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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Vietnam veteran memorial destroyed
KFDM News
by Cassidy Wood
August 4th 2018
VIDOR — A Vietnam veteran memorial at Veteran Memorial Park in Vidor has been vandalized.
The monument was pushed on its back, splitting it into two pieces. Vidor Police Department is investigating.
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Polk Honor Flight passenger dies after fall at home
News Chief
Paul Catala
August 5, 2018
Willie Dread, who died July 31, was among 81 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans who flew to Washington, D.C., on April 10 and returned home to a hero’s welcome the next day.
LAKELAND — Over the past six years, Willie Dread became more to Emily Cornelius than just a subject for a school project — he became a genuine friend.
And although that friendship came to a close Saturday afternoon, the inspirational bond Dread formed with Cornelius will carry on in her heart, mind and aspirations.
Dread, who died July 31, was among 81 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans who flew to Washington, D.C., on April 10 and returned home to a hero’s welcome the next day before the start of the Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In Expo’s night airshow. A U.S. Army veteran, he was one of 81 veterans to make the April excursion.
After a fall and hitting his head at his apartment last Tuesday, Dread, 71, was hospitalized in Lakeland Regional Hospital and placed on life support in the intensive care unit. He was officially pronounced dead Tuesday but was sustained via life support until 4:37 p.m. Saturday, after his sister from Atlanta was able to see him.
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Original report Lakeland Teenager Honors Vietnam Veteran
Jacksonville veteran says mental health facility holding him for week with no hearing
Action News Jax
By: Jenna Bourne
Aug 3, 2018
A combat-disabled veteran told Action News Jax he’s being unnecessarily held against his will at a Jacksonville mental health facility without a hearing.
Robert Mayo, who said he’s already been locked inside River Point Behavioral Health for a week, was initially admitted under Florida’s Baker Act.
The Baker Act allows mental health facilities such as River Point to hold patients for 72 hours if they are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.
Mayo said he should not be a Baker Act patient and he has not gotten the hearing he is entitled to by law.
His wife, Elizabeth Mayo, denies her husband has threatened to harm himself or others.
She said her husband couldn’t get a mental health appointment at the Veterans Affairs facility until until the end of September, so he went to River Point for help.
A week later, she hired an attorney to help get her husband out.
She said their son can barely sleep at night.
“He just lays in there and cries for Daddy, cries for Daddy. Every time he hears a door or something, he’s asking for daddy,” said Elizabeth Mayo.
If a patient is involuntarily committed beyond the 72 hours allowed by the Baker Act, they’re entitled to a hearing within five days.
An Action News Jax Investigation last year revealed only about 2 percent of local Baker Act patients were getting those hearings.
“How are you supposed to feel safe asking for help when you know you can be held indefinitely against your will?” said Robert Mayo, who called Action News Jax from inside the facility, with the help of his attorney. “They can hold you without having to explain themselves to anybody for as long as they want. It’s like going to jail without ever having a set release date.”
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Marine veteran helps save 2-year-old boy after child was pulled from pool
AZ Family.com
Whitney, Reporter
Aug 05, 2018
Serock was a Marine for four years and served in the Gulf War. He's written three books on living with PTSD, and this was the first time he's had to perform CPR since he served our country.
(3TV/CBS 5)
A Marine veteran with PTSD jumped into action to help a little boy who was pulled from a Mesa pool Saturday. And he may have helped save the toddler's life.
One minute, Robert Serock, Jr. was talking to his neighbor inside a home near Dobson and Guadalupe in Mesa.
The next minute... panic and chaos.
“I heard people screaming and yelling,” said Serock “I saw them pull the baby out of the pool.”
Serock said they never saw his neighbor's 2-year-old boy get out of the house, but they found him in the pool, unresponsive.
Serock wasted no time.
“I told them what to do… because I’ve done it before,” said Serock.
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