Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal Needs to Learn That Women Are Also Deployed

I usually appreciate the opinion pieces of Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal and the one this weekend was no exception -- except for her total non-mention of women serving deployments.

Here is the letter to the editor that I emailed The Wall Street Journal and which I hope will be printed:

Peggy Noonan's June 26-27 Declarations "McChrystal Forces Us to Focus" was an excellent opinion piece except for her failure to include women in her references to active-duty military personnel repeatedly deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Ms. Noonan wrote "Their sons and nephews have come back from repeat tours ..." while failing to include daughters and nieces. She also wrote "... children reaching 12 and 13 without a father at home" that should have said "without a father or mother at home."

Perhaps Ms. Noonan should be briefed on how many women now serve repeated deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, and how many of these women have also paid the ultimate price, leaving their children without a mother.

Our country needs to acknowledge the sacrifices of both the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces.

Phyllis Zimbler Miller
Los Angeles, CA
PTSD Walk Across America
www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest military-related project is supporting the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America.Phyllis' social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands. Read her social media marketing blog.

Thanks to Bizymoms.com for Supporting the PTSD Walk Across America

Bizymoms.com has placed a banner for the PTSD Walk Across America on its home page with a link to the walk’s Facebook page.

And Nina Amerasinghe – Director of Experts Relations for the Bizymoms' Expert Advice Section & Small Business Advisors Center – has even offered to include the info in the next month BizyNews newsletter that goes to subscribed readers under the Special Community Announcement with a link to the pdf PTSD info document from www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com

In addition, Nina has offered to place the PTSD Walk banner on Bizymoms’ relevant U.S. city pages. Nina said:

"When it comes to something that will help others, Bizymoms.com likes to support it. So it's our pleasure, Phyllis, because you are right your event would help save lives and there are so many who need something like this to come their way and for them to know about it is important."

If you have a website and would like to carry the banner that Nina created (and has graciously allowed us to use for others -- it's the one shown in this blog post), email pzmiller@millermosaicllc.com and I’ll email you the banner.

And on a related PTSD subject, I got a DM on Twitter from @VetsPrevail (http://www.vetsprevail.com/): 18 Vets commit suicide every day. We need your help to spread the word about this powerful video: http://t.co/vxsyPDa Please pass it on.

I watched the brief video – now you watch it too: http://t.co/vxsyPDa
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest military-related project is supporting the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America.Phyllis' social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands. Read her social media marketing blog.

Looking for a Few Good Sponsors for the PTSD Walk Across America

The PTSD Walk Across America is looking for a few good sponsors who want to benefit from the social media marketing campaign to promote the walk and their own businesses. Check out this brief video now for more information.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest military-related project is supporting the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America.Phyllis' social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands. Read her social media marketing blog.

Interesting Results From Studies on PTSD

A June 7, 2010, Los Angeles Times article reported some interesting findings on studies done about PTSD.

Read the article now.

And have you joined the Facebook page for the PTSD Walk Across America? If not, join now at www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk
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Pyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest military-related project is supporting the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America.Phyllis' social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands. Read her social media marketing blog.

The Vital Question of the Public’s Perception of Combat-Related PTSD

During the last few days I’ve been cced on a series of emails between Dan Stepel, the 47-year-old U.S. Marine veteran who will be undertaking the 12,000 mile PTSD Walk Across America, and someone who has designed a clothing item that features a humorous slogan about PTSD.

We’ll call the person George, and I won’t mention the slogan except to say that in Dan’s perception (and mine, I admit) the joke slogan denigrates the seriousness of PTSD.

Dan emailed George explaining why this particular humorous slogan could be detrimental to the public perception of PTSD, and George responded by saying veterans to whom he has shown the clothing item think the slogan funny.

Here’s what I then wrote to George with a cc to Dan:

I believe the two of you are speaking about apples and oranges.

This belief is based on the last two years in which I have interviewed people on BlogTalkRadio and written numerous blog posts about PTSD and the horrible statistics related to it, including terrible wife abuse, high numbers of suicide, withdrawal from loved ones, etc.

(Do a search for PTSD on my site www.mrslieutenant.blogspot.com)

Here are the apples and oranges:

The apples are veterans that you [George] come in contact with who, I suspect, either do not personally know the terrible ravages of PTSD or who, luckily, have been able to get adequate treatment for it. These are veterans who can indeed laugh at the sentiment on your [clothing item].

The oranges are the active-duty military personnel and their families plus the veterans and their families who are currently living with the terribleness of PTSD either because they can't or don't get treatment or because the treatment they are getting is not effective.

I believe that, if you took a survey among all the PTSD-support organizations that I have come across in the last two years, you would find that most people would agree with Dan's sentiment for one very simple reason:

Every time a joke is made of PTSD -- thus possibly convincing a military person that he/she should be able to take care of the devastating symptoms himself/herself (the macho factor plus fear of military career reprisal) -- the joke may be consigning a military personnel to killing himself/herself or irreparably harming his/her spouse, children or other loved ones.

I strong urge you to read some of my blog posts before you so lightly dismiss what Dan wrote you. I am convinced that, after reading these blog posts, you will consider seriously the ramifications of making light about the brutal reality of PTSD.

Unfortunately, what veterans at the VA can laugh about does not extend to people grappling day-to-day with the terrible turmoil of PTSD. And when those veterans who can laugh wear your proposed [clothing item] out into the rest of the world, the stage is set for some truly terrible consequences.

Why not, instead, come up with a saying on the [clothing item] that could encourage people to get the help that they so desperately need?

How about:

PTSD

Got treatment?

[This was the end of my email response. If you have an opinion on this subject, please share it in the comments below. And for information on the symptoms of PTSD, see www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com]
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest military-related project is supporting the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America.Phyllis' social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands. Read her social media marketing blog.

The Documentary RESTREPO and PTSD

I've just seen the RESTREPO trailer as a preview in a movie theater. The film will be in theaters June 25th and features the men of Battle Company, 2nd of the 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

Here's the description of the documentary as provided on the documentary's Facebook page:

RESTREPO is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, “Restrepo,” named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military.

This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley; there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 94-minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you.

If you watch the brief trailer above, you'll notice that the very first statements describe a major symptom of PTSD. It is for soldiers like the one speaking in the trailer that Dan Stepel proposes to walk 12,000 miles through 50 states for the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America.

Visit the documentary's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/restrepothemovie and visit the Facebook page for PTSD Walk Across America at www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest military-related project is supporting the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America.Phyllis' social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands. Read her social media marketing blog.

Patriot Outreach Offers Help to Military-Related Personnel Dealing With Stress and Other Issues

I had the pleasure of having a phone conversation with retired Colonel Antonio P. Monaco about Patriot Outreach’s mission of “confidential and effective help with anger, stress, pain, combat stress and even P.T.S.D.”

The focus of this organization’s effort is centered on the “Be Still & Know” exercise – which you can learn about at http://www.patriotoutreach.org/ – and the organization supports “all military service men, women, retirees, veterans, government civilians, battlefield contractors and their families.”

The website of the organization also offers people the opportunity to tell their own stories, and I highly recommend you read the stories on the site – see http://www.patriotoutreach.org/letters.html – and then submit your own story if you have one to share.

FYI – To support active-duty military personnel and veterans getting help with PTSD, please join the Facebook page of the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America – www.facebook.com/PTSDWalk
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest military-related project is supporting the upcoming PTSD Walk Across America.Phyllis' social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands. Read her social media marketing blog.