Children of Military Families

This is to be streamed live on Thursday, 9.24.09, at noon to two pm, 12:00 to 2:00pm pt.

Children of Military Families -- Helping Them Cope With Deployment and Trauma - UCTV

University of California Television provides informational, educational, and enrichment television programming to the public and draws upon the vast intellectual, scientific, and creative talents of the University of California.

Dr. Lieberman will explore in depth the considerable impacts on children of various ages at all stages of deployment, especially reintegration. She will explore how we can support and encourage their well being and resilience and the health of their parents and families.

Join us in person or online for this informative 2 hour training on a matter of crucial importance for all mental health professionals and all those serving our military families.

Survivor Corps Veterans Community Reintegration Summit

Quick Impressions from: Ilona Meagher who is participating

Monday, January 26, 2009

Great things happening at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C., today and into tomorrow as an historic conference has gotten underway. Its aim: Foster synergy among a wide range of stakeholders to better serve the reintegration needs of returning veterans and military families.

To do this, barriers and competition between entities need to be breached and broken down into a laser-focused 'megacommunty' made up of the federal, state, and local government sectors; large and small businesses; national and community-based NGOs and nonprofits; media (national, local and new); healthcare providers; educational institutions; veterans service organizations and veterans/military families.

Today was a full day -- working lunch included.

This is not a conference where panelists talk about the issues, wrap up with a brief Q & A, and then move on to the next thing.

Early this morning, attendees were assigned to their stakeholder category (I'm in the Media/Communications group) and, following a brief but inspiring welcome and introduction, then set out to first nail down what the current reintegration landscape is -- from each group's vantage point -- and then begin to brainstorm what must be done to "scale it up."

From Survivor Corps:

Find The Rest At Ilona's Site, with more to come after today, the final day, and Ilona returns home.

Broken Military Marriages:

Another Casualty of War

If politicians want to protect marriage, they should work to support veterans and military families.

More than 13,000 military marriages ended last year, and mine came dangerously close to becoming one of them, but it wasn’t because of some gays getting hitched. Military marriages are at increasingly high risk of failure, and combat is the cause.

Most of the boots on the ground in Iraq are worn by Marines, active duty Army, or Army National Guard. They have served the most and longest deployments, seen the most combat, and suffered the most injuries, both physical and psychological. In 2008, the active-duty Army and Marines also had a higher percentage of failed marriages than the Navy or Air Force, whose rates held steady or decreased slightly.

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National Conference on Reintegration

Of Service Members and Veterans

Community Reintegration Summit on Service Members and Veterans Returning to Civilian Life
Washington, D.C.
Carnegie Institution
January 26-27, 2009

Survivor Corps, Booz Allen Hamilton, and The Veterans' Coalition are co-hosting a Summit to convene a community of leaders from the public, private, and civil sectors. Together we can collaboratively address the reintegration of service members and veterans as they return home to their families, communities, schools, and jobs.

The Challenge

Over one and a half million service members have deployed in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Over thirty thousand have been physically wounded, with many more experiencing less visible, psychological wounds. Many returning veterans are facing family, employment, and other community reintegration issues. Recent reports suggest an increase in rates of suicide [1], alcohol and drug abuse [2], homelessness [3], and domestic violence [4]. These traumatic effects of war, left unaddressed, could have far-reaching negative consequences for the individuals affected, their families, and our nation.

Leaders of the public, private, and civil sectors have been doing substantial work to address the issues around reintegration-individually and through partnerships or coalitions. Clearly, the hard work of these organizations has improved the lives of returning service members and veterans, yet many challenges remain. Reintegration issues are complex, and the responsibility for dealing with them is shared among many organizations. Successful solutions to the issues may require a shift in leadership approach and a significant increase in collaborative action.

The Reintegration Summit

To continue the work accomplished at the Initiators Conference, Survivor Corps, Booz Allen Hamilton, and The Veterans' Coalition will host the Community Reintegration Summit on January 26-27, 2009, at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, DC. The goal is to convene a broader community of leaders from the public, private, and civil sectors to collaboratively address the issues of reintegration that affect how service members return to family, work, school, and community following their war time service.
There are four key objectives for the Summit:

* Review themes, issues, and challenges faced by service members and veterans returning to civilian life
* Develop a definition of successful community reintegration
* Develop action plans to address specific issues of community reintegration that reach across sectors
* Launch megacommunity workgroups to address specific issues of community reintegration

At the Summit, attendees will confront the toughest issues of community reintegration by participating in a dynamic simulation. Participants will be divided into various teams, whose assumptions, actions, and agreements will drive the simulation. Teams will work together, share information, and develop coordinated decisions and actions. As the simulation advances in time, participants will see the consequences and long-term impacts of their decisions on service members and veterans.

The issues of community reintegration are complex and will likely take years to solve. Participants will leave the Summit with a greater understanding of these issues as informed by the perspectives of leaders from all sectors. They will also have the opportunity to engage in action-oriented workgroups to facilitate leader-to-leader collaboration between organizations moving beyond the Summit. We believe that by gaining commitments to action, developing measurable goals, and routinely checking our progress against them, together we can sustain progress toward helping service members make a healthy return to their families and communities.

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An Army of Homeless

The Nation's Hardest to House

According to reports, it took an average of nine years postdeployment for Vietnam vets to fall into homelessness. There’s concern that it’s happening much sooner for the recent vets, says Blecker.

National Conference on Reintegration

Of Service Members and Veterans

Community Reintegration Summit on Service Members and Veterans Returning to Civilian Life
Washington, D.C.
Carnegie Institution
January 26-27, 2009

Survivor Corps, Booz Allen Hamilton, and The Veterans' Coalition are co-hosting a Summit to convene a community of leaders from the public, private, and civil sectors. Together we can collaboratively address the reintegration of service members and veterans as they return home to their families, communities, schools, and jobs.

The Challenge

Over one and a half million service members have deployed in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Over thirty thousand have been physically wounded, with many more experiencing less visible, psychological wounds. Many returning veterans are facing family, employment, and other community reintegration issues. Recent reports suggest an increase in rates of suicide [1], alcohol and drug abuse [2], homelessness [3], and domestic violence [4]. These traumatic effects of war, left unaddressed, could have far-reaching negative consequences for the individuals affected, their families, and our nation.

Leaders of the public, private, and civil sectors have been doing substantial work to address the issues around reintegration-individually and through partnerships or coalitions. Clearly, the hard work of these organizations has improved the lives of returning service members and veterans, yet many challenges remain. Reintegration issues are complex, and the responsibility for dealing with them is shared among many organizations. Successful solutions to the issues may require a shift in leadership approach and a significant increase in collaborative action.

The Reintegration Summit

To continue the work accomplished at the Initiators Conference, Survivor Corps, Booz Allen Hamilton, and The Veterans' Coalition will host the Community Reintegration Summit on January 26-27, 2009, at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, DC. The goal is to convene a broader community of leaders from the public, private, and civil sectors to collaboratively address the issues of reintegration that affect how service members return to family, work, school, and community following their war time service.
There are four key objectives for the Summit:

* Review themes, issues, and challenges faced by service members and veterans returning to civilian life
* Develop a definition of successful community reintegration
* Develop action plans to address specific issues of community reintegration that reach across sectors
* Launch megacommunity workgroups to address specific issues of community reintegration

At the Summit, attendees will confront the toughest issues of community reintegration by participating in a dynamic simulation. Participants will be divided into various teams, whose assumptions, actions, and agreements will drive the simulation. Teams will work together, share information, and develop coordinated decisions and actions. As the simulation advances in time, participants will see the consequences and long-term impacts of their decisions on service members and veterans.

The issues of community reintegration are complex and will likely take years to solve. Participants will leave the Summit with a greater understanding of these issues as informed by the perspectives of leaders from all sectors. They will also have the opportunity to engage in action-oriented workgroups to facilitate leader-to-leader collaboration between organizations moving beyond the Summit. We believe that by gaining commitments to action, developing measurable goals, and routinely checking our progress against them, together we can sustain progress toward helping service members make a healthy return to their families and communities.

Fw: From Ilona at PTSD Combat

"Return to Honor" Reintegration Workshops
Posted: 25 Jan 2007 05:53 AM CST
I received the following transition training workshop information from Martin Richardson of Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, PA. They will be conducting a series of free workshops, called Return to Honor, aimed at helping returning veterans and their families return to.............
Pass the above on if you know anyone who needs this information and especially if gerneral area of the workshops, Thanks.

PTSD a Priority to New Marine Sergeant Major
Posted: 24 Jan 2007 02:36 PM CST
From the San Diego Union-Tribune: Camp Pendleton's Carlton W. Kent is the service's new sergeant major. He will serve as the point man for the Corps' commandant, Gen. James T. Conway, on everything from wartime deployments to health concerns for the enlisted. “My main focus is...........