This past weekend the nation honored all those who have served, serve now and those who made the supreme sacrifice to keep us the "Land of the Free."
More focus is being placed on what happens when Johnny and Jane come marching home. Will there be jobs for them, will they be able to get an education, will they even have a place to live?
More importantly there's a growing focus on the quality of life they'll live. Earlier this year I had the honor of meeting Chad Robichaux. He's a PhD, MBA and Director of the Mighty Oaks Warrior Training Division. His resume also includes 8 tours in Afghanistan with the elite Marine Corps Force Recon. While I know just how he served those tours in Afghanistan and with whom, I'm only allowed to say he served "with small, specialized Naval units." You can do the math from there.
Chad and his team help soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He's qualified because he's a PTSD survivor himself. Both Chad and his wife are very candid about what they went through and how it motivated them to reach out and help others.
Chad runs his programs in Westcliffe, CO a small community nestled in the Wet Mountain Valley of South Central Colorado. Chad says many soldiers with PTSD tend to look for small towns because they can simply hide from family and society.
Chad shared some stunning numbers with me, numbers that I've verified because I didn't first believe them when I heard them. There are 58,000+ names on the Vietnam War Memorial. What is far less known is over 160,000 Vietnam-era troops have committed suicide. War victims just as if they'd been killed in combat. No monuments for them.
As for recent/current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the numbers are equally stunning. The government tell us "officially" we're losing a vet from those conflicts to suicide every day. Chad says the number if much higher, well into the teens. Every day.
One of the problems is simply time spent in actual combat. Since World War II combat time has gone up. Here's what's posted on the Might Oaks website:
It starts with the family unit. Chad has one program called "Fight Night." Because of his national reputation in Mixed Martial Arts, I thought he was using those skills as some sort of therapy. Instead he says, it's about these vets, who after fighting in times of war must now fight even harder for their families.
In the best of circumstances, the stress and strain on military families is enormous.
Ideally, the problems could all be solved if there were no more wars. Sadly, other people keep starting them and our men and women, as they've done since we became a nation step up to defend us.
The government is doing what it can, but it's not near enough. It's now more than ever, OUR duty to not only welcome them home, but for them to once again feel at home physically and emotionally.
For all of us the work begins right after we say "Welcome home soldier."
Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"
More focus is being placed on what happens when Johnny and Jane come marching home. Will there be jobs for them, will they be able to get an education, will they even have a place to live?
More importantly there's a growing focus on the quality of life they'll live. Earlier this year I had the honor of meeting Chad Robichaux. He's a PhD, MBA and Director of the Mighty Oaks Warrior Training Division. His resume also includes 8 tours in Afghanistan with the elite Marine Corps Force Recon. While I know just how he served those tours in Afghanistan and with whom, I'm only allowed to say he served "with small, specialized Naval units." You can do the math from there.
Chad and his team help soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He's qualified because he's a PTSD survivor himself. Both Chad and his wife are very candid about what they went through and how it motivated them to reach out and help others.
Chad runs his programs in Westcliffe, CO a small community nestled in the Wet Mountain Valley of South Central Colorado. Chad says many soldiers with PTSD tend to look for small towns because they can simply hide from family and society.
Chad shared some stunning numbers with me, numbers that I've verified because I didn't first believe them when I heard them. There are 58,000+ names on the Vietnam War Memorial. What is far less known is over 160,000 Vietnam-era troops have committed suicide. War victims just as if they'd been killed in combat. No monuments for them.
As for recent/current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the numbers are equally stunning. The government tell us "officially" we're losing a vet from those conflicts to suicide every day. Chad says the number if much higher, well into the teens. Every day.
One of the problems is simply time spent in actual combat. Since World War II combat time has gone up. Here's what's posted on the Might Oaks website:
- World War II – 6 months
- Korea – 9 months
- Vietnam – 13 months
- Our current troops in Iraq / Afghanistan – 45 months
It starts with the family unit. Chad has one program called "Fight Night." Because of his national reputation in Mixed Martial Arts, I thought he was using those skills as some sort of therapy. Instead he says, it's about these vets, who after fighting in times of war must now fight even harder for their families.
In the best of circumstances, the stress and strain on military families is enormous.
Ideally, the problems could all be solved if there were no more wars. Sadly, other people keep starting them and our men and women, as they've done since we became a nation step up to defend us.
The government is doing what it can, but it's not near enough. It's now more than ever, OUR duty to not only welcome them home, but for them to once again feel at home physically and emotionally.
For all of us the work begins right after we say "Welcome home soldier."
Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"
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