Montel Williams Passionate Speech to Congress
I never knew former talk show host Montel Williams was a U.S. Navy and Marine Corp veteran. I know he has MS and is a big supporter of Medical Marijuana but I had no idea how passionate he is about our military. Montel went before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee Wednesday to make an impassioned plea for the release of U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi.
Tahmooressi made a wrong turn at the border in March, accidently crossing into Mexico with several firearms in his vehicle. Firearms that are legal in the United States. He suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, has been held in a Mexican prison for the past six months.
Soldier suicides will go on for many years according to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno. Click here to read that disturbing story.
They have created over 900 programs to curb military suicides but yet it continues to rise.
The Government and military train the soldiers for battle and to wage war but when they come back, seem to leave the healing up to the soldiers and their families. It's so sad to me that sometimes the hardest part of war, for some, is coming home.
I suffer from PTSD and am fortunate enough to have a strong support system around me. When I get quiet and disappear, my family and wife have pulled me back. Not everyone has this kind of support. Not every treatment works the same. This is not one of those injuries you can "suck up and get back in there." Getting angry and yelling at the person DO NOT WORK. Telling someone to "be a man" shows how little they know about PTSD. When you are triggered, you feel paralyzed and dead. You don't remember how to be a person, let alone be a man. I have been triggered by kids movies and certain sounds. I never know when the next one will hit. No one can ever see them coming.
Supporting your troops means more than waving a flag. How dare we? We can do better.
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