Posted on Nov 21, 2016
The Mission Is the Welfare of the Soldier | Head Space and Timing
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RP Members and Connections - great message from SFC (Join to see) Please pass this on!
The Army’s Creed of the Noncommissioned Officer contains these critical lines:
“My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind: the accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers.”
Those two points of focus encapsulated everything that I was as a leader: the mission I was required to accomplish and the welfare of those who trusted me to lead them. Once I retired from the Army, however, the focus didn’t change…but now, the mission is the welfare of the Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, and Coast Guardsman.
Veterans need your help. Not the kind of help that comes with a new license plate, or stickers on a window, or even a sincere “thank you for your service.” All of those things are great, and necessary, for both you and the veteran. But they are not what the veteran needs.
I have found that a veteran needs to feel safe. Wants to feel normal. Needs to understand that the things they experienced, what they went through, did not “warp” them or “corrupt” them. Veterans need to understand that they are not “crazy”.
I am a veteran myself, over 22 years in the Army with three combat tours and several additional operational deployments. This is not about me, though, not some shameless self-promotion geared towards greater visibility. This is about lending weight and legitimacy to what I have to say…I know whereof I speak, in a sense.
I am also a mental health counselor, and currently work with veterans involved in the justice system. They have made mistakes, like the rest of us. They need my help. They need YOUR help. They need to know, as they have left the military for whatever reason, that the simple act of raising their hand and swearing to support and defend the constitution of the United States was a turning point in their life.
Check back often for discussions related to the mental health needs of veterans. If we run into each other, let’s talk about the stigma that exists that keeps veterans from talking about their fears, their triumphs, their disappointments, and their grief. Let’s talk about what we can do to satisfy the needs that veterans have.
Let’s truly help veterans, one at a time, understand that their welfare is our mission.
The Army’s Creed of the Noncommissioned Officer contains these critical lines:
“My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind: the accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers.”
Those two points of focus encapsulated everything that I was as a leader: the mission I was required to accomplish and the welfare of those who trusted me to lead them. Once I retired from the Army, however, the focus didn’t change…but now, the mission is the welfare of the Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, and Coast Guardsman.
Veterans need your help. Not the kind of help that comes with a new license plate, or stickers on a window, or even a sincere “thank you for your service.” All of those things are great, and necessary, for both you and the veteran. But they are not what the veteran needs.
I have found that a veteran needs to feel safe. Wants to feel normal. Needs to understand that the things they experienced, what they went through, did not “warp” them or “corrupt” them. Veterans need to understand that they are not “crazy”.
I am a veteran myself, over 22 years in the Army with three combat tours and several additional operational deployments. This is not about me, though, not some shameless self-promotion geared towards greater visibility. This is about lending weight and legitimacy to what I have to say…I know whereof I speak, in a sense.
I am also a mental health counselor, and currently work with veterans involved in the justice system. They have made mistakes, like the rest of us. They need my help. They need YOUR help. They need to know, as they have left the military for whatever reason, that the simple act of raising their hand and swearing to support and defend the constitution of the United States was a turning point in their life.
Check back often for discussions related to the mental health needs of veterans. If we run into each other, let’s talk about the stigma that exists that keeps veterans from talking about their fears, their triumphs, their disappointments, and their grief. Let’s talk about what we can do to satisfy the needs that veterans have.
Let’s truly help veterans, one at a time, understand that their welfare is our mission.
The Mission Is the Welfare of the Soldier | Head Space and Timing
Posted from veteranmentalhealth.com
Mental Health
Soldiers
NCO Creed
Branch
Help
Edited 8 y ago
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 7
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I certainly remember the head space and timing gage for .50 cal machine gun COL Mikel J. Burroughs. That brings back many memories to an infantryman.
Setting headspace and timing for a machine gun is straightforward and critical for the proper firing of the weapon. Re-setting headspace and timing inside the mind of veterans is another matter entirely. That process can be a lifelong endeavor.
Thanks for sharing SFC (Join to see)'s poignant and sober message.
LTC Stephen C. LTC Thomas Tennant MAJ Ken LandgrenCapt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT1stSgt Eugene Harless SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSLSFC William FarrellSSG Leo Bell SSgt (Join to see) Sgt Joe LaBranche SGT (Join to see) SGT Forrest Stewart SrA Christopher Wright PO3 Steven Sherrill PO1 John Miller
Setting headspace and timing for a machine gun is straightforward and critical for the proper firing of the weapon. Re-setting headspace and timing inside the mind of veterans is another matter entirely. That process can be a lifelong endeavor.
Thanks for sharing SFC (Join to see)'s poignant and sober message.
LTC Stephen C. LTC Thomas Tennant MAJ Ken LandgrenCapt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT1stSgt Eugene Harless SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSLSFC William FarrellSSG Leo Bell SSgt (Join to see) Sgt Joe LaBranche SGT (Join to see) SGT Forrest Stewart SrA Christopher Wright PO3 Steven Sherrill PO1 John Miller
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I often take on a devils advocate point of view in an effort to strike a balance or to develop context.
With that disclaimer in place....
I would encourage SFC Duane France to be more careful about picking up a broad brush to paint all veterans as having mental health issues. My intent is NOT to diminish the idea that some, even a great many, veterans need help with mental health issues.
Perhaps that is so obvious to veterans that we read quickly past the way his words seem to lump all veterans into the same pup tent.
We have other veterans that are excelling in post military life and are providing valuable community leadership. I think our choice of words should make room for the diverse range of veteran experiences out there.
If you don't get my point, please reread this piece. His best qualifier comes in the last use of the word, "Let’s truly help veterans, one at a time, understand that their welfare is our mission."
In these two paragraphs, his language could/should be more careful:
"Veterans need your help. Not the kind of help that comes with a new license plate, or stickers on a window, or even a sincere “thank you for your service.” All of those things are great, and necessary, for both you and the veteran. But they are not what the veteran needs.
I have found that a veteran needs to feel safe. Wants to feel normal. Needs to understand that the things they experienced, what they went through, did not “warp” them or “corrupt” them. Veterans need to understand that they are not “crazy”."
With that disclaimer in place....
I would encourage SFC Duane France to be more careful about picking up a broad brush to paint all veterans as having mental health issues. My intent is NOT to diminish the idea that some, even a great many, veterans need help with mental health issues.
Perhaps that is so obvious to veterans that we read quickly past the way his words seem to lump all veterans into the same pup tent.
We have other veterans that are excelling in post military life and are providing valuable community leadership. I think our choice of words should make room for the diverse range of veteran experiences out there.
If you don't get my point, please reread this piece. His best qualifier comes in the last use of the word, "Let’s truly help veterans, one at a time, understand that their welfare is our mission."
In these two paragraphs, his language could/should be more careful:
"Veterans need your help. Not the kind of help that comes with a new license plate, or stickers on a window, or even a sincere “thank you for your service.” All of those things are great, and necessary, for both you and the veteran. But they are not what the veteran needs.
I have found that a veteran needs to feel safe. Wants to feel normal. Needs to understand that the things they experienced, what they went through, did not “warp” them or “corrupt” them. Veterans need to understand that they are not “crazy”."
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