Page 5 - Aerotech News and Review 6-3-13

PRIDE, from 1
were subjected to severe harassment. It was, she
said, harassment that was severe enough, ugly
enough and treacherous enough that “it sent her
into a dark place,” and a downward spiral that
ushered in contemplation of suicide.
“I’ve been in the military for 18 years, and I
want to stay for as long as they will have me,”
she said.
“Most of my experiences were amazing, that
‘Band of Brothers,’ and ‘Band of Sisters,’ but this
experience was not,” she said. “It was downright
ugly.”
When comrades in arms abandoned their mili-
tary core values and failed to protect their “battle positive mental outcomes.
buddies” in her unit in Iraq, the byproduct was
personal betrayal and thoughts of suicide.
“I thought, ‘I’m going to actually do this,’ to
end the pain, to end the anguish.”
Instead of ending her life, Housholder said she
had to rally, find her strengths and resiliency, and
do a “reset” on her life.
“You have to face the storm,” she said, adding
that attempting to “numb out,” or run away and
seek distraction will not work.
It is often spiritual strength that carries some-
one through the storms of life, she said. Some-
body who is physically tough, can be broken.
But people who endure and recover, like World
War II POW Louis Zamperini of “Unbroken,”
and Gulf War POW Maj. Rhonda Cornum are
When comrades in arms abandoned their military
core values and failed to protect their “battle
buddies” in her unit in Iraq, the byproduct was
personal betrayal and thoughts of suicide.
June 3, 2016
people who reach down and find their spiritual
resources, she said.
Resiliency means being flexible in adversity,
and she said that can be difficult “for many in the
military who are ‘Type A’ personalities,” people
who believe they know how to do a thing, and
pursue that course rigidly.
“Are you open-minded?” she asked.
Finally, she said, it was her own decision to
“open herself up” to new ideas and options that
led her to learning about brain science, and then
learning how to re-regulate a nervous system that
was disrupted by earlier life traumas compounded
by the harassment she experienced during service
as a combat aviator.
But trauma can be overcome with attention to
“Are you an optimist?” she said, saying opti-
mism is a remedy for mental anguish.
She cited research emerging in the field of
post-traumatic growth, a topic area of mental
health development that the Army calls “getting
the good stuff,” and the Air Force calls “counting
blessings.”
“It’s in the Bible, and it’s in most of the world’s Cold War, said, “For as long as I can remember,
religions,” she said. “One of my core values is my
faith in God.”
An accomplished singer-songwriter with her
own performing group, the Hous Band, she urged
anyone with questions about trauma and recovery
Aerotech News and Review
www.aerotechnews.com ........ facebook.com/aerotechnewsandreview
to contact her at her website, www.hous-band. Resiliency means
com, or on FaceBook. being flexible in
adversity, and she
For this Memorial Day weekend the theme said that can be
of this year’s gala was “Remember The Fallen; difficult “for many
Thank the Living,” and the competitive theme in the military
was the unanimous choice of the students, their who are ‘Type A’
teacher and adviser, Jamie Goodreau said. personalities,”
people who believe
The theme was submitted by two Gold Star they know how to do
parents, Kellie and Richard Allen, who lost their a thing, and pursue
son, Sgt. John E. Allen, a combat medic, on that course rigidly.
March 17, 2007.
years, has been a gathering of veterans from all
Educator Goodreau, a Los Angeles County armed services, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force
Teacher of the Year honoree, was commended and Coast Guard, to be awarded commemorative
by state Assemblymen Tom Lackey and Scott medals.
Wilk, and state Sen. Sharon Runner for her work
with the Pride and OATH students in support of Disabled veterans such as Richard Ketchum of
veterans and their familes. the Air Force were lifted to the stage by wheel-
chair lift and escorted back to the floor to join
Donna Termeer, the senator’s district director, alongside their brother and sister veterans.
said that honors for Goodreau were “long over-
due.” Navy veteran Lee Matalon’s Antelope Valley
Jazz Ensemble belted out Glenn Miller and Tom-
Rep. Steve Knight, an Army veteran of the my Dorsey hits, and everyone attending found
themselves “In The Mood.”
she’s changed young people’s lives, made them
understand what America’s about, made them
thank our veterans for what they do on a daily
basis. This isn’t just one event. You can never
ever stop being amazed at what she does.”
Among the supporter for the event’s program
was Aerotech News & Review, a “Pride Of The
Nation” Gold level sponsor.
Students from the OATH organization’s “Delta
Company,” included Kimberly Castano, Alyssa
Castillo, Gabriella Guerrero, Nawal Helo, Cory
Levi, Brianna Maldonado, Jordin Manning, Dani-
elle Melgoza, Anthony Perez, Lucero Ruvalcaba,
Desiray Uribe and student board members Ashley
Parker, Samanta Balestrieri and Celeste Rivera.
The evening’s finale, a tradition of all previous
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