PTSD Combat

"* In July 2009, Army Sgt. Ryan Schlack of Oshkosh, Wis., died after being shot while trying to break up a fight at Fort Hood. Spc. Armando Ray Baca has been charged with first-degree murder.

* In September 2008, Spc. Jody Michael Wirawan of Eagle River, Ala., who was scheduled to soon be discharged, fatally shot 1st Lt. Robert Bartlett Fletcher of Jensen Beach, Fla. When Killeen police arrived, Wirawan killed himself, Fort Hood officials said at the time.

* In July 2007, the wife of a Fort Hood soldier was killed as part of a murder-for-hire plot. Hidi Gower was shot to death outside a Veterans of Foreign Wars pool hall in Kempner, 18 miles from Killeen. Army Sgt. 1st Class Donald Dean Gower was sentenced to life in prison without parole in August 2008.

* In March 2005, Fort Hood Army Sgt. Jason Cline flew from Texas to California and plotted with Sharonmarie Ball to kill her husband, Navy Petty Officer John Ball, who was stabbed in the chin and right hand but survived, according to news reports on KWTX-TV in Waco. Cline was sentenced to 12 years in prison in February 2006, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

* In April 2005, former Army medic John D. Mayer Jr. of Fort Hood pleaded guilty in federal court in Waco to charges in the death of his 2-year-old stepdaughter. Mayer had been watching the child while the girl's mother was deployed to Iraq, according to news reports on KWTX.

* In July 2004, Fort Hood officials identified the bodies of Fort Hood soldiers Sgt. Erin Elizabeth Edwards and her estranged husband, Sgt. William McKinley Edwards. Police investigated the shooting deaths as a murder-suicide, the Texas A&M University student newspaper, The Battalion, reported in 2004. "

"A Marine private accused of killing another Marine at Camp Lejeune, N.C., was taken into custody Friday, base officials said. Pvt. Jonathan Law, 21, of 2nd Supply Battalion, was detained by military authorities Friday morning, according to a 2nd Marine Logistics Group news release."

"Andrew Engstrom"

"A 1st Cavalry Division lieutenant was killed this morning by a soldier in his unit, who then turned the gun on himself.
"

"Joy Priest's daughter, Pfc. Tina Priest, was found dead in her room in Taji, Iraq,"

"Andrew Ward"

"Ilona became a devoted advocate for military personnel and their families. She is the editor of the online jounral PTSD Combat: Winning the War Within and earliest force behind the ePluribus Media PTSD Timeline, a comprehensive database of press- and independently-reported OEF/OIF PTSD-related incidents. She has received national recognition for her work, everywhere from FOX News to The New York Times to the US House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Her blog is crucial for anyone who has a professional interest in helping soldiers and families, and an excellent resource for news about veterans' issues."

"Past studies have shown group therapy to be ineffective on veterans with PTSD, but authors of this study, published in the April issue of the Journal of Traumatic Stress, said the amount of exposure therapy - 60 hours - in this group may be the key to why it works."

"Vivienne Pacquette"

"Community members -- professionals and laymen of every skill set and sort -- are finding ways to help veterans process their experiences of combat while supporting their move from military life back into the civilian stream. Educational institutions, in particular, are finding interesting ways of engaging on the issue and creating spaces for these necessary reflections. "

"NIU communications major and noted blogger Ilona Meagher, author of "Moving a Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and America's Returning Troops," will moderate the Nov. 5 discussion, which begins at 6 p.m. in Room 405 of the Holmes Student Center.

Veterans and members of the community are encouraged to share their thoughts and experiences.

Meagher guided a similar conversation earlier this year in Chicago, said Kammes, who also enjoyed a similar experience in an NIU class titled "Education as an Agent for Change.""

"Far from a complete compilation, I've drawn together a number of activities and promotions (free food for vets! :o) that are being offered to coincide with Veterans Day, which takes place next Wednesday, November 11."