Tiêu đề TrVor_Military_final words from Ryan.nov 2009 (2).pdf ✅

1 F O R E W O R D etired now from United States military service, I served in the Middle- East, Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, Europe and was assigned to domestic service. I was both an officer and a military dependent. My academic studies were in military history at one of our service acade- mies. I want to share my own firsthand knowledge and personal experiences with two veterans of World War II. One veteran was my own father who served as a gunner on B-17s in the air campaign over Europe and who passed away when I was 18 years old; the second was my stepfather, a Navy Pearl Harbor survivor who has also passed away. My mother was married to both, each for 25 years in turn. I was raised by both men. In recalling them, each had in common a reluc- tance to talk about their wartime experiences. Although they were physically close to me, they never expressed any personal thoughts beyond the weather or similar mundane matters. They were very withdrawn from any social in- teraction, even among family members, and rarely participated in social events outside the home. I learned about their service experiences from their rows of awarded ribbons and their official records. But there was never anything forthcoming as to their personal experiences or feelings. I knew the cumulative records of these men from others, but never from their own lips. Both of these men ex- perienced intense combat scenarios. Had they still been in shock? Is this why they excluded others from entering their private hells? Could they have shared their traumas and gotten better? After reading this book and becoming familiar with the concept of the trau- ma vortex and personally experiencing Gina Ross’ Somatic Experiencing® work, I formed a new view of trauma and, by extension, re-evaluated my own encounters with trauma, its causes and healing. The more I looked at the traumas experienced by others, the more I saw a R
2 mirror reflection of my own experiences. I have experienced, heard, and read about many traumatic events. Prior to my experience with this book, I had not found viable release from the physical, mental, and emotional stress caused by these traumas. For example, upon learning of the death of close fellow service members I went through the expected public rituals, such as attending memorial services or participating in small group gatherings of intimates, followed by a few obligatory words of remembrance. But there was no counseling offered, no show of official concern from our leadership. Then came the years, even decades, of living with the traumatic experiences with no healthy release, marked by isolation, drinking, depression, feelings of guilt and shame—and still no help. I have more questions now than when I began my own journey, about the process of healing and looking for answers. How many waypoints did I pass without pausing to reflect upon what had happened? What could I have done to recognize trauma and its symptoms? Could emotional first aid have been given to me and to others then? I certainly cannot undo the traumatic events themselves, but the lessons from this book have at least provided much com- fort in recognizing the origins and signs of trauma, and in learning about the methods available to deal with the traumas, whether immediately or years later. The big question in my mind is why has so little been done for our service personnel before, during, and after any traumatic military service? After re- viewing the Guide for the Military, I saw that the need for a book like this is long overdue. Now I feel that the path is open for a useful healing approach to the military experience and also for others likely to be placed in harm’s way. I have personally experienced and witnessed in others the tremendous need for understanding the forces at work in trauma and the healing process de- scribed in this book. The ever-changing world of armed conflict and the trauma it generates makes the use of this book imperative. Not recognizing, not treating and not healing are often worse than the original injury in the long term. For ourselves, our fellow military members, and those close to us, we must do a better job of understanding the trauma and healing vortices. I sincerely trust that all those who have gone in harm’s way or who face the
3 prospect, whether members of the armed forces, their families and/or their care providers, may read this book with the goal of understanding and ulti- mately healing trauma. —Chris Rubacha, Major (USAF Ret.)
4 A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S want to thank the people who helped with the writing and editing of this book, without whom my grasp of the military culture would have been less comprehensive. Vivian Gold, Ph.D. and Major Tuly Flint were instrumental in the develop- ment of the book, in providing the vivid real-life stories, and in their accu- rate depiction of military culture. Major Flint, a reserve regiment commander in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), a narrative therapist and a Somatic Experiencing® (SE®) practition- er, depicted the Israeli military experience helping me understand Israeli military culture. He shared Israeli soldiers’ stories of courage and pain. He used SE®, the healing tool presented in this book, with his unit before, dur- ing and after the latest Lebanon War. He used it with active military person- nel during war, implementing it on the battlefield. He also introduced SE® to veterans. Vivian Gold, a psychologist and SE® practitioner in Los Ange- les, has worked with the United States Veterans Administration Hospitals for 20 years. She generously shared her knowledge of the poignant suffering of traumatized veterans and the special issues that face the American mili- tary. She contributed the American stories in the book that discuss an often- agonizing recovery process. Additionally, Ralf Zimmerman, Lt. Col., USAF (Ret.), a combat veteran and expert strategist of both U.S. and German military forces, supported the writing of the book. Cassandra Wang, a disable U.S. Navy veteran turned SE® practitioner, helped me better understand the military sensibility re- garding trauma. Navy Seal J.T. Pietrzak provided valuable help in editing some of the chapters. Primarily, I want to thank the brave young soldiers and veterans who fight for their countries and who had the courage to tell their stories. This book was written against the backdrop of the Afghanistan and Iraq War theatres, the Intifada that started in 2000, the Hezbollah/Israel War of 2006 and Oper- ation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2008-2009. These conflicts brought new levels of I