"Healing the Hidden Wounds" Symposium to Unite Nashville Military and Private Veterans' Caregivers

Happy Armed Forces Day, everyone.

On Thursday, I buttoned up my semester at NIU.

This weekend, I'm busy preparing for my upcoming "Healing the Hidden Wounds" veteran symposium presentation. Organized by Nashville Public Television, NAMI Tennessee and YMCA/Restore Ministries, the summit aims to raise awareness of existing resources for active duty personnel and veterans from all branches of military service and to begin forging partnerships between the Veterans Administration and community mental health agencies.

Event: "Healing the Hidden Wounds"
Date: May 21, 2008
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Place: Scarritt-Bennett Center, Foundren Hall, 1008 19th Avenue South, Nashville, TN

Visit the event sign-up page if you'd like to join us.

Most of you, even while my posting here has been on hiatus, have surely seen the avalanche (an incredible understatement) of combat PTSD-related news reported lately. While the news itself can be unnerving, the fact that we are tackling these problems publicly is a relief to me. The increased coverage given and attention paid to these issues -- and the promising number of greater minds and talents that have entered the reporting and advocacy and support fray -- is a welcome change from the relatively quiet 2005 media landscape that greeted my initial questions on our returning troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Again, I thank everyone who has been a supporter of my work these past years. It's been a remarkable journey, much more so than I ever could have imagined at the outset. I have appreciated the chance to write on the important issues that concern both our military families and the rest of us as well, especially when it seemed not enough of us were paying attention or speaking up. I'm happy to count myself among those who at least tried to do both to the best of my abilities.

My Nashville keynote address is the last such event slated for my book, Moving a Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and America's Returning Troops. Moving forward, PTSD Combat will be updated only occasionally, not routinely as I've tried to do these past years. While updates to the ePluribus Media PTSD Timeline are planned in July and that part of my OEF/OIF PTSD work will continue, my blogging here will remain sporadic as I expand my reporting focus and writing to other areas as well.

This work, however, will certainly remain the most fulfilling and valuable of all that I have done or attempt to do in the future. Thank you for taking this journey with me, and for doing what you can in your own way to honor the sacrifices and pay your respects to the service of the incredible men and women who wear our nation's uniform.

They deserve no less from us.