Brothers At War; A Must See

They are images that we have all come to know, and to think we understand. The young soldier sitting on top of his vehicle, armored vests on, pouches positioned all over his chest, helmet on with goggles and night vision device mounting frame and a steely eyed look far to distant for only being 19. The young carrier pilot, giving the snappy salute, thumbs up, then reaching to hang on as a catapult launches his jet down a very short runway off the end of the carrier and off to war.

These images are becoming almost a part of our lives, the war enters yet another year, and today, I listened to a young lady who was being recognized as “Student of the Month” at our local Chamber of Commerce, matter of a factly announce, “my dad is getting ready to go on his sevenths deployment”. She said it without hesitation, and without trepidation, it was just something she had grown up with. “My dad is going off to war…again”.

How could we possibly understand what these families are going through, how would we know, if we are like so many American families still untouched by this war on terror?

I would offer this recommendation. Buy the movie, “Brothers At War” DVD, it is in Walmart, Target, Barnes and Noble and Best Buy and on Amazon. Jake Rademacher, the Director and Producer does more than tell a story about one family, he tells the whole story about one family, but it becomes a family you belong too, and you begin to sense the connecting lines back from Iraq to home and back.

I am not a professional movie critic, but like most of us, I know what I like. I like this movie. The language is a bit rough in spots, but it is the language of soldiers, one that I heard for nearly thirty years that I served. The camaraderie that you sense, between brothers and brothers at arms tell the story about how much they care about each other, and how fiercely they will fight to protect their own.

A Marine Staff Sergeant is shown to be a tough son of a gun, while leading and training an Iraqi infantry platoon, but when in the middle of a firefight loses some of them, you can tell that it wasn’t just a “job”, it was one of his men. He is instantly the consoling and calm voice as medics work to save the man’s life. You don’t find out what happens to the young Iraq soldier, but you do see the pain in the tough Marine. It is more than a just a job. Jake does a great job in making that point clear, and he does it skillfully and poignantly.

As Jake peels back the connections within his own family and that of his two brothers who are both soldiers and have served in Iraq, you find out that the family has already lost a son. You become a part of a family that is caught between conflicting emotions, one of pride for the soldiers and one of pain for the brother lost.

Listening to the ladies in their lives you see that each of them finds themselves in love with a man who is yet changed again, by what they have experienced and what they have seen. Both women, along with a mom and dad, deal with the changes by doing what we all do, smile, cry and lots of hugs. But when you see the new dad, fresh off the plane from Iraq, patiently avoid hugging his own daughter; because he knows he will scare her, you are reminded of the hidden costs of their service.

There are lots of films out there, but none as good as this one. It is one family, through the eyes of a brother, a brother who knows that this war is not over.

Take the time, here is the supporting website, Brothers At War, and watch the movie. You will be better for it. The fact that Jake has offered to assist USA Cares makes it even better, but that isn’t why I wrote this blog. I met Jake last December in a restaurant near the Sana Monica pier, and the man you see in the movie, is the man that will sit and eat pizza with you. He is one of us.

So why am I writing this beside the obvious reasons? Because.

While watching the Super Bowl, along with millions of other Americans, I realized at the end, that while the football game was either really good, or really bad, depending on who your team was, I was saddened by the lack of appreciation that they showed for the reason they were allowed to play the game in the first place. With the exception of a brief image of young men standing at attention in Iraq or Afghanistan, a precision team who carried our nation’s colors and a glance at the four ship flight of fighters streaking across the night’s sky, it was if maybe our nation wasn’t at war on two fronts, and that just maybe if you ignore it, it might go away. It won’t.

Jake, thanks for making the film. Thanks for taking the risk and for the effort you took to tell the story of not only your family, but of all the families who serve. You have done a service to all of those to whom we are so indebted.

Just so you know, in just the first week of February, 2010, USA Cares spent over $31,000 on our Veterans and their families, all in grants and all for validated needs. Many were in support of those who struggle with PTSD, and because of us, are receiving life changing treatment as they work to gain a "new normal" in their lives.

The story Jake told is valid, and he did a great job. Get the film.

Roger Stradley
USA Cares

Quite A Week In November

I’m often asked how this all happened, this thing called USA Cares, but last week was one of those weeks where I almost have to pinch myself and I still don't have a good answer.

Sunday, I saw somewhere over 22 square miles of beautiful homes, shops and golf courses, in a little place in central Florida called The Villages. I’ve see the commercials a hundred times, we flew into Leesburg and met some wonderful people were so encouraging about wanting to do something for USA Cares and listening to their story of running a small business and raising a handful of kids and now grandkids and want to thank those other “kids” who are standing tall in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The next evening, in Amway Coliseum, prior to a basketball game with the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Bobcats, I was nearly 40 young Americans standing tall in formation in center court. Both Marine and Army recruits stood in the full light and admirations of a growing crowd and watched them take the oath of enlistment from an Army Captain.

These young men and women joined the military of a nation at war. They volunteered to serve for anywhere from four to six years and undoubtedly will spend part of their tours in harm’s way. Words here cannot convey the emotions that Jim and I felt at that moment, and why for the past nearly seven years, USA Cares has been at the center of our lives. These “kids”, these young men and women deserve the very best that our nation can provide, both from the government and from citizens.

Monday was also another first for me personally, besides seeing my first NBA game (The Magic won the game) Jim and I also found ourselves at 2:28 p.m. looking to the east and seeing the streak of flame and white plumes as the space shuttle Atlantis hurtled toward the heavens. We both experienced the sense of pride that those Americans around us did and my only wish was that more of our citizens would have an opportunity to see the enormous power that our nation had on display.

Back to that evening at the game, we were fortunate to talk to hundreds of military members and their families, introducing USA Cares and hopefully setting the stage to provide assistance if they need it.

We flew back to Louisville the next morning and Wednesday evening I had the privilege for attending the monthly Fort Knox Chapter of MOAA. I learned that one of their long time chapter members, LTC (Retired) Bob Harman had passed away and that the family had designated USA Cares as one of two charities to be considered in lieu of flowers. This is perhaps the 15^th family over the past seven years to designate USA Cares in this fashion, and it is both humbling and moving to be honored in this fashion. On Friday, I attended his service at the Central Kentucky Veterans Cemetery and learned that LTC Harman was a Veteran of both World War II and Korea. I watched a young Major and a Staff Sergeant fold the flag and present it to his widow. What nobody in the audience missed was that both Soldiers had the combat service bars and accompanying personal medals that told us that they had both already served multiple tours.

While I was standing there after the services another retired Veteran who has been a wonderful supporter of USA Cares handed me an envelope and told me that I would save him 44 cents. I later learned that he had handed me an envelope with a $500 donation.

Along the way this week, a volunteer came in and catalogued over 50 new handmade Lapwraps that will be sent out the coming week. Some of them are going to Fort Hood and perhaps some of those wounded by the attack last week. Meanwhile the special fund set up for the Fort Hood Families continued to provide support to families within hours of receiving requests, one within an hour.

These Lapwraps keep coming in, almost daily from all over America, and there are always cards from the donor thanking our servicemen for their service and their sacrifice.

Very humbling, to say the least.

Thank you to the some 4,000 Lapwrap contributors, you are both amazing and inspiring.

We also received over 150 new requests for assistance and issued over $12,000 in support for the week.

Quite a week.

Roger

A Marine's Perspective About Support from home

I don't often send things on to the blog that someone else has written, but after reading what the Marine Major wrote, I felt obligated to do what I was asked and "pass it on". After almost seven years of working with USA Cares, I think he has it exactly right.

Thanks, Vietnam Vets

Roger
USA Cares

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A Thank You to Vietnam Vets from a Marine in Iraq

A guy gets time to think over here and I was thinking about all the support we get from home.

Sometimes it's overwhelming. We get care packages at times faster than we can use them. There are boxes and boxes of toiletries and snacks lining the center of every tent; the generosity has been amazing. So, I was pondering the question: "Why do we have so much support?"

In my opinion, it came down to one thing: Vietnam. I think we learned a lesson, as a nation, that no matter what, you have to support the troops who are on the line, who are risking everything. We treated them so poorly back then.

When they returned was even worse. The stories are nightmarish of what our returning warriors were subjected to. It is a national scar, a blemish on our country, an embarrassment to all of us.

After Vietnam, it had time to sink in. The guilt in our collective consciousness grew. It shamed us. However, we learned from our mistake.

Somewhere during the late 1970's and into the 80's, we realized that we can’t treat our warriors that way. So, starting during the Gulf War, when the first real opportunity arose to stand up and support the troops, we did. We did it to support our friends and family going off to war. But we also did it to right the wrongs from the Vietnam era. We treated our troops like the heroes they were, acknowledged and celebrated their sacrifice, and rejoiced at their homecoming instead of spitting on them.

And that support continues today for those of us in Iraq. Our country knows that it must support us and it does. The lesson was learned in Vietnam and we are better because of it.

Everyone who has gone before is a hero. They are celebrated in my heart. I think admirably of all those who have gone before me. From those who fought to establish this country in the late 1770's to those I serve with here in Iraq.

They have all sacrificed to ensure our freedom.

But when I get back, I'm going to make it a personal mission to specifically thank every Vietnam Vet I encounter for their sacrifice. Because if nothing else good came from that terrible war, one thing did. It was the lesson learned on how we treat our warriors. We as a country learned from our mistake and now treat our warriors as heroes, as we should.

I am the beneficiary of their sacrifice. Not only for the freedom they, like veterans from other wars, ensured, but for how well our country now treats my fellow Marines and I. We are the beneficiaries of their sacrifice.

Semper Fidelis,

Major Brian P. Bresnahan
United States Marine Corps

14 APR 09 50-50

Good morning! We are starting off with a bang! Although we are supposed to really start tomorrow, but it is all for families and so I am just going to put it up there so you can see how it will look. Steve in Maryland, and Linda in Nevada you guys are on the right track and showing the way!! 

Roger

Caring Casualties - The Undecorated Spouse

There’s a largely unreported and unrecognized casualty group associated with the war on terror: The military family.

These are the caring casualties. They are just as wounded as the service members themselves. They face the same struggles as those who serve, but receive less recognition or acknowledgement of their plight. They’re fighting to have their wounded warriors healed while dealing with threats to their homes and a struggling economy, and they’re trying to take care of their families – many with little to no support. It’s completely understandable that they are passionately fatigued. Life is put on hold as surely as if they also were wounded. Now imagine if the wounded didn’t know they were hurt but had all the symptoms.

A recent RAND Study said there may be 300,000 returning service members who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and possibly 320,000 more suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury. Of those, half are undiagnosed, and of those diagnosed only half receive treatment.

Without a doubt the service member needs to get to treatment. There’s an argument that the caring casualties should receive treatment, too. With some compassion and understanding we can make changes in the lives of our returning veterans and their families, showing our unconditional dedication and willingness to take care of them.

Treatment can’t wait. These warriors aren’t getting the help they need because in many cases, they don’t know they need assistance, or worse, they are in denial, unable or unwilling to ask for help. This places the burden on their families.


Service members go home and try to pick up where they left off, a life that’s been in stasis. Relationships and work performance become difficult, made even more so when the causes are viewed as whining or feigning an injury to avoid work or duty or passion and compassion. It wasn’t anything the family did or didn’t do. It’s because the service member was exposed to events and circumstances outside understandable comprehension, because they have seen images that may never fade.

There are hundreds if not thousands of books written that attempt to bring home the savage nature of war, but at the personal level, each individual is unique and each family faces a particular set of challenges that can’t be specifically treated. Each of these individuals has to be treated. The RAND study said that the cost to America of non-treatment of those affected is measured in the billions of dollars. And this is only a measure of dollars, not of the toll on marriages and children, not of the tragedy of alcohol abuse or even suicide.

We have to take dramatic steps, including creating a national dialogue among health care providers, the government and the service members and their families to address Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The stigma of this wound must be removed. America has a rich history of finding innovative solutions to complex problems, and this is one of those times.

Roger Stradley
Founder, USA Cares

American Heroes - A New Book

I just finished reading LtC Oliver North's newest book about the war on terror, titled "American Heroes" - "The Fight Against Radical Islam". The way that the Colonel has weaved the stories he saw along with the valor of those who he highlighted in the book was spectacular. As a retired soldier and the father of a active duty Marine, seeing the leadership and courage of the those that are serving was confirmation of what we all know, that America's best and brightest are standing on the wall for us. It is not lost on me that 1% of America is defending the rest of us.

When LtC North spoke at our USA Cares' 5th Year Anniversary Gala, he recounted a few of the stories in the book, but he also talked about how America and the coalition is bringing freedom and equality to the women of that region for the first time in their history. As he said, "Can there be anything more noble than that?" Having

I strongly recommend this book for those who want to see the other side of the story.

Roger