The following entry was written by my wife, Lisa, after taking part in a recent 90-minute teleconference with U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and other Ohio military families . Brown scheduled the discussion to gauge the issues facing our troops and their Ohio families as the vote approached for a bill that would have guaranteed troops as much time at home as they had spent overseas in combat zones. Brown supported the bill, but the Senate did not deliver enough votes to override a White Hour veto. After the conference, Lisa told me of the overwhelming challenges facing some of our local military families, so I asked her to share their stories.I have had several opportunities where my path has crossed with Senator Brown, and I can tell you that he does not take lightly his commitment to service members, their families or their issues once they are Veterans. I took concerns to him personally when Eric was overseas and have spoken to him in his office in Akron when he was my Congressman.
I once received a phone call just to see how the boys and I were doing after Eric had returned to Iraq following his two weeks of leave. I remember the day clearly because then-Congressman Brown was calling me just before he went into the House Chambers to listen to President Bush give his 2004 State of the Union Address. I was so impressed that in that moment he had military families on his mind, and flattered that mine was one of them.
The teleconference last Thursday included a dozen or so representatives from Ohio military families and many staffers from Sherrod’s Office. The Senator was detained for about 35 minutes because he was actually voting on the legislation that would have guaranteed service members as much time at home as they served overseas before they would be sent back. It failed while we were one the phone with him. Some people gasped and some cried out, “Oh my God.”
I wish I had kept notes so I could share with you their names of the other military families on the phone that night, but I can pass on just a few troubling tidbits of the lives they are leading.
Here are some of the people who are filling my thoughts and prayers:
A tormented young mother
The first to speak was a young mom and Army Wife who lives in the Columbus area with a nineteen-month-old toddler and a newborn. The newborn was premature and born with Down’s syndrome. Dad got to come home from Iraq on emergency leave when his son was born but is now back just east of Baghdad somewhere.
On Friday morning, his baby boy was scheduled for open heart surgery and weighing only 6 lbs. Mom called the Red Cross to try to get her husband home. The Red Cross called back saying that the Army had to have the mortality rate for this particular surgery on a premature two-month-old. What a horrible thing to ask a mother! Even with the baby's surgery, his coming home was denied.
Mom doesn’t know if Dad has even been told of the surgery. Now mom is left with all the worry of her young family and the impending surgery of this precious soul without the support of her spouse. And also, with the added worry of wondering if her husband doesn’t know, how this surgery will affect him when he finds out. And if her husband does know, how much can his mind be focused on his own safety or the safety of those around him if he's distracted by worry for his wife and child? How broken is our Army if we can’t let someone like this family get compassionate reassignment!?!?!
There were numerous stories of PTSD
Do you know that if you are a veteran living in Northeast Ohio, you are still required to go all the way to Dayton to be treated for PTSD? After the 3-4 hour drive, even with an appointment, it can be matched by an equally long wait.
The wait for treatment and misdiagnosis came up many times.
There are soldiers being sent back to jobs overseas even though they may have threatened and even attempted suicide while in uniform here at home. One young man even tried to blind himself because the “pictures in his head” were so bad and he couldn’t face going back to Iraq. The Military is still planning on sending him.
There were many stories of TBI, (Traumatic Brain Injury), the so-called "signature" injury of this war. Again many missed diagnosis or delays in treatment meaning longer recovery or no chance of recovery. Many problems, which would not be new to Vietnam Vets, of low percentages for disability from the VA.
There were major pay issues.
Families who hadn’t received overdue supplemental pay for three years and others whose monthly paychecks haven't arrived. One woman spoke up about her husband, a Navy Reservist who was being re-trained to ship out with an Army unit. He's been away training for the past five months for an upcoming 15-month deployment. (That is nearly two years away from his family for those of you keeping track.) Get this: His family has been living without a pay check for the last five months! Paperwork problems ... something has to give here!
The war:
Several times the discussion turned to a debate about the war. Interestingly enough, military families seem to mirror the country as a whole. Some still whole-heartedly support the war, mission, and the President. While others just want this all to end. They feel the price they have paid is too dear for any gain.
Senator Brown and his staff were well prepared for the outbreaks of emotion that this kind of discussion might create. They tried very hard to redirect everyone to what we had in common rather than our differences. They reminded us that we had made incredible sacrifices in a time when so few were being asked to make any at all .. .and that we all loved the people who served nobly no matter what the mission.
There were so many more stories that I know I fail to do justice. Still, I have to tell you, I have a whole new respect for the job that Senators and their staffers do on a daily basis. After just two hours of listening to these other families, I had trouble sleeping ... and none of them have left my mind.
I can only place hope in our Senator's belief that you CAN make a difference .. even as he and all of us watched a bill that might have made a real difference for real military families in Ohio go down by a small margin.
