I’m not certain this is the correct place to suggest this. Or if what I’m suggesting is even worthy of a second thought to most. What I am certain of, is after watching my father, who passed away this past November at the age of 67, from bone cancer he got from being off the shores of Vietnam while in the United States Navy. After watching him suffer for more than 35 years, from what I can only assume to be PTSD… May I suggest that we establish something similar to the Boot Camp that these young men & women are required to participate in as they join our military?
My dad, like many others, also needed something just as intense & educational on the way out of the military as well. Could this not help with the mental health of our veterans? I know that there are so very many service men & women who struggle with many things daily. I’ve seen firsthand the PTSD, the addiction, the sadness, the night terrors, & several other things that these veterans go through, in my opinion because they are just released back into society after we’ve basically programed them to go into our military. For some reason, we don’t “de- program” (for lack of a better word) them on the way out.
We teach them how to handle things the best they can, to prepare the best they can, to survive the best they can, & in some cases do much much more. But on the way out of the military, when it’s time for them to go home, they just go home. Shouldn’t we be also giving them the tools and skills to process, whether it be years later or months later, the things in which they’ve seen and done for this country?
It’s not hard to look around & see that there aren’t many “whole” families around these days. It’s not hard to also notice the huge number of mental health issues people have today either. This, while it may be but a small portion of those things, in my opinion still deserves some care & concerns. These are the people who make us safe. These are the people who are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure each of our safety whenever & wherever. The least we can do is after building these people into the type of human that it must take to do the things that this country ask’s of them & to still make it home on top of that… The least we could do is our very best at protecting their mental once they get back home.
There’s such a large portion of our veterans that end up requiring mental health services. Why not do better & make something just as mandatory as the boot camp that started it all for them.
A few months before my dad passed away, he & I spoke about this. He was my best friend, so we talked about many things often. But he was different when I spoke about this. He listened very quietly & when I’d finished talking he sat there still with his head kind of down & staring off. Then he said, “Carley Sue that’s brilliant idea you’ve got there. You should try to talk to someone about that. Maybe at the V.A. or a congress person here in Arizona even. I wish they did have something like that for us. I know it would have been a tremendous help for me.” I told him that day I would find someone to tell my idea to. But as the days went by, dad got sicker & sicker. I got too caught up in my caregiver duties to even have it cross my mind again until this evening as I was scrolling on “X” & came across a post mentioning President Trump & RFK Jr had created this website. Instantly I knew exactly what I had to post here.
Thank you for reading this… Have a blessed day.
P.S… If for some crazy reason this makes it all the way to President Trump, please know Sir, that my dad was a really big supporter of yours. A few weeks after his funeral I received the rest of his awards, & medals, & ribbons in the mail. They hang on our wall now next to his flag & a picture of him from his last birthday here with us. Well all of them except one. I know my dad would never forgive me if I hung up his Presidential Memorial Certificate. It was a very nice gesture, beautifully made. However, it was signed by President Biden. Tears started streaming down my face as I was laughing out loud reading it. Dad would have been pissed! There’s just no way im hanging that up.
Sir, you are a great man. This is a great country. And you are doing a great thing. My dad did too. Thank you.