Gulf Officials Demand Local Leadership, Spill Emotions Like Oil

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

Local officials met with President Barack Obama’s special BP-Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Commission in New Orleans Tuesday to deliver a strong message to Washington from Gulf Coast citizens.  

“The response needs to be driven locally,” said A.J. Holloway, Mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi.

Charlotte Randolph, President of Lafourche Parish, LA said that local residents can serve as guides to cleanup crews struggling to keep up with the spewing well.

“In a war, there are two things that happen. Number one, you find the people in that particular area who can speak the language, and number two, you find the people who know the terrain,” Randolph said. “It’s our territory, we know it. Let us advise you all the way in how to attack this.”

Local leaders compared the administration’s handling of the Macondo/Deepwater Horizon gusher to the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, during which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has since become somewhat of a dirty word on the Coast, was harshly criticized for having worked remotely and inefficiently.

“We’ve been through hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, recessions, depressions and we survived it all,” Mayor Holloway said. “What we have trouble dealing with, is something that will not end. It’s a new oil spill every day, every single day.”

Mayor of Grand Isle, La. David Camardelle said that locals are standing strong and lending helping hands when needed, but is still uncertain as to what the future holds for the Gulf.

“We’re not gonna give up, but I can tell you one thing, by taking everything away from us, from the waters, I don’t know what the hell’s gonna happen to us,” said Camardelle.

“Combat to cul-de-sac”: Non-profit provides mental health services for returning soldiers

This morning Give an Hour held a news conference in conjunction with the American Psychiatric Association and the Lilly Foundation, a foundation that gives grants to philanthropic organizations . The presentation highlighted the work of Give an Hour, an organization which seeks to provide mental health services to military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and military families.

Dr. Barbara Romberg said she founded Give an Hour in September 2005 to supplement mental health services already provided by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Romberg cited studies which stated that 20 percent of the 1.6 million soldiers that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress disorder, or complications due to traumatic brain injuries. Romberg mentioned soldiers’ loss of self upon return to the United States, a loss that has caused an increase in divorce rates within military families and 18 suicides a day among the United States's 25 million veterans.

Romberg said that Give an Hour is comprised of licensed professionals in the mental health field and includes psychologists, psychiatrists, professional counselors, and social workers. Members are asked to volunteer one hour a week in which they provide free services to members of the military and others affected by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. She also stated that 1,200 health care professionals participate and that the program hopes to recruit a total of 40,000 members.

Romberg said that Give an Hour continually works to expand services across the United States and to increase public awareness of the mental side effects of warfare. An informational video stated that Give an Hour hopes to erase a stigma that appears within military personnel which suggests that seeking professional mental help will harm one’s career in the armed forces. Steven Paul, the president of Lilly Research Laboratories, said that Give an Hour, the American Psychiatric Association, and the Lilly Foundation seek to form a network of local support for a national issue.

Changes to security clearance questions exclude combat stress counseling

Speaking form the Restoration and Reliance Center at Ft. Bliss Texas, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced changes to the questionnaire that military personnel are required to fill out in order to obtain their security clearance. Question No. 21 on the form asks about the applicant's mental health history and whether the applicant has sought mental health treatment.

Gates spoke about a review by the Army inspector general which found that soldiers were not seeking help with mental health issues because military member feared that by doing so they put their security clearance and therefore their jobs at risk. Gates said that after he learned about this, the Department of Defense undertook to change the wording of the question to exclude counseling for combat related stress disorders.

After an eight month process to change the government wide form, the questionnaire now makes clear that seeking treatment for mental health problems related to combat stress is not a disqualification for receiving or renewing security clearance.

"There are two aspects it seems to me when dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," said Gates. "First developing the care and the treatment of these soldiers...the second and in some ways perhaps equally challenging is to remove the stigma that is associated with PTSD to encourage soldiers, sailors, Marines and airman who encounter these problems to seek help."

House Armed Services Committee hearing on Military Mental Health

At the House Armed Services Committee Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing "Mental Health Overview," Assistant Defense Secretary for Health Affairs Ward Casscells said that hopefully the program they have developed will start at the beginning of the soldier's career, and will continue through their career, beginning with an origin screening. Not everyone needs to be a war-fighter, Casscells said. Early detection of mental problems is important. They're not sure exactly what sort of treatment works, Casscells said, but they are making major progress. Treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration into society is important.

Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker said the global war on terror has increased stress on soldiers and their families. If Post Traumatic Stress is not identified and addressed promptly, it can lead to more therapy resistant issues, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Schoomaker said, and this is evidenced by looking at veterans from Vietnam. A new training program for soldiers, "Battlemind," is preparing soldiers better for the battlefield.

Navy Surgeon General Vice Adm. Adam Robinson said the length of deployments are causing high levels of stress. Also referencing Vietnam Veterans, Robinson said that no treatments cause significant issues. A big issue in dealing with mental health issues, he said, is to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and therefore encourage more soldiers to come forward and get the help they need. They are expanding training for personnel, and said that just as you train your body with physical exercise, you can train your mind.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Others Speak at Rally Behind Mental Health Insurance Bill

Non-profit organization Wellstone Action led a rally on the steps of our nation’s capitol building supporting the House passage of a bill ending insurance discrimination against the mentally handicapped. Speakers at the rally included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer

The speeches of Pelosi and Hoyer were preceded by Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN). Each speaker urged that the mentally ill should be treated and insured just as other sickly patients are.

The most emotionally stirring sentiments of the afternoon came from former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Carter, with a distinct soft Southern accent, addressed the crowd with a short speech voicing her satisfaction about finally seeing the bill passed by the House, after years of failed efforts.

Rep. Kennedy was particularly hopeful that the bill would be passed by the President in coming weeks. Pelosi reminded supporters that passage of this bill would help insure that soldiers returning from Iraq could have access to the mental health care they would likely need upon returning from duty.