Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

I find this (ironic? coincidental?) that this post is just below the officer-retention post. The stories are getting out very quickly about how bad/incompetent/bureaucratic follow-up care from the VA is after a servicemember is discharged with a war-related wound. That alone is probably a big deterrent to retention (and recruiting).

Preston, first of all thanks for your service to the Nation. I'm a retired Navy Captain / Naval aviator who's been out 14 years and frankly do not have any direct information to help in your search but would recommend the following sites - soldier service organizations and military bloggers who might hlep:
soldiersangels.com
americasupportsyou.com
blackfive.net
op-for.com
thedonovan.com
mudvillegazette.com
hopefully these folks will have some information / contacts that will be able to assist - again, thanks for your service... jim

i read in harald turibune sept 30th,that till now one million and 400k
soilders has been sent to Iraq,and 185k are sick or injured and the
cost of treating them is $ 700 billion.

Preston:

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) has quite a bit of stuff on our website about VA and soldier care - check it out. www.iava.org.

If you're having trouble finding what you need, please don't hesitate to contact me directly - ray (at) iava.org.

Thanks for posting this, Sean!

"Trauma and Recovery" by Judith Lewis Herman. Academic psych text on traumatic stress adaptation - not just on PTSD, but on the whole system of changes that people make to adapt to stress and trauma. There's a lot of stuff here that would apply well to people who don't have PTSD but are still facing the challenges of coming out of a combat environment and back into a way of life without constant threat.

Dr. Barnett-
The Wounded Warrior Project is a great organization. I don't know if this is what he is looking for, but they do help with the transition period.

The State of Minnesota has been a leader in veteran reintegration programs; our Beyond The Yellow Ribbon program is being studied by other states. We just had 2600 guard soldiers return from a 22 month deployment. Besides working with the veterans and their families, they're also educating civic leaders, community organizations, schools, colleges, and employers across the state. The website has a few articles, podcasts, videos, and descriptions of the various programs, and contact information for the people who designed it.

MountainRunner writes:

There are at least two options. one is from a guy I know (who I met through Nagl), D J Skelton (dakotaextreme@yahoo.com) has www.paradoxsports.org

The other was written up after Bush visited them recently. They do kayaking.

Then there's the Military Severely Injured Center in the Pentagon for advice and further direction.

RE: Overall transition to civilain life. Cold turkey is unsettling. Try suggesting the transition may be easier if they keep their foot in the door by doing something associated whtiht the military or educating upcoming soldiers and cadets. I have to personally recomend the Civil Air Patrol/USAF Aux as they play an active role with Homeland Security and the DEA as well as do SAR, Disaster Services and education to the public as well as its own cadets. Additionally, the USCG Aux and the various JROTC's offer a way to stay involved without the feeling of turning your back on things in total. Besides the experience has massive value, it would be a shame to loose it to time.

There have been a couple of pretty good programs on the issue on the Pritzker Military Library's podcast, which is available via their site or on iTunes.

Well, I just started the tree shaking over at Castle Argghhh!(aka. thedonovan.com). We'll see what the rest of the crew can come up with. In a sense, this is what we're here for, to fill in the gaps when necessary.

Haley, you'll get traffic thrown your way from us if you stay in contact with once you're up and running, okay? That I can guarantee. (parsons.ryan@gmail.com).

Sean, it's okay if you release my email to Preston if he asks.

Mr. Haley,
One good source is Military One Source. Their website is:
http://www.militaryonesource.com/skins/MOS/home.aspx
If they do not have the information, they can at least point you in the right direction. Best of luck to you.

Thanks everyone.

Thank you to everyone for their feedback. As I get closer to opening my initial website, I'll be sure to follow up with many of you. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional guidance or information for me. Email: prhalon@gmail.com.

Tom...Your two newest books I ordered this week are scheduled to arrive on Oct. 18th and I'll be sure to post some feedback as I read them.

Any Veteran needing help with transition should contact us ...VFW Post 8208 at my email address Bigjohn at cstone dot net.
See us at Walter Reed at any Friday night supper or at the regular the Sunday Brunch
Bigjohn