Purple Star Veterans and Families

I attended a fundraiser last night for Purple Star Veterans and Families. The event went off without a hitch and a lot of money was raise. There was another purpose for the fundraiser..... to expand public awareness for the problem facing our military personnel when they come home from Afghanistan and Iraq. The military takes several weeks of intense training to take a citizen and tun him into a soldier, but there is almost no time taken to turn that soldier into a citizen. When I came home from Vietnam, guys who were in a firefight in the rice paddies in Nam could find themselves walking the streets in San Francisco as a civilian less than 72 hours later. It isn't much different now! I greeted a group of Air Guard Members back in December when they returned, They got off the plane, met their loved ones and went home. They did have to return the next day to "debrief". One day of decompression adjustment is not enough! We need to do more to make sure these heroes are properly trained to be citizens again. We need to make sure the families are told about PTSD and what to look for and what to do! Winston Churchill once said, " nothing is so exhilarating as being shot at and missed." Our returning troops have had an adrenaline rush like no other. Often they come home and feel the need to feel that rush. They look for a fast car or motorcycle. They live life on the edge. We need to find a way to substitute productivity and accomplishment to get a "rush". Check out this video for some very interesting information http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=embedded&v=6VmUuPab4M Now if you have been moved to help our returning troops, go to http://www.veteransandfamilies.org/home.html