Sgt. Maj. Raymond F. Chandler III talks about his own battle with PTSD

Sgt. Maj. Raymond F. Chandler III talks about his own battle with PTSD and this man is a hero for doing it. There are so many with PTSD thinking their careers are over if they admit they have but they never stop to think that had it not been for the careers they chose, they wouldn't have it in the first place. It is one of the most dangerous jobs there is. They know their jobs could cost them their lives. It is a price they are willing to pay but that very same aspect of their character stands in the way of them being willing to ask for help when they need it.

These are not your average citizens. They are the "doers."
Merriam-Webster defines doers like this

2. A person who acts rather than merely talking or thinking: "I'm a doer, not a moaner"

They are the people willing to pay any price for what this nation needs from them. They face bullets and bombs, endless days, crappy living conditions when deployed away from family and friends and the price calculator keeps running. With redeployments the Army knows the risk of being targeted by PTSD increases by 50% but they are still willing to do their jobs.

Their leaders are looked to for everything. From how to do their jobs good enough to keep them alive along with their friends to how to get up everyday and do it all over again. When they are having trouble recovering from all of it, again, they look to their leaders to show them the way. If those leaders know personally what they are going through, they become examples of not just the strength it takes to heal or the courage it takes to ask for it, they show what it is like to come out on the other side of PTSD.

The job of the leaders in the Army is to bring home as many as possible from combat and Chandler has done just that. Talking about his own battles will save a lot of lives by offering hope that PTSD is not the end of their careers, they don't have to just suffer and they can come out on the other side better than they were before.

Wed Sep 14, 2011
Sergeant major of the Army visits Fort Bragg, talks of own struggle with PTSD

"It's made me a better person," he said. "It's made me a better father, a better husband and ultimately a better soldier."

Staff photo by Raul R. Rubiera
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III listens to a soldier's question at the Noncommissioned Officer Academy on Fort Bragg on Tuesday.

By Henry Cuningham
Military editor

The Army's top noncommissioned officer on Tuesday told Fort Bragg soldiers he suffered from post-combat stress, sought help and benefited.

"I had some experiences in Iraq that I didn't really deal with very well - kind of suppressed my feelings," Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III said. "It paid an impact on my family. It took awhile for me to come to terms with that. About three years after I got back is when my wife said, 'You need to get some help.' "

Chandler discussed his experiences and answered questions during a session with 350 soldiers on the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg Noncommissioned Officer Academy Parade Field and in an interview afterward. Soldiers, mostly wearing the maroon beret of paratroopers, sat in bleachers and listened, the more outgoing ones sometimes requesting the microphone to ask questions.
read more here