2016 was a banner year for the Reynolds Veterans Association. Although our direct involvement with the Active Duty Rehab Center has basically come to a halt, we are grateful because their patient load is down to zero. No longer are they providing rehab for our injured combat veterans. However, John Flock and Larry Richard, continue to be involved with the PTSD program at the Eisenhower Medical Center at Ft Gordon. We have actively funded the expense reimbursement or an otherwise ”volunteer PhD counselor” from Atlanta who comes to Augusta. She is part of what is known as a Functional Recovery Team.
The program is made up of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, speech therapists, social workers, neurologists, occupational and physical therapists, chaplains, nutritionists, and recreational therapists. The goals for the program are:
- Manage pain, TBI, PTS, depression, anger and anxiety.
- Integrate, understand and accept physical and mental injuries.
- Build skills, problem solving abilities and set goals.
- Return to duty, identification of alternative MOS’s and exploration of alternatives
- Reintegration with family and community.
- Empower with education of brain functions and resources.
The participants are referred into the program by their Primary Care Physician and are mainly from Army and Army National Guard Reserves from the southeast region(NC to PR to LA); some are Air Force and Marines who also have done tours of duty (many multiple times) in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most are enlisted, but officers have also attended the three (3) week outpatient program.
In the first 3 – 4 years of the program, there were young soldiers with intense combat experiences and severe trauma. In the past 2 years, more senior enlisted soldiers with multiple tours, many holding/faltering in MOS stateside have recognized a need for help.
A total of 65 three week cycles have graduated over 400 soldiers from the program. Thirty nine (39) percent have continued to come back for at least 1 transition follow-up group session. There currently are over 90 soldiers requesting to enter the program.
Some of the benefits of the program include:
- Soldiers continue to stay in their MOS, using the adaptive strategies learned in the Program.
- It helps some soldiers realize they need to retire with a medical disability rating.
- A number of soldiers realize further education will help them and some have completed BS, Masters, and Doctorate degrees.
University of Georgia
Our involvement with the Student Veterans Resource Center at UGA continues to broaden. IN 2016 we added an additional $50,000 to the scholarship fund we established two years ago, bringing the total endowment to $100,000. This will insure that there will be scholarship money available for student veterans forever. In 2016 we provided a total of four $500 scholarships. In 2017 this will increase to up to 8 scholarships, awarded to undergrad and graduate students who are veterans.
In addition we funded the Veterans Day reception for all student veterans and interested faculty in November. Lt. Col Ted, Barco, a Reynolds resident and director of the center, also has a discretionary fund we make available to aid student veterans who have suffered short term financial issues. We have also provided gas cards for student veterans for trips home over the holidays and between semesters.
All things being considered, it was a great year. We enrich the lives of our nation’s soldiers and veterans, allowing them to continue their progress towards normalcy in their every day lives and achieving academic goals.
The support of the veterans at Reynolds and all in the community who have supported us by being sponsors at our annual golf outing has made this happen.
We look forward to continuing this work in 2017.