The NBC Nightly News has been doing a spot every night called Making A Difference. Last night they section was Restoring Hope to a Fallen Soldiers Family. It recognized Grateful Nation Montana; an organization formed for the specific purpose of facilitating college educations for the
children of soldiers killed while on active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. The family NBC recognized last night was a soldier's wife, 24 years old, with two small children. It was a beautiful story that still has me crying. He was so young, and the children are so young, they may not actually have memories of their father. It broke my heart. It was very nice to see organizations like Grateful Nation Montana. Working in Financial Aid, I know that the government has also taken steps to look out for these children as well.
The reporter mentioned that Montana has the highest soldier death rate of any state in the union. I started my google search to find out why and discovered Montana has the highest recruiting rates in the nation. Natives of the state claim it has to do with the deep values rooted in the people of the state. However, the higher the enlistment, the higher the death rate. The ironic flip side (I think it's ironic) is that D.C. has the lowest recruiting rate.
However, as I read other articles, I began to find more and more articles about soldiers returning with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury or major depression resulting from combat. Last year, the Army reported 143 suicides, the highest number since the Army began keeping records in 1980. Close to 150 suicides in the Army alone! Again, tears streamed from my eyes. Soldiers actually come home from combat alive only to be facing their own mental war and decide they can no longer fight it. How awful. I'm crying again just as I think about it. I found an article in the Great Fall Tribune about a bill on its way through Congress that would provide support to identify mental stress and help soldiers overcome it. It reflected on the neglect we as a nation gave our soldiers after the Vietnam Conflict/War, hoping to prevent the same from happening to this current generation.
As I read on I saw Montana stepped up to the plate again. Currently, states have different mental health assessment procedures for returning combat troops. Some soldiers are asked to fill out questionnaires self-identifying their problems, while others receive face-to-face counseling. Only Montana conducts face-to-face screenings for the full two years after deployment, then adds a mental health component to the physical exam given each soldier each year.
Montana also identified the importance of keeping soldiers together after they return home as a unique sort of support group. In some states, soldiers returning from combat are given the first 90 days off, but Guard in Montana has begun bringing soldiers and their families together in civilian clothes at a convention center where they can socialize together, but also attend seminars on such things as marriage enrichment, anger management, personal finance, and learning how to drive as civilians again. I had never even thought about teaching soldiers how to be a civilian again.
Go Montana! I hope the program is successful and shows the rest of the country what can be done to support our returning soldiers.
children of soldiers killed while on active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. The family NBC recognized last night was a soldier's wife, 24 years old, with two small children. It was a beautiful story that still has me crying. He was so young, and the children are so young, they may not actually have memories of their father. It broke my heart. It was very nice to see organizations like Grateful Nation Montana. Working in Financial Aid, I know that the government has also taken steps to look out for these children as well.The reporter mentioned that Montana has the highest soldier death rate of any state in the union. I started my google search to find out why and discovered Montana has the highest recruiting rates in the nation. Natives of the state claim it has to do with the deep values rooted in the people of the state. However, the higher the enlistment, the higher the death rate. The ironic flip side (I think it's ironic) is that D.C. has the lowest recruiting rate.
However, as I read other articles, I began to find more and more articles about soldiers returning with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury or major depression resulting from combat. Last year, the Army reported 143 suicides, the highest number since the Army began keeping records in 1980. Close to 150 suicides in the Army alone! Again, tears streamed from my eyes. Soldiers actually come home from combat alive only to be facing their own mental war and decide they can no longer fight it. How awful. I'm crying again just as I think about it. I found an article in the Great Fall Tribune about a bill on its way through Congress that would provide support to identify mental stress and help soldiers overcome it. It reflected on the neglect we as a nation gave our soldiers after the Vietnam Conflict/War, hoping to prevent the same from happening to this current generation.
As I read on I saw Montana stepped up to the plate again. Currently, states have different mental health assessment procedures for returning combat troops. Some soldiers are asked to fill out questionnaires self-identifying their problems, while others receive face-to-face counseling. Only Montana conducts face-to-face screenings for the full two years after deployment, then adds a mental health component to the physical exam given each soldier each year.
Montana also identified the importance of keeping soldiers together after they return home as a unique sort of support group. In some states, soldiers returning from combat are given the first 90 days off, but Guard in Montana has begun bringing soldiers and their families together in civilian clothes at a convention center where they can socialize together, but also attend seminars on such things as marriage enrichment, anger management, personal finance, and learning how to drive as civilians again. I had never even thought about teaching soldiers how to be a civilian again.
Go Montana! I hope the program is successful and shows the rest of the country what can be done to support our returning soldiers.
Good Post! Good Post!
ReplyDelete