How Can We Prevent Veteran Suicide?

Why are suicides among vets and active members of the military spiking? The Dept. of Veterans Affairs says that eighteen vets commit suicide everyday and the numbers among youngest veterans are up sharply over recent years. The VA has hired thousands of new mental health professionals--are they making a difference? And what role do communities need to play in supporting returning soldiers, even if they opposed the war?

Join us live at 11 a.m. or send your questions and comments to feedback@yourcallradio.org. How can we prevent veteran suicide? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy, and you.

Guests:
Amy Fairweather, policy director for Swords to Plowshares and director of the Iraq Veteran Project and the Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans.

Darryl Silva, clinical coordinator of mental health services at the VA Palo Alto.

Click to Listen: How Can We Prevent Veteran Suicide?

Your Call 031009 What do Winter Soldiers say to Obama's administration?

Almost six years after the invasion of Iraq, what message are the Winter Soldiers sending the new administration? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with a panel of Winter Soldiers. They are traveling across the country to give an accurate account of what's happening on the ground in Iraq and in Afghanistan. You can join the conversation by email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. What do Winter Soldiers think of Obama's administration? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Doug Connor, a first lieutenant in the army and surgical nurse in Iraq

Jane Song, a member of Iraq Veterans against war

Carl John Davison, a 26-year-old veteran of 8 years in the military. In March of 2008 he refused to deploy to Iraq or participate in the U.S. military. He was court martialed, fined, demoted, sent to jail and discharged in September 2008.

Click to Listen: What do Winter Soldiers say to Obama's administration?

Your Call 021009 What do we need to know about Iraq?

As Iraq moves through a critical phase, what do we need to know? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Professor Nadje Al-Ali, author of What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq, and Dahr Jamail, a Bay Area independent journalist who recently returned to Baghdad. With the recent election described as a success by Washington, what is daily life like in Iraq? How have the lives of women been affected by so many dead and imprisoned Iraqi men? And what's the status of U.S. troop withdrawal? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Nadje Al-Ali, director of the Gender Studies Centre at SOAS, University of London.

Dahr Jamail, an independent journalist

Click to Listen: What do we need to know about Iraq?

Nadje Al-Ali's speaking events:
When: February 10, 2009 [ 4pm ]
Where: UC BERKELEY GENDER AND WOMEN'S STUDIES COLLOQUIUM LECTURE

When: February 11, 2009 [ 7pm ]
Where: LA PEA CULTURAL CENTER WITH MIDDLE EAST CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE

When: February 12, 2009 [11am-12.30pm]
Where: CODEPINK TALK AT FIRST UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH SAN FRANCISCO

When: February 12, 2009 [ 5-6:30pm ]
Where: UC BERKELEY CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES

When: February 12, 2009 [ 8pm ]
Where: GREEN ARCADE BOOKSTORE

Your Call 012809 What needs to be done for veterans coming home?

What needs to be done for the veterans coming home? On the next Your Call we discuss the toll of the Bush wars that continue now that his presidency is over. Stories of the neglect of veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center made headlines three years ago, but underfunding of the VA is too commonplace to warrant front pages. We'll talk with Aaron Glantz, author of The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle against America's Veterans and with researchers at the S.F. VA hospital about the impact of traumatic brain injury and PTSD. What is left to be done for the veterans of a war that should never have happened? It's your call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:

Aaron Glantz in San Francisco
Independent unembedded reporter and author of The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle against America's Veterans.

Dr Anthony Chen in San Francisco
Assistant professor of Neurology at UCSF and associate director of the Center for Brain Injury Research and Treatment at the VA Medical Center in San Francisco and Martinez.

Click to Listen: What needs to be done for veterans coming home?

Your Call 090208 Coming Home: Health Care for Veterans

What do veterans face upon returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the VA, healthcare, PTSD, and suicides. What's really changed since the Walter Reed scandal broke last year? Both presidential candidates say they will make healthcare for veterans a priority, but do their voting records match their rhetoric? Is the posturing on Capitol Hill having an effect on services delivered to veterans on the ground? And how has the treatment of recent veterans affected their political allegiances? It's Your Call at 11 with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Aaron Glantz, independent journalist who reported from Iraq from 2003 to 2005 and has been reporting the stories of American veterans since his return. He is author of two upcoming books on the Iraq War: "The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans" (UC Press) and "Winter Soldier Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations," (Haymarket) which he is co-authoring with Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Joe Wheeler served in Iraq from March of 2003 until November of 2003 as a surgical assistant. He is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Tia Christopher, Swords to Plowshares

Joseph A. Violante, National Legislative Director, Disabled American Veterans

Click to Listen: Coming Home: Health Care for Veterans

Your Call 041508 Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro

What is life like for returning soldiers? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with former talk show host Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro about their documentary, Body of War, the moving story of Tomas Young, a paralyzed veteran, dealing with the aftermath of occupation. Since the occupation of Iraq in March of 2003, nearly 30,000 soldiers have been wounded, some severely. How are Iraqi veterans being taken care of? And how do they cope with physiological and physical injuries of the war? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests

Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, co-directors of the documentary film Body of War

Click to Listen: Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro

Your Call 031808 Coming Home

The Iraq war has had a transformative and sometimes devastating effect on communities. In Iraq, entire neighborhoods have been destroyed by bombing and street fighting; and even when the houses remain standing, in many places, a whole new group of people now lives in them. In the U.S., soldiers with serious wounds - physical and mental - have returned to their families and communities, but often had a hell of a time putting the pieces back together. Are there similarities in what they need to heal and move forward? Who should be held accountable for what's happened to them?

Guests:
Laura Gomez
Operation Iraqi Freedom Returning Veterans Coordinator for the Veterans Administration hospital in Palo Alto.

Dana Graber in Amman, Jordan
From the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Ramon Leal
Served two tours of duty in Iraq

Harb al Mukhtar
Journalist in Baghdad

Click to Listen: Coming Home

Your Call 111607 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday Media Roundtable. The votes are finally in for the 2007 San Francisco election. We’ll discuss election coverage and the oil spill with San Francisco Bay Guardian editor Tim Redmond. We’ll also be joined by Lou Dubose, who left the comforts of Texas to edit the Washington Spectator.  What was your story of the week? It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Tim Redmond in San Francisco
Executive Editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, San Francisco’s independent weekly

Lou Dubose in Washington DC
Editor of the Washington Spectator and formerly of the Texas Observer. He co-authored several books with the late and lamented Molly Ivins.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 111207 Veterans Day Special--What Kind Of Care Do Our Vets Get Now?

How are wounded veterans being cared for upon returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan? On the next Your Call, we’ll get an update on vets' health care. According to a new report by Physicians for Social Responsibility, healthcare for Iraq vets could top $650 billion. Since the 2003 invasion, at least 60,000 U.S. soldiers have been wounded. The percentage of amputees is the highest since the Civil War. Is the VA prepared to deal with this crisis? It’s Your Call, with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Larry Scott, member of VA Watchdog organization

Dr. Evan Kanter, a member of the Board of Directors for Physicians for Social Responsibility

Click to Listen: Veterans Day Special--What Kind Of Care Do Our Vets Get Now?