Category: Veterans
First Responder Trauma and Recovery
The posts you will discover at Sawayer Logistics PLLC (sawayer.com), addressing First Responder and Trauma Recovery will provide resources for the various professions exposed to trauma at different levels.
Trauma is a concept that is fairly new, having evolved in the last 20 years and brought to the fore due to the diagnostic label of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) of soldiers returning from theaters of war overseas.
As a result, the more general term of trauma has evolved for a more generic application.
According to the American Psychological Association, trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event. Trauma can occur once, or on multiple occasions and an individual can experience more than one type of trauma.
Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), is the mental health disorder that is associated when someone experiences or witnesses a trauma.
Here is the link to the ICD-10
Further, traumas’ impact the relationships of those very same first responders that it originally traumatized.
These first responder groups addressed here will include, but are not limited to: corrections personnel, law enforcement personnel, emergency dispatchers, active military, Veterans, physicians, nurses, EMT personnel, fire fighters, morticians, medical examiners, social workers, counselors, those serving congregations of different faiths, and Hospice staff to mention just a few.
We will explore some situations that create post traumatic stress syndrome, as well as outline the symptoms experienced and the criteria for meeting a formal diagnosis.
Additionally, we will also provide useful resources and links in the process.
We welcome feedback and suggestions for adding additional professional groups that are trauma exposed.
First Responder Trauma Recovery
The posts here at First Responder and Trauma Recovery will highlight the folks involved in professions that expose them to trauma at different levels.
Trauma is a concept that is fairly new, having evolved in the last 20 years and it has it’s impact on the relationships it touches go far beyond those professionals originally traumatized.
These first responder groups include, but are not limited to: Psychotherapists, Weather Forcasters, Storm Chasers, Corrections Personnel, Law Enforcment, Emergency Dispatchers, Active Military, Veterans, Emergency Room Physicians, Nurses, EMT Personnel, Firefighters, Teachers, Morticians, Medical Examiners, Social Workers, Pastoral Staff, and Hospice staff to mention just a few.
We want to explore why these particular types of jobs expose individuals to both short and long term traumas as well as give some definitions of trauma and outline of the main symptoms experienced.
We will also provide useful links to other helpful resources.
We welcome feedback and suggestions for adding additional professional groups that are trauma exposed, and any additional links to other related sites.
The Reality of Today’s Militias
My First Encounter
I never used to be aware of or believe in a Militia in America. I was naive, until I actually talked to its members and now better appreciate the fact that they are very real!
My first encounter came while I was going to the TDCJ Correctional Academy in deep East Texas.
I befriended a very outgoing class member who was very enthusiastic about being a correctional officer. He seemed like just another good old boy that I frequently meet throughout much of Texas. The “salt of the earth” as we sometimes say.
During our conversations about guns and shooting, he asked me if I would like to do some target practicing at his brothers shooting range, which was close to our academy.
The weekend came, and I followed him to the range, where I met his brother and his family. His wife was very pregnant at the time and they had several little ones running around, semi-clothed.
They lived in a cramped trailer house, that was very cluttered and in disaray. After meeting my new friends brother, we went out to the shooting range to plink a bit.
Now I am not the worst shot, even with a .357 Magnum six shooter. After observing the shooting skills of my new friends, I felt rather embarrassed
Now if you own your own shooting range, it stands to reason, you might be better than most when it comes to plinking. As it turns out, what these two gentelment could do with semi-auto and wheel guns was frighteningly good.
Targets were mounted on pulley system that pushed them across the range at a good clip. I emptied my Smith & Wesson Model 19, and all six cartridges missed.
I would have felt better if my two new East Texas boys had the same experience, but they were deadly accurate. I was both embarrassed and impressed.
After target practice, I was invited into the trailer to look at the stockpile of weapons inside. As it turned out, these fellas were ready for the day when America needed to be saved. The arsenal was impressive.
It also turned out that the owner of this private armory been previously employed as a corrections officer by the State, but let go for being a little over the top for his uses of force.
After some talking, I was more appreciative of the fact that these two Americans were true militia zelaots, who were part of a larger group preparing for civil war.
Now this occurred in early 2000, long before what we see happening in America with massive weapons sales and civil disobedience. However, it was post 9-11, which was a stark reminder that foreign powers were a very real threat to our sovereignty
My Second Encounter
Fast forward to 2007 when I was working and living in Gainesville, Texas were I had my second introduction to the reality of the American Militia movement.
As I was tooling around in Wal-Mart, I wondered into the sporting goods section and was looking at their selection of pistols and long-guns. Gainesville is great hunting country, and the Wal-Mart had an impressive collection of weapons and ammo.
This was long before Wal-Mart became politically correct and decided to stop selling handguns.
As I was looking at the stock, a raggedy looking, tall man in his late 30’s, wearing buckskin clothing with his pants tucked into the top of his cowboy boots approached me.
He started talking about America and how we all needed to be ready to defend our country when the time came. He then identified himself as Captain in a local Militia, and he was recruiting volunteers.
He told me that I did not have to have any military experience but just a willingness to be trained. Now mind you, this man did not crack a smile or give any indication that he was an actor in a wild west drama practicing his acting skills.
The gentlemen was genuine in his thoughts and beliefs about civil discord and his obligation as a Militia Man, to protect our country.
Now in this situation, like the prior one I mentioned, these good people were pretty covert. They feared the government and Big Brother interrupting their plans to organize.
Is It The Right Time For Social Justice Protests in 2020?
Fast forward to 2020 America. We see images of citizens armed openly with AR-15 and holstered handguns. We see police dressed in battle fatigues confronting protesters.
We hear from Black Lives Matter and White Supremacist groups who see each other as a threat to American survival.
We have the ingredients present now for the Militia Men to come forward. The average American does not have a clue about these folks because, like all secretive movements that fear the government, they hide.
The America we know today, is a fractured and divided America along religious, social, economic, and political lines. Our ability to negotiate, or find a middle ground on our beliefs and values is seriously absent.
Today’s enemy is not the foreign powers that attacked us during 9-11. We rallied forcefully and quickly to defend our America.
The Reality of Polarization in America
The time now is a dangerous one, because we have become polarized into camps where we see the other camp as our enemy.
Portland Oregon is the most recent example of this danger occurred when individuals who represent right wing extreme ideology came to Portland to confront the violence on the streets there as self appointed militia.
One lone individual arrived from out of state and shot several people. This “shooter” is being hailed as a hero by some conservative groups and villainized by liberal groups. He is now charged with murder.
I couldn’t help to wonder, “What if this “shooter” had showed up in one our schools?”
That horrible incident in Portland was soon followed by numerous vehicles of gun toting militia types showed up with high powered rifles and paintball guns.
That group claimed allegiance to Donald J. Trump, the current president of America.
Their motive was to somehow stop protesters. Local police, already stressed and stretched thin by many competing public safety demands in their city did not see these militia as either needed or wanted.
This new reality happening TODAY makes us much more open to Civil War. It also, makes us vulnerable to our very real external foreign enemies who understand that if we are drained by a domestic civil war, we will have much less ability to thwart their outside attacks on America.
Maybe the militias can claim victory in their localized domestic attacks but will they win the larger battles against a much more powerfully armed foreign enemy? Inconcebible you say?
Given how inconceivable today’s domestic warfare would have seemed immediately after 9-11, I would venture to say it is becoming very conceivable!
Covid 19 and the realities of economic chaos, are creating a perfect storm that will test our resolve to remain America The Beautiful.
Suicide – The New Epidemic
The reality of depression and suicide among active military, veterans, law enforcement, school children, mental health consumers and the general population has continued to skyrocket.
Training for Mental health professionals, police officers, school officials, and military commanders is providing better ways to identify and treat depression, PTSD, anxiety, and drug use that play a large role in both attempted and completed suicides.
The link below from the American Psychiatric Association identifies what Depression looks like!
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression
We are getting better at training community members on how to approach such situations, and the attached video training on the program called “Just Ask” has proven helpful in this venture.
A podcast forum that specifically has addressed suicide among active military and our Veterans entitled Head Space and Timing is also attached. The problems for those who experience military life and have difficulty finding their meaning in society upon discharge is a reality we must address. Here is the link below.
https://veteranmentalhealth.com/podcast/
The Website for The National Suicide Hotline is linked below.
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
As usual Sawayer Logistics @ sawayer.com, is here to offer coaching and counseling services to those at risk.
Links By Category to Other Resources
The links listed below are by listed as categories and include information on the following topics:
Veterans, Mental Health, Policing, Retirement Planning, Traumas, Covid, Anxiety, Dementia, Alzheimers, Step Parenting, Time Management, Human Sexuality, Mental Illness, Pre-marital Counseling, School Violence, Depression, Military and Civilian and Suicide. I have also included writings from my Renditions Blog. We cut the chain on the resource fence for you. So now, “Just click and go!”
Veterans
When Warriors Put On A Badge
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/03/30/when-warriors-put-on-the-badge
Headspace and Timing Podcasts on Military Suicide
https://veteranmentalhealth.com/podcast/
A Marine Veterans Story
You’ve already served your country
https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/vets-to-cops/Vets2CopsBrochure.pdf
Headspace and Timing – Veteran’s Mental Health Podcast
https://player.fm/series/head-space-and-timing-podcast
Mental Health
Weather Trauma
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-trauma-after-the-storm/
Dealing with Coronavirus Anxiety
Covid 19 and Mental Health
https://sawayer.com/how-covid19-has-changed-the-mental-health-services-model/
10 Apps To Help You Cope With Anxiety
https://blog.therachat.io/anxiety
Coping With Mental Illness
https://medium.com/@jakeshaver/adjusting-to-life-with-a-mental-illness-c9355bd61e4
Mental Health Crisis
https://sawayer.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=2469&action=edit
Dementia
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-dementia-symptoms-types-and-diagnosis
Alzheimer’s
https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers
Emotional Betrayal
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/search?q=emotional+betrayal
https://sawayer.com/the-lessons-
Death and the Human Need for A Savior
of-death-and-the-human-need-of-a-savior/
NAMI Texas – Mental Health Resources Information
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BtMoAxAErtc69NFU7
Step Parenting
What is Depression: American Psychiatric Association
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression
National Suicide Prevention Website and Hotline
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Headspace and Timing Podcasts on Military Suicide
https://veteranmentalhealth.com/podcast/
The Texas Suicide Prevention “Just Ask” Project
https://texassuicideprevention.org/training/video-training-lessons-guides/ask-about-suicide-ask/
We Have Too Much Evil Before Us
https://sawayer.com/we-have-too-much-evil/
8 Things You Should Do When Your Divorce Is Final
Pre-Commitment Relational Skills
TwogetherinTexas: Pre-Marital Coaching
https://twogetherintexas.com/Pdf/WhatIsHealthyMarriage.pdf
Mayo Clinic Education: Pre-Marital Counseling
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/premarital-counseling/about/pac-20394892
Time Management Practice and Retirement
Why Worry About Time and Its’ Management
https://sawayer.com/time-management/
Time Management Defined by Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management
Retirement Questions and Answers
https://sawayer.com/retirement-questions-and-answers/
10 Questions To Ask About Retirement
Time and The Strategic Planning Manifesto
https://www.strategyskills.com/pdf/The-Strategic-Thinking-Manifesto.pdf
Strategic Thinking Template
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fd2slcw3kip6qmk.cloudfront.net%2Fmarketing%2Fblog%2F2017Q4%2Fstrategic-planning%2FStrategic-Planning-Process.png&tbnid=Y6TFjcXeZiEE1M&vet=12ahUKEwiyzKSY-OT_AhU0kokEHTW4BbkQMygSegUIARCIAg..i&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lucidchart.com%2Fblog%2F5-steps-of-the-strategic-planning-process&docid=_0ml0szmFROCbM&w=960&h=1312&q=Strategic%20planning&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwiyzKSY-OT_AhU0kokEHTW4BbkQMygSegUIARCIAg
Policing
When Warriors Put On A Badge
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/03/30/when-warriors-put-on-the-badge
Profiling School Shooters
Are Police Obsolete?
Damage control and Media representation and responses to police
https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1162&context=ltc
Leading Police Culture Change
https://www.policefoundatiMmon.org/leading-culture-change/
What would it take to really change the police culture?
https://www.startribune.com/what-would-it-take-to-really-change-the-police-culture/436387213/
The Un-written Code of Silence
Peelian principles of Law Enforcement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peelian_principles
Community policing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ComPmunity_policing
Problem-oriented policing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem-oriented_policing
LGBTQ and Sexuality
What Doctors Should Know About Gender Identity
Trans Man
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_man
Transgender Anti-Discrimination Reversal
https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/djglp25&div=13&id=&pag
Male Survivors Of Sexual Abuse
https://sawayer.com/male-sex-abuse-survivors
Sexual Desire and Better Relationships
When Soldiers Become COPS
The links below, tell the fascinating and instructive true story of a soldier-become-cop and the lessons he has learned.
How the Plans Unfolded
As you will see below, the recruitment of Veterans into policing was not a happenstance event, but rather a very well-orchestrated attempt to do several GOOD things such as helping discharged soldiers take on a new positive identity, provide employment, and help law enforcement agencies to recruit qualified officers. Clearly, we intended only GOOD. Clearly, THAT GOOD is not only what happened!
VETS TO COPS https://cops.usdoj.gov/aboutcops
The attached link is from the ABOUT US page for the COPS Agency, , and is instructive about how we have intentionally recruited our Veterans into Policing. The parallels in skill sets, training, and abilities to deploy force are not in and of themselves bad things if the Veteran Cop can leave the battlefield behind as they integrate back into a non-military environment!
The more we know about the Vets to Cops connections, the better we can understand how militarization of policing was fueled by intentional government funding and laws. Along with providing free surplus military hardware, we unintentionally created the perfect storm for the excessive and unnecessary USE OF FORCE that now has very deep roots which will be hard to kill.
The COPS Office https://cops.usdoj.gov/vetstocops is committed to supporting military veterans and the law enforcement agencies that hire them. Military veterans have demonstrated a strong work ethic, and the ability to work in teams and in challenging situations. These skills make many veterans ideal candidates for police work.
Beginning in FY 2012, the COPS Office began supporting military veterans through the COPS Hiring Program (CHP). Currently, CHP allocates additional consideration to applicants committing to hire or rehire military veterans.
Under CHP, a military veteran is defined as an individual who has served on active duty at any time in the armed forces for a period of more than 180 consecutive days, any part of which occurred on or after September 11, 2001, and who has been discharged or released from active duty in the armed forces under honorable conditions.
Here is a great podcast that discusses tons of more contemporary policing issues from the folks at POLICE ONE !!
https://player.fm/series/policing-matters
Veterans Resources
I have worked with Vets from most of the service branches as a therapist in the last four years with much of my contact involved crisis interventions where there were some total melt-downs. The last incident involved a SWAT team deployment. Sometimes, folks tend to over-react when Vets have these melt-downs. Why? Well, not everyone is trained as a military sniper or Special Forces combatant, and that gets some special attention.
Personally, I grew up in a military family and spent a lot of time on Army, Navy and Airforce installations back then.
I experienced first hand the issues that occured when active duty military servicemen return to civilian life as Veterans and have serious re-integration issues.
Because of this professional and personal history of mine, working with Veterans experiencing personal issues is a passion of mine.
That said, I think it’s important to remind ourselves that PTSD is not exclusively a problem that is exclusively found in the Veteran communities. As you migh imagine, PTSD can occur from any numer of life events. The letter “P” stands for POST, the letter “T” stands for TRAUMATIC, the letter “S” stands for STRESS, and the letter “D” stands for DISORDER. You don’t see a V for Veteran because the disorder happens in many situations. Wartime or even deployment is just one paticular situation that Veterans are exposed to.
When military discharge of a person who has a known or even unknown PTSD diagnosis occurs, this greatly complicates the stresses of re-adjustment and re-integration back into civilian live. As you can see, for some Veterans, the reintegration itself can present a lot of adjustment issues. These same issues may serve as “triggers” for either a diagnosed or undiagnosed PTSD condition.
In some cases there may even be a history of being exposed to head trauma while in the military, which if severe enough can create another bad actor, TBI or Traumatic Brain Injury.
I don’t offer the new EMDR intervention for those suffering deep and active troubling symptoms from diagnosed PTSD, I do refer out to individuals who are trained, effective EMDR clinicians.
Again, these types of traumas also not exclusively a only Veterans issue, but it is prevalent among that community.
Other sources of PTSD and TBI can be a result of sexual assault traumas, violent accidents, witnessing some type of violent event, being brutally assaulted. I really hope you get the idea!
In the last two years, I discovered a great resource SPECIFICALLY for Veterans that I want to share.
That resource is the Headspace and Timing webpage of Duane France who has been a leader in the Veterans Mental Health Space. See some information about his current work at: https://www.fcsprings.com/about-us/leadership-staff/duane-france. Duane has graciously agreed to allow me to share these with my readers.
I have attached a link to the site below and within the site is a treasure of blogs, resources AND great podcasts.
You will also see that in addition to being a licensed clinician, Duane is a prolific writer as well.
A very dedicated and profusely productive advocate for Veterans….He Is!
Here is the link to his site…..enjoy exploring!!
Another great website for Veterans and families you will definitely enjoy and find interesting is Veterans MTC. They can be found on both Instagram and Facebook. You can give it a look by clicking their web-page http://veteransmtc.com
Headspace and Timing Podcast Link