South Dakota National Guard has a real leader when it comes to PTSD

This is what it takes to remove an obstacle course in the way.

Letter: A Call To Soldiers

By: Maj. Gen. Steven Doohen
Rapid City, South Dakota National Guard
The holiday season is also a time to reflect on the gifts of freedom provided to us by our veterans who have served and sacrificed for our country throughout the years.

Some of these veterans give more than most of us realize. The months and even years away from family and home can never be repaid. The scars left from wounds received in combat may never fully heal.

But what I am concerned about the most, are the wounds to the hearts and minds of our veterans that are not marked by scars. These wounds, commonly known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), run deeper than any cut to the flesh and must be treated in order to live a full and happy life.


For those of you whose wounds have not healed, I am asking that you take the first step in seeking the help and care available to all our South Dakota veterans. You only need to make that first step and I promise that the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs will support you the rest of the way.

Some of our veterans may think it a weakness to have issues not pronounced by a missing limb or an obvious physical disability. Veterans may think they have dealt with these issues for so long that it is too late to seek help. It's never too late. The sooner you take action, the sooner you can lead a healthier and happier life.
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http://www.yankton.net/stories/122707/ope_229338444.shtml

Linked from Veterans For Common Sense

They come home with wounds no one can see but everyone manages to notice, as odd as that sounds. They notice the changes in them but fail to make the connection. When they come home with the war with them they change. For some it is a subtle change, like not sleeping through the night. For others it appears to be a full blown character change but the person they were before they left is still there beneath the wound and all that came with the wound.

It takes a real leader to recognize this and take an active roll in healing his/her troops. There has been a lot of talk about what the best way to treat PTSD is and there will be a lot more discussion on this but one thing all the experts agree on is the earlier treatment begin, the better the healing rate is. Look at it like an infection. If you leave an infection to fester, it spreads out and goes deeper. Once you begin to treat the infection it stops getting worse and begins to heal.

The men and women from the Vietnam generation wouldn't have progressed so deep into their illnesses had there been early intervention but there wasn't any. It's not as if any of this is new considering the well publicized The War interviews.

THE WAR PBS
Check local listings for encore presentations of THE WAR » ... The War - A Ken Burns Film - Directed & Produced by Ken Burns

Some of their stories the general public was never made aware of. We regarded them as if they were made out of cast iron coming home untouched. We forgot about some of the war movies we saw because the wounded veteran was always in a minor role but the hero was always portrayed as rock solid, untouched by horror or grief, unmoved by loss, thus giving us all the impression they would all just "get over it" but the truth was not a movie actor playing a part. The truth was in the men and women who served.

With Vietnam the imagery of the 60's and 70's with drugged out veteran's glassy eyes along with the label of "freaks" prevented us from looking at them honestly and fully. We failed to see the boy next door coming home still trying to live like the same kid who left, raking leaves, washing his car and mowing the lawn without one single peace emblem to be found. After all most of them were gone for a year so no big deal. Right? Wrong. We got it all wrong when it came to them. They did what they were asked to do and suffered the way all generations of combat veterans suffered before them. Over 30 years later, we still don't have it right.

Now we have this new generation coming home, surviving what would have killed off a lot more had it not been for the advances in trauma treatment and field hospitals, yet we dare to wonder why the cases of PTSD are a lot higher. We dare to wonder why so many come home with wounds inside of them when the Army stated the redeployments would increase the risk of developing PTSD by 50%. We also dare to wonder why so many of them have taken their own lives.


We need a nation full of leaders like Maj. Gen. Steven Doohen taking a real look at how best to serve the troops we sent into combat. He just managed to do in this shot letter what Congress has failed to do in years. Changes in the way we treat the wounded will only come when all base commanders decide to fight this enemy still killing their men and women as surly as an enemy's gun would. This enemy was brought home in their minds and can only be defeated by loosening the lips of those who carry it within them. Loose lips may have suck ships but silence when it comes to PTSD kills.

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington