Getting involved:

Sgt First Class Chris Edwards, BAN's Nov 7 Rally Honoree discussing the Burn Camp Volunteer Program in front of Brooke Army Medical Center.

With few exceptions, combat survivors of catastrophic burn injuries suffer from PTSD. That number is small in relation to the hundreds of thousands of Iraq war veterans who are currently experiencing but not getting any treatment for their condition.

• Learn about the experiences of war
  • Watch documentaries such as The War Tapes, When I Came Home, Hidden Wounds, Why we Fight, Bagdad ER or Control Room
  • Read first-hand accounts of soldier in war, such as The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell by John Crawford and One bullet Away by Nathaniel Fick
  • Google words like “Iraq” or “veterans” or “combat PTSD” to Keep up on the latest news and issues faced by injured combat soldiers,
• Make your voice heard!
  • Speak out against the unjust treatment of combat wounded veterans by contacting your senators and representatives. Let them know that you will not tolerate the government’s poor treatment of our troops. In the week before Veteran’s Day we will begin a campaign to amass 100,000 letters an petition signatures to get our point across. We will have a letter on our website that you can sign and e-mail. For now, you are urged to contact your state representative at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.

   

• Support legislation and organizations that helps veterans
  • Get involved by supporting legislation such as the
    • Lane Evans Veteran’s Health and Benefits Act of 2007- a comprehensive bill that would improve programs for the identification and treatment of post-deployment mental health conditions, including PTSD
    • Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act- which holds the VA accountable for screening returning troops for risk of suicide.
    • Psychological Kevlar Act-Directs the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement early intervention measured to reduce the likelihood that personnel in combat will develop PTSD or other stress-related injuries
    • Returning Service Member VA Healthcare Insurance Act of 2007-Extends the healthcare for combat service in the Persian Gulf War or future hostilities from two years to five years after discharge
    • Clinton-Murphy Bill-increases education and housing opportunities for all returning troops as well as entrepreneurial opportunities through microloans so that troops are able to successfully reintegrate in society.
    • There are many fantastic organizations and charities working to help better the lives of our returning troops. Some of the organizations we include are:
      • Veterans for Common Sense:
        • http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/
        • Veterans for Common Sense is a non-partisan, centrist veterans' organization focused on issues of national security, veterans' benefits, civil liberties and human rights, and U.S. energy independence. Its 12,000 members have served in every U.S. conflict since 1941.
      • Wounded Warriors
        • http://www.woundedwarriors.org/
        • Wounded Warriors provide support to the families of those who have been wounded, injured or killed during combat operations. The families of our casualties suffer in many ways: some financially, some psychologically.

 

• Personally Connect to Veterans in your Area
  • Looking for a way that you can help? Try reaching out to combat veterans in the local community.
    • Some helpful ideas:
      • Organize local activities like a neighborhood barbeque in honor of the troops.
      •  Arrange a concert or show or host an event of any kind and donate proceeds to a veteran’s charity.
      • Contact a local VA and ask if you can donate your time.
      • If you are a psychologist, social worker or counselor, see about offering your services free of charge to returning vets and their families.
      • No matter what you do, your help and contributions will greatly appreciated.

We’d like to thank Ilona Meagher, author of Moving a Nation to Care whose research and insight we helped us to better understand the mental health facing our combat veterans.