Chaplains Need to Change Back To Basic Healing

A veteran got defensive with me a few years ago saying "What the hell do you know? You were never in combat!" To that I replied, "I don't have to understand combat do understand what it did to you. You don't have to understand what almost killed me to be able to understand what it did to me."

I grew up with a violent alcoholic Dad. He stopped drinking and joined AA when I was 13. Traumatic? Hell yes but then again, not the first time I faced trauma. I almost died when I was 4 and a kid decided to shove me down a slide but pushed too hard on my right side sending me over the edge. Then there was a car accident, a few health emergencies and oh, my ex-husband came home from work one night and tried to kill me.

The veteran didn't have to experience all that to understand what all those things put me through and he was able to understand what got me through all of them. He finally understood that I not only studied PTSD, I was living proof that trauma doesn't have to win and no one is stuck suffering as they are. Healing is possible and living a better quality of life is always possible with the right kind of help and willingness to work at it.

When I became a Chaplain in 2008 with the IFOC I did it for several reasons. The first one was that searching for reasons why I didn't have PTSD after many life threatening events, it became first hand knowledge that talking about it helped me recover from it over and over again. The shock wasn't allowed to take hold and my family let me talk for as long as I needed to. They gave lousy advice but I knew I was loved and they cared about what the event did to me. The other inspiration was my faith. Both mattered equally.

People of some kind of faith walk away after trauma one of two ways. God did it to them or God spared them. There are three parts of a human hit by trauma. Mind, body and spirit, with each part requiring treatment to heal the whole person. When you add in the moral torment, PTSD takes on a different battle to fight. That is when the ministry of presence is needed. We are not to be judge but we are to be comforter and healer.

My other response to healing is with Point Man International Ministries acting as bridge between veterans and families. Point Man started in 1984 working with veterans and their families. I know what it is like to be a spouse of a veteran more than I understand what it is like to be a veteran but in a unique position due to over 30 years of study and helping veterans heal. After all, my first teacher is a Vietnam veteran. We've been married for 30 years.

PMIM is a service organization with an evangelical purpose. Keeping Jesus Christ the focal point PMIM acts as a referral service to connect hurting veterans and their families to our Outpost and Home Front system for continued support and fellowship. These support groups are available at no charge, and utilize the gospel of Jesus Christ and Biblical principles to facilitate healing and restoration.

PMIM participates in national conferences and international publishing, radio and television as well as other forms of media to help educate and raise awareness of the needs of veterans around the world. We provide evangelistic materials, leadership training seminars, restoration conferences and support outreaches as missionaries to a target group (active duty soldiers, veterans and their families).

PMIM is an interdenominational mission-oriented ministry. We embrace any Christian denomination that agrees with the basic evangelical statement of faith established by the Corporate Board of Directors of PMIM.

I don't turn anyone away especially when most of the veterans I talk to believe in God and most of the time they believe Christ was sent by God, but haven't attended church in years and even those who say they don't believe at all. My job isn't to get them into a church pew, it is to help them heal no matter where they are coming from spiritually.

Chaplains have to change but not the way many think. It it going back to the way it was back in the beginning. Ministering to those in need much like the 72 others Christ sent out to the people.

Eugene Kapaun, left, and Bishop Eugene Gerber look at the statue honoring Chaplain Emil Kapaun at its 2001 unveiling at St. John Nepomucene Church in Pilson, Kan. Kapaun served in the Korean War and died in a prisoner of war camp on May 23, 1951. Soldiers who knew him never forgot the plain-spoken chaplain who urged them to keep their spirits up and is credited with saving hundreds of soldiers during the Korean War. On April 11, 2013, President Obama will award Kapaun the Medal of Honor posthumously.
(Dave Williams / The Wichita Eagle via AP)

The changing role of a military chaplain
Desert News
Mark A Kellner
May 9, 2015

According to that poll, nearly 20 percent of service members identified themselves as having either no religious affiliation or as being atheistic or agnostic.

Some 240 years after the Continental Congress authorized the presence of chaplains in the colonist's revolutionary forces, do clergy in the military still have a prayer?

Critics of chaplaincy decry any attempt to proselytize, saying those clergy who insist on fidelity to their own doctrines should resign. And as the makeup of the U.S. armed forces changes, the spiritual needs of service members is evolving as well.

All that's a lot to handle for a chaplain, even one wearing the same camouflage uniform as the soldiers they serve.

"The growing diversity of the military population has meant focusing on really listening and hearing, rather than coming at them from our own theological backgrounds," said U.S. Army Capt. Prathima Dharm, who is based in Silver Spring, Maryland. She said a soldier's spirituality is often "fluid," something Dharm herself experienced. Joining the Army in 2006 as a Christian chaplain, Dharm returned to her family's religious roots during her service, eventually becoming the Army's first Hindu chaplain.

"As an interfaith and Hindu chaplain, I saw a lot more commonality of needs between the soldiers of diverse population than differences," said Dharm, who left the military in the autumn of 2014.

U.S. Marine Corps Chaplain Lt. Cdr. Gary Thornton, regimental chaplain for the Wounded Warrior Regiment at Virginia's Marine Corps Base Quantico, said chaplains provide the proper atmosphere to help fighters handle such issues.

"When someone is conflicted like that, it allows them to ask those hard questions to someone who — as a chaplain — has given some thought and consideration to those questions, such as where was God, what was he doing, how do I handle or deal with these feelings and questions that I am wrestling with," Thornton said. "It allows people to ask those questions in that safe, confidential and caring environment and walk through that with a chaplain who should be versed and ready to engage in those things."
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Shore Bliss Yoga Classes for Military Veterans

The best experts said that treating combat PTSD has to be a triple play. Your mind, your body and your spirit.

In this case, Yoga is among many ways to help teach your body how to react to stress and regain the ability to calm during stressful times. The first Marine I suggested Yoga too didn't react well to the suggestion but he went. He hated the first two classes, then ended up going all the time.

Yoga instructor hopes to help veterans heal from trauma of war
Tampa Bay Online
BY LAUREN RICHEY
Tribune staff
Published: March 7, 2015

Lockom’s military veteran classes are available to anyone, but nonmilitary participants are required to pay the $15 single class fee. The first class is an asana class that deals with physical postures, and the second, titled iRest, focuses more on relaxation and the mental aspect of recovery.

Marsha Lockom, an instructor with the Shore Bliss Yoga studio in Apollo Beach, teaches two intensive yoga classes specifically designed for recovering veterans. Lockom turned to yoga in her battle against the pain of fibromyalgia.
JASON BEHNKEN/STAFF

Out of every 100 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, 11 to 20 have felt the life-altering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Many cope with depression, short-term memory loss, headaches, numbness, anger, and insomnia. Some have turned to substance abuse and suicide.

Once vibrant and healthy, these men and women now live with nearly constant fear and anxiety. In many cases, they’ve tried everything and have lost hope.

Marsha Lockom, an instructor with the Shore Bliss Yoga studio in Apollo Beach, is offering them a second chance. On the second Sunday of every month, Lockom teaches two intensive yoga classes specifically designed for recovering veterans. Both classes are completely free to all military and former military personnel.

Lockom says her main goal is to help them become more aware of their potential for happiness even after life in combat. She specializes in a type of yoga dealing with techniques such as guided meditation, and poses designed for grounding.

“I use teaching methods that help the veterans be present in the moment and in their bodies: feeling what’s happening when they move a certain limb, an arm or a leg,” Lockom said. “For example you wouldn’t see a lot of balancing poses that would put people on edge. You would see them very connected to the ground.”

Most veterans with PTSD deal with a symptom called hyper-vigilance, a term Lockom describes as a constant awareness of potential danger at any time. She says simply taking care with their positioning in a room is incredibly important; for example, she makes sure their backs aren’t to the door during class by placing herself between them and the exit.

Shore Bliss Yoga classes for military veterans
When: Upcoming classes are Sunday and April 12
♦ Veterans Yoga Class: 12:30 to 1:25 p.m.
♦ Veterans iRest Class: 1:30 to 2:15 p.m.
Where: 118 Flamingo Drive, Apollo Beach
For information: (813) 748-4036 or (813) 758-3930; info@shoreblissyoga.com
http://tbo.com/health/yoga-instructor-hopes-to-help-veterans-heal-from-trauma-of-war-20150307/

PTSD Veterans Use Yoga To Learn To Calm Down Again

Veteran helps other vets through yoga therapy
KRDO News
Emily Allen
Multimedia Journalist
Target 13 Investigator
POSTED: Nov 19, 2014

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.
Students gathered Wednesday for a yoga class aimed at helping veterans and others cope with mental illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder.

The class is offered at Hot On Yoga and taught by a veteran, Jason Smiley. When Smiley got his teaching certificate for yoga, he wasn't thrilled about the idea of teaching people who were solely focused on the physical aspect of the practice. He looked into therapeutic yoga and found a national program called Yoga For Veterans.

"Everyone can use yoga, that's for sure, but there are so many veterans and their families that are in need of this kind of help at this point in time," said Smiley.

Smiley collaborated with Hot On Yoga studio owner Mike Gumucio to create a class called "Mindful Resilience" focused on mental healing.

Smiley joined the Army right after high school and feels that being a veteran helps him connect with other veterans during yoga.

"I feel like it's very easy for vets to connect with other vets and that's part of the reason I want to be teaching these classes," said Smiley.

Teaching the program has also benefited Smiley.

"I have some of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder so I feel like this class really helped me and I believe that it has the capacity to help other people in the same way," said Smiley.
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After Combat PTSD Not All Doom and Gloom

PTSD is change, change again
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 1, 2014

Another month of Suicide Awareness has come and gone leaving most of us wondering why they had it at all. What good did it do last year or the year before?

Frankly, talking about suicides is not just heartbreaking, it is downright frightening. No one wants to talk about the fact so many veterans find combat less dangerous than being back home.

So many come home expecting to just get over it. What they do not understand is that combat is ingrained within the emotional part of their brain. If they are exposed to it before the age of 25 when their mind is full "mature" then it is part of them. The good news is more veterans find a way out of the darkness.

You don't read much about families like mine living with PTSD but last night we went out for dinner to celebrate our 30th anniversary. 30 years later we still hold hands, talk on the phone because we want to when we are away from each other and look forward to the end of the day when we can spend time just kicking back and relaxing.

We are not that odd. We know a lot of couples married even longer than us.

Maybe you're wondering how we did it but you'd be missing the fact this all started when nothing was being done on PTSD and veteran still felt as if they had to be ashamed of having PTSD. We didn't have the internet but somehow managed to find other families like ours. We shared the same type of backgrounds and struggles but we also shared what worked. We learned from others and were willing to share with others after that.

I read about the suicides and my heart breaks for the families. They still blames themselves for what happened even though they just didn't know anything else to do. Maybe if we start talking about what can be done we can change the outcome of what hasn't been working.

First, be determined to learn what PTSD is and stop finding excuses to not do it. I had to learn over 30 years ago but had to actually go to a library to do it. No self help books back then so I had to read clinical books with a huge dictionary by my side. You have the internet and millions of results for what you are looking for. This is a battle of life away from death. Take it seriously. Spend more time on this than playing the stupid computer game to get your mind off your troubles. If you do this then your mind will be focused on doing something to reduce those troubles.

Did you know that more veterans defeat PTSD than lose to it? Think about the fact there are about 23 million veterans in this country yet the average is 22 a day losing their fight. It isn't that they hurt less than you but more about they found what they needed to heal what they could and what they couldn't, they figured out how to deal with it day by day.

It has to be done mentally, physically and spiritually and all three start with that giant computer in your brain instead of a laptop.

Educate
PTSD hit you because you were there when "it" happened and survived it.
It hit you harder because you feel things more than others. In other words, you have stronger emotions than others but that doesn't mean you're soft. Many Medal of Honor Heroes admit having PTSD.

Find a psychologist/psychiatrist you trust and be honest with them. If you just got out of the military you get 5 years of free care even without a claim so no more excuses for not going.

Think of your body. It had to be taught to be on alert and push way past the pain threshold you thought you could do. It has to be trained to relax now. Look up online videos on part of you. Yoga, martial arts, walking, swimming, music, art, you name it, there are videos to show you how to do it. Find what you think you'll like, get some practice at home so you don't feel out of place then join a group. Get out with people again. Don't just do it at home.

Food is a huge issue to on your mood. Stop eating fast food and junk food all the time and get some fruits and vegetables in your stomach. Your body went through hell and needs help to recover. I'm not saying you can't have junk but not every meal. For heaven's sake, everyone knows you are what you eat, so I'd be dessert. I get it. I work too and limited on time but try really hard to eat one good thing a day.

I saved spiritually for last since I bet you thought about "church" but you were wrong. Take religion out of this. Nothing wrong with it and frankly most of the time it is great to go but this is between you and God on a personal level. If you have trouble with that consider that Christ prayed outside most of the time and usually alone.

You cannot find peace of mind. It has to be created. You have to forgive other people and yourself. Both are equally draining. It takes a lot of work to be able to do it but the hardest one is forgiving yourself.

Try to remember what happened and why it happened then take a look, an honest look at what you could have done differently. Most of the time there was nothing else you could have done and if there was then forgive yourself for not thinking about it at the time.

Find groups! Not online. Face to face where you can be around other veterans. That is where you will be understood and know that you are not alone. If you have been isolating for a long time, this can be hard but you don't have to talk to anyone if you don't want to. You can start online but far too often the groups are run without any consequences for what is typed. If you find a group online that is actually helpful, then it is ok but if not, don't give up on finding a place where you feel comfortable.

We did it when no one was noticing. We're still doing it and you can too! Change what the letters PTSD mean to you then understand you can change again for the better!

How can "experts" be partly right on Combat PTSD?

It is only 7:00 AM and I already have a headache. Too many articles seem all so promising until I finish reading them. How can they be only partly right after PTSD has been researched for decades?

Start with the first one about a group of people doing ministry work to help heal veterans. After reading it I had no other choice but to add my own headline, Moral Injury of Combat PTSD Focus of New on Old because this inner-battle has been reported since the beginning of written documents including the Bible. No one can read Psalms and not see it even though they won't see the term we use.

The article Advocates Push to Get Vets Treatment For Moral Injury will seem new to some unless you know what PTSD is and what it does.

Retired Army Major Maj. Gen. James Mukoyama, a veteran of the U.S. Army and president of Military Outreach USA, said "The time for research is over. It is now time for action," but that is not entirely true. The time of redoing same old research pretending it was never done before needs to end however, the time for new research has been waiting far too long. We need to start researching what works and why it works, then expand it.

Point Man International Ministries has been taking care of the spiritual part of PTSD since 1984 for one simple reason. It works. I am not just part of this group but we are all part of the solution. We don't have time to raise our bank accounts because we're too busy raising veterans out of the valley and away from the shadows of war.

"It isn't about who got a parade! When I came home from Vietnam, my cousin, a WWII Vet invited me to a VFW meeting and I was all but ignored because I was not in a "real" war and so how could I have any kind of problem? All these guys stuck to each other like glue and pretty much ignored the "new" Vets. And you all remember how it felt. I see the same "new guys" 35 years later with the same baloney coming out of their mouths. How in the world can you say you support the troops and then ignore them when they get home?

Seems to me that no matter how many are killed, the survivors have an obligation to each other and to our posterity to insure the "new guys" don't go through the same stuff our dads, grandfathers and ourselves had to endure...

So to all you "NEW GUYS", Welcome Home. Thank you for a job well done. Your sacrifice is deeply appreciated here. We support you regardless of when or where you served; we understand what you've been through and what you're dealing with now. Continue through the site and get connected!"

Dana Morgan President of Point Man International Ministries

PTSD occurs when a person has experienced, witnessed, or has been confronted with a traumatic event, which involved actual or threatened death or serious physical injury to themselves or others. At which point they responded with intense fear, horror or helplessness. (APA, DSM-IV TR, 2000) The most recent primary diagnostic criteria for PTSD falls into three groups and are summarized below:

Re-experiencing the trauma (nightmares, flashbacks, and intrusive thoughts).

Numbing and avoidance of reminders of the trauma (avoidance of situations, thoughts and feelings, etc.).

Persistent increased arousal (sleep difficulties, irritability, anger outbursts, startle response, etc.).

The passage of time alone usually does not heal the psychological wounds of trauma. The natural desire to withdraw from others and not talk about the experiences or difficulties associated with the traumatic event may actually make matters worse for veterans with PTSD. Painful wounds can remain exposed, open, and raw for decades without the proper help that promotes healing. These wounds go on to fester unless they are properly cared for.

Veterans and society can watch physical wounds heal; however the emotional wounds of trauma may go unrecognized if they are never addressed. To continue to say, “What happened in Iraq or Afghanistan happened…end of story,” is an attempt to cover up issues and most likely indicates a deep inner-craving (cry) for help.

To recognize that you may be experiencing some re-adjustment challenges is the first step to recovery. Finding useful tools to direct you and your family to constructive ways to re-adjust after war is a top priority.

One of the "useful tools" is offering veterans what they need the way they want it. Face to face, one on one or in groups. Online or by email. Over the phone. Whatever works best for the veteran is what they get.

I am a bit odd since I work with veterans and families across the country and occasionally from other countries. Veterans share only what they want me to know. I usually have a first name or an email address, but as for their personal information, I don't need it. It is up to them to tell me more. That is actually perfect considering it gives them a way to open up without giving up their anonymity. The help I give them is all based on what they share. The more they share, the more I can help.

Some people worry that a fake could take up my time but that really isn't an issue since I can't give them anything financial or get their claims approved. I give them something you can't put a pricetag on and it costs me little financially but emotionally draining. Still what I get in return is rewarding tenfold because I get to spend time with these magnificent veterans. The first thing they want to do when they heal is help other veterans.

The other article I came across is one about veterans using computers more than clinicians from Behavioral Healthcare.

According to a study by the University of Southern California (USC), patients are more willing to disclose their depression and PTSD symptoms when talking to computerized virtual humans than when talking to real humans. While the virtual human obviously can’t take the place of a clinician in diagnosis and treatment, it can be a tool to help patients start talking.

Participants in the USC study were interviewed by a virtual human that was able to interpret not just the content of what the subjects said but also their tone of voice and nonverbal cues. In intake interviews, people were more honest about their symptoms, no matter how potentially embarrassing, when they believed that a human observer wasn’t listening. They were asked questions about their sleeping habits, their mood and their mental health.

The study was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the U.S. Army.

“All the research is suggesting that even though the information has to be released to the overseeing physician eventually, when the responses are unobserved in the moment where the person has responded, patients are still willing to share more information than if a human were watching them give the information,” says Gale Lucas, a social psychologist at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, who led the study.

How exactly do they think "not listening" would be healing? It is a repeat of getting veterans to tell their stories over and over again expecting that to heal them. What is "wrong" with them is how they see themselves. PTSD is different due to different causes and it comes in different levels. When it is caused by combat, the psychological wound is harder to treat because the whole veteran must be taken into "treatment" with their minds, bodies learning how to calm down again and spiritually when they are guided to seeing themselves and others in a different way.

Another study done, more money funding something that people already knew worked. All they had to do was ask Vietnam veterans how much their lives have changed with technology. The internet has allowed them to discover they are far from alone. They have been finding and giving support since the 90's as more and more households connected to the rest of the world.

There has been very little "new" when the subject is Combat PTSD. The old still works best but it works even better when we are able to use the old with new technology to reach more people.

If the government wants to spend more money repeating research, maybe it is time for them to research how what is working works and repeat the successes instead of repeating the failures.

Out of the shadow of death, comes hope

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 6, 2014

There is plenty of time to talk about veterans suffering, families suffering, instead of healing and living better lives. With only so many hours in a day, we have to make times to talk about what is hopeful as well.

There is a beautiful line by David Rossi on Criminal Minds (Joe Mantegna) "Scars remind us where we've been. They don't have to dictate where we're going."

When you are wounded and your skin is cut, you expect to stop bleeding and see your scars to heal. If you have a broken bone, after your skin has healed, the bone will heal but the scar remains. No one can see it but you can still feel it. So why not when your soul is wounded? Why wouldn't you assume that the scar you can only feel inside your body would heal as well as what is outside of your body?

Combat changed you. It changes everyone. For some it is because you have a great strength within you to feel things more deeply. That strength also allowed you to feel more pain. It does not mean you are stuck the feeling it. PTSD is part of change and you can change again. Your life is determined by you and what you do to heal. Everything you need to heal is already inside of you.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is great if you go to church but you don't have to. Most of the veterans I know believe in God and Christ, but they do not attend church. When you consider Christ prayed more outside than inside, praying where you are when you want to is not that unusual.

How do you pray if you believe He judged you? How do you ask for help when you think He did it to you as some sort of cosmic judgment to teach you a lesson? Well, if that is the way you think then it wouldn't make much sense.

Try it this way. He put that tug into your soul to join the military so that you could save others. You did it because He gave you everything you needed to do what you had to. That also includes healing.

Why did you want to risk your life for total strangers? Endure countless hardships and sacrifices? Was it for glory? No, most veterans don't want to be called "hero" and even most Medal of Honor recipients take no credit for what they did. By the way, many of them are talking openly about their own battles with PTSD. It wasn't for the money because when you break down how many hours you put in, especially when deployed, you'd probably make more working less dangerous jobs. It wasn't for personal security because any day could have been your last day. It was because you were created to be what you were. Remember God created a warrior before He created mankind. The Archangel Michael.

Michael is an obvious identity for a tattoo, as this is the most powerful of angels. Maureen Tilley, professor of theology at Fordham University.

The Book of Revelation (12:7-9) describes a war in heaven in which Michael, being stronger, defeats Satan:

"...there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven." After the conflict, Satan is thrown to earth along with the fallen angels, where he ("that ancient serpent called the devil") still tries to "lead the whole world astray".

Separately, in the Epistle of Jude 1:9 Michael is specifically referred to as an "archangel" when he again confronts Satan:

What is going on inside of you is a battle between good and evil but not the way you may think. It is a fight between what is "good" about you that caused you so much pain and what you may think is "evil" about you and it is a spiritual battle you can win.

One other thing you need to know right here and right now is a very simple fact. Evil people do not grieve for someone else. They do not feel guilty about surviving and they do not feel pain the way you are. It is what is good within you that grieves.

You can find peace and change for the better.
Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)

"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart." Peter 1:22

This is the kind of love that you have within you.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away"

1 Corinthians 13:4

There is a Greek word for this, katharos

"Sixth beatitude of the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). The Greek word καθαρος translated pure, literally means: "free from the admixture or adhesion of any thing that soils, adulterates or corrupts,"F1 hence, "clean, pure." The lexiconsicographers define the term as: "pure or clean," i.e. "unsoiled or unalloyed."F2 Some believe this verse has reference to "the moral blamelessness of the inner life, the center of which is the heart."F3 Others believe Jesus is referring to one who is "clean, pure, in a spiritual sense, from the pollution and guilt of sin."

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

You did not "want" for yourself more than you "wanted" for others or you wouldn't have joined the military prepared to sacrifice and endure hardships for their sake.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

The valley of the shadow of death is a place you can leave. The shadow of war does not have to follow you for the rest of your life and you don't have to forget about it in order to heal from it.

The "house of the Lord" is the body your soul lives in. He knew you before you came into this body of yours.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" Jeremiah 1

Everything was already in your soul when you were sent to this earth. When given a choice which path to take, you decided to serve others. Your courage was there just as much as your compassion was there. Many times soldiers in battle still manage to reach out an arm for a buddy, shed a tear, offer a prayer or a kind word. That requires goodness within you so strong that even the horrors of war cannot defeat it.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

War caused the pain you felt but you refused to allow it to stop you. You still risked your life no matter how much turmoil you were experiencing.

Begin to heal by looking at yourself the way you were before military life, before training, before combat and remember what love was in John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Being willing to die for the sake of someone else, came from love and that has always been within you. Forgive yourself for what you feel you need to be forgiven for and forgive anyone you need to. This is how you start to change again and heal.

Then you can help someone else heal as well. Right now, get stronger so you can be there for them.

Moving beyond the clinical treatment for Combat PTSD

Retired pastor and chaplain to present 'PTSD and Spirituality' Aug. 7
Cape Gazette
Aug 03, 2014

The Rev. Ray Michener will walk his listeners through an in-depth look at "Post Traumatic Stress & Spirituality: God and the Devastated Self" from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 7, at the Summer Spirituality Series held in the Parish Hall of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church at 211 Mulberry St. in Lewes.

This presentation includes a brief clinical look at PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, and an attempt to look beyond the clinical aspects into the role of the spirit in the healing process. Moving beyond the clinical treatment modalities, Michener will attempt to examine what traumatic stress does to an individual’s concept of such things as self, morality, God or religion, and even family and society in general. The goal of this look at PTSD is not designed as how to deal with someone suffering from PTSD, but rather how to be with someone and hear their story.

Michener is a retired Lutheran pastor and U.S. Navy chaplain. After nine years in parish ministry, he entered the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps and quickly found it an exciting and enjoyable ecumenical ministry. Over the course of 20 years, Michener served with the U.S. Marines as chaplain with a combat battalion during two tours in Beirut, Lebanon; with Navy surface and submarine sailors; and his final assignment with the U. S. Coast Guard stationed at Fell’s Point, Md.
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Combat PTSD and the Soul

Today is PTSD Awareness Day. Really? This is the 4th year yet there doesn't seem to be enough awareness of it. After over 22,000 posts, there doesn't seem to be anything new I can say today. PTSD hasn't changed over generations. So why is it that we are so far from saving more lives after combat?

We watched the numbers go up followed by reports that more than half of the suicides came after they sought out help. Over and over again the "stigma" of PTSD has been given as a reason too many deny they need help, yet the program the military has been pushing contributed to this harmful notion. After all, when the military tells soldiers they can train their brains to be mentally tough, what other thoughts could they have?

The truth is, Combat PTSD hits the soul more than anything else.

Beyond PTSD: Soldiers Have Injured Souls
BY DIANE SILVER
September 01, 2011

What sometimes happens in war may more accurately be called a moral injury — a deep soul wound that pierces a person’s identity, sense of morality and relationship to society. In short, a threat in a solder’s life.

Now that modern militaries accept that war creates psychological trauma, therapists wonder about its toll on the spirit.

The psychological toll taken by war is obvious. For the second year in a row, more active-duty troops committed suicide in 2010 (468) than were killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan (462). A 2008 RAND Corporation study reported that nearly 1 in 5 troops who had returned from Iraq and Afghanistan reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress or major depression.

Since the American Psychiatric Association added post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, to its diagnostic manual in 1980, the diagnosis has most often focused on trauma associated with threats to a soldier’s life. Today, however, therapists such as Jonathan Shay, a retired VA psychiatrist and recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant; Edward Tick, director of the private group Soldier’s Heart; and Brett Litz, a VA psychologist, argue that this concept is too limited. What sometimes happens in war may more accurately be called a moral injury — a deep soul wound that pierces a person’s identity, sense of morality and relationship to society. In short, a threat in a solder’s life.

“My colleagues and I suspect that the greatest lasting harm is from moral injury,” says Litz, director of the Mental Health Core of the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiological Research and Information Center. He and six colleagues published an article on the topic in the December 2009 Clinical Psychological Review, in which they define moral injury as a wound that can occur when troops participate in, witness or fall victim to actions that transgress their most deeply held moral beliefs.

While the severity of this kind of wound differs from person to person, moral injury can lead to deep despair.

“They have lost their sense that virtue is even possible,” Shay says. “It corrodes the soul.”

It goes even deeper than that. It is the strength of their soul that causes the deepest wound.

Combat PTSD is different from all other causes. The type of PTSD police officers and firefighters get is close to it because they also risk their lives willingly for the sake of others.

For servicemen and women, it is in their core. That ability to care so much they are willing to die for someone else.

to rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed: to transcend the limits of thought; kindness transcends courtesy.

Once we understand this, once we finally explain to them why they were afflicted by PTSD, we can being to truly help them heal.

This is what the military and the Congress has failed to understand. They proved they were already resilient when they signed up, survived training, separation from families and friends, sacrificed and we willing to endure deployments they knew could cost them their lives.

It is the ultimate explanation of courage because they care so deeply about the others they serve with, there are no limits to what they are willing to do for their sake.

That strength of their souls comes with a price. The ability to care that much also allows them to grieve so deeply.

Walking Off War Veterans Hike along Appalachian Trail

Stark County veteran embarks on Warrior Hike along Appalachian Trail
Beacon Journal
By Jim Carney
staff writer
Published: March 17, 2014

Cecil E. Thayer III plans to spend the next six months walking away his war.

Thayer, 27, of Canton, on Monday began a hike of the Appalachian Trail with 13 other veterans.

“This is a time to just kind of deal with a lot of the issues that I have never really had time to deal with,” Thayer, originally from Massillon, said in an interview shortly before the trip began. A Marine and Ohio Army National Guard veteran who served two tours in Iraq, he received a Purple Heart for injuries sustained in Iraq in 2006.

He and the other veterans entered the nearly 2,185-mile Appalachian Trail in Georgia. They plan to reach Maine sometime in September as part of a group called Warrior Hike and its event called “Walk Off The War.”

Marine Capt. Sean Gobin, a 38-year old Rhode Island native, started the Warrior Hike nonprofit group. He left the service as a 12-year veteran with two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

Gobin, now an MBA student at the University of Virginia, walked the Appalachian Trail in 2012 to raise money for a fellow Marine veteran who lost both legs in combat in 2011. He decided to expand the idea and created the Warrior Hike.

Last year, 14 veterans hiked the Appalachian Trail. This year, along with the group doing that trail, groups in the western United States are hiking the Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail.
read more here

85 Year old Takes on Appalachian Trail and PTSD

Local hiker tackling Appalachian Trail on mission to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder
News-Leader
Wes Johnson
Mar. 15, 2014

When Springfield hiker Robert Crampton takes his first steps on the Appalachian Trail on Monday, he’ll be walking with several purposes.

Crampton, 84, hopes to finish the 2,180-mile trek from Georgia to Maine within six months — a hike he had to abandon once before when family issues arose.

But more importantly, Crampton will be hiking with a group of military veterans who are on a “Warrior Hike” to help them overcome the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. They’ll breathe fresh air, experience the vastness of nature and discover welcoming arms at various towns along the way.

When he returns next fall, Crampton plans to use his experience on the Appalachian Trail — the AT — to develop a hiking program for veterans back home in Springfield. He believes that getting veterans away from the TV, away from bad habits, away from the pressures of horrific wartime memories by embracing hiking will help them “walk off their war.”

“When you’re on a trail out in nature you have to go internally into yourself, where you’ll find the truth,” said Crampton. “You listen to your heart and not take in what somebody on the outside says about you. It’s the power of positive thinking, having a positive attitude and learning to have faith in yourself. Then you will be free.”
read more here

Veterans Find Natural Healing Power on Mount Rainier for PTSD

Veterans climb above trauma on Mount Rainier
The News Tribune
BY JOSHUA BRANDON
March 14, 2014

Researchers took veterans in groups of six to 12 on a multi-day hike and surveyed their moods before and after. One week after the experience, veterans reported improvements in mood, social functioning and outlook on life. More research is needed, but anyone who has spent time on a trail knows the restorative power of being outside.

After three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. Many of my brothers and sisters and arms have faced the same challenge upon returning home from war.

Yet too few of them have access to a resource that, at least for me, was ultimately life-saving. For me and many like me, recovery is a lifelong journey that we will always strive for but may never quite reach.

During one of the roughest legs of my journey, I was able to take shelter on the land I served. Getting outside set me on a path to survival.

I had never truly experienced mountains or forests before I was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Growing up for most of my life in Cleveland, a city park or a wooded back yard was about as close to “wilderness” as I ever got.

When my buddies and I first saw Mount Rainier looming on the horizon, our immediate impulse was to go climb it. As a group of restless warriors waiting for their next fight, what else was there to do?
read more here

Spiritual healing added to Arkansas PTSD Veterans treatment

Arkansas program helps vets connect with community via spiritual, mental treatment
Russellville
All Voices
BY Mirjana Pantic
Jan 26, 2014

A community-based program in that began in 2009 in Arkansas is helping veterans with the tools and skills they need to reconnect with their local communities.

A Vietnam era marine, who just like many other vets has been disconnected from the military and hadn’t been in touch with the Veteran Affairs (VA), finally gets his life back in order. Four decades ago, he was a cook in Vietnam. Now he has a similar job – he cooks for a local prison in Arkansas. He is one of some 1,000 veterans who have participated in the VA/Clergy Partnership for Rural Veterans, a program established in Arkansas aimed at reintegrating veterans into the communities where they live.

“Being a part of one of our local partnership boards gave him a consistent sense of purpose over the last few years,” Steve Sullivan, the director of the VA/Clergy Partnership for Rural Veterans told Allvoices.

"His persona seemed almost resurrected when he was given an opportunity to cook breakfast for more than 100 service members on a drill weekend through one of our outreach events. Other veterans have become connected or re-connected to church life through the patience and veteran-friendly acceptance of one of our local churches.”

As it is widely known, many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and have difficulties getting their life back on track after coming home from war. To tackle this and other problems veterans face, a pilot project was launched in 2009 in El Dorado, Ark. What is unique about that project is that it combines spiritual care and mental treatment. Moreover, the project uses a community-based participatory method, so it is different at each site and tailored to the needs of every community.

According to Sullivan, the project brings changes in veterans’ lives in a few important ways. For example, there is a large number of Vietnam vets who have gotten access to the VA for the first time in more than 40 years. “They have lived in suspicion of VA services and were unaware of the nature of PTSD and its treatability. They are now getting to a time when they realize that they really have had problems all these years and that it’s okay to get help. Most of them come seeking benefits initially, but then receive mental health assessments and get the help they need,” he said.
read more here

The 'Easy' Cure for PTSD? The Cruelty of Shallow Religious Answers

The 'Easy' Cure for PTSD? The Cruelty of Shallow Religious Answers
Huffington Post
Rita Nakashima Brock, Ph. D.
Director, The Soul Repair Center
Posted: 11/22/2013

Got PTSD? If you have enough faith, if you truly believe, televangelist Kenneth Copeland asserts you can get over it, right now! The Bible tells you so.

In an interview broadcast on Veterans Day, Copeland asserted that the biblical God assures the Israelites preparing for battle that they will be "guiltless before the Lord and before the nation" (Numbers 32:22). Copeland insisted, "Any of you suffering from PTSD... [you] get rid of that right now.

You don't take drugs to get rid of it. It doesn't take psychology. That promise right there will get rid of it." Evangelical David Barton chimed in, saying, "You're on an elevated platform up here. You're a hero... When you do it God's way, not only are you guiltless for having [participated in war]... you're esteemed."

So... are you feeling better yet? No? You're not the only one.

When Bill Gibson, a VA psychologist, related the Copeland-Barton interview to members of a combat PTSD group he facilitates, he received stunned silence. Finally, one Iraqi war vet said, "I wish it was that easy -- do people think I want to feel this way?" And a Vietnam War veteran added, "The only person who would say something like that is someone who has never been in the kinds of situations we've been in."

Barton and Copeland insult all veterans with PTSD. PTSD is not the result of a "faith deficit disorder," as Allen Clark asserts on his website CombatFaith.com. PTSD is real, and it is in the brain.

Almost 4,000 years ago, Egyptian writers described PTSD symptoms, and in Achilles in Vietnam, psychiatrist Jonathan Shay finds in Homer's Iliad a profound understanding of PTSD symptoms -- and the toll they exact from its sufferers.
read more here

I was furious when I read about what these people had to say. OMG! Preachers blame veterans for PTSD on Veterans' Day

20 When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys. Joshua 6

but that was just a small part of what Sunday School songs leave out when talking about the battle of Jericho. They slaughtered everyone in Jericho. Old men, women and children. That was what war was like back then and for Joshua, there were many, many more. It was not until the Psalms of David that it became clear the price these ancient war fighters paid.

They were in war all the time. Few soldiers escaped the retirement of the grave.

The people spouting off about lack of faith having anything to do with PTSD are false preachers that Chris warned about. The fact they grieve so much is testament to the magnificence of their soul.

To survive the worst humans can do and still be able to shed a tear, reach out a hand to comfort anyone is beyond reason. To grieve so much that they end up with PTSD proves God was there with them all the time. If they see the wonder of their souls/spirits and the power they have within them to love, to give so much of themselves that they were willing to die for someone else, they heal.

Leaders, or false preachers, push them away from the healing power already within them and that is the worst sin of all.

They had to train hard to stop being a civilian and they learned it well. Then no one got them to understand training to adapt afterwards was going to be a harder thing to train for. It takes work to heal and they can come out on the other side better than they were before but they are still trying to go back to the way they were before. They need to make peace with it and that, that is one of the hardest things for them to do.

So far too many are not finding what they need to heal and it is all right there inside of them just as PTSD is but they need help to get it reconnected again.

Documentary looks at Native American traditions and PTSD

Healing PTSD is about as basic and natural as it can be but above all, close to free. It is as old as when the first war and has been recorded in the pages of the Bible but while you won't find the term we use today, you can see it in the writings of those who struggled with it.

Native Americans have also been dealing with PTSD for generations with sweat lodges, helping to find peace and honor with all living things on this earth. Much of what is done connects the veteran with what is already inside of them. Much like my job, I just help them find what is already there and has been there all along in their souls.

“Guilt and shame are the biggest things guys bring back with them,” Telonidis said. Often, veterans with PTSD have one particular image that is frightening and they relive it over and over. Sometimes it’s the death of a colleague or friend or a memory of killing an enemy.

The medicine man instructs the veteran to bring the spirits of the people in those memories with them into the sweat lodge. Then, he tells the veterans to have the conversation the veteran has been wanting to have with them all these years. Veterans are encouraged to talk to those people and tell them how they feel, and to ask forgiveness if they feel they need to."

The stories veterans tell me are all different but they have one thing in common. Their stories all involve forgiveness. Either forgiving someone else or forgiving themselves. Once that has been achieved, they begin to really heal no longer burden with guilt or hatred.

As long as they take care of their spiritual needs along with their minds and bodies, they heal and live better lives. As for what works, that all depends on what they already believe.

Documentary looks at Native American traditions and PTSD
Elko Daily Free Press
By Elaine Bassier
November 22, 2013

ELKO — Native American traditions may be the key to helping modern-day veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Taki Telonidis, the producer for the Western Folklife Center’s media office in Salt Lake City, has been working on a documentary called “Healing the Warrior’s Heart” that explores the ways some Native American tribes treat their veterans when they return from war.

Telonidis said around two million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some come home fine, others have life-changing injuries and “many are coming home with invisible drama,” or PTSD.

Some tribes refer to PTSD as a wounding of the soul, Telonidis said. Part of the veteran’s spirit is still on the battlefield, and he said the tribes have traditions that can heal his or her heart.

“What they’re trying to do is bring their spirit home,” Telonidis said.

He said a lot of Native Americans have lost their connection to the warrior spirituality, but he is seeing a revitalization of that idea. The traditional healing methods are not only working for some Native American soldiers — Telonidis has seen the method work for other veterans suffering from PTSD.

Telonidis is studying two specific locations for his film: the George Wallen Veteran Affairs Center in Salt Lake and the Blackfeet reservation in Montana and Canada.
read more here

OMG! Preachers blame veterans for PTSD on Veterans' Day

OMG! Preachers blame veterans for PTSD on Veterans' Day
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 13, 2013

Stunning how little these fools know about what is in the Bible about PTSD and all they had to do was read the Psalms of David to see it in his words.

They would have understood what it was when they read this among many others.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
31 In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.
2 Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of refuge,
A fortress of defense to save me.
3 For You are my rock and my fortress;
Therefore, for Your name’s sake,
Lead me and guide me.
4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
6 I have hated those who regard useless idols;
But I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have known my soul in adversities,
8 And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a wide place.
9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes, my soul and my body!
10 For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away.
11 I am a reproach among all my enemies,
But especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
Those who see me outside flee from me.
12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the slander of many;
Fear is on every side;
While they take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies’ sake.
17 Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
Let them be silent in the grave.
18 Let the lying lips be put to silence,
Which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
19 Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
20 You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!
22 For I said in my haste,
“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried out to You.
23 Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!
For the Lord preserves the faithful,
And fully repays the proud person.
24 Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.

David never doubted who God was but that didn't mean he was protected from suffering. While you won't read Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Bible, you will see it in their words over and over again.

Healing comes in three parts. The mind, the body and the spirit. If spiritual healing is left out, there is only numbing and not true healing. Add in the spirit and then they heal. How can they ever think that they can find that if jerks like this are telling them it is due to a lack of faith?

Traumatized Troops Lack Faith?
The American Conservative
By ROD DREHER
November 13, 2013

On a Veterans Day broadcast program, televangelist Kenneth Copeland and controversial historian David Barton told listeners that soldiers should never experience guilt or post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from military service.

Reading from Numbers 32: 20-22, Copeland said, “So this is a promise — if you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lord for the war … you shall return, you’re coming back, and be guiltless before the Lord and before the nation.”

“Any of you suffering from PTSD right now, you listen to me,” Copeland said as Barton affirmed him.

”You get rid of that right now. You don’t take drugs to get rid of it. It doesn’t take psychology. That promise right there will get rid of it.”
read more here

So hear some truth. God doesn't screw up. Each and every person on this planet was sent here to do something with their lives. When it comes to the defenders, it is in their soul. It is that pull-tug-gnawing to join. Even the men drafted were not there on accident or luck of the draw. Each and everyone had it in their souls to do exactly what was asked of them and it was not for any type of God deciding who won or lost. It was about taking care of the others. After all, that was the reason they were willing to die. Wasn't it? For each other?

People doing what they were intended to do are the happiest if they know what the "it' is. Everything they need to do it is already inside of them including how to heal afterwards. That ability to care that much to be willing to die is also what allows them to feel so much pain.

God put that strength within them and it is the job of anyone claiming to be any type of religious/spiritual teacher to help them reconnect to what is already there so they can heal.

It is not their job to be jerks while claiming any connection to Christ.

This is a few years old. The only thing that has changed is there are more veterans with PTSD thinking they were abandoned by God or worse, making them suffer. The truth is, they suffer more because they cared more.

PTSD Not God's Judgment from Kathleen "Costos" DiCesare on Vimeo.

PTSD Therapy Saved My Life — It's Time to Kill the Stigma

PTSD Therapy Saved My Life — It's Time to Kill the Stigma
Policy Mic
By Adrian Bonenberger
November 11, 2013

Most infantrymen I know grow beards when they leave the Army.

They take a couple weeks off, tear through some booze and cash, get a little wild, play that video game they’ve been waiting to dive into for a while (mine was Skyrim), exhale, and then get back to work or school.

This seems to be necessary in part because the military still doesn’t have a very good approach to the almost inevitable psychiatric and social disorders that come about as a natural outgrowth of going to war — a group of neuroses and behaviors collectively known as PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

I had a fairly intense case of PTSD when I was in the Army, did a bad job of taking it seriously, and was not encouraged to take it seriously. I wanted to take advantage of this platform to say some words about the process.

Enough has been said about PTSD at this point so it doesn’t seem critical to go into a detailed background of the issue. For those unfamiliar with the term, PTSD describes a condition wherein a person who has lived through a traumatic event finds themselves unable to move forward because that event exists in their present rather than their past. For people with PTSD, their brains are hung up on some memory, which they re-live as though it is happening again and again — through dreams, nightmares, or waking anxiety. Any traumatic incident can trigger PTSD.

"At the end of my military career, I was lucky to have a direct supervisor, Major Matt Hardman, who encouraged me to seek treatment, although not everyone in the chain of command was as understanding. The overall culture of the military, and especially combat arms and the infantry, is one that is diametrically opposed to people seeking help for psychological and sometimes even physical injuries. I hope that my fellow vets (and especially combat vets) all make good use of the free therapy available to them at the VA, and take the problem seriously.

There are effective treatments out there, and if everyone works hard to tackle the legacy and trauma of war, we can reduce or even defeat the old stereotype of the haunted war vet.

I’m living proof."

read more here

Larry Burrows haunting pictures of Vietnam heal the souls

After growing up surrounded by veterans meeting the man I would spend the rest of my life with didn't seem that odd at first. My Dad was a Korean War veteran and all of my uncles were WWII veterans. I didn't know how much different it would be with Jack. I had no clue what my Dad was talking about when he said "He's a nice guy but he's got shell shock." My Dad tried to explain it as well as he could but I had to learn more.

That was in 1982. No internet to search on, I headed to the library every chance I had. Jack sure wasn't ready to talk about it and tell me what happened. It wasn't the words so much as it was all about the pictures. They pulled me in and grabbed ahold of my heart almost as Jack did.

Most of the ones I saw were taken by Larry Burrows, but I didn't know anything about him. All I knew, all I had to know was those pictures were a part of Jack's life and eventually would become part of mine.

Larry Burrows' Vietnam Photos Still Haunt Us 47 Years Later
Huffington Post
Posted: 11/01/2013

Wounded Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jeremiah Purdie (center, with bandaged head) reaches toward a stricken comrade after a fierce firefight south of the DMZ, Vietnam, October 1966.
(Larry Burrows—Time and Life Pictures/Getty Images)

In October of 1966, the Vietnam War had already been raging for nearly 11 years. Thousands of troops were still fighting, and in their midst a courageous photographer risked and ultimately lost his life documenting the horrors of one of the longest wars in U.S. history. As LIFE magazine wrote of Larry Burrows in a 1971 issue:

He had been through so much, always coming out magically unscathed, that a myth of invulnerability grew up about him. Friends came to believe he was protected by some invisible armor. But I don’t think he believed that himself. Whenever he went in harm’s way he knew, precisely, what the dangers were and how vulnerable he was.

Burrows had died that same year when his helicopter was shot down over Laos, together with three other photographers. Their tragic deaths are a harrowing reminder of the acute danger war correspondents face in doing their jobs, and of the endless dangers that armed forces and civilians face in the midst of violence.

For those left at home, there is little that conveys the horrors of war as thoroughly as photographs such as Burrows'.
read more here

When you look at the picture of the Marines, what do you see? You see the body wounded but do you see the emotional connection between the wounded Marine and his friend on the ground? Gunnery Sgt. Jeremiah Purdie didn't care about his own wounds. Someone he cared about was wounded too. That is the way they were and still are.

All these years later you can still see it in their eyes. Spending most of my free time with veterans I see it all the time. They are connected, bonded beyond what any single word could ever come close to expressing. It goes beyond love. They were all willing to die for each other.

A lot of veterans ask me "where was God" when all that was going on and I'll point out some of the pictures like this one. I tell them "He was right there." When they could find that depth of compassion for someone else in the midst of hell, God was there. When they could reach out their arm to comfort, shed a tear, offer a prayer or kneel by the side of their "brother" God was there.

Look at these pictures and know that depth of love is what gave them the courage to do what they had to do. They did it for each other.

These pictures have done more than record history. They have recorded what they all needed to be reminded of. Why they risked their lives was for the sake of someone else and that kind of unselfish love few others know. These pictures heal the soul more than any words I could ever say.

Larry Burrows and the other photographers did not know how healing their pictures would be so many years later.

New Research on PTSD dumb idea

This is how we ended up with the bullshit program called Comprehensive Soldier Fitness. It was a research project and was not even tested before it was delivered to the troops. Once the suicides went up afterwards, they just pushed the program harder.

“We do have a new study starting up for post-traumatic stress disorder many of whom the veterans will be treated at the C.W. Bill Young Building on campus,” Kip said.

The goal of academia is to apply the research as quickly as possible according to Interim Vice President of USF Health Dr. Donna Petersen.

There has been over 40 years of research done on PTSD but these folks don't want to bother with a tiny detail like that. What has already been proven to work, they avoid. What has been proven to fail, they repeat.

Read more for yourself. Yes, I am fed up too.

Researchers Work to Prevent Past Neglect of Veterans
Health News Florida
By BOBBIE O'BRIEN
November 1, 2013

An estimated 2.3 million men and women have served during the nation’s last 12 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. And as they transition out of the military, the veterans will need care for immediate and long-term conditions like post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.

And many from health care professionals to retired military are concerned that the neglect of past veterans is not repeated with this new generation.

Troops in World War II came home in 1945 and went right back to work and college. There was no re-integration, no recognition of post-traumatic stress. So many WWII vets had to find their own ways to cope with the trauma of war.
read more here

For a start looking back at what happened after WWII is that everyone went if they were healthy. My husband's Dad and three uncles did. One of them was killed. Another was a Merchant Marine. His ship was sunk and they ended up in the ocean. He ended up with PTSD. He was given a choice. He could go into an institution or go live on a farm with other veterans a couple took in to give them a peaceful place to live with other veterans just like them. It was called shell shock back then and yes, they were trying to treat it. They also did have a lot of support from each other.

As for PTSD and newer generations, Vietnam veterans led the way on that and they made sure things got done. Either by the government or by the public.

In 1984 Point Man International Ministries started to address PTSD in the veterans as well as addressing what the families needed to stay together.

Charleston mom talks about soldier’s return from combat

I am so tried. Tired of trying to get people past the fact these stories are so sad and to the point where they decide to do something. To be moved somehow to try to save on of them from suffering needlessly instead of healing. When does that happen? When do you get to the point where you listen to someone talk about their Dad, their brother, sister or friend and say, "I can help." Tell them there is hope and in the last 40 years Vietnam veterans proved that because while many of them are gone, more are still standing strong.

PTSD is not the end of the world. It doesn't have to be the end of anything. It is a new beginning just like anything else. The start is the hard part. Then comes the middle when they start to allow themselves to feel again when the wall comes down. Then comes the part where they start to reach out their hands that once held their heads and find someone else needing be helped to where they got to.

None of them fight this alone but they didn't fight in combat alone, so they should be able to accept that fact. Families don't have to go it alone either. There are hundreds of thousands of other families just like them. Some have suffered wordless agony but more have escaped the worst that can happen. Some like my family are still together looking back on how far we've come and knowing that it could have turned out so differently had we not been willing to love past all of it. We started this journey in 1982 and we are not done yet. By the way, we still hold hands.

Oh, no, I am not talking about just loving them into healing, even though it is a huge part because this battle fought at home does not end. Each day matters. Each new piece of the puzzle comes into place as we learn more about PTSD and the majestic thing we call the soul rising above the odds.

Knowing what it is and why they have come home with a piece of hell in their heart is key so that we can understand how we act and react to them can either heal them or destroy them.

If we do not help families do what has to be done we will keep reading sad stories but as you read this one you'll also see that there is more healing going on because people cared enough to reach out to someone else. Even if it is just one person at a time.

Fighting PTSD: Charleston mom talks about soldier’s return from combat
ABC News 4 Charleston
By Ava Wilhite
October 31, 2013

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) – Sharon Brown often finds herself looking back at childhood photos of her youngest son, Jonathan who's now 24 years old.

"We really thought this was going to be a career for him," said Brown.

In 2009, Brown agreed to let her son leave his full academic scholarship at the College of Charleston to enlist in the United States Army. Shortly after boot camp, Jonathan was sent to Iraq in his first deployment.

"Jonathan did a really good job of telling me things that he wanted, as a mom, wanted me to hear. Things like, ‘Oh no, I'm very safe here. I never go outside of the area,' which later on I found was not exactly true," said Brown.

Brown says when her son returned from Iraq there were subtle changes in his behavior.

"There were things like, he seemed very anxious, which was not really his personality. If we'd go out to restaurant, he would have to be sitting facing forward he would not let anyone sit behind him. Kind of always vigilant looking around," said Brown.

Brown also noticed her son began to drink heavily and a once outgoing Jonathan Brown was now withdrawn from family and friends.

"Instead of kind of being able to talk to anybody about it, I think it just welled up inside of him, so he had kind of an episode of feeling that, you know he was not happy being here," said Brown.

Three months after returning from his tour in Iraq, Jonathan Brown attempted suicide. His mother was notified by a late night phone call.

"That's a call no mother, well no one ever wants to get, but totally sidelined me. I did not expect that at all," said Brown.

Brown says her son was admitted and spent 30 days in a recovery unit where he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But as a mom, Brown was struggling, too.
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