Drug-free PTSD treatment, Operation Afghan Open Road and more in September issue
Don’t miss the September issue of The American Legion Magazine, with features on an innovative drug-free PTSD therapy, a pilot program that helps Afghan refugees obtain CDL licenses, the group of wives who took up the fight for POWs and the missing during the Vietnam War, and more. The clickable digi-mag is available through MyLegion.org.
• In “Mind Shift,” Henry Howard talks to clinical scientist Frank Bourke, whose innovative Reconciliation of Traumatic Memories (RTM) therapy has a 90% success rate for veterans, first responders and others grappling with traumatic experiences. “The RTM Protocol, at this point, is the most cost-effective treatment for PTSD in the world,” he says. “That is being borne out by the scientific research.”
• Brothers Basharmal Paiwand and Mohammad Bawar are two of an estimated 500 Afghans who Air Force Maj. Jared Lafaivre helped get into the airport after the fall of Kabul. “There were a million things that had to go right for every one of the rescues,” says Lafaivre, who received the Bronze Star for meritorious achievement for his actions during the U.S. withdrawal.
• With the help of an American Legion-backed pilot program called Operation Afghan Open Road, Afghan allies are training to become truck drivers with the prospect of higher pay and health-care benefits than their current jobs. “My family depends of me for support,” says Nazeer Akbari, who worked as an interpreter with the U.S. Army at NATO’s headquarters in Afghanistan. “That’s why I chose truck-driving training, so I can find a job with better pay. So my children can have a better life here.”
• Until the Vietnam War, missing U.S. military personnel were left missing. Then a group of wives, sisters and mothers made their fate, and the fate of prisoners of war, a national priority. “The job will never be finished,” writes Taylor Baldwin Kiland, co-author of “Unwavering: The Wives Who Fought to Ensure No Man is Left Behind. “Yet the endeavor is noble, uniquely and quintessentially American, and the return of long-lost servicemembers always celebrated.”
• In his final Commander’s Message, National Commander Vincent J. “Jim” Troiola explains The American Legion’s move to join Face the Fight, a USAA-led coalition of corporations, foundations, nonprofits and veterans-focused organizations united in their goal of reducing the veteran suicide rate. “I am excited about this opportunity and believe it will enhance the Legion’s Be the One initiative,” Troiola says. “‘Doing it alone is not a healthy way to deal with a crisis … It’s time we follow our own advice.”
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