FORT LEONARD WOOD— One by one their hands went up in response to Cpt. Bogart’s question.
Yes, they’d been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Then one by one they went down in response to his next question. Yes, the experience had changed them.
The unspoken question, though, was the topic of the Year of the NCO event that took place Monday. How many had sought treatment for problems they may have brought home with them from the battlefield?
General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital Command Sgt. Maj. Antonio Milton spoke the crowd of non-commissioned officers (NCO) and lower enlisted Soldiers about recognizing the signs and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and told them it’s OK to seek help.
“It’s a stigma, it’s still a stigma, it’s always going to be a stigma,” Milton said. “But we’re trying to open the doors up. We have a lot of Soldiers that are seeking help today. A lot of Soldiers have identified with the conditions they have and a lot of Soldiers want to be treated.”
Still, taking the first step can be difficult for the men and women in uniform who are supposed to be “tough” and may be afraid treatment could mean ruining their military career.
It’s that concept the Army and other branches of the Armed Forces is trying to overcome.
“We’re trying to pull the stigma down and say, ‘It’s alright. It’s OK. You can seek treatment and you won’t be looked at (different) in any kind of way,” Milton said. And for those that want to stay on active duty? They only need to look at Cpt. Bogart’s story to see that it is possible.
Bogart, who lost part of his vision in an explosion while deployed, was rated at a high enough disability to leave the military. But he challenged the decision and made the choice to stay.
“With major injuries he stayed in the military, because he felt he could provide more for the military in than out,” Milton said, noting he asked Bogart to share his experience with the group because of what he’s been through. “That’s why I tried to focus this particular one on actual stories of people that say ‘Hey, yes I’m ill, I recognize that I’m ill and I need to get some help. And hey, it’s OK.’”
The efforts to combat PTSD and the stigma attached to it are being aimed at NCOs and their Soldiers.
“That’s the main focus because senior NCOs, like myself, and officers and colonels and generals, they understand... they will actually go and seek the treatment,” Milton said. “It’s the junior Soldier that we’re trying to reach out and touch. So it’s the lower enlisted NCOs and those junior Soldiers and those Soldiers that are coming into the Army today. Those are the Soldiers we’re trying to reach.”
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FORT LEONARD WOOD— One by one their hands went up in response to Cpt. Bogart’s question.
Yes, they’d been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Then one by one they went down in response to his next question. Yes, the experience had changed them.
The unspoken question, though, was the topic of the Year of the NCO event that took place Monday. How many had sought treatment for problems they may have brought home with them from the battlefield?
General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital Command Sgt. Maj. Antonio Milton spoke the crowd of non-commissioned officers (NCO) and lower enlisted Soldiers about recognizing the signs and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and told them it’s OK to seek help.
“It’s a stigma, it’s still a stigma, it’s always going to be a stigma,” Milton said. “But we’re trying to open the doors up. We have a lot of Soldiers that are seeking help today. A lot of Soldiers have identified with the conditions they have and a lot of Soldiers want to be treated.”
Still, taking the first step can be difficult for the men and women in uniform who are supposed to be “tough” and may be afraid treatment could mean ruining their military career.
It’s that concept the Army and other branches of the Armed Forces is trying to overcome.
“We’re trying to pull the stigma down and say, ‘It’s alright. It’s OK. You can seek treatment and you won’t be looked at (different) in any kind of way,” Milton said. And for those that want to stay on active duty? They only need to look at Cpt. Bogart’s story to see that it is possible.
Bogart, who lost part of his vision in an explosion while deployed, was rated at a high enough disability to leave the military. But he challenged the decision and made the choice to stay.
“With major injuries he stayed in the military, because he felt he could provide more for the military in than out,” Milton said, noting he asked Bogart to share his experience with the group because of what he’s been through. “That’s why I tried to focus this particular one on actual stories of people that say ‘Hey, yes I’m ill, I recognize that I’m ill and I need to get some help. And hey, it’s OK.’”
The efforts to combat PTSD and the stigma attached to it are being aimed at NCOs and their Soldiers.
“That’s the main focus because senior NCOs, like myself, and officers and colonels and generals, they understand... they will actually go and seek the treatment,” Milton said. “It’s the junior Soldier that we’re trying to reach out and touch. So it’s the lower enlisted NCOs and those junior Soldiers and those Soldiers that are coming into the Army today. Those are the Soldiers we’re trying to reach.”
