Here's the story of a New Jersey Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, who is now an award winner that is making a difference and getting recognition for the work he is doing:
Bryan Adams, a 24-year-old Army veteran, didn't know he had PTSD when he came home from a year-long tour in Iraq in 2004. Adams settled back in with his family near Camden, New Jersey, and went through his days much like he did before he joined the Army. He enrolled in the local community college, hung out with his friends and dated girls.
Slowly, though, the Purple Heart recipient started to transform into a different person. "My friends and I would all go out, and I'd flip out on my friends and their girlfriends," Adams told MTV News. "Just saying really mean stuff that I didn't even know I was saying. I had relationship problems, too, with a couple of different girlfriends. I was mean."
I heard the snapping of gunfire and suddenly it felt like someone had tried to take out my leg from under me, I looked to the wall which was parallel to my left and I saw it exploding with dust and sparks, this is when I realized that I just been shot and we were now in the middle of an ambush. I began to run for cover, as I ran I clearly remember feeling intense heat signatures move across my face and bits of concrete going into my mouth from the exploding bullets hitting the wall next to me. Now everyone always says that they see their life flash before their eyes before they die but not me, I saw my future, I saw everything I wanted to accomplish and this fueled my determination to not die on that piece of ground in Iraq. I managed to escape around the corner with the other two members of my team who were unscathed, we all gave each other a reassuring look and then moved into a position of cover. I was bleeding heavily; the bullet had entered the back of my calf and exited my shin.
Follow me below the fold for more on Bryan's story including video and the award he won for the work he is doing to raise awareness to the perils of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The mental health consequences of combat threaten to overwhelm a new generation of veterans. There are 1.7 million men and women who have served, or are currently serving, in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 1 in 5 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are suffering from a mental health injury, ranging from depression to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as a result of their service.
Less than 1% of the U.S. population has served or is serving in the current conflicts and when they return home, their sense of isolation is often magnified. This campaigns long-term objective is to decrease the depression and PTSD-related outcomes among returning Vets by taking a two-pronged approach encouraging Veterans to join other Veterans at the first ever online community exclusive to OIF/OEF Vets, and separately, to empower their Friends and Family by helping them learn how to start constructive conversations. The challenges facing returning vets are myriad but with support from other Veterans, family, and friends the issues can be effectively dealt with.
Along with all of the work Bryan is doing to raise awareness so that other returning veterans are able to deal with the challenges, Bryan is also the President of the Veterans for Education organization at Rutgers Camden. Their goal is to promote a positive image of veterans and promote the value of education. They are a non-partisan organization that places a high value on education as the great equalizer. As we bring more troops home from oversees, we are going to have more veterans that need assistance as they transition back into civilian life. They deserve nothing less. We need to make sure that Bryan and his fellow service members don't go through it alone.
