Genma Holmes Black History Month Keynote Speaker at Fort Campbell

Fort Campbell EEO & EO Offices will hold its Annual Black History Month Special Emphasis Program Observance Luncheon, on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, from 11:00-12:30 at Cole Park Commons with Genma Stringer Holmes as the keynote speaker. This year's theme is:

"Civil Rights in America with Liberty and Justice for All!"

Holmes will share how her childhood experiences in rural Mississippi have enriched not hindered her worldview. She will discuss how her grandfather's Civil Right activism molded her volunteer work in the community and her grandmother's influence that led to her love of the arts. Holmes credits her childhood experiences as one of the reasons why she has held her own in an industry that is not known for attracting minorities or women.

Holmes will also discuss her personal motto "Others 'no' should not shape your destiny in life." She will share the challenges of being at the helm of two companies; the lessons she has learned from the demands of producing a weekly radio program, Living Your Best Life Radio; and her journey as a proud mother of a Marine.

Marine Ball 2013

SAFE Co-Founder: Impact of PTSD Can No Longer Be Ignored on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

Join Living Your Best Life as we celebrate our military heroes' journeys before and after their service to our country. Hear from men and women who are sons and daughters; husbands and wives; fathers and mothers; grandparents; siblings; and loyal friends. Hear members of the Marines, Army, Air Force, and Navy share personal stories and highlights from their military careers. All have roles that made them the "first" in many endeavors throughout their lives and in the military. We will hear about their rarely discussed acts of courage and sacrifice that embody servant leadership that will empower, inspire, and motivate listeners.

On Saturday, September 21, 2013, tune in to hear veteran, pastor, and co-founder of  SAFE, Rev. Jodi McCullah discuss the ever increasing awareness of PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome) and TBI (traumatic brain injury) in the veteran and active duty members of the military. Listen as Jodi McCullah share how unresolved issues from facing life and death trauma daily can have a lasting impact on the mind, body, and soul. 

Jodi McCullah also talks about the importance of self care and two of the basic needs that many seek when asking for help, confidentiality. She shares how vital the importance of trust and confidentiality are for a person who maybe suffering from mental health issues. It may also be the determining factor to getting them into counseling.

Jodi McCullah was interviewed two days prior to the Navy Yard tragedy. Listen closely as some of the issues that have gripped the headlines during this week are foreshadowed in this compelling interview. PTSD can no longer be ignored as communities look for more solutions to get members of the military community help without shame, labeling, or repercussions.

 Tune into 760AM in the Middle Tennessee Region, on Tune In, streaming live online at UStream.TV, and on military bases on Saturdays from 9:00-10:00am CST.

Symptoms of PTSD (Mayo Clinic)
Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms typically start within three months of a traumatic event. In a small number of cases, though, PTSD symptoms may not appear until years after the event. 

Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms are generally grouped into three types: intrusive memories, avoidance and numbing, and increased anxiety or emotional arousal (hyperarousal). 

Symptoms of intrusive memories may include:

• Flashbacks, or reliving the traumatic event for minutes or even days at a time
• Upsetting dreams about the traumatic event

Symptoms of avoidance and emotional numbing may include:

• Trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event
• Feeling emotionally numb
• Avoiding activities you once enjoyed
• Hopelessness about the future
• Memory problems
• Trouble concentrating
• Difficulty maintaining close relationships

Symptoms of anxiety and increased emotional arousal may include:

• Irritability or anger
• Overwhelming guilt or shame
• Self-destructive behavior, such as drinking too much
• Trouble sleeping
• Being easily startled or frightened
• Hearing or seeing things that aren't there

Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms can come and go. You may have more post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms when things are stressful in general, or when you run into reminders of what you went through. You may hear a car backfire and relive combat experiences, for instance. Or you may see a report on the news about a rape and feel overcome by memories of your own assault. 

When to see a doctor

It's normal to have a wide range of feelings and emotions after a traumatic event. You might experience fear and anxiety, a lack of focus, sadness, changes in how well you sleep or how much you eat, or crying spells that catch you off guard. You may have nightmares or be unable to stop thinking about the event. This doesn't mean you have post-traumatic stress disorder. 

But if you have these disturbing thoughts and feelings for more than a month, if they're severe, or if you feel you're having trouble getting your life back under control, talk to your health care professional. Getting treatment as soon as possible can help prevent PTSD symptoms from getting worse. 

In some cases, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms may be so severe that you need emergency help, especially if you're thinking about harming yourself or someone else. If this happens, call 911 or other emergency medical service, or ask a supportive family member or friend for help.

Photos by Lawrence Taylor

SAFE's Don McCasland Addresses PTSD on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

Join Living Your Best Life as we celebrate our military heroes' journeys before and after their service to our country. Hear from men and women who are sons and daughters; husbands and wives; fathers and mothers; grandparents; siblings; and loyal friends. Hear members of the Marines, Army, Air Force, and Navy share personal stories and highlights from their military careers. All have roles that made them the "first" in many endeavors throughout their lives and in the military. We will hear about their rarely discussed acts of courage and sacrifice that embody servant leadership that will empower, inspire, and motivate listeners.

On Saturday, August 17, 2013, tune in hear from Iraqi Freedom Veteran turned Social Worker Don McCasland. Listen as Don share about his experience as a soldier who was deployed multiple times prior to his retirement. Hear him discuss the mental health issues they can plague active duty and the veteran community.

Don will also debunk the controversial article that appeared in the Leaf Chronicle on August 11 and discuss the message the article sent to the men and women at 101st Airborne. Don will share the focus of SAFE and how the Clarksville, TN based non-profit works with members of the military and their families who are fighting "for inner peace, their souls, and the desperate need to feel whole again." 

Tune into 760AM in the Middle Tennessee Region, on Tune In, streaming live online at UStream.TV, and on military bases on Saturdays from 9:00-10:00am CST. 

More About Don McCasland

Don McCasland retired from the US Army after 21+ years of service in August 2009 as a Sergeant First Class. He served in Desert Shield/Desert Storm as well as 3 Tours in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division, twice with a Field Artillery unit, and once with an Infantry unit. During his deployments to Iraq, he lost over 20 friends, and during his final tour, following years of combat trauma it was his experiences as the NCO in Charge of his units' Remains Recovery Team that were the breaking point for him. 

Following six years of unresolved mental and emotional trauma, he began to lose control of his life. On the verge of losing his family and everything important to him, he finally sought out counseling. With hard work and the support of a loving family, he came to grips with his PTSD. Though he still suffers from PTSD, he has the tools and skills to manage it so it no longer interferes with his life. In June of 2010, Don helped found The Lazarus Project, a non-profit that provides free counseling services to active duty, veterans and their families.

In January 2012, The Lazarus Project merged with SAFE (Soldiers and Families Embraced). SAFE offers professional mental health training specific to military psychology, workshops for family members, as well as free counseling, client advocacy, and education regarding veterans issues to the community at large. 

Don has earned his Bachelors and Masters in Social Work at Austin Peay State University. He is the Program Director at SAFE, and also offers counseling to at-risk military children at a Clarksville Middle School. In addition, he started SAFE's justice system outreach program, which offers support and advocacy for clients who are navigating the court system or are incarcerated. He has been married for 17 years to Joanne, who is also a Social Worker and they have a daughter and a son. 

More About SAFE (Soldiers and Families Embrace)

Soldiers And Families Embraced (SAFE) offers individual and group counseling services, as well as peer support groups for active duty, veterans and their families. These services are provided at no cost, and no insurance is required. We are a non-profit organization funded through grants and private donations. We will not deny services to any person on the basis of age, sex, religion, disability, national origin, or sexual orientation.

SAFE’s mission is to serve as a resource for the community to ease the readjustment and reintegration of military members returning from our current wars and their families, as well as veterans from previous eras. We work towards peace and healing by providing the services required, advocating for clients, assisting the community at large in finding these services through other agencies, or facilitating the creation of programs by individual organizations. In addition, we strive to help develop future mental healthcare professionals who work with our demographic by offering internships and other professional development opportunities. In this way we are able to directly address the constantly growing need for well-trained providers to our community.

We offer individual and group counseling services, as well as peer support groups for veterans. All are conducted in a “safe place” where veterans can feel free to discuss any issues or problems without fear of judgment. Our peer support groups will allow veterans to speak with others who have “been there, done that” and understand what it’s like to have the same feelings and challenges. In addition, we offer individual counseling and support groups to the families and friends of veterans.  Our belief is that by strengthening and supporting those who struggle to live with and love those veterans, we can begin the healing and strengthen the community that will need to be able to unbind these veterans and let them live again. These services are provided at no cost, and no insurance is required.

SAFE will always respect the integrity and welfare of our clients. Each client is treated with respect, acceptance and dignity. The client’s right to self-determination is protected by SAFE. We recognize the client’s right to receive or refuse services. We also recognize and build on client strengths.

Client confidentiality is of the utmost importance to us at SAFE. Many, if not all of our clients are motivated to seek our services because they want privacy from University Staff and Faculty or unit Chain of Commands, Department of the Army, and Fort Campbell for fear of adverse actions, effects on Security Clearance status and/or promotions. Our staff will protect the client’s right to privacy and confidentiality except when such confidentiality would cause harm to the client or others, when agency guidelines state otherwise, or under other stated conditions (e.g., local, state, or federal laws). SAFE will inform clients of the limits of confidentiality prior to the onset of the helping relationship. If it is suspected that danger or harm may occur to the client or to others as a result of a client’s behavior, we will act in an appropriate and professional manner to protect the safety of those individuals.

We are exempt from Federal Income Tax under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. For more information about our nonprofit status, please visit our givingmatters.com profile here or our guidestar.org profile here.


Photo credits: SAFE and Don McCasland (used with permission) 


 

Iraqi Freedom Veteran turned Social Worker Debunks Study that Debunked Combat-Suicide Link

Guest Post By Don McCasland

As a 3-Tour 101^st Airborne Division Iraqi Freedom Veteran and current Director of Programs at Soldiers And Families Embraced (SAFE) in Clarksville,Tennessee. I read the article titled “Combat-Suicide Link Debunked” (August 11, 2013) with a mixture of shock, horror, frustration, and anger. This article, as well as the military PTSD study published in the JAMA cited failed to address PTSD in a meaningful way.

We should take note that the study was commissioned and financed by the Department of Defense, and conducted by active duty and civilian researchers and psychiatrists. Not exactly an impartial, third-party group. The DOD researchers have a vested interest in disputing PTSD claims. What did the study indicate? In summation, it states that the multiple deployments, the military’s handling of the aftermath of year after year of deployments as well as related stressors, and a lack of proper mental healthcare do not contribute to increased suicide rates. 

Another issue with this flawed “comprehensive study” is the data referenced is now outdated. According to the article, “…people from all branches took part, including active-duty service members, reservists and retirees, and they were followed from 2001 to 2008…”. Researchers used data from 2001-2008 to address military suicide rates in 2013. The Department of Defense is touting this study as definitive proof that they have been right about the issues of suicide all along by using a study that draws from surveys and numbers that are five to six years old? I can assure you, even an new undergraduate student at APSU writing a research paper knows better than to use data over five years old when there is more recent information available.

As I continued to read in dismay at the study's findings, the author stated, “At the same time, there was an increase in the number of people with mental illness in the military. The reason for that is unclear." The lack of clarity is not a mystery to any who have served in combat. There is a direct link to life stressors and mental health. Being in the military in a war zone is a major life stressor that will affect your mental health. 

In a study published by the US Army in 2010 called “Army Health Promotion, Risk Reduction, Suicide Prevention Report 2010” GEN Peter Chiarelli, the Army Vice Chief of Staff from 2008-2012, stated in the introduction that in 2009 “…we had 160 active duty suicide deaths, with 239 across the total Army (including Reserve Component). Additionally, there were 146 active duty deaths related to high risk behavior including 74 drug overdoses. This is tragic!”

 He goes on to say “…Some form of high risk behavior (self-harm, illicit drug use, binge drinking, criminal activity, etc.) was a factor in most of these deaths. When we examined the circumstances behind these deaths, we discovered a direct link to increased life stressors and increased risk behavior. For some, the rigors of service, repeated deployments, injuries, and separations from Family resulted in a sense of isolation, hopelessness and life fatigue.”

This same 2010 report clearly states- “…While 80,403 entry-level waivers occurred from FY 2004 – FY 2009, the number of entry-level separations decreased dramatically. This, in essence, created a net gain of approximately 10,000 Soldiers who might not have been eligible for entry into the Army before 2004. Of the 80,403 waivers granted, 47,478 were granted to individuals with a history of drug, alcohol, misdemeanor crimes, or serious criminal misconduct”

Interesting to note, these are figures are from the same time period that the “new comprehensive study” was conducted. And yet the authors of the study claim they were "unclear" as to the increase in mental health issues in the military.
  
In 2008, a RAND study stated that “…Of those who have a mental disorder and also sought medical care for that problem, just over half received minimally adequate treatment.”  Currently, there is an abundance of evidence that shows us that when people can not seek treatment for whatever reason, the first reaction from many is to “self medicate” by using drugs or alcohol to lessen the pain or to help them forget in a desperate attempt to cope with traumatic life events and stressors. Many active duty and veterans struggle with this constantly.

Members of our military are lost everyday to bombs and bullets in war zones. Those who survived the war come back to the "safety" of home but continue to fight internal life and death battles every day. In 2013, we have lost almost one veteran every hour to those battles...23 per day. Verterans who survived war are being lost to mental and psychological battles. They are seeking (and not finding) inner-peace, their souls, and the desperate need to feel whole again. These mental battles are the results of combat trauma and experiences that are the related to serving our country. Even after returning home, they have not "come home". Many who have served are admitting after returning home, their communities can seem like war zones and with "combatants" everywhere.

This study is presented as the “end all, be all” with no regards to the reasons for the ever increasing military-wide suicide rates. I am taken aback at the irresponsibility and insensitivity of the headline stating that the combat-suicide rate connection has been once and for all debunked. 

I served with the 101^st for 7 years before my retirement after multiple deployments. I personally know three individuals I served with who committed suicide. Now, in my role as a Social Worker, I see many clients and their family members who are on the brink of committing suicide or have actually done so. 

At a time when suicides are taking a toll on the 101st Airborne, what glaring headlines do we read from the Leaf Chronicle? "Combat -Suicide Link Debunked". Yes, a base that is struggling with the aftermath of being at war for two decades is told that combat trauma is not the cause of the suicides.The Leaf-Chronicle's article told those of us that have served our country that we are dealing with personality failings, addictions, and the inability to maintain a healthy relationships.

Shame. Shame on the military for attempting to shift the blame to people who served honorably and bravely. Shame on the Leaf-Chronicle for failing to dig deeper and ask the most basic of questions prior to publishing this article. Shame.

Photos: Don McCasland (used with permission)

Sources sited for this article: Army Research Laboratories (ARL), the Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (CHPPM), National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), the RAND Corporation and the Veterans Administration.