Wall Street Journal Reports Army Suicides Level Off

According to the news blurb "Army Suicides Level Off After Years of Surging" by Julian E. Barnes in the January 20th Wall Street Journal:

The Army believes it has halted the rise of suicide in its ranks, saying that improved treatment of brain injuries and post-traumatic stress has helped stem years of increase. But officials said Thursday that other problems tied to post-traumatic stress, such as sexual assault and domestic violence, continue to rise.

As I have often written about PTSD, it can occur long after the incident or incidents that cause it. Plus the symptoms of PTSD may not be recognized by the sufferer or his or her family members.

This is why it is so important to know about the symptoms so that help can be sought at the earliest opportunity.

To learn about PTSD, read this information now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which is now WBENC certified. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

SPCA International Works for Evacuation of the “Baghdad Pups”: No Buddy Gets Left Behind

Guest post by Susan K. Becker -- see info at end of post:

Readers of the "Mrs. Lieutenant" blog may be interested in the efforts of SPCA International to evacuate the canine comrades of U. S. troops now that the military assignment is done.

I began supporting this initiative last fall in response to stories about the harrowing logistical problems involved in evacuating the dogs of troops who may be geographically separated from their pets at departure (read the story of Sadie at http://bit.ly/yhnaZ0).

This work, which benefits soldiers as well as dogs, continues urgently, as described in SPCA’s January 12th mailing:

“…Over 16,000 Americans and their animals still remain in Iraq working to train Iraq security forces … and the FBI and CIA also have a continued presence there. And, as you know already, many U.S. troops were forced to leave their animals behind.

SPCA International is committed to helping all Americans in Iraq get their animals to safe, loving homes in the U.S. We will not stop until all these patriot pets are safe….”

Learn more and view pictures of soldiers and their pups at http://bit.ly/z3WXad

Animal lover Susan K. Becker provides consulting and coaching in marketing communication and presentations for financial and professional services firms at Manhattan-based Becker Consulting Services. Follow her on Twitter @SKBeckerCoach and view her work at www.slideshare.net/SusanKBecker

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Wall Street Journal: Happy Hanukkah to Marines and Marines Still Deployed on Christmas

The Wall Street Journal had two poignant stories this week about Marines.

The first one, on December 20th, titled "Happy Hanukkah, Marines! Jewish Leathernecks Light the Way," by William McGurn begins:

When Jews begin their Hanukkah celebrations this week, they will commemorate a 2,200-year old revolt led by Judah Maccabee against a Greek empire attempting to crush the Jewish faith. For some, the holiday holds an added resonance, linking their military service to one of the greatest Jewish warriors of all time.

These are the Jews of the United States Marine Corps.

In the popular mind, a Jewish Marine may sound exotic. In fact, Jews have their own chapters in the history of the Corps. In his book "Semper Chai!" Howard J. Leavitt explains the compatibility with a refreshing lack of nuance: "[M]any Jews were—and are—Marines, and the basic and lofty precepts and spiritual underpinnings of the United States, the U.S. Marine Corps and Judaism are one and the same, without any differences or conflict."

The second article, on December 24th, titled "Military Families Soldier On: Christmas Homecomings From Iraq Touch a Nerve for Kin of Troops in Afghanistan," by Tamara Audi begins:

This Christmas, Donna Jones is doing her best to avoid heartwarming scenes of military homecomings. It's not easy: Thousands of troops are reuniting with their families in a blur of on-camera kisses, and she works on a military base.

"There are all these holiday homecomings, and I'm happy that people get to see their loved ones. I just can't watch," Mrs. Jones said. "It hurts when the situation is: Your Marine isn't coming home."

Mrs. Jones's husband, Marine Maj. William Jones, is still deployed in Afghanistan—along with 91,000 other U.S. troops.

Thousands of service members have come home from Iraq, with the last U.S. troops exiting from the country in mid-December. But tens of thousands are still deployed elsewhere, many on the front lines in Afghanistan.

That means many families are facing a holiday season with a loved one still in a combat zone. As the nation celebrates the holiday homecomings, some fear these family members are being forgotten in the frenzy.

The second article also includes these statistics:

2.3 million -- Combined total of U.S. service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan

164,000 -- Peak number of troops based in Iraq, reached in 2007

91,000 -- Troops remaining in Afghanistan

The one thing we back home can do is grant the wish of a military spouse reported in the second article:

We can acknowledge this holiday season that U.S. troops -- men and women -- are still in harm's way serving our country. And we can be grateful for their service and sacrifice as well as the service and sacrifice of their families.

Read the entire "Happy Hanukkah, Marines!" story now.

Read the entire "Military Families Soldier On" story now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Vet.efactor.com Helps Unemployed Vets

See vet.efactor.com for discounts for vets.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Veterans: Why Suffer From PTSD?

The following is a guest post from Christel B. D'Agostino, MSW, LCSW-R, CtH, a war trauma survivor who created her own Universal Vibrational Therapy TM. This therapy became the foundation for her method to heal the post-traumatic stress symptoms of present and past emotional trauma and is available on CD. See www.healingptsdtrauma.com and www.theuniversalvibrationaltherapy.com


Veterans, why would you suffer from PTSD while it is within your power to heal your post-combat stress for good?

It is time to reclaim your personal power. Hold on to the notion that healing your war trauma can be an empowering yet gentle experience.

I am a war trauma survivor. I know what I'm talking about. I have an intimate knowledge of the workings of a traumatized mind where heart and soul remain largely detached. Fleeting images of horrific scenes had been populating my mind with unfailing reliability.

Decades later, I came to realize that I had suppressed most traumatic events. I had been out of touch with the murderous rage locked up inside my body.

It took me years of professional training and exploring my own psyche to get to the point where I grasped what I was after: the healing of my war trauma.

It could not be accomplished through conventional therapies that I tried, like cognitive behavioral therapy, though I am grateful for the experience.

While growing up, war movies had been my own exposure therapy. I had learned that desensitization worked only for a particular movie but not for others.

However, I had become an expert in resilience. My camouflage worked like a charm while underneath a war of its own had been brewing.

At one point I became aware that the adrenaline rush of stressful situations made me feel fully alive. When I remembered my father's heart attacks in his early years, I realized that I needed to reduce my own stress level.

It led me to explore alternate healing techniques like transcendental meditation. I experienced that it reduced my stress level for the day. I needed more.

At some point I started to write about my war trauma. In an outburst of hate I accused my national family of having stolen not only my own but also the childhood of all other traumatized children.

After sitting court over the perpetrators and finding them guilty, I felt like a load had been lifted off my shoulders. I continued writing, and experienced a renewed onslaught of dark energies which were seemingly out to overpower me.

Initially I believed that these energies belonged to me. Then I reached the point where I realized that my thoughts and words had attracted harmful energies. They were not mine.

This realization turned out to become one of the cornerstones of my Universal Vibrational Therapy TM that I used to heal me. I have been trauma free for about 20 years now. So can you.

"Where there is a will, there is a way." I was holding on to this saying for many years. It would reinforce my determination not to give up.

While I was writing this article for you, veterans, I remembered these words. I want to encourage you to revive your hope and your determination to heal your post-combat stress. If you want me to, I'll show you the way.

I have already created the method. All you have to do is to follow it and allow yourself to be healed.

What is the obstacle? Afraid to relive horrific events? No need with my method. The Universal Vibrations gently transmute your toxic war energies and any other intrusive energies.

Are you depressed, not wanting to confront your inner rage, feeling guilty, ashamed, feeling afraid what you might discover about yourself? Have you lost faith in God?

My method is gentle. You do not need to relive your emotional trauma and invisible wounds. They will be transmuted through the Universal Vibrational Therapy TM. Your soul will be healed too.

Give yourself a chance. Own yourself again, enrich your life, follow your visions and dreams.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Fighter Pilot MIA in Korea

(This is the second guest post from Jim Escalle about his uncle, Second Lieutenant Jimmy L. Escalle. The picture above is the cover of the book that Jim has written about his uncle.)

My uncle, Second Lieutenant Jimmy L. Escalle, dreamed of becoming a pilot since he was five years old. Too young to fly during World War II, his dream became a reality soon after the Korean War began.

He was born November 7, 1929, in Fresno, California, and grew up in Earlimart, a small farming community 60 miles south of Fresno.

He lived in a small, two-room house that he shared with his father, mother and younger brother, Robert, who also became an Air Force pilot. Both brothers learned an American work ethic from their father that displayed itself both on the farm and in the classroom.

Since there was no high school in Earlimart, Jim and his brother took the bus to Delano, located about seven miles south of Earlimart. During his four years at Delano High School, Jim played football and baseball. He was the second baseman on Delano’s varsity team.

In his senior year he made all-league as left end for the varsity football team, which for the first time in school history had a perfect record. The undefeated 1946 Delano High School football team outscored their opponents 238-25 for the season, a record that stands today.

On June 25, 1950, less than two weeks after Jim graduated from Bakersfield Junior College, the armed forces of communist North Korea made a surprise and unprovoked crossing of the 38th parallel to invade South Korea.

Thinking the war would not last too long, Jim made plans to attend UC Berkeley so he could continue his education. He wanted to become an aeronautical engineer.

But only one semester into his studies, he received his “greetings” from his Uncle Sam. At first, he didn’t know what he was going to do. He wanted to serve in Korea, but he didn’t want to do it on the ground, sloshing around in the mud as an infantryman.

He applied for the Aviation Cadet program with the Air Force.

While waiting for a pilot training class to become available, the deadline to report for the Army was getting closer. Like a lot of his contemporaries at the time, he signed up with the Air Force as a private. This way the Army could not touch him while he waited for a flight class.

Jim joined the Air Force in April 1951 and completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Then he was sent to Connally Air Force Base in Waco, Texas, for a couple of months until he was assigned to Pilot Training Class 52-F.

He took his basic pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, where he learned to master the North American T-6 “Texan.” It was a two-seat, dual-controlled, single-engine trainer with a powerful 600-horsepower radial engine that could produce a top speed of 210 miles per hour.

Joe B. Cunningham, Jim’s flight instructor, called Jim “a natural pilot” and said he was one of the top students.

Advanced pilot training took place at Webb Air Force Base, Texas. There Jim flew both the T-28 Trojan and T-33 Shooting Star jet trainer.

From the first day of flight training, Jim had wanted to fly jets. He studied hard and listened to every word of his instructors, and just like at Columbus, the instructors said Jim simply had an instinctive knack.

Glen Croshaw, a fellow pilot who was in advanced training with Jim, agreed with this assessment. “It was a well known fact among all the cadets in the class that Jim was an excellent pilot, better than most of the instructors.”

Croshaw believed Jim was on a mission ever since the first day he started his pilot training. He said, “Jim had one thing on his mind, and that was to strap an F-86 to his butt and go find a MiG to shoot down.”

After graduating from pilot training on September 13, 1952, Jim was assigned to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada for gunnery school. He was on what was called the “pipeline to Korea.” It was at Nellis where he first flew the F-86 Sabre.

Jim arrived in Korea at Suwon Air Base, designated by the Air Force as K-13, in February 1953. He was assigned to the 36th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter-Bomber Group, which was flying the F-80C Shooting Star at the time. But the unit soon made the transition to the F-86F Sabre.

Every pilot in the Air Force wanted to fly the F-86. It was the sleek, swept-wing fighter winning out over the Soviet-built MiG-15 in the skies of Korea. The 8th Group was using the Sabre as a fighter-bomber, but the pilots knew they would have the perfect weapon if drawn into air-to-air action.

It was the goal of every pilot to log 100 combat missions, which was the standard tour of duty in Korea. Jim even gave up a scheduled R&R in Japan to fly missions.

He dropped 1,000-pound bombs on tactical targets, skip-bombed dams at low altitudes, went on armed reconnaissance patrols and dive-bombed enemy troops. He also went on a few MiG Alley sweeps near the Yalu River, and on one occasion saw some MiGs.

On close-air-support missions where he would have to drop bombs or fire his guns on the front lines, a forward air control T-6 Mosquito usually would fire white phosphorus rockets called “Willie Petes” in the area to pinpoint the location of the target.

When the Chinese army broke through the front lines on June 15, 1953, Jim was in the air before dawn and did not land until long after dark. He got four missions that day, bombing targets in the daytime and strafing trucks that were moving behind the lines at night.

The flak at night was so heavy that he described tracer bullets as being “like a Fourth of July in the late evening.”

As soon as he started down for the trucks, the Chinese would open up with their antiaircraft guns from both sides of the valley.

It was very dangerous work. However, it was also the normal routine of the fighter-bomber pilot.

The pilots of the 36th FBS “Flying Fiends,” commanded by Major Robert C. Ruby, flew 121 sorties that day, setting a record that still stands.

Four days later, while flying as element leader on an armed reconnaissance mission in North Korea, Jim disappeared and was never seen or heard from again.

In a few brief months, Jim had flown over 40 combat missions and was awarded an Air Medal. He also received the Soldier’s Medal for putting his own life in danger when an accident occurred one day on the flight line.

He was well-liked by other pilots and viewed by his squadron commander as having a bright future. He was posthumously promoted to first lieutenant.

The Korean War ended in an armistice on July 27, 1953. His squadron, now designated the 36th Fighter Squadron, is still on duty at Osan Air Base, Korea.

In 1992 Delano High School’s Class of ’47 established a college scholarship in Jim Escalle’s name to honor his service to his country.

In the summer of 2004, as a permanent memorial to Jim’s contribution in the field of aviation, his name was submitted to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center to be placed on the Wall of Honor.

His name can now be seen alongside other F-86 Sabre pilots who defended freedom in Korea, as well as those who defended it elsewhere.

To read more information about my upcoming book on my uncle’s life, visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/unforgottenhero. Here, you can read the book's table of contents, excerpts from two chapters, and some of the endorsements I have received. You can also see photos and videos.

Related articles can be read on my blog at http://unforgottenhero.blogspot.com

Read the first post by Jim Escalle about his uncle.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.

Remembering a Korean War Fighter Pilot MIA

(This is a guest post by Jim Escalle in connection with his uncle, Second Lieutenant Jimmy L. Escalle, seen in the photo above in his F-86 Sabre.)

On June 25, 1950, the Soviet-equipped armies of North Korea crossed the 38th parallel, invading the nation of South Korea. Condemning this invasion, the United Nations requested the help of its members, including the United States, to counter this onslaught of communist aggression.

It had only been five years since the end of the bloodiest war in America’s modern history and now it was being called into another, only this time it would not be a popular war.

In fact, it was not even declared a war by President Harry S. Truman and his administration. According to him, it was only a police action.

But to those in the military who fought in Korea it was definitely a war, and one they will never forget.

Over the next three years the two sides fought to an uneasy standoff, ending the war almost where it began, on the 38th parallel.

After the armistice was finally signed and put into effect on July 27, 1953, the number of casualties reported was staggering. Approximately 34,000 American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines had been killed, although this number is still being debated. Another 92,000 servicemen were wounded, and almost 8,000 are still unaccounted for.

Taking into account the estimated two million civilians who died, which is a conservative figure, an exceedingly high price was paid in order to retain freedom for a small Asian country that at the time most people had never thought about, or in some cases, even knew existed.

South Korea is still free today, thanks mostly to the numerous sacrifices these American heroes gave defending it, especially the brave men from all branches of the military who gave up their lives.

Some of these heroes who paid the ultimate price for freedom proudly wore the blue uniform of the United States Air Force. One of them was my uncle, Second Lieutenant Jimmy L. Escalle, a fighter pilot who disappeared just five weeks before the war ended.

I never had the privilege of knowing my uncle personally; he was listed as missing in action several years before I was born. One day, while rummaging through some old photographs in my parents’ closet, I came across a small photo of a man wearing an aviator’s cap and goggles.

I asked my mom who he was. She told me that he was my Uncle Jimmy, my dad’s older brother, who had been in the Air Force, but he had never returned from the Korean War. She told me I was named in honor of him.

That statement sparked my curiosity even brighter. I wanted to know more about my uncle’s life, especially his role with the Air Force. I also wanted to know about the Korean War, so I could understand the environment in which he fought and eventually gave his life.

Although I was just eight years old at the time, I thought that maybe someday, somehow, I would know his complete life story, because I didn’t want him, like the Korean War itself, to be forgotten.

Like most young kids interested in this kind of stuff, I had the energy and desire to do the research, even though resources at the time were limited. This enthusiasm continued into my high school years.

But as I grew older, left home, and became busy with my college activities, my zeal for finding information on my uncle began to seriously diminish. You might say the pilot light was still on, but the burner was not lit. In other words, the interest was still there, but the motivation was gone.

Other things had priority, such as studies, sports, girls, and hobbies. Not necessarily in that order of course. I still thought about Jim whenever I saw an Air National Guard jet fighter fly over my apartment, or when I saw a TV rerun of the Korean War movie "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" based on James Michener's novel of the same name. But I didn't pursue the matter with the same intensity I had when I was younger.

This was in the early 1980s when a lot of attention was given over to the national events at the time, like the Iran hostage crisis, the Mt. St. Helens eruption in Washington, and the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.

That all changed in 1993, however, when the Korean War was back in the spotlight. In September of that year, I read an article printed on the front page of a local newspaper about a government report dealing with missing American servicemen.

The article stated that the U.S. government had evidence Moscow took possession of, and also held, American prisoners of war during the conflict in Korea. The article also stated that the most likely candidates for capture and turn-over to the Soviet Union were F-86 Sabre pilots, because they had knowledge of this state-of-the-art jet fighter. The pilots' knowledge was something the Soviets wanted to exploit.

Included with this article was a list of 31 missing F-86 pilots, along with six other airmen who the U.S. government thought may have, according to their circumstance of loss, survived their crashes and possibly were taken to the Soviet Union, never to return. My uncle’s name was seventh on the list.

The newspaper article on the missing F-86 Sabre pilots gave me a stronger desire to search more aggressively for information about my uncle. Before I read the article and saw the list of names, I had always thought he went down with his plane. But now, more questions were starting to pop up in my head.

Did he die when he went down? Did he bail out and get captured by the North Koreans or Chinese? Was he taken to the Soviet Union? These questions motivated me to continue trying to complete my uncle's story.

As more time went by, I finally received copies of my uncle's military personnel record. I was fortunate in this case because in 1973 a fire broke out at the St. Louis facility where these records are stored and permanently destroyed all of the Air Force personnel records starting with names beginning with the letter H. The fire didn’t affect the records from A-G.

Although it took a while to receive them, I was grateful for having them at all. I was also grateful for the help and cooperation of so many fine people over the years, both civilian and military, who assisted me in my determined effort to piece together my uncle’s life.

Jimmy L. Escalle was only 23 years old when he was listed as missing in action, but in that short time he lived an exemplary life, including being able to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming a pilot. He personified the typical spirit of most young fighter pilots who flew combat missions in Korea, and many just like him never came home after the hostilities ended.

His life story is but one example of the thousands who answered the call to serve their country at this critical time in history. Let us never forget them, or the sacrifices they made for freedom.

To read more information about my upcoming book, visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/unforgottenhero. Here you can read the book's table of contents, excerpts from two chapters, and some of the endorsements I have received. You can also see photos and videos.

Related articles can be read on my blog at: http://unforgottenhero.blogspot.com

And read the second guest post by Jim Escalle about his uncle.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the eBook technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC, which works with clients to attract more business. Read her posts at the company's social media marketing blog.