Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc fighting to help others heal PTSD, like he did!

Retired general to address PTSD, other issues
Joplin Globe
August 6, 2018

PITTSBURG, Kan. — Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc will speak on a range of topics at 3 p.m. Friday in the Dotty and Bill Miller Theater inside the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts at Pittsburg State University.

Bolduc, who recently retired from Army active duty status as the commanding general of U.S. Special Operations Command-Africa, will address U.S. security challenges, best practices in leadership and experience with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Bolduc served 32 years of active-duty service, receiving two awards for valor, five Bronze Star medals and two Purple Heart medals. He led 10 deployments and survived a bomb blast, numerous firefights and a helicopter crash.
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You may remember reading about him after then candidate Trump said that PTSD happens because they "can't handle the stress" and the New York Times interviewed him. The thing is, the General is an example of what leadership does...takes care of the men and women he served along side of, in front of and then, made sure he would stand behind them so they would get the support they need to heal!

A General’s New Mission: Leading a Charge Against PTSD
New York Times
By Dionne Searcey
Oct. 7, 2016

“The powerful thing is that I can use myself as an example. And thank goodness not everybody can do that. But I’m able to do it, so that has some sort of different type of credibility to it.” Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc

STUTTGART, Germany — It might have been the 2,000-pound bomb that dropped near him in Afghanistan, killing several comrades. Or maybe it was the helicopter crash he managed to survive. It could have been the battlefield explosions that detonated all around him over eight combat tours.

Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc, commander of American Special Operations Forces in Africa, tells soldiers that it is all right to get help for brain injuries and mental health problems.CreditAndrew Harnik/Associated Press

Whatever the cause, the symptoms were clear. Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc suffered frequent headaches. He was moody. He could not sleep. He was out of sorts; even his balance was off. He realized it every time he walked down the street holding hands with his wife, Sharon, leaning into her just a little too close.

Despite all the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, it took 12 years from his first battlefield trauma for him to seek care. After all, he thought, he was a Green Beret in the Army’s Special Forces. He needed to be tough.

General Bolduc learned that not only did he suffer from PTSD, but he also had a bullet-size spot on his brain, an injury probably dating to his helicopter crash in Afghanistan in 2005.
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