Do you know that over 2 million men and women have been through the Global War on Terror efforts in the past five years?

Do you know that the one third of all the documented male adult homeless are veterans? and the numbers for women has not been documented. Read this again...as this is how we treat those who have given so much...This statistic itself should shock you.

Did you know that for the first two and a half years of the war, the wounded were not counted nor were their injuries documented? Because of this, these men and women do not have any way of knowing their benefits, as well as the programs and resources that are available to them.

Do you realize the average ages of our wounded is between 18 and 22? as well as the fact over fifty percent of the Marines at this age are single? These two facts mean multi layered consequences. First, the brain is not fully formed to make long term life altering decisions and also that the expense and challenges of caring for the wounded service member will ultimately fall to the parents...many who are aging...

Were you aware that only one percent of the American population knows of, or has someone in the military? These small numbers mean that most people have no idea what it means to have a loved one in the military for eight years of their lives.

There are several differences between the Viet Nam War and the war being waged today. The first being that medical battlefield technology has dramatically increased the number of men and women that are surviving and the injuries are much more traumatic. It is now common for men and women to have two or three losses of limbs or other body parts.

This war has men and women not decompressing between deployments as it increases their likelihood of injury or death when they return back to the hotspot. This keeps them hypersensitive, as well as being detrimental to their relationships.

The impacts and effects of this war are also much more far reaching then ever expected. The legal, financial and spiritual components have not been addressed the way they are needed, and so we have many women, and men, that are being forced into untenable positions...

When the Department of Defense chose to open the Military Severely Injured Center, it was tendiing to all branches of the service. About a year ago, the Army Wounded Warrior program pulled all its files...and started its own program within a two day period. The case managers/workers that had a bond with our wounded, were now replaced with people who had very little training.

The computer programs between the VA and the DOD have never spoken to each other, and many of our wounded , although having been in VA facilities, still have not been told of their benefits. The "news" at Walter Reed was not news, and our familes have testified for five years before Congress as to ways to help stop the disconnects....again falling on deaf ears. We do not need more governmental committees and commissions we need people who are ready and willing to take action and do the work needed....

The families of our wounded., even if there is a Fisher House available, many times are unable to stay there....and the expense to the family to be with their loved in can run into the thousands for a two week period. Families of the wounded are financially broken, and we are not supporting families to stay together....The divorce rate is phenomenal....90% of the wounded will be divorced within a year...leaving them more vulnerable then ever. Mothers and fathers and siblings are not being supported and our wounded are sent home to live with them...Their families are fractured...

There are very few chaplains available to walk as spiritual companions with families and veterans. There are no long term casualty assistance programs nor are there any family support partner programs created. At Moffett Airfield, there have been three attemtped suicide attempts in six months...

The VA is not allowed to ask for funds for and depends on community support to bring the issues to light. The VA has been underfunded and understaffed for years...We want to be able to ask for shut down military installations to be reconverted into community housing for our wounded families..

At Palo Alto, after a wounded service member is released from a one to two year program, they are left with little or no contact from the hospital staff and left to fend in a new community on their own....This is traumatizing and plans and programs, as well as land and facilities are needed for a transitional program and housing to slowly acclimate our wounded back into community and family life.

The number of men and women ...and here I will not use the correct wording so I beg forgiveness...I have the general idea...
The trained therapists...that know of what happens in combat operations is so very small, yet the need for skilled people to tend to the invisible wounds is huge. The therapist may have one chance to see the wounded or a family member and if they have no knowledge of what the client is speaking of, there is a high probability the s/m will never return. Training the therapists is crucial.

Law Enforcement programs are needed to help police and sheriff departments understand the issues surrounding our returning vets....How PTSD and TBI do the ugly dance...and that many of our vets will not wear seat belts, will not respond quickly and efficiently to commands....and how we must start discussing this before tragedy occurs.

Respite care for caregivers. is a huge need...Money management and legal guidance is also desperately needed....

A dear friend whose husband was severely wounded in Iraq has had ten case workers in three years, and she as well as her family suffer secondary PTSD. They need skilled people to come to them....she has no time to go to the therapist...because she is constantly running to doctors or school appointments.

We need people that would be willing to help find or create steady, sustainable levels of funding for community run programs....not government run programs. Our veterans are coming back into community not into government and the resources, programs and information is not and has not gotten to them....

They have been trained since boot camp not to ask for anything....and so they do not until the need is overwhelming or they never ask, and commit suicide....slowly or quickly.

We need people that would be willing to help financially, as for many, social security and veterans benefits may not start working for a year. How does someone survive with no money coming in? Employers do not want to hire someone with combat experience...

We need to truly understand what TBI and PTSD mean to individuals, families, communities, states and our nation. We will have seven generations to see this play out...and we are woefully unprepared to companion and walk alongside of those who have given so much.

We need programs that are created by women for women...veterans only....We have no idea what impacts will be when the women start returning to their families. Remember, they have seen, felt, smelled, heard unimaginable things....how will these traumas affect raising a family and relationships? Again...programs for women veterans, on campuses for women only....due to the high volume of sexual abuses in the military.

We also need to have non traditional forms of healing....I have a woman vet who wants to build a sweat lodge from the bottom up...We need sacred land....

Talk of sexuality is not being addreesed for our wounded....We need to lift this voice...Drinking is so accepted by our culture, yet our wounded should not be drinking or self medicating. How do we turn this around in our culture...as it is so socially acceptable to drink and self medicate? Each time our heroes are celebrated, alcohol is served....The spouses, family members, do not know how to handle this....

Pain medications...the numbers and intensities have shifted. Getting the resources to small communities...the small town doctors have never seen the types nor dosages of medications required for pain management. I know of one vet who has undergone 54 operations in two years.

Bottom line for a lot of this is....our veterans do not know the right questions to ask, nor know the right words to use, nor know if they have gotten the correct answer....as they have been trained not to ask....for anything...and the system, the bureaucracy is so large, there is little compassion or continuum of treatment and levels of care needed. The people in the system may have compassion, the system itself does not so our veterans lose hope.....We need trained advocates and ombudsmans and community programs available 365/24/7....internet, face to face, by phone...using all forms of media.

We need to shift the paradigm and realize we are no longer tending just our service member...but also their family.