Senior military spouses offer lessons learned

Good Lord! I feel like I should be posting this on my other blog, Screaming In An Empty Room because it feels like that's what I've been doing for 26 years! Is anyone listening to anything I have to say? Can't an advocate some attention by someone who can actually do something with what I've been screaming about?

We have IFOC Chaplains all across this country and they are fully trained, licensed, insured, FBI background checks done, and most of us are ordained. We're good enough for the police and fire departments but not good enough for the military or the VA to turn to in this crisis. What's wrong here?

I am not only a Senior Chaplain, but I belong to NAMI, on the veteran's council and I'm also a lifetime member of the DAV Auxiliary. I've passed the test with the IFOC and passed the test on Military Cultural Competence. Everything I say about veterans with PTSD comes from living with one and studying them for 26 years as well as talking to them, emailing with them and holding them when they crash. I haven't just talked to the wives of PTSD veterans, I am one!

Here we have General Casey' wife saying there is a shortage of mental health help and no one is asking us to help. This is a crisis and has been for a long time. Families are falling apart, kids are suffering and veterans are committing suicide. Domestic violence is going up and most of it does not need to happen if the wives know what PTSD is, understand it and then they can prevent the escalation of arguments turning into life or death situations. Who's in charge here and how do you get past people who do not want to listen?

Senior military spouses offer lessons learned

By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 16:02:09 EST

Prolonged, continuous deployments and their effects on military families need to be seriously addressed in the coming year, said the wife of the Chief of Naval Operations, the wife of the Army chief of staff, and other senior spouses who participated in a panel discussion Nov. 18.

“It’s also long-term effects — we do not know the effects of these deployments on our children,” said Sheila Casey, wife of Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, noting that little research has been done to date in that area.

“You do a study, and you are already there. The effects are already there,” she said.

“The Air Force is the newer service to commit to longer deployments,” said Bev Fraser, wife of Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. William Fraser. “We’ve learned from our sister services, but we’ve learned it’s still difficult.”

One things the Air Force is beginning to see, she said, is that retention is not always a positive thing these days. For some, it’s about “being bitter because you have to stay in” due to the faltering economy and civilian job market.

One thing Casey said she hears everywhere she travels to talk to Army families is difficulty in getting access to medical and mental health care.

“Doctors are deployed, and staff levels are down. It’s hard to get appointments. And you have to get an appointment to get a referral,” she said.

The military has been working to get more mental health doctors in its network, she said, but there is a shortage of mental health providers nationwide.
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