He was only in the guard

[dallee]

Today I had occassion to speak with a local child psychologist. She related to me a disturbing story from one of her clients. The child excitedly told how they almost didn't make it to their appointment today. It seems that enroute they passed a large truck which made a loud backfiring noise. Dad was driving. Suddenly he sped up... driving irratically. There seemed to be no way to communicate with him. His daughter was screaming and crying. Just as suddenly he stopped.

Yes, he returned from Iraq just a few weeks ago. He told this counselor that instantly he was back there... he could see it, smell it, hear it... he was driving his humvee as fast as he could to get out of the attack. His daughter's voice finally brought him to reality.

The psychologist told him he needed to get into therapy RIGHT NOW! He said he had tried. He had called the VA but since he was only in the guard the only thing they could offer him was to talk with the chaplain.

I gave her this site's address to pass on to him, and asked her to give him my email address. I have not heard from him as yet and I do not know what his name would be, but all I could think of was "Thank You God, for this site and the faithfulness of these men to continue to man it."

[danausmc]

Dale, I will e-mail you tonight.keep me posted please.

[Don Dodson]

Sisters and Brothers:

I pray that the new Congress will get over this "just the Guard" stuff! By understaffing our military for the last decade, then starting another global war for the benefit of the military-industrial complex (see warning by President Eisenhower), the Reserve Component has been sucked into the thick of things.

One of my professional colleagues' son-in-law spent many months at Bethesda, MD, after Iraq, then released to the rural northeast, 3 hours drive ONE WAY from any VA facilities. VA won't pay for civilian care that he desperately needs for multiple system failures due to secondary infections that were allowed to take over his body by the military hospitals. "He was only in the Guard" is what the Department of the Army told his wife!

Everyone of us needs to contact our Congress-person and raise holy you know what! The much ballyhooed PTSD screening is failing, from what I can tell. There is a glimmer of hope, however. I read in the newspaper that the new Command Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was quoted this week as putting returnee PTSD and mental health as a high priority for his Tour.

From what I can tell, it may be worse for being in the Guard, since the training and equipment is probably worse (and maybe even the quality of some of the leadership).

Don "Oboeman" Dodson
Vietnam 1969-1970