Combat veteran tries to find and help those who also fought

Combat veteran tries to find and help those who also fought
By CHRIS VAUGHN
Star-Telegram staff writer

STAR-TELEGRAM/ JEFFERY WASHINGTON

Nearly 400 veterans are receiving help from the center. FORT WORTH -- Joel Chaverri has seen combat, having participated in the 2004 attack on Fallujah, Iraq, the scene of some of the most bitter street fighting involving U.S. forces since Hue in Vietnam.

He knows the readjustment that a young man must go through when he leaves behind that kind of carnage.

So when Chaverri left the Marines and returned to North Texas, he accepted a job with the Department of Veterans Affairs. His mission: to go out and tell young combat veterans that it's OK to ask for counseling.

"I tell guys, 'You don't have to have a PTSD diagnosis or have a disability rating,'" Chaverri, 25, said. "'You don't have to have a disorder.' Our brochures never use the word PTSD. We offer readjustment counseling."
go here for the rest
http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/326068.html