Flush with important skill sets and valuable experiences, military veterans can be counted among a community's greatest assets. Unfortunately, one barrier they face when out of uniform and in a civilian capacity is a feeling of disconnection from the very people they wish to serve.

So says a a 44-page report, All Volunteer Force: From Military to Civilian Service [pdf]. Published last November on Veterans Day by public policy firm Civic Enterprises, it presents the findings of a first ever nationally representative survey focusing on veterans' homecoming transition and civic lives.

The survey found that "only 13 percent of veterans strongly agree their transitions are going well. Yet those veterans who said they had volunteered since returning home had better transitions than those who had not." More:

• Nearly 9 out of 10 veterans said Americans could learn something from their example of service, yet only half considered themselves leaders in their communities as a result of their military service.
  
  
• Nearly 7 in 10 veterans had not been contacted by a community institution, local non-­‐profit, or place of worship after their return home.
  
  
• 92 percent of OIF/OEF veterans agreed that serving their community is important to them.
  
  
• Veterans said a diverse range of issues was important or very important to them: helping military families (90 percent), being involved with disaster relief (88 percent), working with at-risk youth (86 percent), and being involved with the environment/conservation (69 percent).
  
  
• 7 in 10 non-volunteering veterans said they do not have enough information of meaningful service opportunities.

In extended, a portion of the report's statistic-heavy intro.

The Veterans Health Administration as part of its VA Research: Improving Veterans Lives brochure series, has produced a six-pager on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder [pdf]. Written by the communicators at VA's Research & Development Department, the slant is on treatment modalities currently being developed and tested:

This brochure presents examples of VA’s recent accomplishments in PTSD research. These studies, it is hoped, will benefit veterans and many other Americans now and in the future and spare them from PTSD’s life-disrupting symptoms and complications.

One of nearly 10 other offerings to choose from (Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans [pdf], Mental Health [pdf], Rural Health [pdf], TBI [pdf] Women's Health [pdf] and more) -- all worth at least a glance.

Last summer, I crossed paths with Pamela Woll, MA, CADP.

A Chicago-based author and consultant in writing, training, and instructional development, Woll works on getting individuals and organizations to "recognize and build on resilience; understand the nature, neurobiology, and effects of stress and trauma; and promote successful recovery from the effects of embodied stress and trauma."

While her entire Human Priorities website is well worth more than one visit (so much good information to be found there), I'd like to point you to two sets of resources she's created specifically with veterans, military families and counselors in mind.

Trauma is trauma.

Sometimes we inflict it. Sometimes it happens to us.

Sometimes it's both, as it is with combat veterans. While this blog focuses on military experience-derived injuries and stresses such as TBI and PTSD (clinical and encyclopedia definitions), traumas of all sort and stripe share one thing: surviving something life-threatening or outside everyday occurrence.

Being raped; a victim of an explosive hostage situation or other terrorist activity; in a severe auto, airplane or other vehicular accident; on the receiving end of domestic violence and/or abuse; serving in combat; or involved in a natural disaster like Haiti, for some may spark future PTSD symptoms.

We, however, are still in rapid response/logistical needs mode:

• Victoria Fine at HuffPost lists disaster relief organizations, helpful for those looking to donate.
• David Baldwin's Trauma Information Pages will hone your natural disaster response abilities (lots of info here).
• In the wake of Katrina, blogger AlphaGeek wrote a series of uber thorough posts on personal disaster preparedness.

In extended, Red Cross tips for helping disaster victims and a piece on how many in the U.S. are affected by the tragedy.

For those lost and hurting, this little reflection:

Like a bird
Singing in the rain,
Let grateful memories
Survive in time of sorrow.

-- Robert Louis Stevenson

PBS' This Emotional Life, a three-day program running from Jan. 4-6, begins tomorrow. Its six hours explore topics such as grief and loss, addiction, anger, stress and anxiety, creativity and flow, humor, resilience, happiness and more.

While each evening looks to be well worth a viewing, for those coping with or caring for someone with post-traumatic stress, be sure to tune in on Tuesday and Wednesday nights when the topic will be presented via the experience of an Iraq veteran and his family. See the video clip -- along with a few other topic preview clips from the show and a full description of each night's episode -- in extended. You might also check out PBS' information and resource-intensive website.

A head's up: Give today's NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday a listen.

Last week, NPR introduced its month long look at the impact of war on military families -- the spouses and kids and parents doing time stateside while their loved one is deployed overseas.

Part of NPR's larger Impact on War project, its goals are to support member stations in collecting and sharing local stories, and "give a voice to the struggles and the triumphs of not just the military brass but the boots on the ground...and those affected by their absence during deployment and in death."

This morning on Weekend Edition Saturday, Gloria Hillard will introduce listeners to Dr. Judith Broder, founder of The Soldiers Project and recent Purpose Prize winner:

Broder saw a play in Los Angeles called The Sand Storm: Stories from the Front. Written by a Marine, it featured monologues of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The most horrifying aspect of it was the sense that I got that these were really just ordinary everyday guys, and they had seen things and done things that just shattered their whole sense of themselves," says Broder. "And that they would all need help."

That's when Broder, a clinical psychiatrist, put her retirement plans on hold and founded the Soldiers Project. It provides free counseling not only to service members returning from war — but to their families as well.

Today, the Soldiers Project has more than 200 licensed therapists nationwide — all volunteers who have received specialized training in everything from combat-related traumas to military culture.

Be sure to listen in this morning (full audio should be online by 12:00 p.m. EST at NPR).

For condolences, an online guest book and a Prayers for Fort Hood facebook page have been created for today's shooting victims. Wish to help? Consider donating to TAPS. May their grief be comforted.

[UPDATE Nov 6, 2009 10:51 a.m.]
Today, Friday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered U.S. military forces across the world to observe a moment of silence at 2:34 p.m. EST for those lost at Fort Hood. President Obama has also ordered all federal building and White House flags be flown at half-staff from now until Veterans Day.

TAPS has suggestions for those wishing to lend support to the victims and grieving families. If you are a service or military family member, Military OneSource offers counseling options; please seek out their help (or that of others providing such support) if you are feeling the need to discuss the situation.

Recently in the news:

• The Associated Press | VA hires vets to go find comrades who need help - "Graner is one of 100 former service members hired nationally by the Department of Veterans Affairs as outreach specialists to help get Iraq and Afghanistan veterans into programs aimed at easing their transition back to civilian life. They frequent job fairs, welcome-home events and other places where troops back from the wars might congregate and look for those struggling to adjust. The goal is to persuade them to visit one of 230-plus vet centers nationwide...[for] free services from job hunting assistance to marriage and mental health counseling. Experts applaud the effort to actively search for veterans who may need help, even if some advocates say the program should be much bigger."
  
  
• USA Today | Military puts focus on epidemic of suicides - "In Maj. Thomas Jarrett's stress management class ... American troops are urged ... to strive for 'post-traumatic growth.' During a 90-minute presentation entitled "Warrior Resilience and Thriving," Jarrett, a former corporate coach, offers this and other unconventional tips on how troops can stay mentally healthy once they return home. He quotes Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Paradise Lost author John Milton and German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche... Walking through the crowd of young GIs in the makeshift classroom, Jarrett urges them to fight their "internal insurgents."
  
  
• News-Leader | Videos explain health care benefits to military families - "Military families throughout TRICARE’s west region now have a new way to learn about their health care benefits through the movies. ... “TRICARE 2 You” video topics, which run an average of three minutes in a prime-time news format, include explanations of TRICARE plan options, how to access specialty care, behavioral health resources, pharmacy options and newborn enrollment, among others. “We wanted to do whatever it takes to help our beneficiaries maximize use of their TRICARE benefit and avoid out-of-pocket costs,” said David J. McIntyre, president and CEO of TriWest Healthcare Alliance. “This is especially useful for service members, particularly those in the National Guard and Reserve who live or work in rural areas without convenient access to military base resources,” he said. Produced by TriWest, in partnership with TRICARE Regional Office-West, the videos are housed in the company’s new TRICARE 2 You Online Library."
  
  
• IAVA | Iraq Veteran Testifies On Capitol Hill - "Veteran Carolyn Schapper testified at a hearing before the House Veterans Subcommittee on Disability & Memorial Affairs about the disparities in PTSD diagnosis for male and female soldiers in combat. During her deployment to Iraq from October 2005 to September 2006, Carolyn participated in over 200 combat patrols as a member of a Military Intelligence unit with the Georgia National Guard."

More PTSD Combat Diigo links.

Veterans for America delivers an early holiday present to our nation's military families: "The American Veterans’ and Servicemembers’ Survival Guide," a 599-page guidebook every veteran should own. And there's no need to worry about being naughty or nice, because the VFA Santa has made the ebook available to everyone as a free download.

Download the whole thing at once, or choose only those of its 28 chapters you most wish to read first. (Specific recommendations for PTSD issues are found as a subchapter in Chapter 3: Service-Connected Compensation [pdf]. I've excerpted a portion in extended to give you an idea of what you can expect to find in this vital survival guide.)

Wonderful news:

The Department of Defense [last month] launched the National Resource Directory, a collaborative effort between the departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs.

The directory is a Web-based network of care coordinators, providers and support partners with resources for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families, families of the fallen and those who support them.

"The directory is the visible demonstration of our national will and commitment to As new links are added each day by providers and partners, coverage from coast to coast will grow even greater ensuring that no part of that journey will ever be made alone," said Lynda C. Davis, Ph.D., deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy.

Located at www.nationalresourcedirectory.org, the directory offers more than 10,000 medical and non-medical services and resources to help service members and veterans achieve personal and professional goals along their journey from recovery through rehabilitation to community reintegration.

"The VA is extremely proud to be a partner in this innovative resource. This combination of federal, state, and community-based resources will serve as a tremendous asset for all service members, veterans, their families and those who care for them. The community is essential to the successful reintegration of our veterans, and these groups greatly enhance the directory's scope," said Karen S. Guice, M.D., executive director, federal recovery care coordination program at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

-- Source: National Guard

I've been among those calling for something like this for some time now. Yet again this week I found myself carrying on about the need for such a database in an email exchange with the organizers of next month's Survivor Corps Community Reintegration Summit at the Carnegie Institution (I have been invited to attend).

It looks like we're getting closer to that goal.

Far too often the needs of our military families are still not being fully met by the overwhelmed traditional healthcare systems they rely on for their care. As a result, over the past few years, local organizations have sprung up all across the country, offering tailor-made support services and reintegration programs.

The trend is covered in full scope and detail in the current issue of National Council Magazine. Filled with first-person accounts, case studies, the latest PTSD data and much more, the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare's current quarterly issue is a rich resource...it's also available online as a free PDF download.

• Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America relaunches an updated version of their veterans' educational benefits website, GIBill2008.org that includes an online calculator and details on the new program. Partially going into effect earlier this month with a 20 percent benefit increase, the full package of improvements rolls out in August 2009. IAVA was among the groups who pushed Washington hard to give today's returning veterans the same college benefit -- full tuition, book allowance and monthly living stipend -- as their WWII counterparts received.
  
  
• Meanwhile, the Labor Department is rolling out its new website, America's Heroes at Work, to help employees "better understand the mental health issues veterans may face" and, hopefully, help to reduce the stigma of hiring those returning with PTSD, TBI and other injuries. "One message of the initiative is that many of the veterans' symptoms are either manageable or will go away with time. Another message is that small changes, such as scheduled rest breaks for a veteran with a traumatic brain injury, can make a big difference." A toll-free number, 800-526-7234, has also been set up for employee questions.
  
  
• In operation for a year now, the new VA suicide prevention hotline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), recently reported that it's received more than 55,000 calls, about 22,000 saying they were veterans. CBS News reports that the majority of the most recent calls "have come from the mid to south central part of the country[:]" Texas, Tennessee, Illinois and Florida. "Calls to the VA’s hotline more than doubled this calendar year going from a total of about 21,000 in January to more than 55,000 by the end of June, averaging about 250 calls a day."

• KTRE-Ch 9/East Texas has published a comprehensive veterans resources guide chock full of phone numbers and information that is a must to check out if you're an area military family.
  
  
• Sen. Chuck Grassley [R-IA] and the White House are tossing letters back-and-forth with one another, the senator aiming to get the president to "establish the goal that 10 percent of all new hires by federal agencies be veterans." Meanwhile, Senate colleagues are attempting to extend foreclosure protection for veterans to nine months following return from overseas deployment.
  
  
• The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)--Kern County, Calif., chapter offers returning vets, military families local support group services. Phone 661-868-5061 for more information.
  
  
• On the other end of the country, a related feel good story: 11 Tampa Bay-area Vietnam veterans, aka 'Group 11,' have had their PTSD group therapy sessions reinstated after the VA abruptly terminated the program. "We're pleased, and we're shocked," said one member after hearing the news.

A few items to share:

• Stars and Stripes today offers an in-depth look at the return home of one Fort Drum, N.Y., soldier following a 17-month deployment to Afghanistan.
  
  
• The House Veterans Affairs Committee goes high tech this Tuesday when the April 1, 2008 Subcommittee on Health “PTSD Treatment and Research: Moving Ahead Toward Recovery” hearing is webcast at 10 a.m. EST.
  
  
• Cumberland County, Tenn., officially welcomes home its Vietnam veterans this weekend proving that it's never too late to thank those who serve in uniform.
  
  
• Military Handbooks' 2008 crop of pdf offerings have arrived -- and they're free for the asking.

This one is an oldie, but still a goodie.

Appearing in the July 2005 issue of the Journal of Psychological Nursing, this 11-page article is a good all-purpose clinical guide that can help us all better understand the diagnosis and treatment of combat PTSD. Download your own pdf copy to learn more about the following issues and more:

• War-related Emotional Responses
• Screening Questions for PTSD
• Stressors Faced by Today's Soldiers
• Medications Used to Treat PTSD

There's been a lot of news about veterans' suicide of late, and I wanted to share a free resource with you today. It's a book called Suicide, the Forever Decision: For Those Thinking About Suicide and For Those Who Know, Love and Counsel Them, by Paul Quinnett, Ph.D. Meet him in this November KXLY4 report [Spokane, Washington/Northern Idaho]:

We continue to hear of the difficulty of navigating -- much less updating -- the mammoth health care bureaucracies military families depend on both during and after deployment. There are, however, a number of online resources one can turn to for some help. Here are just a handful:

• Our Hero Handbook - A Guide for Families of Wounded Soldiers [pdf] - A 74-page guide produced by Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The booklet shares not only specifics on getting around the hospital grounds and tapping into area services, it also provides information on long-term support options and list of phone numbers and addresses anyone might find useful.
  
  
• Taking Care of America's Armed Forces Families Benefits Guide [pdf] - A 28-page guide produced by the Department of Defense for National Guard and Reserve service members. Explains TRICARE coverage along with legal, child care, and life insurance options. A whole host of other services and benefits outlined. Lots and lots of helpful website links to tap into further information.
  
  
• Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents Booklet [pdf]- A 170-page guide produced by the Department of Veterans Affairs. A comprehensive benefits guide.
  
  
• U.S. Veterans Healthcare Benefits [pdf] - A 32-page guide produced by MilitaryHandbooks.com. Includes general information on VA benefits and services.
  
  
• A Survivor's Guide to Benefits: We Take Care of Our Own [pdf] - A 21-page guide by the DoD's Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Center. Offers information on help provided by Casualty Assistance Officers, copies of important documents and additional resources.

This is hardly a comprehensive list; if you find other useful links, please share them in comments. See also PTSD resources.

I had the pleasure of meeting Elizabeth Hawkins and Steve Robinson with ONE Freedom at my Boulder stop on this past summer's Moving a Nation to Care tour.

ONE Freedom is a Colorado Springs, Colo., nonprofit that offers free reintegration programs for returning veterans and their families. They've got two new workshops coming up on November 17 and December 1. Highly-recommended participating if you can.

I'm sure many of you who subscribe to PTSD Combat (and those who pop in from time-to-time) feel the same way that I do: There's just never enough time in a day to catch up on all the latest on combat PTSD. That's probably one of the reasons why you've subscribed in the first place.

The news on this issue increasingly comes on hot and quick these days as more and more people want to learn about the issue, and more and more media outlets bring us the coverage we need (at long last). I find it hard to keep up with it all, too.

And so, I've recently added three outside blog feeds to PTSD Combat (they're in the right-hand column, here): IAVA, Wounded Times and Healing Combat Trauma. The latter two blogs, edited by Kathie Costos and Lily G. Casura, are especially fine complements to PTSD Combat. If we lived in a perfect world, rather than simply providing a link and a nod to their great work, you'd see the three of us posting together on one site to make it easy for you to get your combat PTSD news fix all in one place.

Then again, if we lived in a perfect world there wouldn't even be a need for blogs like ours, would there? I hope the feeds provide another avenue for you to educate yourself on an issue that is not only a hot topic right now, but of great importance to our society and our returning troops and their families.

This is wonderful news to share, and an update of a June 2006 post. It shows the power of one, boosted by the power of many.

From the Stockton Record:

An unexpected donation of land and a four-story building in Sonoma County has ramped up a Tracy woman's plans for a retreat center to segue soldiers from the battlefield to civilian life.

The building, in final phases of construction on a wooded hillside outside idyllic Guerneville, and 2 acres of farmland will serve as a pilot location for Nadia McCaffrey's Veterans' Village, a self-sustaining counseling and job-training center for armed forces members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.