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More than 30 veterans of five wars approached Col. Kenneth Riddle at the Watertown Armed Forces Day Parade on Saturday, requesting an opportunity to discuss the need for adequate mental health care for those serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. He recommended that they schedule an appointment to meet with him at a future date to discuss these issues.

According to a recent study, more than 18 U.S. veterans commit suicide every day. More soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq have died at their own hand than have those who died in combat.  These soldiers and veterans did not receive the quality of care they needed. Many more are self-medicating with alcohol.

Maj. Gen. Michael Oates regularly publishes the names and photographs of Fort Drum soldiers who are arrested for DWI.  Rather than resorting to such humiliation, the General should address the root causes of the soldiers’ stress.

The VA has covered up this problem, and the cover-up is perpetuated locally.  At the parade, Jefferson County legislator, Carolyn Fitzpatrick told a local TV reporter that she hoped the veterans’ efforts to speak with Col. Riddle wouldn’t be aired.  We believe it is time to air this issue and help prevent any more suicides.

If you truly support our troops and our veterans, we ask that you call or write Col. Riddle and Maj. Gen. Oakes and demand that they be provided with adequate and appropriate mental health care NOW!

Eli Wright, Iraq War Veteran

Jason Peterson, Desert Storm Veteran

Douglas H. Ryder, Vietnam War Veteran

Peter Bronson, Korea War Veteran

Roland Micklem, WWII Veteran 

and 30 others

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/nyregion/15march.html

http://oneidadispatch.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=19674336&BRD=1709&PAG=461&dept_id=68844&rfi=8

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20080517/news03/924324507/-1/news

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

This is an excerpt from the video shot last night at the Plymouth Church in Syracuse. It is from the end of the program where the marchers tell some of their experiences on route thus far. We’ll catch IVAW members Eli Wright and Mike Blake later on in the march, when the audio and video is better controlled.

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Click here for lower bandwidth version on Google Video

Marchers rally in Dewitt Park then proceed through the Ithaca Commons, up state street hill and the Cornell campus. We pick up the marchers against at their destination, the Dryden Community Building. Rally speakers: John Hamilton, Tom DeGloma, Linda Finlay, Mike Blake, Colleen Boland, and Bob Nape. Musicians: John Simon and Ken Zeserman. Interviews at rally with Frank Baldwin and Rebecca Elgie, and along march with Mike Blake and Louis Debenedette and Rebecca Elgie, among others.(Video credit: Cris McConkey)

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]<img src=”http://tompkinsagainstwar.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/view_chapters.gif” alt=”click for chapters” title=”view_chapters” class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-252″ /><a href=”http://cmprovideo.net/streaming1/CCAN/winter_soldier_CCAN_4-15-08-streaming.qtl”>Open in full screen mode withQuick Time Player</a>
Video 2h:15m, 300 Kbps stream with chapters (iPod download 690.7 Mb). Campus Antiwar Network (CAN), Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), the Watermargin Cooperative, and the Bully Pulpit sponsored this Winter Soldier event which started with a selected screening of testimonies from <a href=”http://ivaw.org/wintersoldier”>Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan</a> held March 13-16 in Silversprings, Md., including: Jason Washburn, Bryan Casler, Garret Reppenhagen, Tanya Austin, Matthew Childers, and Jon Turner. This was followed by a CAN/IVAW panel including Iraq/Afghanistan veterans Eli Wright, Perry O’Brien, Michael Blake, Phil Aliff, and Vietnam veteran Ron Applegate. The event concluded with Q&A, with questions ranging from troop withdrawl and support for veterans, to the prospects for change through political action and organizing.