Deja vus...again...

This piece was originally posted on VetSpeak in June of 2005, by Diane Ford Wood, authoress of the audio-book, Camoflouge & Lace: My journey with a windbender, http://cdbaby.com/cd/camo . She is also the On-line Editor and co-founder of VetSpeak.org. Juxtapose what you read here to the Iran and Afghanistan Veterans, given the recent news that shouldn't be too much of a stretch. Sadly, as we have been saying it should for equally as long; not much has changed, lo these thirty some odd years. There are lessons to be learned from all of this...so, here we go, one more time...

Windbender

www.VetSpeak.org

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BEAUTIFUL AWARENESS, ARTIFICIAL PEACE

"It was through relationships and families that America first absorbed the veterans of Vietnam. And it is through their voices that America might finally embrace the heroes of that war." Russ Scheidler, Vietnam-era vet, St. Paul, MN

What follows is a letter to Anna Acker, a young Calif. woman writing a master's thesis on VVAW (Vietnam Veterans Against The War), Orange County, Ca, and their activities during the early 1970s. Anna was deeply moved by her interviews with Vietnam Vets while gathering and researching her material. We are moved by Anna's serious commitment to learn the true history of VVAW -- despite current efforts to rewrite it.

Dear Anna,

I speak for no veteran. I speak for myself as a woman who once marched beside vets protesting the very war they had just returned from fighting. To answer your question: Yes; it is hard not to be moved by Vietnam veterans, especially VVAW vets.

Back in "The Day," the entire country desperately needed to justify the losses of their sons and daughters overseas. VVAW and other organizations risked everything to point out society's mistakes and limitations. The price they paid you can still see in their eyes.

This collusion by society to discredit knowing voices is one of the most insidious demons we all face, vets and non-vets alike. Our eyes have seen, we know what we know, yet we are not only urged to be silent, we are commanded to be silent, faced with every type of loss if we don't maintain the status quo. The vets you are interviewing have spoken out at a great personal price. Some still speak out. Even today, the status quo demands to be maintained. Vietnam vets carry those knowing eyes into every life situation.

How can they not be disillusioned! How can we not be moved!

I believe that many Vietnam vets do not know peace because they will not adjust to lies or knowingly coexist with lies. And once you see one lie, you see them everywhere, not only in the government, but at home, at work, and even in ourselves. Learning to live in a world that expects us to get with a program like that − wow − what a painful challenge to our sanity most of us can't and will not meet. Some of us drown our beautiful awareness in medicines and other types of artificial peace to get by, others go blank, others never make it that far, some never made it back from Vietnam in the first place.

"How can I convey what I saw and felt: The feelings, emotions, flaming on-fire eyes of those young veterans around me, the frustration, pain, hopelessness and rage they experienced as they tried to readjust to a society that generally did not accept them; a society that often wrote off their ravings as whining, where parents rejected grown children and grown children rejected back?" excerpt from Camouflage & Lace liner notes

But lies are nothing new. Disillusionment, stereotyping, terrible loss, flashes of happiness forever mixed with guilt and sadness, are also not new. We all know the costs of speaking truth to power, and disillusionment is one of the biggest. Understood for what it is, disillusionment is an extremely valuable, conscience-inspired state of being. It is not the end of the road or a place to live. It is a place to visit, understand and move on from. In fact, I also believe that just at that moment when we break under the burden/gift of vision into full-blown disillusionment, is the exact time when true personal and social change can happen.

If we can understand our own disillusionment as the prophet it is, happiness and peace are actually possible − even in a terribly imperfect world. Yet most of us have no clue how to do this without relying on yet another form of enslavement like religion, paramilitary groups, cults, etc. Even more difficult to survive are those friends and family committed to a circular lifestyle of endless anger and hopelessness. Afraid of change, sticking close to the pain they know so well, they resist our attempts for a better life, and try to pull us back. Risking banishment, we move ahead anyway. The shift that causes in our lives, by nature, will also cause shifts in their lives. And that is one way to change the world − friend by friend.

To move forward, we must believe in our own sanity, even if the world does not agree. We must believe that where there's smoke, there is not always fire, that the crowd is often wrong and often desperately limited in perspective. VVAW is one group that has worked to educate the masses about actions the American people condone − but really have no clue about. Most Vietnam veterans know the truth. What a beautiful, selfless, essential mission. No matter what political agenda floats our boats, even if our lives are in great working order, or hopelessly tangled up in blue − that dedication and commitment should be honored, lauded and respected. But that is, of course, not often the case.

There is peace and strength in separating our own sanity from that of society's, but we can't stop there. The tooth fairy is dead − there is no beauty or hope waiting under my pillow. Our long-deserved moments of happiness or peace will not come unless we get the f--- out of bed, and do what we need to do to take care of ourselves. Our happiness (or even a good night's sleep) does not diminish anyone else's. It makes us stronger, and therefore the world is stronger. Disillusionment is a human, not American state. Every day the light bulb goes off and some of us find ways to live thoughtful, productive lives, no matter how grave our mistakes, no matter how much pain and anger we've inflicted or confronted to get where we are going.

So, Anna, even at your young age, your heart already knows all of this. You seek meaning and explanations for the unfathomable and unthinkable. It may take a lifetime to grasp the overview; maybe the older vets you are meeting will help move you along faster. Maybe the younger vets will, too. Maybe someday you'll write the book, or be a journalist who exposes lies with insight and compassion. Or maybe, like some of us, you'll end up boring strangers in some dark, Joni Mitchell café. But promise me you won't linger there too long, okay?

You are the future, dear Anna. I see great hope and beauty in that.

Diane Ford Wood
Camouflage & Lace
camo@alaskapress.org
www.VetSpeak.org

Swiftie (?) Update:

What Goes Around, Comes Around...:-)...

White House Withdraws Nominee:
Fox Gave to 2004 Anti-Kerry 'Swift Boat' Group
AP
WASHINGTON (March 28) - President Bush on Wednesday withdrew the ambassadorial nomination of businessman Sam Fox after Democrats denounced Fox for giving money to a controversial conservative group that undermined Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

Beyond Walter Reed: The Full Tragedy of Lessons Unlearned From Vietnam to Iraq

By
Dr. Raymond Scurfield
Associate Professor and Director of the Katrina Research Center at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Dr. Raymond Scurfield, recognized internationally for his expertise in war-related trauma, has written a trilogy of books about war’s impact. The most recent is War Trauma. Lessons Unlearned From Vietnam to Iraq. He also has several writings about the impact of Hurricane Katrina. He is an associate professor and director of the Katrina Research Center at The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast and can be contacted at raymond.scurfield@usm.edu &

http://www.usm.edu/gc/gchealth/scurfield/index.

GULFPORT, Miss. -- Does the widespread reaction to the recent expose at Walter Reed and the neglect of some of our nation’s physically wounded Iraq veterans indicate that our nation has had a wake-up call to what the full impact of war entails—and what is required to address it? As a Vietnam veteran with a 25-year leadership career with the VA, please forgive my skepticism. The underlying institutional problems go far beyond any benefits from sacking high-ranking officials; cosmetic cover-up and pest control treatment at one military facility; and renewed time-limited Congressional oversight that eventually dissipates.

Walter Reed characterizes one of over 30 lessons unlearned about our nation’s treatment of war casualties over many decades: Our country sends us to war. Our military uses us in war. And our country forgets us after war. This unlearned lesson is compounded by a second--When our nation sends us off to war, a sacred covenant is made--in return for going into harm’s way and putting our lives and our comrades-in-arms’ lives and health at risk, the nation promises to honor our sacrifices and provide humane and timely war-related financial benefits, health and medical/mental health services. When this sacred covenant is broken, despair, isolation, rage, and alienation cascade in turbulent waves over our war-wounded and their families.

The wounded languishing at Walter Reed reflect the plight of many veterans who have been, are, or will return to find themselves warehoused too often in sub-par facilities and inattention in the limbo of “medical hold” status at numerous military installations. Just check out medical holds at Ft. Benning, Ft. Dix, Ft. McClellan—or elsewhere. As one mother of a severely wounded Iraq veteran said, “When he was no longer of use to the military, they forgot about him.”

These physically wounded are a fraction of a much greater number of casualties even more forgotten --- those suffering posttraumatic stress and other serious mental health problems. Various studies indicate mental health problem prevalence rates of up to 30 percent or as many as over 400,000 uniformed Americans who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to date! And this number will grow exponentially, because the acute psychiatric casualty rates of war always are much less than the longer-term casualty rates.

And then, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the object of several recent investigations, epitomizes more unlearned lessons. The head of the VA is a political appointee; thus, VA officials typically echo what the White House stance is and not necessarily act as vigorous advocates for veterans’ interests (Max Cleland was a notable exception)…another unlearned lesson. When a “new” war is being conducted, veterans of prior wars, their families and programs are pushed to the bottom of the priority list. In the midst of the emotionally charged climate to support our forces in harm’s way, perhaps this is somewhat understandable---understandable, but absolutely not acceptable.

A related unlearned lesson: pro-military political forces are not necessarily pro-veteran; too often they consider funding for veterans’ programs to be detrimental to funding the enormous costs to sustain the DOD in (or out of) war. And veterans’ programs suffer. It was the case before and during my leadership of several VA national and regional PTSD programs, and it is the case today.

One recent example: a McClatchy Newspaper study revealed that some 100 local VA clinics provided essentially no mental health care in 2005! And this is to a veteran population that includes still as much as well over a half million veterans from the Vietnam War alone with war-related mental health problems---the unseen or hidden casualties of war. And both physical and mental health casualties and their families are left, by and large, alone during the ensuing decades to fight the unglamorous, unbelievably courageous daily battles with lifelong, unremitting severe chronic pain, disabilities, disfigurement, impairment and/or anguish from seemingly indelible horrific war trauma memories. Research reveals that those wounded are among the highest at risk to develop PTSD---a double whammy.

Another lesson unlearned is the collusion to not tell us all that studies since WW II consistently demonstrate a very strong linear relationship between exposure to combat and the development of mental health problems, e.g., those who encounter the heaviest combat, have extended or multiple deployments are at higher risk to develop war-related problems. This is exactly what is happening today. The costs and implications for war policies and taking care of our own now and later are enormous—and lest we forget or not care, for tens if not hundreds of millions of Iraqis.

Furthermore, in Iraq, the increasing nastiness of and prolonged exposure to horrific combat conditions are combined with the increasing polarization and divisiveness about the war in Iraq and the growing specter of no honorable way out. These factors fuel a perfect storm of anguish and malaise that may well engulf untold legions of yet another era of wounded warriors and families.

Do not let Walter Reed be only a wake-up call; insist that our nation rallies to support the full range and duration of physical, psychological and social casualties of war and fully honors that sacred covenant that has been forged in blood and sacrifice. And yet . . . the experiences of innumerable Vietnam and (still counting) Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families keep intruding and pulling at my heart, whispering loudly to me, “You know that this, too, shall pass and if history tells us anything, it is that, once again, selective amnesia will eventually envelop yet another era of veterans and their families.

Dr. Raymond Scurfield, March 2007

www.VetSpeak.org

(This article reprinted from THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI Marketing and Public Relations OPINION COLUMN; Media Release 3 March 2007)

Still at War

DEJA VU,x

PTSD/PVS, Combat Stress Injury

& Walter Reed

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by Willie Hager (aka Wilder)

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“When a beginning is born of an ending, and there’s no breathing space

in between; it’s kinda like a circle that always in motion,

it can’t really be touched or seen." From the song Movin‘ On In Circles

Camouflage & Lace audiobook, Diane Ford Wood

This posting was intended to be my report and review of the 2nd National Combat Stress Trauma Symposium at FL State University held on Feb. 16 in Tallahassee, FL. However, the ugly reality of our government's "first class care" of its returning warriors must first be addressed. It is imperative that recent events at Walter Reed be placed in empirical, historical perspective before (once again) political spinmiesters and spoon-fed media distort reality, whitewash real conclusions and solutions and fix the blame on the Veterans themselves.

Cracker Swamp, FL - Callous, uncaring, and often disgraceful care of America’s Veterans are definitely not new issues. They have been directly visited, reviewed and addressed starting as far back as 1973. Not only by myself, but by many, many others as well. This stressor identification and research was begun by the returning Vietnam Veterans themselves, initially in conjunction with Robert Jay Lifton. See War of Words- Time 1973, Rob't Jay Lifton-Wikipedia, Still At War-Willie Hager 1976. But it was consistently ignored by the powers-that-be, with both capital costs and political costs being used as the primary criteria for veterans' care. This model stands in complete opposition to what is best for the Veteran, the Veterans’ families, and ultimately the entire country as the primary criteria for their evaluations. Sadly, considering recent developments; it looks like it’s still that way today.

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Case in point: Vietnam Veterans are still, after thirty years, locked in struggle with a V.A. more mindful of the political agenda of sitting presidents, political pandering by congress, and budget turf battle considerations implemented by the V.A. bean counters, than with true Veteran advocacy and support. Many Vietnam Veterans are only just now asking for assistance, after struggling unsuccesively with the symptomology of what is currently known as PTSD. As a result of their asking for "help", and in order to obtain services and benefits, they are put through a mentally gruelling exercise of “proving” their cases to the V.A. and the Dept of Defense against an ever-changing medical paradigm. Any resistance, challenge or questioning of the program results in a Kafkaesque nightmare of compromising hoops that a Veteran must jump through in order to receive consideration for care or earned benefits for their Honorable service to their country.

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These hoops, I believe, are actually insidiously and cynically designed to discourage Veterans from filing initial claims or to discourage them from continuing with any appeals that they might have in mind if they are not satisfied with their initial award. Many receive ridiculously low ratings on their claims, ratings based on the V.A. budget and the prevailing political winds, and whims of the powers-that-be. If this is still happening with Vietnam Veterans thirty years later, imagine the flood of misery our current burgeoning population of combat Veterans and their families face if we don’t get it right this time!

Speaking directly to recent events at Walter Reed and elsewhere: The most common expressions from the media and public appear to be ones of shock. Excuse me?! These revelations are only shocking because the government wants them to appear shocking -- as if they just found out about these problems. They say; "By God! Heads will roll when we get to the bottom of all of this...". But they will never get to the bottom of it all on their own, because that would be political suicide. To admit that they had it wrong for all these years would legitimatize the very Truth that they have been denying for over thirty years. And this admission would culminate, once again, into yet another ballooning national tragedy.

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Anatomy of a Ballooning National Tragedy

In the thirty days since I returned from the FL State Symposium, there have been many new developments, including:

1) Virtual Reality Treatment for PTSD: The Florida Times-Union newspaper recently depicted a Navy medic in a Navy hospital near Balboa Park in San Diego with some kind of futuristic head gear strapped to his head. This medic was "trying out the program" as part of a virtual reality approach to behavior modification at the hospital. LtCdr Robert McClay, Navy psychiatrist and research leader on virtual reality treatment of PTSD in San Diego, stated in the article:

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...some PTSD sufferers are unable, or unwilling (emphasis mine) to recall things in counseling sessions without stimuli, such as the digital images of a combat hospital, a recorded Islamic prayer melody or the smell of cordite explosives misted into a psychologists office.

The article also stated:

Sufferers might have anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks, emotional numbness, extreme jumpiness and physical pain...With a therapist’s supervision, the virtual Iraqs are designed to vividly, yet safely (for who?) enable those veterans to confront war experiences in ways that go beyond traditional counseling and drug therapy. The computer programs, even with the somewhat cartoonish digital depictions of combat, seek to relieve trauma by repeatedly revisiting its origins and not letting fear fester.

Newsflash, folks; it ain’t about fear! When I read this article, I immediately flashed back to A Clockwork Orange-Stanley Kubrick and the scene where Malcolm McDowell is shown undergoing similar “treatment,” designed to modify his Droogish behavior. It wasn’t pretty then and it ain’t pretty, now. (Original article on this topic posted on Feb 9th, Virtual war, real healing-L.A. Times. )

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Does it ever stop? Programs like the one in San Diego, once again, insult America’s combat Veterans. Back in The Day (pre DSM III PTSD 1970s), the V.A. employed behavior modification "therapy" consisting of:

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• Locked wards
• Token rewards (Dr. Skinner’s operant conditioning model) for desired behavior response
• Crippling psychotropic drug therapy usually involving massive doses of the debilitating drug, Thorazine
• Electro-shock therapy

Fortunately, some of these programs were documented with live on-ward interviews that I and others managed to tape and smuggle out of the locked-down psych wards of the V.A. in Los Angeles. The footage is included in the VVAW/UCLA Film Collective documentary, Still at War, which was released circa 1976. (See clip from film.) Once you’ve seen this film, the “new” McClay's therapy looks like the same ol’ behavior modification s*** from back in The Day, except that they are utilizing virtual reality as a “therapy” model and treatment plan for behavior modification, instead of Thorazine, electric shock therapy, or frontal lobotomys.

2) The Walter Reed Bldg. 18 scandal bursts onto the media scene (see Walter Reed-Washington Post.)! The first stories I heard were TV reports about rodents, peeling paint and mold; stories apparently broken by Ann Hull and Dana Priest of the Washington Post. The duo apparently managed to get onto the wards and document their findings through photos and taped interviews with patients. Deja vu! That’s exactly what we did in the early '70s at the Los Angeles V.A. psychologically challenged locked wards and the Long Beach V.A. paraplegic ward while making Still at War. In fact, approximately six years earlier, Life magazine had also done an expose’, as well. This one on the Bronx V.A. paraplegic ward. (See Life Magazine/Bronx V.A., circa 1970.) Nothing new going on at Walter Reed; it’s just the same ol’ s***, warmed over!

My friends, there is plenty of documented history to prove unequivocally that our government, at all levels, has a policy of lying about their knowledge of mistreatment of Veterans, including:

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• Unworkable programs
• Administrative mismanagement of claims
• Poor funding priorities
• Unacceptable living conditions at the facilities
• Adversity rather than advocacy toward the Veteran in the disability/benefits claims process

Government's response when the grassroots strike back? Discredit the dissidents, fire a couple of generals (Golden Parachute retirement), silence the enlisted ranks; http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/05/02/army.blogs.reut/index.html…and deny, deny, deny! And once again, just as they did in the Vietnam Era, they will attempt to re-frame the solution in some way so as to place some sort of “blame” on the Veterans themselves. Just as they did, and are still doing, with Vietnam Veterans; they will lock arms, lock step, circle the wagons, and hire the Swift Boat Vets, or whatever that un-illustrious group is calling themselves these days, to attack Veterans who speak out against failed policies that have allowed these despicable conditions to fester.

The Washington Post report on Walter Reed demonstrates that the government obviously hasn’t changed much of anything since Still at War and Life magazine’s original forays into the heart of the beast at the V.A. In spite of the best efforts of Veterans to stand up for themselves, the powers-that-be continue to throw money, the FBI, and/or Swift Boat types into the fray in order to thwart this seemingly unending siege war for dignity and respect, along with the care and consideration that we earned through our Honorable service under arms for America. If you don't believe me, just watch the ugliness gear up to full swing as those of us who have lived these Truths bring our personal history and experience to bear on these issues.

But once again, how can they demand our silence?

We must help our returning troops from having to be Movin’ On in Circles all their lives -- and this time we must get it right. 'Cause, believe me; it affects each and every American when our own government is allowed to bleed the life, hope, and dreams out of those who have served unquestioningly and unflinchingly in combat in our name. And who are now, as a result of that Honorable service Still At War, right here on the home front. Changes can happen if we all take responsibility and pitch in. Pass the evidence of this national shame along to all of our lists, blogs, friends and families. This is the stuff grassroots democracy is made of; to legitimately and legally retrieve power from those who would want it for their own purposes, and put it to use for the greater good...that being in this instance deserved quality care for our returning combat Veterans, and a better quality of life for all of America's citizens.

If we all stand together as American voters, speak in one voice that is devoid of partisan politics and pro-war or anti-war rhetoric, and continue to Speak Truth to Power on this heartbreaking topic; change will happen.

Our returning warriors deserve no less from us.

Willie Hager, March 2007

www.VetSpeak.org

Viewing Combat Stress Injuries as Opportunities

for Preventing PTSD:

Invitation to the

2nd National Symposium at Florida State University

on February 16, 2007

By

Charles R. Figley, Ph.D

Florida State University Traumatology Institute

This is a call to arms! That was our attitude last year when we held the first National Symposium on Combat Stress Injuries. We organizers sensed that there was insufficient attention to those who “bore the battle.”[1] In particular most of the attention was on combat-related PTSD and what to do about it once these men and women returned from war. Far more needed to be done when they were IN the war. This article is part of a special publication of VetSpeak.org that will focus on the upcoming Symposium I will co-chair on February 16, 2007. I talk more about the Symposium later.

Combat Stress Injuries

I have been investigating the immediate and long-term psychosocial consequences of combat for the combatants since 1971. As one of the Symposium organizers I want to emphasize the distinction between the stress of combat, something every combatant experiences if they are alive, and combat stress injuries that most often lead to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

No matter what you think of today’s wars being fought by the US military, these warfighters represent less that 1% of the US population.[2] They deserve our respect and our help. One way of helping is for the other 99% of the US to be more aware of what these men and women are going through and how best to help them during and following deployment. The 2nd National Symposium will increase awareness.

The concept of combat stress injuries[3] is an important distinction. Mental health diagnostic labels can harm both warfighters and the military units they serve within. Navy Captain Bill Nash, MD who is co-chair of the Symposium and co-editor of Combat Stress Injuries, makes the point in Chapter 3; that there are major problems associated with medicalizing and pathologizing operational stress problems. Stress injuries have been kept separate from the physical injuries or wounds. He points out that if given any label at all, they have been classified as having something benign like “battle fatigue,” “exhaustion,” or “combat stress reaction.” The avoidance of labeling and a focus on normalization have also long been central to civilian crisis management efforts. The Israeli Defense Force has always used Combat Stress Reaction (CSR), for example, which is discussed by Zahava Solomon in her new book by the same name.[4] But there are limitations for normalizing what might be acute dysfunction with long-term negative consequences unless the right action is taken, rather than simply returning the injured warfighters to battle or discharging them to fend for themselves as a civilian.

As with any injury, complications may set in. In the case of combat stress injuries, the complications may be a stress disorder, depression, substance abuse, family violence, homicide, and suicide. Further, Dr. Nash suggests that combat stress injuries can be divided into three categories depending upon the source of the stress: (1) stress fatigue, caused by the wear-and-tear of accumulated stress; (2) grief stress, caused by the loss of someone or something that is highly valued, and; (3) traumatic stress, caused by the impact of terror, horror, or helplessness. Each requires acute care as soon as possible. Navy Captain Nash will discuss the implications of these injuries at the upcoming National Symposium.

It may be surprising to some but the actual rate of combat stress injuries have actually declined over the years. Unpublished stress casualty rates for United States troops deployed to Iraq vary but have never exceeded 2% of all war theater soldiers and Marines deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. However, this makes the assumption that there were no false negatives. In other words: Our current ability to accurately tell who is and who is not injured is very poor. These current wars, some would argue, are far more stressful than previous wars because of the sectarian violence, the complicated political context, numerous individual explosive devices; multiple tours with insufficient between deployment down time, and; the high percentage of troops from the National Guard and reserve forces.

Fortunately, most authorities agree that the Military is getting better at being able to anticipate and prevent combat stress injuries. This is due to better training, great reliance on chaplaincy and mental health services. They in turn are better trained thanks to the cumulative knowledge about the causes of such injuries and how best to respond to minimize damage.

Normal Stress versus Stress Injury

At the same time, because stress reactions are viewed by some as a “normal reaction” to being down range (the combat environment), differentiating what is normal and what is not, is a major challenge. Everyone experiences combat stress. Deciding who experiences a stress injury is tricky. But even if we are able to determine which is or is not a stress injury, there is considerable resistance to admitting injury among warfighters – physical or mental. A buddy or small unit leader may be the only ones who have witnessed the indicators of a combat injury and are in the best position to get help. Many are not trained to administer the appropriate interventions and those to whom they are referred have minimal training and resources.

Do you see why we need far more attention to this critical issue? We can’t help if we don’t know who needs it. All of the experts on combat stress and recovery agree that the earlier the detection and intervention the better. Why? Because low rates of combat stress injuries do not necessarily predict low rates of eventually diagnosed combat-related stress problems. The mental health problems experienced by Vietnam veterans after their war ended attest to the gap between identified battlefield stress casualties and the true extent of combat stress reactions actually generated in that conflict. A Walter Reed Army Hospital research team has found that 17% of heavily engaged Army and Marine “trigger pullers” admitted significant stress symptoms 3 to 6 months after returning from Afghanistan or Iraq. The team also reported, unfortunately, these those most affected were least likely to seek help. Why? They saw that the costs were too high. They were concerned about stigma and treatment effectiveness. Numerous government and journal reports confirm that there is a looming public health problem among these brave 1% who volunteered to serve in the military who “bore the battle.”

Personal Invitation to the 2nd National Symposium

This is where the National Symposium on Combat Stress Injuries comes in. The co-organizers have created a Symposium which offers serious and significant resources for understanding and helping combat veterans without a hint of politics or partisan rah-rah. The organizers are not pro-war but pro-warrior. We hope that the Symposium will be seen as one of the most inclusive and interdisciplinary gatherings of its kind. Innovation and thoughtful debates are welcome as we maintain a central focus on the welfare of the
warrior and warrior families.

Finally, I would like to personally invite everyone who reads this article to join us at the 2nd National Symposium, February 16th at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. The purpose of the symposia series is to note and discuss new and important knowledge about how to understand, measure, prevent, and management combat stress injuries in order to avoid the long-lasting, negative consequences for the warfighters and their families. One major development since the first Symposium (held at the same venue, February 10, 2006) is the publication of the Combat Stress Injuries book. Through a special arrangement with the publisher (Routledge), the first 100 registrants for the Symposium will receive a copy of the book as part of their registration materials.

One of the co-sponsors of the Symposium is the Vietnam Veterans of North Florida, Inc. The VVNF is incorporated in the State of Florida and is a federally incorporated veteran’s non-profit organization (a 501.c19). The VVNF Color Guard raised the first flag over the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Tallahassee, after touring with it all over the northern half of Florida to every county seat to display that first Flag prior to it being dedicated with the Monument. That operation was known as the Great Vietnam Veterans of Florida, State Coalition, Flag Drag. Other co-sponsors include the Collegiate Veterans Association and the National Veterans Foundation. We welcome co-sponsorships as a way of emphasizing importance of both the history of veterans’ causes and the importance of inclusiveness in unity of cause. If you are either unable to attend or to co-sponsor the Symposium, feel free to join the join the Combat Stress Forum to collaborate on research.

[1] `` let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the Nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan ,'' Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address
[2] As of January 2005, there are some 250,000 military service personnel out of nearly 300,000,000 estimated population of the US.
[3] There is increasing reason to believe that overwhelming stress of combat can inflict literal, physical injuries to the neurobiology of warfighters and civilians. The term “injury” has significant advantages when communicating with warfighters about the nature of their reactions to severe stress and how best to care for them. Warriors understand that stress injuries, like sports injuries, may be unavoidable, at times—they are just part of the cost of doing what they do. And like sports injuries, most stress injuries heal up quickly, even without professional attention. But also like sports injuries, stress injuries are most likely to heal quickly and completely if warfighters monitor themselves for symptoms of injury, and take proper care of those injuries that are sustained.
[4] Dr. Solomon is a keynote speaker at the National Symposium.