Read more: www.psypost.org/childhood-trauma-linked-to-altered-fear-learning-a-potential-pathway-to-ptsd/
Tag: Abuse
Rep. Seth Moulton Introduces The Brandon Act to Change DoD Mental Health Policy, Pay Tribute to Fallen Navy Sailor Brandon Caserta (June 25, 2020)
The bill named in Caserta’s honor would create “Brandon Act” reporting, making it easier for service members to seek mental health care anonymously
WASHINGTON — Today, Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Teri and Patrick Caserta, parents of fallen United States Navy Petty Officer Third Class Brandon Caserta, announced the introduction of The Brandon Act.
The bill would allow service members to anonymously report and seek mental health treatment by using a safe word like “Brandon Act.” It is designed to protect service members who experience mental health emergencies that result from hazing, bullying, or any other issue. It would allow them to seek help anonymously and, if necessary, outside of the chain of command. The bill’s introduction comes on the second anniversary of Brandon Caserta’s death from suicide, which he said was prompted by bullying and hazing within his unit.
“Brandon had a smile that made everyone want to smile. He was a very charismatic and upbeat young man. He made everyone’s day better no matter what they were going through. Brandon has always helped everyone he could. The Brandon Act would do this for his fellow service members in his death,” Teri and Patrick Caserta said, “Brandon did not die in vain and his legacy for helping others will continue long after his death when The Brandon Act is passed.”
Rep. Seth Moulton said: “Brandon tragically lost his life because he wasn’t able to get support for his mental health—something we should provide every American, especially every American hero in uniform. This bill will ensure our service members can get help and have no fear of retaliation for doing so, as it’s the right thing to do. Although we’ll never get Brandon back, his legacy will be the lives of many more great Americans he saves through this bill, and I’m proud of his parents who have fought so hard to tell his story and make this change.”
Brandon Caserta died by suicide on June 25, 2018 on the flight line at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia. After his death, his parents and friends discovered six notes in which Brandon attributed his suicide to persistent hazing and bullying from some members and leaders of his Navy helicopter squadron.
The Brandon Act expands the existing law that regulates how service members are referred for mental health evaluations, in order to provide a confidential channel for service members to self-report mental health issues. The process would protect the anonymity of service members, similar to the restricted reporting option that protects victims of sexual assault.
Moulton made expanding mental health care and breaking the stigma around seeking help a top priority since disclosing last year that he is managing post traumatic stress from his service in Iraq as a United States Marine. In addition to The Brandon Act, Moulton has secured mandatory mental health check ups for service members who saw combat within 21 days of leaving the battlefield in the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act.
He also co-introduced, with fellow veteran Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT), the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, which would make 9-8-8 the national number for mental health emergencies. The bill has passed in the Senate, and is one step away from a vote on the House floor. Yesterday, the FCC announced that it would issue a final rule on the designation of 9-8-8 as the national suicide prevention hotline in mid-July.
A copy of The Brandon Act is available for download here.
A legislative summary for The Brandon Act is available for download here.
Read more from the original source on Rep. Seth Moulton’s website here.
Related Links:
The Brandon Act (website)
The Brandon Act (Facebook)
Moulton Introduces Brandon Act to Change DoD Mental Health Policy, Pay Tribute to Fallen Navy Sailor Brandon Caserta (June 25, 2020)
Navy Sailor Brandon Caserta Died by Suicide at Naval Station Norfolk; Family Pushing for Suicide Prevention Legislation ‘The Brandon Act’ Focusing on Hazing & Bullying (June 25, 2018)
Military Policy and Legislation Considerations for the Investigations of Non Combat Death, Homicide, and Suicide of US Service Members (October 21, 2016)
Army Soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas Are Dying at Alarming Rates Stateside (Jan 1, 2016 to Present)
15 Active Duty Cases That Beg for Prevention Efforts, Military Justice Reform, and the End of the Feres Doctrine
Military Justice for All (Facebook)
Tillis Chairs Hearing on Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in the Military (March 8, 2018)
RELATED LINKS:
Sgt. Bill Coffin Murdered Ex-Fiancee After Civilian Courts Issued Protective Order, Judge Alleges Army Routinely Ignores Court Orders (1997)
Army Nurse Lt. Holley Lynn James Murdered by Marine Husband the Day After She Announced Divorce; John Wimunc Plead Guilty, Sentenced to Life in Prison (July 9, 2008)
History: The Military And Domestic Abuse (January 28, 2009)
Former Representative Bruce Braley (D-IA) Introduced the Holley Lynn James Act (April 12, 2011)
30 Domestic Abuse Cases in the Military That Ended in the Murder of Female Partners
48 Hours NCIS Premiered ‘Trail of Fire’ on CBS: Holley Wimunc, Domestic Violence, and the Holley Lynn James Act (June 26, 2018)
Rep. Mike Turner Says New Military Legislation Closes a Loophole & Includes Domestic Violence Victims in the Expedited Transfer Policy Law (May 1, 2018) *can’t find any documentation to back this up
House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel: Hearings on Domestic Violence in the Military (September 18, 2019)
Chair Jackie Speier NDAA Provisions Address Military Sexual Assault, Intimate Partner Violence, Racial Justice, Ethics, Military Families, and DoD Oversight and Modernization (July 2, 2020)
One of My Abusers Falsely Accused Me of Defaming Her on Facebook and Started a Cascade of Hate that Ended With Doxxing & Swatting; Has History of Making False Accusations (2014)
Colleen Bushnell, a self proclaimed “MST advocate” working with Protect Our Defenders (PoD), didn’t just perjure herself in a court of law but she lied in two different states about her sons being sexually molested by the ex-husband and his family (who now have custody).
She accused them ALL of sex crimes in a court of law with no evidence where ANYONE accused of crimes against children are demonized in the public sphere. Much like my husband’s abusive ex-wife, she weaponized the court system to regain control of the situation after losing physical custody. Obviously, she had no history of “reports of abuse” to use as evidence. She is the abuser.
Law enforcement conducted an extensive investigation in two separate states only to find out that she simply made it up in an effort to get her children back under false pretenses. Colleen Bushnell has a history of falsely accusing people when she is the actual problem.
For about fifteen years, she’s been pushing herself out there as a “military sexual trauma advocate” despite treating veterans like shit. She has zero credibility with Congress, the Air Force, or in any court of law, therefore a significant risk to any client’s case or a movement. I met Colleen, the “advocate,” via Protect Our Defenders in 2012 and she started abusing me because I was chosen to testify for the House Armed Services Committee hearings in 2013 during the Lackland Air Force Base basic training sex scandal.
She was jealous because she wasn’t chosen to speak in front of Congress (probably because they vetted her) and she made my life a living hell from the time she found out until I testified. She spent weeks coming at me about how all my thoughts on any matters were wrong… and that she was the authority on the subject. You don’t speak for me or tell me that I don’t have freedom of speech after serving in silence for 17 years until my medical retirement was official. She had the nerve to fake console* me afterwards to get attention in the media and then began the gang bullying campaign against me on-line when she posted a fake “cease and desist.”
(The only thing I ever said about Colleen is that I didn’t want to work with her. I have every right to pick and choose who I will and will not work with. She is not a team player, she was abusing me, and she proved who she really is when she found out I didn’t want to work with her… she ruined me with lies and defamation on social media, the exact same thing she accused me of. Thanks for the hate Jeannie.)
*I was crying because of the abuse Colleen Bushnell put me through prior to the difficult task of testifying to congress about something so personal… and the fact that Air Force generals, most members of the HASC, and the audience who supported them walked out before hearing the testimony of two Air Force leaders. It was overwhelming to be treated so poorly before the testimony, during the testimony, and after the testimony after a lifetime of abuse and dehumanization. Colleen is connected to Nancy Parrish and is still a shill for Protect Our Defenders to this day. Both of them have a history of shutting down veterans to maintain control of the narrative.
Veterans for Peace: Sexual Assault on Military Members Press Conference, Seattle, Washington (August 11, 2006)
Talk by 22-year Army Veteran Eli Painted Crow as part of the “Voices of Women Veterans” workshop at the Veterans for Peace 2006 National Convention August 11, 2006 in Seattle, WA.
Sara Rich, Mother of Suzanne Swift speaking at the Veterans for Peace 2006 National Convention. Suzanne Swift was sexually assaulted while serving in Iraq by members of her own unit. (August 11, 2006)
Press Conference on Sexual Assault in the U.S. military held August 12, 2006 at the Veterans for Peace National Convention UW HUB, Seattle, WA (1)
Press Conference on Sexual Assault in the U.S. military held August 12, 2006 at the Veterans for Peace National Convention UW HUB, Seattle, WA (2)
Press Conference on Sexual Assault in the U.S. military held August 12, 2006 at the Veterans for Peace National Convention UW HUB, Seattle, WA (3)
Press Conference on Sexual Assault in the U.S. military held August 12, 2006 at the Veterans for Peace National Convention UW HUB, Seattle, WA (4)
Press Conference on Sexual Assault in the U.S. military held August 12, 2006 at the Veterans for Peace National Convention UW HUB, Seattle, WA (5)
“Despite 25 years of Pentagon studies, task force recommendations and congressional hearings, sexual assaults and rape in the military continue unabated. In 2010 the Department of Defense (DoD) conducted a survey of active duty members which revealed that only a small percentage of the more than 19,000 incidents of rapes and sexual assaults involving service members was actually reported. For the record, an estimated 13.5 percent of sexual assaults and rapes saw the light day—and only 8 percent of those reports resulted in prosecution—in the end 465 service members were either administratively discharged or punished through the court-martial process —that’s about 2.5 percent of the total suspected acts of sexual assaults and rape—a good percentage for a direct mail response, but unacceptable for a justice system.” Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) (November 16, 2011)
Related Links:
Sara Rich, Mother of Suzanne Swift
Eli Painted Crow – Voices of Women Veterans
Press Conf. – Sexual Assault on Military Members – 1/5
Press Conf. – Sexual Assault on Military Members – 2/5
Press Conf. – Sexual Assault on Military Members – 3/5
Press Conf – Sexual Assault on Military Members – 4/5
Press Conf – Sexual Assault on Military Members – 5/5
Sexual Assault in the U.S. military
Sexual Assault in the Military: A DoD Cover-Up?
Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?
Ann Wright: U.S. Military Keeping Secrets About Female Soldiers’ ‘Suicides’?
Is the U.S. Army covering up the rape and murder of women soldiers?
Rep. Susan Davis, Col. Ann Wright, DoD’s Kaye Whitley on Military Rape
Female soldier’s family questions military’s explanation of her death
With Its Record of Rape, Don’t Send the U.S. Military to the Congo
Rape in the Ranks: The Enemy Within
Military Rape Awarness Week Starts At Times Sq. Recruiting Station
Female Soldiers More Likely to Be Raped than Killed in Action, Says Rep.
Military Sexual Trauma – Seeking Justice
Military Fails to Protect Service Members from Rape— Class Action Lawsuit filed against the Pentagon By Ann Wright
Ann Wright Invited to Unveiling of Landmark Military Sexual Assault Legislation in D.C.
Helping Those Affected by Military Sexual Trauma (MST)
Military Sexual Assault Litigation (March 6, 2012)
Sexual Assault in the Military (May 16, 2015)
Dateline, Dark Secrets (Transcript)
Veterans for Peace
Army Pvt. Nicholas Davis Found Dead, Hung on the Back of a Latrine Door at Fort Knox; Family Claims Murder But No One Ever Held Responsible (July 13, 2005)
Excerpts from Nicholas Davis on Non Combat Death website:
“The sergeants and fellow soldiers in A Co., 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, Ft. Wainwright, AK began tormenting and threatening one of their own. A portion of his unit even paid a visit to one of Nick’s friends from college, threatening to beat him up if he did not stop associating with Nick. He was an injured, isolated soldier who wanted to serve his country however he could. He would have done anything in his power to remain one of the elite. But he was no good to his unit and they saw him as an easy target. He feared for his life several times. It became hell for him and Nicholas saw no way to survive other than to leave.”
“Nick went AWOL for the month of February 2005. He was set up by an acquaintance and caught by his company commander and the MP’s. It was reported to me that he was not taken in easily. The MP’s turned their backs while the unit beat him up. It was soon after this that Nicholas attempted suicide. I’ve been told that the mental ward was where my son felt safe. After a couple of weeks he was returned to his unit. In April he left again, this time flying to his home town in West Virginia. He stayed with some friends, got a job and enrolled in college. But Nick was a patriot and knew the commitment he had made. He decided to return to the Army, hoping that he would not be sent back to his unit in Alaska.”
“He was taken to the US Army Personnel Control Facility (PCF), US Army Armor Center, Ft. Knox, KY. The day he arrived. near the end of May, he signed paperwork for a dishonorable discharge in lieu of a court martial. Somehow, the abuse he suffered in Alaska found him at Ft. Knox. On June 15th he was admitted to a hospital in Radcliff, KY for another suicide attempt. Again, he chose the safety of the mental ward. On June 27th his discharge was approved. Nick was released from the hospital on July 12th. He made arrangements to go home on the 14th but he never made it. Nicholas was murdered in the latrine and hung on the back of a latrine door in the 7pm hour of July 13, 2005.”
Hundreds of suspicious deaths occur within our military branches each year. Our military kills their own soldiers to satisfy their needs.
Be careful: if you see too much,
they’ll kill you.
If you struggle with something,
they will kill you.
If you ask the
wrong questions,
they’ll kill you.
If you are in the wrong
place…
even simply by chance…
they will kill you.
You are not protected by the government you serve. The people who “stand behind you” are the ones who will stab you in the back. They will give the order to have you killed.
Kim Slapak-Smith
If you have any information about this case, please contact me through this website.
Related Links:
Nicholas Davis, Non Combat Death
