by R. J. Belle
There is another type of after and that type of after is often lost in the rush to move back to ‘normalcy’, the need to somehow put the horror of war behind. This book is for them. This book is for those who assist them. This book is the story of going on after war. But make no mistake – the war will never be over for these men and women. For them, the battle has just begun.
CHAPTER 3
The Statistics
Statistics provide us with data, and data can build solid infrastructures and lay foundations. It can help us ‘see’, but it can’t help us feel the reality of a lived experience. It can’t replace the personal stories that breathe life into the statistics.
I have spent a considerable amount of time researching statistics both on national and local levels. Before we go over some of the data I have uncovered, I want to make it clear what this book is about and, more importantly, what it is not about.
This book is not about politics. It isn’t about presidents or parties. It wasn’t written to push right or left wing agendas or to justify the actions or inactions of any political party. This book is not about being pro or anti war, the right to or not to bear arms, oil, or any other issue that I see constantly raised, torn apart, built up and splashed all over the front pages of media outlets to support specific agendas. The front pages have been littered with conflicting ‘data’ and interpretations for so long that often Americans no longer understand or remember why we ended up over there and, of course, that statement in and of itself is usually cause for debate.
There was a time when I too was quick to pick up the sword of words and throw down my best argument for the why’s of war, specifically this war. But that all changed when I was given a unique position to study the aftermath first hand. My perception changed, drastically. I came to understand that there is a much bigger picture, a human picture that is more often than not lost on those of us who were not directly affected by the human tragedies of war. Our most important resource, those who volunteer to serve in our military, should be our first and biggest priority. Those that come home wounded should never have to wonder or worry about how they are going to put the pieces back together – they should not be alone in that process.
The number of service members killed in action from 2001 through July 2015 is staggering at first glance. These numbers should be shocking to anyone viewing them. It is important to note that they pale in comparison to those of the Vietnam era. I only mention that because I believe it is important to recognize the gravity of loss that era suffered. Our veterans from the Vietnam era sustained immeasurable loss and injury. Instead of coming home to support and services to assist them in dealing with life after war, they returned home and faced another enemy. A new enemy. An enemy that I presume they didn’t expect. They came home to an appalling display of disrespect and hatred. By us; the American people. We failed them then – we continue to do so today.
The improved services that our post 9/11 veterans have available to them is, in my opinion, a direct result of what the Vietnam veterans faced when they returned home. Many of that era banded together forming groups and organizations to establish protocol that would ensure no future warriors would suffer the same upon coming home from war.
The Congressional Research Service includes statistics published by the Department of Defense and cites the following statistics for our post 9/11 service members:
Killed in action total through 6-2015:
6,855
Wounded in action:
52,351
Deployed service members clinically diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
138,197
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) diagnosed for deployed and non-deployed service members:
327,299
Major limb amputations:
1,645
Let those numbers sink in for a moment.
Think about this – wounded in action only accounts for those who have physical injures from battle. That number does not include those who saw the injuries take place. That number doesn’t include the corpsmen that worked on the broken bodies or the flight medics who did their best to keep those men and women breathing during transport to a hospital facility. It doesn’t include the pilots who extracted the broken bodies and transported them to safety, and it doesn’t include any of the men and women who watched their fellow service members die on the battleground.
What’s left when those who are broken physically and mentally return home is a statistic that nobody can equate to numbers or percentages. What’s left after is an unknown and often untold trauma that shouldn’t be overlooked and it shouldn’t go uncounted; it matters.
We have a huge percentage of our population thus adversely affected by war and to pretend like it isn’t an issue is naive, at best. It affects everything: our families, our workplaces, our voting tendencies and our economy.
Our future generations – the small children living in households where dads and moms return, broken – being a part of that will shape the way they think, the way they act, trust, love. It will affect everything they do. And, without services that actually help those moms and dads to move forward in a positive direction, the long-term outcome will change all of us. To believe that the war is over and that we can all go back to business as usual – to the way it was before 9/11 – is a dangerous place for our nation to be.
Can we fix it? I don’t know. I don’t believe we can fix it completely. It’s a bell that can’t be unwrung. It happened and there is no going back. However, I strongly believe that we can help. We can make the road easier with meaningful assistance and services in place. But those services must remain in place for the duration. Our troops that come back injured aren’t going to be cured in a month, a year or ten years. Their recovery will take a lifetime. The rest of their days will be spent trying to re-establish some sense of normalcy. For those that return with missing limbs and brain injuries – there is not even the appearance of ‘normal’. They face a lifetime of learning to adapt. For the ones who return with emotional and psychological scars while they may achieve the appearance of ‘normal’ – they too will spend a lifetime learning to adapt. There is no magic pill that will make them forget.
This book is about what the AFTER can look like with adequate support for our wounded service members.
It is about the AFTER for a handful of our wounded and the reemergence of lives torn apart by war and the Foundation that has assisted in that process for so many.
CHAPTER 4
Defining a Hero
A hero according to Merriam-Webster is a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability; an illustrious warrior; a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities; one who shows great courage.
I began pondering this word, this title when I started tracking the answers given to me by the men interviewed for this book. I asked each of them to tell me their definition of a hero. The answers I received were surprisingly similar until I came to one man. His answer was quite different, and it got me thinking – and doing research.
The word hero is of Latin origin with the first known usage in the 14th century. I submit that our modern day usage of the word is far different than was initially intended. The frequency with which our society bestows the label of hero on someone is careless, bordering on reckless.
Doing an internet search for heroes will bring results from sports stars to Superman and just about anything in between. I’m not sure how being born with a natural athleticism makes one worthy of being labeled a hero. I read story after story of people given the title of hero and found numerous articles that made me scratch my head and contemplate what the author thought when they drafted the article. I understood what the man mentioned above was trying to articulate when giving me his answer. Part of his answer included the statement, “I am offended, honestly, when someone calls me a hero. I don’t want to be put in the same category as some basketball player. What I did, what I sur
vived and what a ball player does are not the same.”
I must agree.
The other answers I received upon asking the question were all similar to each other. Each man that I asked this question of replied that they do not consider themselves heroes. They feel that title belongs exclusively to those who gave their lives on the battlefield. Although I agree that those who paid the ultimate price are deserving of the title of a hero; I also believe each man interviewed in this book is just as deserving.
Being injured in combat is not what makes these men heroes. What they have done since their injuries is what earns them that title. They have each continued the fight. They have each battled their demons and pushed through excruciating surgeries, physical therapy, and learned how to adapt and thrive in their new lives. They continue the battle on a daily basis often overcome with the desire to give up, but they push on ever moving forward and providing inspiration for others out there who feel they can’t go on. They set the example of what’s possible with adequate support and the motivation to continue building a solid foundation on which to excel in their chosen directions. They remind us all that anything is possible and that loss is often a gateway to creating a bigger future than they ever dreamed possible. Many of them discovered a calling to serve others just as they did when they entered the military. Their service did not end when they were injured. They continue to perform acts of service providing hope and encouragement to anyone who is lucky enough to cross their paths.
It is this message of hope in the face of adversity, of service as a means of healing and honoring those who have fallen that I hope readers will hear as they read these men’s stories of ‘after’ and consider the next time they are moved to use the term ‘hero’.
CHAPTER 5
Defining the Need
Many people question why there is still a need for non-profits that benefit injured military members. With the media consistently announcing the wind-down of the war, we are apt to believe that the needs are winding down as well. Some areas don’t require the amount of support that has been given at the height of the war, but numerous areas suffer greatly when donation dollars dry up.
Looking at post 9/11 statistics alone brings to light the fact that our injured continue to have a need for services. With 52,351 wounded in action; 1,645 with major limb amputations and over 400,000 suffering with Traumatic Brian Injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders it is obvious that there is a great need. Without proper support in place, the eventual outcome for many of our returning wounded service members will be chronic homelessness, substance abuse, and even suicide in too many cases.
As reported by the 2014 Annual Assessment Report to Congress on Veteran Homelessness, more than 1 in 10 homeless adults are veterans and California had the highest number of veterans experiencing homelessness – almost a quarter of the national homeless veteran population or 24%. There are 22.5 million veterans in the US and between 549,000 – 840,000 veterans are homeless at some point in a year. On any given night more than 300,000 veterans are living on the streets or in shelters. Veterans are twice as likely as other Americans to face chronic homelessness and the number of Vietnam era homeless veterans is greater than the number of service members killed in that war.
Lack of income due to limited education and transferable skills, combat-related injuries and illnesses, mental health issues, substance abuse, weak social networks due to difficulty adjusting to civilian life and lack of services are the primary causes for the staggering number of homeless veterans.
Vietnam era veterans suffered intolerable conditions, lack of services and a negative American sentiment upon returning home. Many of them joined together to put measures in place that would protect future generations from facing the same fate upon returning from war. It is true that we have come a long way in caring for our returning combat-injured service members, but there is still much work to be done. One of the worst things we can do is to cut services because we think the war is over. For our injured service members, the war will never be over.
Although I do not believe that viewing this issue in dollars should be the priority, I do understand those that feel the financial impact should be the deciding factor in providing services. I submit that the economic impact of growing homelessness and joblessness will create a larger financial burden than providing proactive services that continue through an injured service member’s lifetime. I also submit that the economic impact should never be the deciding factor on whether or not to provide ongoing services. Services to care and provide for those that return from war injured is a cost of war and should be our highest priority.
In our reality, however, services that provide long-term care are often handled by non-profits – they understand that the need has not vanished just because the war has slowed to a crawl. Even if we pulled all boots on the ground and declared an absolute end to the war – the needs will continue. We are looking at decades upon decades of the need for services ahead.
Another reason donation dollars fall shy of covering the current demand is that people are unsure where to donate – fearing that their donation dollars are not spent on our veterans. I am frequently asked what organizations are the best. My answer: any organization that has an overhead including administrative expenses and salaries under 15% is an organization that is using the majority of funds raised for the veterans it claims to support. I would be wary of donating to an organization that has an overhead of more than 15%, and there are numerous organizations out there that are well under 15%.
The bottom line is that our veterans, specifically those returning from war injured, will require support above and beyond the VA for a long time and I am grateful there are so many non-profits that have stepped up to fill the gap and will continue to do so long after the war is ‘over’.
CHAPTER 6
Warrior Foundation Freedom Station
A train station is where people go to begin a journey or change course toward a new destination. That was the idea behind Freedom Station USA, a years-long labor of love by Navy wife Sandy Lehmkuhler. While volunteering at Naval Medical Center San Diego in 2004, Mrs. Lehmkuhler was distraught to find that the hospital’s injured were in need of some basic quality-of-life items. Spurred by a conversation with two amputees who required special electric razors for shaving, she went on the radio to make a plea for donations and the Warrior Foundation was born. In partnership with the San Diego Council of the U.S. Navy League and under the guidance of its president at the time, retired Navy Commander Jim Bedinger, the Warrior Foundation gained its status as a 501(c)3 nonprofit and has since been dedicated to assisting military men and women who have served our country in the War Against Terrorism. The foundation provides every kind of support imaginable from airfare and hotel rooms for parents coming to their injured children’s bedsides, special sunglasses for those whose retinas detached after IED blasts, modified combat boots for prosthetic limbs, and hundreds of plane tickets to send warriors home every year for Christmas.
The day you find out you can no longer be in the military is a hard day.
In her work with the Warrior Foundation, Mrs. Lehmkuhler realized there was a specific group of warriors who needed assistance in one crucial area – the transition from military to civilian life. The day that a Marine, soldier or sailor is told he can no longer be in the military as a result of his or her injuries is a very hard day. This particular group of warriors often enters a period fraught with fear, uncertainty and self-doubt as they await their medical retirement. They told Mrs. Lehmkuhler what they needed was a supportive environment to assist with the transition to civilian life. It is during this critical transition that veterans may fall through the cracks and are at risk of homelessness or joblessness, as evidenced by Vietnam-era veterans who still constitute one of America’s largest homeless populations.
The veteran situation is unique in San Diego, one of the largest military industrial complexes in the world. According to a report by the National Univers
ity System Institute for Policy Research, on any given night, between 1,700 to 2,000 veterans in San Diego sleep in temporary shelters or unsheltered conditions. According to the same report, over any 12-month period, approximately 3,700 veterans in San Diego experience at least one night of homelessness. The economic conditions facing younger veterans are especially difficult, increasing the risk that some will experience prolonged periods of homelessness.
While they may not be in a war zone anymore, injured servicemen and women face new challenges when they return home – the often untold story of coping with injuries, rehabilitation and a transition to civilian life. Mrs. Lehmkuhler was determined to ensure that the men and women who risked their lives for our country would not fall on hard times once they could no longer serve on active duty. She and a group of highly dedicated volunteers made it their passion to deliver what our military members were asking for – a recovery transition center called Freedom Station. This home for heroes would serve as the “missing link” and proactively combat veteran homelessness and joblessness instead of react to it once it was too late. With this vision in mind, Freedom Station celebrated its grand opening in May 2011.
Freedom Station fills the void in San Diego for a transitional environment that servicemen and women often lack as they return to life outside of the military. Troops who have been injured in combat can return home with post-traumatic stress disorder, spinal cord injuries, amputations, traumatic brain injuries, burns and blindness. They find themselves not only coping with injuries but also facing medical retirement and an uncertain new life outside of the Armed Forces. Freedom Station creates a transitional period for acclimating to civilian life and also serves as a “training ground” for challenges ranging from new careers and college entry to monthly budgeting and home buying.