Borne the Battle

Bonus episode on the events unfolding in Afghanistan coupled with programs and resources that can help the veterans in your life.

Show Notes

Links to programs and resources mentioned in this episode:

What is Borne the Battle?

Borne the Battle recognizes each battle, challenge, and sacrifice our Veterans endure during and after their service, as well as spotlighting important resources, offices, and benefits VA offers our Veterans.

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not endorse or officially sanction any entities that may be discussed in this podcast, nor any media, products or services they may provide.

Tanner Iskra: Hey, Tanner Iskra, here. It's Tuesday, August 17th, 2021, as of the recording of this. This is Borne the Battle. So, I actually just came back to work today. I was on an anniversary vacation with my wife, my ride or die. And during that, you know as everything was going on with Afghanistan, it was kind of surreal because my wife and I started dating the day I left for Iraq 16 years ago; and for our anniversary this year we decided to visit all the places the day we met. The McDonalds her and her mom came to the day I was leaving the barracks parking lot I said goodbye to her, things like that.

And it was surreal visiting those places, remembering those days which is now over a decade and a half ago - and at the same time we were watching everything collapse in Afghanistan the way it unfolded.
Now personally, I didn't go to Afghanistan, but I have a lot of friends, acquaintances - colleagues in the veteran community that did. And, I'm an empath, I feel what other's feel. And as I was flipping through my social media timelines, reading their stories, my soul was completely out to them.
I also remember in 2014 feeling a certain way about it when we pulled out of Iraq and ISIS rose up and word came in they surrounded my old base where 300 Spartan-like Marines were still there.
In those social media timelines as the veteran community were processing what was happening in real-time this weekend, I saw many different emotions: anger - I'm seeing many different emotions because it's still happening right? Still seeing it. Anger, sadness, humor, the only veterans can put it, disappointment, the "for what" statements, the remembrance of their best friends, and this isn't just coming from GWOT veterans. A lot of these images are bringing up old memories from Vietnam Veterans. But even in all of that most have come around, a lot have come around, and this is the power of our community, many of the larger veteran voices, the nonprofits and the VSOs have come around focusing on the next mission. They're either pushing to help those that are still out there in Afghanistan, or to help the brother or sister to the left and right.
A colleague at work, Adam Stump, he locked me on to that quicker than I came to even realize. He's an Air Force veteran himself, maybe that's why he figured it out quicker than me, but I doubt it. But a couple of days ago, while I was still in the blind pissed-the-hell-off phase, he pointed out to me that we had a mission here at VA, and we have resources here that we can tell others about, and that there is no better time than now to remind folks that there are VA programs, resources and heck just people, just veterans in the VA that are here and can understand what you're going through, even if you feel like the rest American doesn't.
Appreciate you for that Adam. So, this is my little part in that.
First of all, Adam did a great 3-part series on how Afghanistan can learn from Vietnam Veterans and how they can reconcile their service. Now, he started that series when we just started pulling out not knowing how extremely relevant it was going to be. And it is a good series. Go check it out if you get a chance. It's on blogs.va.gov and search - just search for Adam Stump or Afghanistan and you'll find the writeups.
In those writeups, in those stories, he mentions VA Vet Centers which are a great place veterans can go in their communities. They are nonmedical community-based counseling centers that provide a wide range of social and mental health services. They provide one-on-one, group, marriage, and family counseling. In addition, they can also refer you to, and connect you to, other VA or community services within your local community. Best part, over 70% of the staff in Vet Centers are Veterans, in your community. There are over 300 vet centers and over 80 mobile vet centers across the country. They are in all 50 states - in Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and in DC. Vet Centers also have a call center at 1-877-WAR-VETS that's 1-877-927-8387. For more information on vet centers, you can go to vetcenter.va.gov. You can also go to va.gov/find-locations to find one nearest to you.
I also got the VA News email last night while I was still on vacation. If you want to sign up for that email you can go to va.gov/vetresources and sign up, as they do give out a Vet Resources email out every week. Last night they just did a special one based on the information that was coming in from Afghanistan and just wanted to give you some resources. And, that email had some good points of contact in there as well.
Just thumbing through it, couple things I wanted to point out:
If you're having thoughts of suicide, The Veterans Crisis Line is there for you. 1-800-273-8255 and press one. You can also visit veteranscrisisline.net
Another resource they pointed out was maketheconnection.net. You've heard commercials for it here on Borne the Battle. It's information, it's a resource pointer and has videos from other veterans directed to you that explains how certain VA services helped them.
Mobile Apps: VA has mobile apps if you're in the tech side of self-help and support. www.ptsd.va.gov/appvid/mobile has multiple apps you can download for both android and iPhone.
If you're a female veteran, 1-855-829-6636 is the VA Women Veterans Call Center. Again, you;ve probably heard commercials from there on Borne the Battle. They are there for you for your specific mental and other healthcare needs.
You can find even more resources at mentalhealth.va.gov
And the last one, that's from the VA, it's a little bit longer of a URL, but I'm gonna put it out there:
1. Because you can rewind this.
2. as it's an overview of all of VA mental health and how to sign up for it.
It's va.gov/files/2020-11/mental-health-quick-start-guide.pdf. Again, it's an overview of some stuff I covered here and some stuff that I haven't in starting your mental health journey with VA.
And these are just some of the resources that VA has. In my social media timelines, there have been a plethora of other services from veteran nonprofits and VSOs in the veteran space, and I appreciate every single one that I've seen.
I'm going to leave with this. If you're a veteran, you went to Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan, you did your part, you fought hard, and it wasn't for nothing. You held up your end of the bargain and didn't fail, can't nobody say any different. So did the ones you served with that didn't make it back. We live for those that didn't make it back, it's a gift we have to honor them. Your calling is the next mission to serve, whatever that may be. Whether it's to help your brothers and sisters, the ones that are still out in Afghanistan there and need to come home, I've seen veterans band together in that effort, or to serve your local community in some form or fashion. Any way you do it, continue to honor them by not giving in or giving up.
Thank you again for listening, and we'll see you all again on our next regular scheduled episode. Take care.