May 29, 2013 - What does America need to know about its veterans? What’s the biggest divide between those who have served and those who haven’t?We asked influential veterans to weigh in on the cultural gap between veterans and civilians who never served by answering those questions. Here’s how they responded:
Thomas Brennan, military affairs reporter at the Jacksonville (N.C.) Daily News
During an interview, my future employer asked if I suffered from PTSD due to my service overseas. Unashamed of my diagnosis, I said yes. Months later, the Sandy Hook massacre occurred and he hollered across the newsroom asking if I “was going to go all PTSD and shoot up the place someday?”
Do not joke about PTSD. It is a personal battle that hundreds of thousands of veterans share. We may struggle in crowds, have nightmares or have a myriad of issues. Our disorder does not warrant jokes and it does not warrant pity. A fine line of acceptance and respect should be walked. Accept us for who we are and encourage us to continue therapy, despite how difficult we find it. Do not allow us to become one of the 22 veterans who commit suicide daily.
snip J.R. Martinez, actor and “Dancing with the Stars” champion
Veterans want to live as normal of a life as anyone else. However, due to situations they’ve constantly been put in, it makes the possibility more difficult but not impossible when they return home.
The biggest divide is experience and appreciation. Servicemembers have witnessed life on a level that most citizens have only experienced through a movie. Continued communication is needed, not necessarily to understand each other but to know the limits of one another. We need not to judge each other but listen and work together. read more>>>
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