The Military Experience and the Arts Symposium

I am excited to announce my attendance as a participant in The Military Experience and the Arts Symposium on July 5-7 at Eastern Kentucky University. I will be working on two projects for submission in The Journal of Military Experience.

Attention Military Veterans and Those Who Support Them:

The Military Experience and the Arts Symposium will take place July 5-7, at Eastern Kentucky University. 100 veterans–from all over the country–will receive three, free days of lodging, meals, textbooks, and workshops to help them express themselves through the creative arts.

The MEA has three goals in mind:

• To expand the type of one-on-one help provided to veteran contributors to The Journal of Military Experience to the masses
• To celebrate veteran writing and art through a number of activities and events open to both veterans and the general public
• To educate individuals about the healing capabilities of creative expression through testimonials and public lectures by experts in fields that provide veterans with creative, cathartic outlets for veterans to express themselves on their own terms.

The best part…If you are reading this YOU are cordially invited to take part in the festivities. Below you’ll find a day-by-day schedule of the offerings. We hope to see you in July at Eastern Kentucky University!

Yours,

Travis L. Martin
Director, Military Experience and the Arts Symposium
Editor, The Journal of Military Experience

VA Late to National PTSD Awareness Day

Family Of a Vet, Inc. / FamilyOfaVet.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Brannan Vines
E-mail: Brannan@FamilyOfaVet.com

UPDATE: As of 12:47 CST and 1:47 EST the VA has FINALLY heard us! See, we can make a difference with social media! The VA has finally acknowledged the day of awareness for PTSD sufferers, National PTSD Awareness Day. I wonder how many opportunities the VA missed with getting a such late start on this day? ~ Combat PTSD Blogger

VA MAIN SITES GIVE NO MENTION OF NATIONAL PTSD AWARENESS DAY, Further Underlining the Stigma for Heroes and Families Who Are Struggling Daily with This Illness.

June 27, 2011, is National PTSD Awareness Day, a day intended to encourage awareness and education about post-traumatic stress disorder and help end the stigma associated with the disorder.

The Veterans Administration, our nation’s largest provider of combat-related PTSD care, is an integral component in the fight against PTSD-related stigma. Which contributes to the loss of 18 veterans each day to suicide, to the failing of 2 out of every 3 impacted marriages, and to hundreds of thousands of caregivers and family members who are now struggling with Secondary PTSD.

However, as of 10:45 am CST on June 27th, the home page of the VA’s website (http://www.va.gov/), the VA’s blog (http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/), and the VA’s main Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/VeteransAffairs), give no mention of this critical day.

In a society where the majority of veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan (according to the VA’s own research - http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/forum/may11/may11-2.cfm) access the internet each and every day, this lack of coverage by the institution which is supposed to provide the majority of their PTSD-related care is an incredible oversight and one that further underlines and intensifies the stigma this day is supposed to fight against.

More information, including time stamped screen shots of the mentioned pages, is available on our blog at: http://blog.familyofavet.com/2011/06/hello-va-no-mention-of-national-ptsd.html

Family Of a Vet, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping veterans and their families learn how to cope with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), TBI (traumatic brain injury) and life after combat through real-world, plain language education and resources for heroes, families, and communities.
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For more information about this topic or to schedule an interview, please contact Brannan Vines, President and Founder of Family Of a Vet, Inc., by e-mail at Brannan@FamilyOfaVet.com.

Thank you.

Call of Duty Endowment Memorial Day Campaign

Memorial day will be here soon and I have just been invited by Activision’s Call of Duty Endowment to participate in an Host Media Call with UFC 130 Fighter, Brian Stann and BG James "Spider" Marks (USA-Ret) to discuss their 2011 Memorial Day Campaign.

This is way freaking cool! I love the UFC and Call of Duty!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 19, 2011

Activision’s Call of Duty Endowment to Host Media Call with UFC 130 Fighter, Brian Stann, and BG James “Spider” Marks (USA-Ret.) to discuss 2011 Memorial Day Campaign.

WASHINGTON — As Memorial Day approaches, Brian Stann of Hire Heroes USA (HHUSA) is not only prepping for his UFC 130 fight, but also gearing up for a Memorial Day Campaign with the Call of Duty Endowment. With the unemployment figures for the nation’s youngest veterans almost twice the national average, Stann will provide insights on the current landscape for veterans career opportunities and also launch the Call of Duty Endowment’s Memorial Day Campaign, which will benefit HHUSA. BG James "Spider" Marks (USA-Ret.), who serves on the Call of Duty Endowment advisory board, will also provide discuss the importance raising the public’s awareness of the veterans’ unemployment issue.

The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit, public benefit corporation created by Activision Blizzard. The organization seeks to help soldiers transitioning to civilian life find work and establish careers and to assist organizations that provide job placement and training. For more information about The Call of Duty Endowment, please visit www.callofdutyendowment.org.

Hire Heroes USA (HHUSA) is an organization which focuses on providing transition assistance to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans, specializing in the career placement of those injured or with any level of disability. HHUSA serves veterans from all branches of the military: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard, Reservists and Coast Guard. For more information about HHUSA, please visit www.hireheroesusa.org

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release May 05, 2011

Presidential Proclamation--Military Spouse Appreciation Day
Military spouses serve as steady and supportive partners to the heroes in uniform who protect and defend our great Nation every day. Across America and around the world, military spouses serve our country in their own special way, helping families and friends through the stress of a deployment, caring for our wounded warriors, and supporting each other when a loved one has made the ultimate sacrifice.

Our service members and their families seldom ask for support or recognition. They carry out their duties to family and country with the quiet courage and strength that has always exemplified the American spirit. On Military Spouse Appreciation Day, we have an opportunity to not only honor the husbands and wives of our service members, but also thank them by actively expressing our gratitude in both word and deed.

When a member of our Armed Forces is deployed, an entire family is called to serve. The readiness of our troops depends on the readiness of our military families, as millions of parents, children, and loved ones sacrifice as well. This means supporting our military spouses is also a national security imperative. Earlier this year, my Administration released the report on military families, Strengthening our Military Families: Meeting America's Commitment, which marshaled resources from across our Government to identify new opportunities to support these patriots.

New VA Caregiver Program for Post-9/11 Veterans

PRESS RELEASE May 3, 2011:
VA to Take Applications for New Family Caregiver Program

VA Implementing Enhancements to Existing Services

for Veterans and Their Caregivers
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published the interim final rule for implementing the Family Caregiver Program of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act 2010. This new rule will provide additional support to eligible post-9/11 Veterans who elect to receive their care in a home setting from a primary Family Caregiver.

“We at VA know that every day is a challenge for our most seriously injured Veterans and their Family Caregivers,” said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “I know many Veterans and their Family Caregivers have been waiting anxiously for this day and I urge them to get their applications in as soon as possible so they can receive the additional support they have earned.”

Media Release: Combat Relief Helps Returning Combat Troops Reconnect With Society

PRESS RELEASE

Combat Relief Helps Returning Combat Troops Reconnect With Society

The Grant Humanitarian Foundation announces new programs to care for America’s military men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan

San Francisco, California, June 15, 2010. The cost of war to American men, women, and children is hard to measure. Troops not only put their own lives at risk, but face further challenges after long military deployments that can tear apart the fabric of their families. After coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, unemployment, homelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder, drug and alcohol addiction are issues that too many of our troops face. Returning troops, including the broader communities they inhabit, all suffer the effects of war-related stress, which requires support to assist returning veterans in readjusting to civilian life.

Elena Grant, President of the Grant Humanitarian Foundation, states that America doesn’t have sufficient resources to help troops reintegrate into society and recover from their psychological wounds, especially those experiencing stress disorders. "American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq have made a immeasurable contribution, and undergone a tremendous sacrifice, on behalf of our country,” says Ms. Grant. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to help these brave men and women.”

The Grant Humanitarian Foundation offers several Combat Relief programs that support America’s military men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.