Page 1039 - Total War on PTSD

deployment that I sustained a TBI, brain lesions and had to deal with a bunch of other health related issues that flowered out of a now fertile medical ground of injury (moral, mental and otherwise), pain and anguish. While I am dealing much better with my ‘flowers’ now, and able to ‘pick some of them’ to place in a vase and enjoy, I still deal with significant issues.
One thing that has always helped me, especially during my almost 15 years in the Navy, during which I advanced from 3rd Class Petty Officer (Yeoman) to Chief Petty Officer E7 and then Limited Duty Officer (Lieutenant Junior Grade) O2; was being able to help...to guide others, along their own path. To help them off the sidewalks, so to speak. Not that I am calling anyone a worm...just using an analogy.
Through the years, since I was only a junior Petty Officer, I chose to mentor others in their own careers, to help them to advance. I started by helping develop study guides, then group training sessions that I conducted, then rotational training sessions so others would also be engaged, and so on. That expanded into a Navy Mentor website that I stood up for four straight years. I picked up an assignment as a Navy Leadership facilitator as a First Class Petty Officer (an additional duty assignment as I was Navy Reserve at the time).
This allowed me to expand my abilities and reach even more individuals, along with a co- facilitator, teaching leadership concepts and providing mentorship to future Navy leaders in both the Active and Reserve Navy sectors. It was one of my most meaningful assignments aside from my Afghanistan deployment.
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PHOTO CREDIT: CHRIS TILLEY/FLORIDA WEEKLY