traumatized troops under his command.  We were turned away, then surrounded by Fort Hood security officials who became sympathetic to our cause when we identified ourselves as veterans who are dealing with PTSD.  But we were ultimately escorted off base.  

In response, we held a press conference about the issue of un-treated trauma that is ravaging the Fort Hood community as well as the military at large.  We then erected a guard tower across from the gates of Fort Hood as a symbolic act to let Commander Campbell know that we are keeping watch over his actions (or lack thereof) when it comes to the health and well-being of soldiers at Fort Hood.  As we stood watch at the gates of Fort Hood, we handed out over 200 purple ribbons to soldiers entering the base.  These ribbons symbolize our solidarity with the tens of thousands of soldiers who are suffering from un-treated trauma because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Get Involved with IVAW’s Operation Recovery Campaign

There are a number of ways you can support our efforts to stop the deployment of traumatized troops at Fort Hood: 

• Join our Operation Recovery Facebook group and share with your friends.
• Sign the Operation Recovery Pledge.
• Make a donation and put “Fort Hood” in the Special Projects box.
• Go to our website to download fact sheets and other materials.

Learn more by watching this short video about IVAW’s Operation Recovery Campaign at Fort Hood and meet the veteran organizers behind this effort

Fort Hood suicide rate four times the national average?  Austin activist and Under the Hood Cafe volunteer Jim Turpin takes another look at the escalating crisis of GI suicides and PTSD.

Under the Hood Café near Ft. Hood in Killeen Texas is a place where active duty GIs and veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan can discuss the debilitating effects of war. Photo from Under the Hood / Flickr.

Texas’ Fort Hood sets the pace:

PTSD and suicides in the military
are at an all-time high

By Jim Turpin / The Rag Blog / October 27, 2010

KILLEEN, Texas — Even with the spin from the current administration that the “war is over” in Iraq, it is well known that 50,000 combat-ready troops remain in the country. Add to that a recent deployment of 2,000 troops from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment from Fort Hood in Texas. At present almost 100,000 troops remain in Afghanistan.

With the total number of U.S. military personnel cycling through both Afghanistan and Iraq at almost 1.8 million, and with the RAND corporation estimating that 18% have PTSD (which is deemed low by some experts), this would put the returning numbers with PTSD at 324,000.

A recent article in The New York Times confirms what the organizers of the Killeen-based GI coffeehouse Under the Hood Café have been battling at Fort Hood for the last year and a half: suicides are at the highest point since 2008, with 14 confirmed suicides since the beginning of 2010. In one recent weekend, there were three suicides and one murder-suicide at Fort Hood.

With the population at Fort Hood ranging from 46,000 to 50,000 soldiers at any given time, the rate of suicide is four times the national average, based on Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates of 11.5 suicides per 100,000 people.

The repeated deployment of military personnel who suffer from both physical and psychological wounds has led to these all-time high suicide rates. A recent article in the American Journal of Public Health studied 2,500 New Jersey National Guardsmen and determined “deployed soldiers were more than three times as likely as soldiers with no previous deployments to screen positive for post traumatic stress disorder.”

Despite these staggering statistics, the Fort Hood command continues to find ways to deny soldiers their right to receive necessary mental health services. Several soldiers have come forward recently with reports of harassment, undue punishment, and interference when seeking these necessary services.

A number of examples include:

• The imprisonment of SPC. Eric Jasinski in March 2010. Jasinski, who was suffering from PTSD, refused redeployment to Iraq based on this condition. It was feared that Jasinski’s confinement could interfere with his ability to receive his prescribed medications. Eric’s attorney James Branum stated, “He was seeing a psychiatrist for his condition and prescribed Zoloft for depression and Trazadone to get to sleep, and they handed him his gun and told him to go back to Iraq.”
• The deployment of 50 soldiers from Ft. Hood with physical (knee, back, and shoulder issues due to bomb blasts) and psychological (PTSD/TBI) issues in June 2010 to the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, California. Combat training for those soldiers with verified PTSD and other anxiety disorders runs counterintuitive to generally accepted psychiatric practices.
• Recent reports from soldiers at Ft. Hood suffering from PTSD and substance abuse who are being given extra work loads or are being kept from dealing with additional personal crises at home. Issues they are confronted with include being given medication only (instead of counseling) or being ignored by the chain of command when they request assistance.

Veteran deaths also surge after discharge from the military and are often the result of vehicle accidents, motorcycle crashes, drug overdoses, or other causes. An article this month in The New York Times discusses the huge number of veteran deaths attributed to destructive, risky, and lethal behaviors:

“The data show that veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan were two and a half times as likely to commit suicide as Californians of the same age with no military service. They were twice as likely to die in a vehicle accident and five and a half times as likely to die in a motorcycle accident. These numbers are truly alarming and should wake up the whole country,” said United States Representative Bob Filner, Democrat of San Diego, who is the chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

“They show a failure of our policy.”

The Under the Hood Café and Outreach Center, the GI coffeehouse located near Ft. Hood, Texas, the largest military base in the U.S., offers GIs a free speech zone. It provides a non-military environment that allows active duty GIs and veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan to discuss the debilitating effects of war. Under the Hood offers free referrals for medical and psychological services and legal assistance for those soldiers who are resisting redeployment to war zones.

To benefit its ongoing efforts in support of GIs, veterans, and military families, Under the Hood is having a “Hoodstock Flashback” concert (see graphic below) on Sunday, November 14, from 6-11 p.m. at Jovita’s in Austin. Admission is $10 at the door and includes such artists as Barbara K, Karen Abrahams, Will T. Massey, and Richard Bowden.

[Jim Turpin is a native Austinite and member of CodePink Austin. He also volunteers for the GI coffeehouse Under the Hood Café at Ft. Hood in Killeen, Texas.]

At Under the Hood, Memorial Day 2010 was a day to remember two friends who were mainstays of the Texas peace community. Nick Travis III, 55, passed away suddenly early Monday morning, May 24, in Austin. Lisa Morris, 28, passed away unexpectedly the next day in Copperas Cove.  Nick, a long-time peace activist, was known to show up at Under the Hood with his guitar and infectious smile.  People couldn’t help but be a little happier with Nick around.  Lisa, a regular at Under the Hood, always made sure to stand in protest with fellow soldiers, veterans and family members at the gates of Fort Hood.  She leaves behind many friends.  Both will be missed dearly.  Our work continues on in their memory.

Under the Hood needs YOUR support now!  This is a critical time and we won’t be able to keep our doors open without your sustaining donation. Please consider signing up for a recurring donation today. If you believe in the work we do at Under the Hood, show us your support by considering a monthly donation.  As little as $10.00 a month can go a long way toward making Under the Hood sustainable.   Two hundred supporters contributing $10 a month will help us ensure that we can continue to provide these important services.  It’s easy to become a sustainer through PayPal.  The first 100 supporters to sign up for a sustaining donation will receive their choice of a poster or 12 oz. bag of Under the Hood coffee!

We would like to thank our most recent UtH supporters. A special thanks to our newest sustaining donors.We now have 16 sustaining donors toward our goal of 200!   We also want to thank Lee & Hardy Loe and Sue & Walter Long for their generosity.  Because of these two families, we had two very successful fundraisers in Houston and Austin in May.  We are also very grateful for a $1,000 grant from the Nonviolent Action Community of Cascadia in Seattle, Washington.

The Fort Hood Support Network (FHSN) operates Under the Hood Café and Outreach Center.  FHSN is a Texas non-profit corporation with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. Donations may be treated as tax-deductible.

Under the Hood has had a steady stream of soldiers reaching out to us for support. For the first time, however, a group of military spouses recently contacted Under the Hood for assistance. As the U.S. heads into its tenth year of combat in Afghanistan and continued combat missions in Iraq, the number of soldiers facing multiple redeployments and resulting physical and mental health problems is reaching unprecedented levels. Soldiers and families are increasingly finding that the Army is doing little to address these and other health issues soldiers face. In fact, right here in Fort Hood, the Army is violating its own regulations by training soldiers for deployment despite their non-deployable status.

RISE TOGETHER: IVAW national convention is coming to Austin July 8 – 11, 2010. IVAW and Under the Hood mutually support each other’s efforts to end the war, one soldier at a time!  We look forward to seeing many of our IVAW brothers and sisters this July.  For more information about the IVAW convention, check it out here.

Or visit Under the Hood on the web at

Friday, January 15, 2010, 8:30 am – 6:00 pm

East Gate of Fort Hood, corner of fort hood st and veterans ave

We, the Soldiers and dependents of the military community are literally sick of fighting the wars of the past decade. Soldiers enter the Army ready and willing to fight for this country and come back plagued with nightmares, physical symptoms, PTSD, and TBI among other injuries. Instead of receiving adequate care from counselors and physicians, often Soldiers are over prescribed medications that conflict with each other and further debilitate rather than heal. Army counselors are over worked and not able to give the necessary treatment and the progressive treatment of the soldier reset clinic has yet to be branched out base wide despite the popularity and proven efficacy. Families of Soldiers are left emotionally separated by this maltreatment where oceans previously separated. Our Soldiers and families deserve better mental health and physical treatment beyond palliative care, but rather care that is progressive so that the we indeed can become “all that we can be” rather than the broken community that we currently are; plagued by suicides, alcoholism, domestic and child abuse, and joblessness following leaving the Army. COME STAND AT THE EAST GATE , CORNER OF RANCIER & FORT HOOD STREET, TO LET THE REST OF AMERICA KNOW THAT OUR SOLDIERS DESERVE BETTER TREATMENT!
0830-1800 COME AS YOU CAN
HOSTED BY UNDER THE HOOD CAFE

http://www.underthehoodcafe.org/

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=237445406725

http://www.underthehoodcafe.org/news/nr20091110.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2009
CONTACT: (254) 449-8811

IN WAKE OF DISASTER, OBAMA SNUBS
FORT HOOD SOLDIER WITH PTSD

Fort Hood (TX) After one of the worst on-base massacres in U.S. history and the day before Veteran’s Day, President Barack Obama visited soldiers at one of the barracks at Fort Hood, only to ignore a soldier that stated that he had concerns he’d like the president to address.

SPC Michael Kern, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and an active-duty soldier battling with post-traumatic stress disorder handed the president a letter and stated “Sir, IVAW has some concerns we’d like for you to address.” Mr. Obama then dropped his hand and went on to speak to the next soldier. The secret service took possession of Kern’s letter. (see below for a complete transcript of Michael Kern’s letter to President Obama)

In contrast to the president’s public statements, this simple act brings to light the true lack of concern and respect for individuals in the military, particularly those struggling to deal with post-traumatic stress.

Transcript of the letter handed to President Obama:

President Obama:
In your recent comments on the Fort Hood tragedy, you stated “These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis. It’s difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil.” Sir, we have been losing these brave Americans on American soil for years, due to the mental health problems that come after deployment, which include post-traumatic stress disorder, and often, suicide.

You also said that “We will continue to support the community with the full resources of the federal government”. Sir, we appreciate that-but what we need is not more FBI or Homeland Security personnel swarming Fort Hood. What we need is full mental healthcare for all soldiers serving in the Army. What happened at Fort Hood has made it abundantly clear that the military mental health system, and our soldiers, are broken.

You said “We will make sure that we will get answers to every single question about this terrible incident.” Sir, one of the answers is self evident: that a strained military cannot continue without better mental healthcare for all soldiers.

You stated that “As Commander-in- Chief, there’s no greater honor but also no greater responsibility for me than to make sure that the extraordinary men and women in uniform are properly cared for.” Sir, we urge you to carry out your promise and ensure that our servicemembers indeed have access to quality mental health care. The Army has only 408 psychiatrists — military, civilian and contractors — serving about 553,000 active-duty troops around the world. This is far too few, and the providers that exist are often not competent professionals, as this incident shows. Military wages cannot attract the quality psychiatrists we need to care for these returning soldiers.

We ask that:

1. Each soldier about to be deployed and returning from deployment be assigned a mental health provider who will reach out to them, rather than requiring them to initiate the search for help.
2. Ensure that the stigma of seeking care for mental health issues is removed for soldiers at all levels-from junior enlisted to senior enlisted and officers alike.
3. Ensure that if mental health care is not available from military facilities, soldiers can seek mental health care with civilian providers of their choice
4. Ensure that soldiers are prevented from deploying with mental health problems and issues.
5. Stop multiple redeployments of the same troops.
6. Ensure full background checks for all mental health providers and periodic check ups for them to decompress from the stresses they shoulder from the soldiers they counsel to the workload they endure.

Sir, we hope that you will make the decision not to deploy one single Fort Hood troop without ensuring that all have had access to fair and impartial mental health screening and treatment.

You have stated on a number of occasions, starting during your campaign, how important our military and veterans are to this nation. The best way to safeguard the soldiers of this nation is to provide ALL soldiers with immediate, personal and professional mental health resources.

Iraq Veterans Against the War

Joint Statement from Under the Hood Café and the Fort Hood Chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War