Military Families Say: “Bring our Troops Home Now and Allow Them to Heal”

By
Robert L. Hanafin
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1
1709

This posting is a follow-up to VT coverage of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) and Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) forming an alliance with other progressive Veterans groups to implement Operation Recovery.

Afghanistan & Iraq Vets Call for End to Deployment of Traumatized Troops https://www.veteranstodayarchives.com/2010/10/06/afghanistan-iraq-vets-call-for-end-to-deployment-of-traumatized-troops/

Military Families join IVAW in Operation Recovery: Stop the Deployment of Traumatized Troops. https://www.veteranstodayarchives.com/2010/09/29/military-families-join-operation-recovery-stop-the-deployment-of-traumatized-troops/

Thus, far VT has received input from MFSO and Veterans for Peace (VFP) expressing their determination to help IVAW make Operation Recovery a means to end the continued U.S. military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

ROBERT L. HANAFIN, Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired, GS-14, U.S. Civil Service-Retired, Vice-Chair, Editorial Board – VT News Network

MFSO: Operation Recovery! Can you participate?

Today, Iraq Veterans Against the War launched their first strategic campaign – Operation Recovery: Stop the Deployment of Traumatized Troops with a march from Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the Senate Russell Building. To sign their pledge and help meet the goal of 2,000 supporters when they launch their campaign, go here.

As military families, we know this story well. We have seen our loved ones sent back to war without adequate care for physical or mental injuries –  care that they needed and deserved. Because of our stories, we can play a vital role in this campaign.

Right now, we are looking for a few people who can speak directly to the issue of redeployment of troops that are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and Military Sexual Trauma (MST).

If you are willing to write a short account of your story (anonymous or not), or be interviewed by the media about this issue, please fill out the following form and email it to one of the Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) contacts listed below.  If you are interested in speaking to the press but have never done so before, MFSO can support you!

MFSO needs your:

Name:

City:

State:

Day phone:

Evening phone:

Information about loved one who is/was in the military:

What is your personal experience with the issue of redeployment of traumatized troops?

Are you willing to speak to the press:

If not, are you willing to have us share your story anonymously:

There will be other ways to participate in this campaign in the future. If you are interested in being involved in a background role (not personally affected, or not interested in speaking to the press) please contact Nikki Morse at the email or phone number below.

In peace and solidarity,

Nikki Morse, Organizer Military Families Speak Out   nikki@mfso.org 347-703-0570 (cell) www.mfso.org www.mfsotribute.org

At the Start of the 10th Year of the War in Afghanistan, Military Families Say: “Bring our Troops Home Now and Allow Them to Heal”

Family Members of Troops Currently Deployed, Recently Returned, or Killed in Action in Afghanistan Available for Interview

MFSO Contacts:
Nikki Morse, nikki@mfso.org or 347-703-0570
Deborah Forter, deborah@mfso.org or 508-237-5343
To connect with Iraq and Afghani Veterans directly, contact Maggie Martin – IVAW Media Coordinator, 912.596.8484, maggiemartin1@gmail.com
October 7, 2010 – Today marks the 9th anniversary of the start of the Afghanistan War, now the longest war in American history, with 1,321 American service members killed in action, at least 8,000 wounded, tens of thousands of Afghani civilians killed, and over 352 billion of American taxpayer dollars wasted.
Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), the largest organization of military families to speak out against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, calls on Senators and Representatives to bring our troops home now and provide the support they need to recover from the wounds of war, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and Military Sexual Trauma (MST).
Members of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), and their chapter Gold Star Families Speak Out (GSFSO), will be participating in vigils and actions to mark this day. We are also involved in the launch of a national veteran-led campaign to end the military’s widespread practice of deploying wounded troops into war zones.
Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) Operation Recovery: Stop the Deployment of Traumatized Troops will focus on ending the practice of deploying service members suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and Military Sexual Trauma (MST).
One MFSO family member recalls the experience of her cousin who served in the US Marine Corps, and was deployed after 2 tours of duty, including the 2007 troop surge in Fallujah, Iraq, “He wasn’t mentally stable enough to return to combat operations in Afghanistan but the Marines deployed him anyway. He had to go because orders are orders. On December 26th 2009, just two weeks into combat operations in Afghanistan , he killed himself because he couldn’t handle the war raging in his head.”
How many more lost lives and injured young souls will it take before our Congressional leaders will demonstrate the kind of courage our loved ones in the military show every day?
During on-going Congressional elections candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives BETTER stop thinking about political posturing.
When will Congress stop thinking about political posturing, show the courage to end the war, and allow our surviving troops to heal and recover from this nine-year debacle?
Family members of both the Afghanistan and Iraq War veterans, including many with personal experience of having a loved one deployed while wounded, are available for interview.
We supported the IVAW press conference at 1:30pm today at Russell Senate Office Building, Constitution Ave NE, and Delaware Ave. NE At this press conference, veterans and military family members testified about their experiences with redeployment and announced the launch of Operation Recovery.
Military Families Speak Out includes over 4,000 military families whose loved ones serve or have served in the military since 2002; it is the largest organization of military families to be speaking out against wars in the history of the United States. Gold Star Families Speak Out is a national chapter of MFSO and includes families whose loved ones died as a result of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. More information about Military Families Speak Out can be found at www.mfso.org; more information about Gold Star Families Speak Out can be found at www.gsfso.org -30- P.O. Box 300549 | Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 US

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Robert L. Hanafin
Readers are more than welcome to use the articles I've posted on Veterans Today, I've had to take a break from VT as Veterans Issues and Peace Activism Editor and staff writer due to personal medical reasons in our military family that take away too much time needed to properly express future stories or respond to readers in a timely manner. My association with VT since its founding in 2004 has been a very rewarding experience for me. Retired from both the Air Force and Civil Service. Went in the regular Army at 17 during Vietnam (1968), stayed in the Army Reserve to complete my eight year commitment in 1976. Served in Air Defense Artillery, and a Mechanized Infantry Division (4MID) at Fort Carson, Co. Used the GI Bill to go to college, worked full time at the VA, and non-scholarship Air Force 2-Year ROTC program for prior service military. Commissioned in the Air Force in 1977. Served as a Military Intelligence Officer from 1977 to 1994. Upon retirement I entered retail drugstore management training with Safeway Drugs Stores in California. Retail Sales Management was not my cup of tea, so I applied my former U.S. Civil Service status with the VA to get my foot in the door at the Justice Department, and later Department of the Navy retiring with disability from the Civil Service in 2000. I've been with Veterans Today since the site originated. I'm now on the Editorial Board. I was also on the Editorial Board of Our Troops News Ladder another progressive leaning Veterans and Military Family news clearing house. I remain married for over 45 years. I am both a Vietnam Era and Gulf War Veteran. I served on Okinawa and Fort Carson, Colorado during Vietnam and in the Office of the Air Force Inspector General at Norton AFB, CA during Desert Storm. I retired from the Air Force in 1994 having worked on the Air Staff and Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon.

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