[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 161 (Wednesday, December 8, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN HONOR OF CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER JOHN ULSTROM

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                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 8, 2010

  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor and recognition of 
retired Chief Warrant Officer John Ulstrom, who walked 1,500 miles from 
Desdemona, TX to Washington, DC in an effort to bring attention to the 
need for better mental health care for troops returning from Iraq and 
Afghanistan.
  Officer Ulstrom made this journey in memory of his friend's son Joe 
Vitalec, a 21 year old Army reservist who committed suicide after 
developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Iraq. 
Unfortunately, stories like Mr. Vitalec's are not uncommon. Statistics 
from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reveal that veterans 
account for 20% of American suicides, which amounts to 18 suicides per 
day. Today's soldiers are deployed for unprecedented amounts of time, 
and the extra exposure to combat takes its toll. A study published in 
the Archives of Internal Medicine found that nearly one out of three 
veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who required services from 
the VA in the first part of the decade were diagnosed with 
psychological trauma. The VA has been underfunded for years, and it 
employs only a fraction of the number of mental health care workers 
needed to give veterans the treatment they need. Many veterans receive 
no treatment at all, and many of those who do receive it in the form of 
a pill.
  In his blog, Ulstrom explains the situation in more personal terms. 
``I have seen firsthand that there is a severe shortage of mental 
health workers and psychiatrists in the military and Dept. of Veterans 
Affairs. PTSD is a severe problem with our returning veterans, with no 
one to talk to and nowhere to turn, many vets suffer alone with no 
treatment whatsoever, slowly descending into their own personal hell.''
  Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in applauding Officer 
Ulstrom for his work. By making this journey and sharing his story, he 
has personalized the pain of mentally ill veterans and their families. 
These men and women who have given so much of themselves to our country 
deserve our full support.

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