The Warrior Reintegration series -- part 2: Turning to help

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Leo Brown
  • 442nd Fighter Wing public affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  "Repeatedly, he warned readers their sons and husbands were changed men, that what they had endured was inconceivable to an outsider, and that patience and understanding must be the hallmarks of their homecoming."
- From David Nichols' introduction to Ernie's War , a collection of correspondent Ernie Pyle's World War II dispatches.

It's no military secret that Airmen coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan face a host of adjustments. Combat situations to peacetime activities, fellow combatants to spouses and children, disturbing sights and sounds of battle to peaceful evenings and quiet weekends.

It's also no secret that the Airmen, while they may bring themselves back in seemingly good shape, can harbor difficult memories and uncertainties about how to readjust to their former lives. These and other aspects of PTSD - post-traumatic stress disorder - are all too real and are claiming casualties among American troops, including reservists, as they renew their normal lives again.

But thanks to a new program recently initiated by 442nd Fighter Wing commander Col. Steve Arthur - "Warrior Reintegration'' - the wing's Airmen and their families have more than a few resources at their disposal to help make returning home happy and healthy.
On a local level, the program draws together Airman & Family Readiness, the chaplain and the 442nd Medical Squadron's mental-health expert to identify and deal with short- and long-term issues.

On a wider level, wing professionals may refer Airmen and family members to the Department of Veterans Affairs, especially the VA Medical Center in Kansas City.

Glenna Greer, the center's public affairs officer, said the staff there is more than happy to help meet the returning reservists' needs.

"We're actively recruiting reservists," she said. "If they've served in combat, they're eligible for most VA benefits. They may have to pay a small co-payment after that, but all they have to do is show a DD (Form) 214 that they were serving in a combat area or bring in a pay slip that shows combat pay. We want them big time." 

Veterans have five years after their orders end to sign up for benefits, she said.

Maj. Edward Cullumber, a clinical social worker with the 442nd Medical Squadron's mental-health office, said he would not hesitate to refer an Airman and his or her family to the Kansas City VA.

"I did my MSW (Master of Social Work) internship at the center in Kansas City and I think very highly of it," he said. "The center focuses on stress disorders and they're a really good resource for other issues for folks."

"VA is ramping up (the mental health program) like you wouldn't believe," Ms. Greer said. "It's the hottest program in VA right now. We're trying to get vets, especially reservists, past that stigma (associated with visiting a mental health provider). PTSD is very real and very common.

"I talked to a lady the other day who told me her son, who's deployed, told her that he's having nightmares and that he's 'done terrible things and seen terrible things.' She said the son sleeps with his gun and I just told her that when he finishes his tour, we'll talk with him."

Major Cullumber and Ms. Greer stressed that the sooner someone seeks help, the better, especially for mental health questions, regardless of perceptions about how that might affect one's career.

"If you can identify problems early on, people may not compensate for them with alcohol and other things," the major said. "A word of advice I'd have to Airmen who've been in stressful situations is that it's normal for people to have reactions to events.

"The military has elements of confidentiality in it, but there can be that perception of 'What I say isn't confidential,'" Major Cullumber said. "If a situation involves safety, obviously, we have to take that into consideration. I try to explain the limitations of confidentiality and that gives people a choice, and I do that on the civilian side, too."

Major Cullumber said mental health professionals are better equipped than ever to help troops get the help they need. The trick, however, is finding the professionals.

"We're identifying PTSD issues better now than we were in the past," he said. "Part of that came from Vietnam and understanding secondary trauma and trauma itself. Resources can always be a challenge and the availability of civilian and military providers who understand these issues - that's the challenge."

However, Major Cullumber and Ms. Greer said VA staff members are willing to meet veterans' needs and get them and their families to proper providers.

"My experience with the Kansas City VA - when I've been in contact with them trying to get geared up for folks coming home - has been great," the major said. "They'll do whatever it takes - working on weekends or whatever. I highly recommend them."

Ms. Greer said one story comes to her mind when she thinks about the staff's dedication.

"One patient advocate was dealing with a vet. in her region who had PTSD so bad that he would hardly leave his bedroom," she said. "He'd do everything on his computer. To eat, he'd go out at night and get soup at a 7-11.

"One day - a really cold day - she went to his home and knocked. He wouldn't answer and she said through the door, 'I'm going to knock until you answer.' This lady continued working with him, bought food for him and cleaned his house and helped get him some furniture.

"There was a veterans' biker group who told her that they'd help her move furniture in for that vet.," Ms. Greer said. "That's how far our staff will go, even if it's just a phone call to talk. I can say that with 100 percent confidence."

Whether the need be physical or mental, Ms. Greer said she hopes returning reservists, especially younger troops, take advantage of the Kansas City center or one of five area-clinics, located in Belton, Cameron, Nevada, Warrensburg, and Paola, Kan. More information on the clinics is available via links in the "Outpatient Clinics" and the "Community Based Outpatient Clinic Information" sections at www.kansascity.va.gov.

"We're finding that veterans below 35 years of age, particularly the 20-somethings, have an attitude of 'I don't need to go to a VA hospital. I survived combat in Iraq or Afghanistan and I'm not physically sick. I don't need it,'" she said. "That may be true, but that vet. may need us down the road, so he or she needs to get enrolled in our system."

Once enrolled, Ms. Greer said everyone will be seen as quickly as possible.

"We are mandated to meet timeframes on appointments," she said. "What that means is that if you are enrolled in our system and require an appointment, we have so many days to get you seen. If a VA doctor has determined that you need to see a neurosurgeon, for instance, we'll send you to the local (medical) community if we have to. Eligible veterans who need an appointment will get an appointment.

"Anybody who has qualms or questions about this hospital can contact me and I personally will help give them a tour," Ms. Greer said. "We'll talk with them and ease their minds."

For more information about the Kansas City VA center, call (816) 861-4700 or visit www.kansascity.va.gov.

"Thousands of our men will soon be returning to you. They have been gone a long time and have seen and done and felt things you cannot know. They will be changed. They will have to learn how to adjust themselves to peace ... You must remember that such little things as that (an electrical storm American soldiers thought was gunfire) are in our souls and will take time."
- From the last chapter of Ernie Pyle's Brave Men, written from France in August 1944.

Editor's note: This is the second in a series of articles about Warrior Reintegration. Future articles in this series will focus on the mechanics of the program, tell-tale signs of disorders related to stress and other issues.