Page 953 - Total War on PTSD

are serving though. The military is really the 'family business' now. My daughter just got commissioned into the Army and my son is finishing his first year at the Air Force Academy.
I enlisted in the Georgia Army National Guard in August of 1987 with the 878th Engineers and did that until I started to attend University of Georgia...and did ROTC there. Once I graduated, I got commissioned into Active Duty. From there I served at Fort Carson, Fort Bragg and Fort Jackson. Then I went into the Reserves. After 9/11 I got activated again and served at Fort Bragg mostly, at that point...and Fort Gordon. I served in Afghanistan with 20th Special Forces as a Medic from June to December 2002, and did another tour there from January 2003 through November 2003, again as a Medic. After that I returned to the Reserves out of Fort Bragg and worked with 360th Civil Affairs as a Medical Officer. I stayed with that command until August of 2009, at which point my leg had gotten bad enough that I couldn't jump anymore. I didn't really want to hang around with the 'big boys' if I couldn't play. I finally had to get out in December of 2013 under medical retirement.
I think that the military made me a stronger person, it made me better, gave me a lot of perseverance, a lot of tolerance and a lot of understanding and ability to utilize diversity. It gave me a lot of people skills. It almost broke me at some points for sure, but I think, in the big picture, it made me everything that I am. From a positive standpoint, the training, the brother and sisterhood, those bonds, and again those personal skills are all important and foster a positive atmosphere. Negatively, a lack of support for returning service members is a big concern/issue for me. This is especially the case for those dealing with PTSD. The command climate might not be supportive of returning service member’s needs, instead covering things up and denying
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