Wounded Warriors Get 14,000 Resources Direct to Smartphones

This week Wounded Warriors, Veterans, and their Family members now have nealry 14,000 resources at their fingertips and on their iPhones — and by coincidence (or maybe not) Craig Newmark is connecting the world for the common good.

Do you believe in Karma?

About two years ago, I met up with Craig Newmark in a small café across from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry and a little frazzled at the idea of meeting the man, and forgot my wallet.

Luckily, Craig understood, and we just sat and sipped coffee while discussing the two different sides of the planet we were from. I was a combat Veteran of Iraq, and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki. Craig was, well … Craig. A bonefide genius. During our chat, Craig mentioned that he was interested in helping our Wounded Warriors and Veterans and was inspired by the way that the President and Secretary Shinseki were putting their money where their mouth was in supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He said that it had occurred to him that there many resources out there that could help the Wounded Warrior community, but that there just did not seem to be a way to do it, or do it well. Fast forward about two years, and Craig has lent his genius to several advisory groups on Veterans issues, and then launches a website called www.Craigconnects.org.

This is man who fights for what he believes in. That I can relate to. More importantly, he is fighting on the side of angels. The mission of his new site — “Connecting the World for the Common Good” says it all.

That I can not only relate to, but find inspiration in. Today, I have the honor of working on a project to connect wounded warriors, veterans and their families to resources for free and brought to you by the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Labor.

This week, over 14,000 connections to resources for benefits and services became available for recovering service members, their families and Veterans – on their smartphones via a national resource directory for Wounded Warriors, Veterans and family members at www.nrd.gov.

The connections run deep – from National, or State, to local resources. You can find any number of benefits to help – from benefits and compensation, to family and caregiver support, homelessness assistance, to job resources, to local counseling services to help with the re-adjustment coming home after combat. 

All free connections, and all navigable by your zipcode.

In addition, the information and services on the website are screened by the Department of Defense in collaboration with the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Labor who built the site. Since October, use of the site has grown from around 40,000 each month to 90,000.

Craig Newmark is making a run at connecting people to resources himself, and it is great that these two ventures are highlighting Veterans.  Now I am not saying that Craig invented the idea, he didn‘t. What I am saying is that when smart people from different corners of the world get together and connect in ways that seem unlikely … good things can happen.

So, if you are a Wounded Warrior, Veteran, or Military Family Member and want to connect, fire up the ipod or droid and navigate to www.nrd.gov.   While you are on, make sure to tweet up @craignewmark in between clicks – tell him I said thanks for coffee.

The Casualty Uncounted, Immeasurable and Peerless

Over the past weeks, I followed the conversations on Clay Hunt – fearless advocate for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, and a particularly important voice for those Service members who struggle with the hidden wounds of war – depression, and post-traumatic stress.  He took his own life two weeks ago.

Clay took his own life, and left many wondering why. His contributions to our community were immeasurable and peerless. Yet still, he joined many others who have taken this most violent of paths to find their own quiet space amongst the noise, after the guns draw silent. The casualty uncounted. I did not know Clay very well personally, but I did know him.  He likely held within himself, as each Warrior holds within themselves, this duality of man – our humanity and our inhumanity. 

Every one who has their senses inextricably bound to the smell of burning trash in the streets of a third-world ghetto, or the sound of the shuffling sandals of thin wrinkled Arab man who has his stride shortened as much by his distraction of keeping his thin cigarette lit, as by the undersized off-white burqa.   

Every Warrior has likely felt the tug against this stoic, solid and seeming unmovable force that we call our anchor to humanity.  Yet every one of us has also sat in a quiet moment while all about us was raging as you squinted and clenched against the bellows of the Siren of Wars.  Squinted, and clenched as she drug your anchor across the coarse and cold sands of your soul.  Unforgiving, Unrelentless. Yet you squared your shoulders, leaned forward with your back to the winds and shouted – HOOAH.  In part to embrace your destiny, and in part to scare away the chains that bind us from doing what we know that we must.

How to find tools that will help you thrive as a returning combat Veteran is what I want to share with each of you today.  Your anchor is still there. It is still there, I assure you.

If you are a Combat Veteran in need of a place to go to talk in confidence, you can visit a VetCenter and receive free and confidential counseling services for you and your family.  If you are a family member or friend of a Warrior struggling with depression, and you just want some ideas on how to communicate to them, please visit the Defense Centers of Excellence, www.realwarriors.net, or the MilitaryOneSource confidential counseling services , and schedule free and confidential one-on-one counseling services.   The suicide prevention hotline is also available 24/7 -Dial 1-800-273-8255 (TALK), Veterans Press 1 to talk to someone NOW. Dont want anything to do with the military anymore? There are still those who can help – www.giveanour.org.

The loss of Clay is a loss to all of  the Wounded Warrior and Veterans advocacy community.  Please vist his memorial site. 

Landing a Job After Service – Tune In and Get Paid

This article is for my fellow Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans who are looking for a job, or friends and family who want to help them out and have three minutes to tune in.

By the end of this article, I am going to help each one of you land a job — the only thing you have to do is to accept the challenge of being who you already are. 

I recently watched a film Amelia Earhart, it was called “Amelia.” I am not certain of it’s historical accuracy, but the only thing that really mattered was the beginning, and the end. I’m pretty sure those were accurate. In the beginning, Ameila states that she intends to fly around the world – the precise term is “circumnavigate the globe.” In the end, she dies trying.

That’s not what I am here to tell you – “keep going, or die trying” or some other unusable dribble.

What I am here to tell you is that Amelia was in the very last leg of her trek around the globe before she disappeared across  the Pacific.

The very last leg. She was at the finish line, and then … nothing. Vanished.   You made it this far, you have visited the devil’s sandy doorstep, and either came home with a picture of a gold-plated AK or a shrapnel riddled HMMWV (Humvee).  You made it back, you are now in the last leg — don’t disappear.

 

 

See, for Amelia, it really can’t be said that she did not know how to fly — she was 90% of the way there — she checked that block. You also really can’t say that she didn’t know how to circumnavigate the globe; in essence, she did just that as it was a straight shot home from a small island in the Pacific to the coast of California – she checked that one as well.

What Amelia failed at, if you are to believe the film, was not tuning to the right frequency — not being able to hear the calls from control tower on that small island in the Pacific telling her to land, to get refueled, and then to fly home victorious.

You, just like Amelia, already have all the tools you need to succeed — you have had a military career that has made you an ideal candidate for a leadership position. You have certifications and training from here to Howland Island. You checked the box.

The only thing you need to do is to realize that this offer has already been made, you just couldn’t hear it.  The only thing you need to do is to tune in, and get paid. Let me help you get tuned in.

Step One. Get your mind right – read a recent article by Dan Gomez on the ten lessons learned for every transitioning combat veteran.

Step Two. Get your information straight – visit www.turbotap.org , and use their new online career decision toolkit.  Yeah, it takes a little while to get through, but it is time well spent.

Lastly, go to the Department of Labor, and visit their www.fedshirevets.gov  site to find job positions, or call out JP Morgan Chase out on their assertion that they are hiring 1000 Veterans – why not you?

One special note for our combat wounded — if you are a disabled Veteran that is rated at over 30% from the Department of Veterans Affairs, or  you suffer from PTSD or TBI, there may be a special hiring authority that qualifies you for a direct hire — no muss, no fuss.

Call any federal agency, and ask them if they have a hiring manager that focuses on hiring Veterans.   Here is the DoD board – http://www.dodvets.com/job.asp

Last year, President Obama issued an executive order that required every major federal agency in America to have  an office that helps Veterans get employed. 

Did you know that? 

Looking for a job after a tour (or four) in Iraq and Afghanistan can feel like you are trying to circumnavigate the globe — an endless flight across barren landscapes and oceans waiting to swallow you alive.

Help is out there my friends — remember how far you have gone and who you are.  You are on the last leg.  Tune in, don’t disappear.

The Dog Blog and Wounded Warriors

So, I have to say that this blog about Dogs is one of my favorites! It may seem like there is nothing about Dogs and Wounded Warriors that seem relevant in the Blog “niche” discourse.

Not the time or place right? Well, first impressions are less about the timing and more about the lack thereof.

So if you stay with me for a second or two, I will tell you how dogs and wounded warriors make perfect sense. Or, to be more accurate, they make sensible solutions to the ill effects of war-torn psyche.

What many of you may not know is there have been previous attempts on studies about how dogs have direct and quantifiable benefits on behavioral health – things like stress, anxiety and general well-being. Now pet owners know this for a fact. They can attest to the comfort of a warm welcome at home after a stressful day.

But can dogs actually have a medically cognizable impact on the kinds of depression and post traumatic stress that combat soldiers experience?

Well, several folks seem to think so.  some even note that Dogs that have “served” overseas also have unique challenges to overcome on their own.  I can’t say one way or the other whether I think the science supports it, but what I can say is that the one thing that kept me grounded when I returned from Iraq was my dogs. One in particular, all eighty-five (85) pounds of the lap dog known as “Airborne Ally.” Airborne Ally earned her nickname after I snuck her into a “fun” jump out of a perfectly good aircraft on an anonymous drop zone on an anonymous post in North Carolina (that’s paratrooping, not parachuting for the military lingo challenged).

Before I deployed to Iraq, I placed a picture of Airborne Ally in my ballistic helmet right next to an emergency chem. light and an emergency mini of Jack Daniels. When I walked off of the plane after witnessing atrocities I still wish I could forget, my thoughts were to my furry Airborne buddy who would surely be there to lick me back to sanity.

While I was gone, however, Ally was lost to me forever,  and I would never have a chance to share my experiences in Iraq (good and bad) with her.

I don’t know about the science of it, but I know one thing – dogs make people happy – soldiers included.  So here to pet blogs, service dogs, and my airborne buddy Ally – may she rest in peace.