The Fort Hood Killings: MFSO Offers Condolences
The Bombs of War Also Explode at Home
For Immediate Release
Contact: Sam Diener, National Organizer, Military Families Speak Out, 617-983-0710
The Fort Hood Killings: Military Families Speak Out Offers Condolences
The Bombs of War Also Explode at Home
As
the nation was stunned by the horrific tragedies that left 13 dead and
30 wounded on Ft. Hood yesterday, Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) and Gold Star Families Speak Out (GSFSO)
would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to our fellow Military
Families and those who love them. Upon first hearing about such
attacks, our stress as military families intensifies, and we experience
a range of emotions: the panic that it is our loved one who has been
attacked, the guilty relief if our loved one escaped the bullet this
time, the sorrow for those of us who suffer and face the incalculable
loss of losing forever those we nurture and love.
As the facts
unfold, military families on Ft. Hood and across the nation are
experiencing the fear, pain, and loss that many of us thought were only
associated with the battlefield, not time at home. One month before
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, he said, “The bombs in
Vietnam explode at home….” While it is too soon to jump to conclusions
about what happened on Ft. Hood, there are things that we as military
families do know. One is that while we are being crushed under the
weight of two seemingly endless wars, we have the additional burden of
fear at home.
Keri Wheelwright, the wife of an active duty
Army Officer stationed at Ft. Jackson and a member of the Board of
Directors for MFSO, explains:
“Waking this morning and having to
send my husband off to work filled me with overwhelming anxiety and a
new fear for his safety that I thought would go away upon his return
from Iraq. I can only imagine the pain that those on Ft. Hood are
experiencing. My hope is that this horrific event serves to remind our
nation and our government that as a result of failed intelligence and
policy, these wars have pushed our soldiers too far. The best way to
prevent this from happening on bases and in homes around our country is
to end both wars now and put our resources toward healing our soldiers
when they get home.”
While there are many questions to ask in
the coming days, there are a few things we do know about, particularly
in relation to PTSD. We know there are an estimated half a million U.S.
veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and/or traumatic brain
injuries from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (see the National
Council on Disability report "Invisible Wounds: Serving Service Members
and Veterans with PTSD and TBI," http://tinyurl.com/yz77tph). Many of
these military members are not receiving the care they deserve. PTSD
has long term consequences, which can include, for some, homelessness,
economic deprivation, substance abuse, and perpetrating domestic abuse.
As military families, we know that the horrors of war cause
families to experience secondary PTSD, as we face numerous post
deployment issues. We know all too well the stress and trauma that
result from caring for loved ones who carry the hell of war inside. The
children of our service members will continue to suffer from the burden
of separation and multiple deployments. The fear of losing a parent
overseas is more than any child should have to bear but the thought of
not being safe at home is unimaginable. Our hearts go out to the
children on Ft. Hood.
But we also know something else. The
trauma being faced by the family members on Fort Hood is mirrored by
the trauma being faced by families in Iraq and Afghanistan enduring
these wars, and by the thousands of US soldiers already killed and
wounded both physically and mentally as a result of these wars, and by
all those who love them. Military family members know all too well, for
long after the US pulls its troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, we will
continue to carry the burdens and to sacrifice in a way that very few
people in our country will ever experience. We know that in order to
end the cycle of violence, the US must pull its troops out of Iraq and
Afghanistan now.
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MFSO
is a national organization of thousands of military families working to
bring all U.S. troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan; secure the care
that our troops, veterans, and military families need; and support a
foreign policy that will not lead us into such wars again.
Military
families are available to share a perspective invaluable to the public
debate and too seldom heard amid official pronouncements and
geo-strategic analyses: the experiences of those who are among the most
damaged by these wars. MFSO members speak out to help save the lives of
our loved ones, other military personnel, and the people of Iraq and
Afghanistan.
As military family members, we have compelling
stories to tell. We are well positioned to comment on breaking news and
to participate in talk shows.
