After a year's deployment in Afghanistan, 600 members of Michigan's National Guard are coming home. They'll join the ranks of 19,00 local Guardsmen and women who’ve served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But this particular unit will soon embark on a new mission. And this time, they're bringing their families.
For 3 years, the veterans, their spouses, and children will be part of a Michigan State University study on how families cope with life after combat.
Birg Niagara. The tall ship can be seen during the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 celebration in Detroit Sept. 4-10, 2012. The ship will be outside the GM Ren Cen.
There's a huge party happening right now on Detroit's Riverfront!
It's the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812.
The War of 1812 was when Great Britain and the new United States of America slugged it out over trade, over the British habit of grabbing American ships and sailors and forcing them to serve King George (yes, THAT same King George we beat in the Revolutionary War!!)
The War of 1812 Bicentennial and Navy Week are being celebrated this week with events happening from downtown Detroit to Lake St Clair.
A U.S. Army carry team transfers the remains of Army Pvt. Jackie L. Diener II. Diener was from Boyne City. Flags in Michigan are being lowered today in his honor.
Earlier today I posted the stories of two young veterans who had served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Multiple tours overseas is common in today's military. Re-enlistments helped keep these wars supplied with soldiers over the last ten years.
The problem, as Bernard Rostker of the Rand Corporation put it, "the more you go the more you’re exposed, the more likely you will eventually have some adverse psychological reactions."
Rostker is a former Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and a former senior policy advisor on recruitment for the Secretary of Defense.
He said the propensity to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is cumulative. And with soldiers serving multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, they're more at risk than a soldier serving a single tour.
PTSD can show up much later in life.
"This is going to be a huge concern for the military," said Rostker.
"Rand did a study, it was a random telephone interview of large numbers of vets using screening techniques for PTSD, and came to the conclusion that there was a huge number of unreported cases. It was controversial with the Department of Defense who looked at the number of people being treated versus those identified with PTSD and noticed lots were going untreated," said Rostker.
In 2010, Britain's Channel 4 News did an excellent piece on the challenges facing today's military.
You can view it here:
Bernard Rostker said the military has come a long way in its understanding of the psychological effects of war.
"We’re much more aware of it today, but it’s still the unfinished business of this war," said Rostker.
A Marine from Genesee County has been reported killed during combat operations in Afghanistan.
The military says Friday that 28-year-old staff Sgt. Nicholas Sprovtsoff of Davison and 27-year-old Sgt. Christopher Diaz of Albuquerque died Wednesday in Helmand Province.
Sprovtsoff was assigned to the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command at Camp Pendleton, California. Diaz was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, California.
When a massive quake struck Japan on Friday, March 11th, Bill Hurles was up north with his sons on a snowmobiling trip. Hurles is head of supply chain for General Motors.
After he saw the first footage of the tsunami slamming into the northern coast, Hurles cut his trip short and returned to Warren. By early Sunday morning, he and his team were in the War Room, desperately trying to get information.
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