Category: Do You Miss Me Yet?

Believe it or not, ABC News did this interview that they set us, with former President Bush and Marine veteran Jacob Wood as they discuss their plan for helping veterans reintegrate into the US (Editor’s Note: Yahoo is stingy with their videos, but you can see it at the link above).

Bush said he takes inspiration today from the resilience of hundreds of veterans he’s met over the years who’ve overcome post-war trauma and injuries to lead productive lives. He pointed to the example of Dan Gade, a veteran who resolved to conquer his handicap as a one-legged amputee so that he could once again play Legos with his young daughter. Gade has since been able to ride a mountain bike alongside the former president.

“I said to Gade, ‘I’m sorry you got your leg blown off,’” Bush recalled. “He said, ‘I’d do it again.’ There’s no self-pity, no ‘woe is me.’ It is, ‘I’m going to continue to live life to the fullest.’”

Bush was joined by Marine Corps veteran Jacob Wood, who is collaborating with the former president on his Military Service Initiative. After returning from service in the Iraq and Afghanistan, Wood co-founded Team Rubicon, an organization that employs veterans in disaster relief efforts. He said it was significant that Bush is showing leadership within the post-9/11 veteran community.

Rather than read my pointless blather, go read the rest of the interview.

Former President George W. Bush made a rare public speech at his Presidential Center in Dallas today and it was largely about taking care of the troops – a subject the current resident of the White House largely ignores. From CNN;

“They are the 1% of America who kept the 99% safe,” Bush said of the 2.5 million military members who have served since 9/11. “While it never hurts to say thank you, that is not really the point.”

[…]

It’s “troubling” that 84% of veterans say the public isn’t aware of the challenges they face and that 71% of Americans agree, Bush said, citing a survey by the Bush Institute and Syracuse University to be released later this year.

[…]

Bush announced that his Military Service initiative has launched a multi-faceted, public-private partnership aimed at helping veterans assimilate back into civilian life.

The straight-talking former President said employers need to tailor their recruiting and hiring practices to accommodate post-war employees.

“I mean you don’t see many job postings that say “Wanted: experience hunting insurgents and terrorists willing to risk their lives for co-workers,” Bush said. “I mean, what’s a veteran supposed to put down? `My last office was a Humvee?’”

Bush also said Post Traumatic Stress Disorder needs to drop the ‘D’ out of PTSD. He referred to it as an injury that can be treated, and he referred to it as PTS.

“Employers would not hesitate to hire an employee getting treated for a medical condition like diabetes or high blood pressure and they should not hesitate to hire veterans getting treated for post-traumatic stress,” he said.

I have no idea why, but CNN quoted Paul Reickhoff in the middle of the article – Paul Reickhoff was rabidly anti-Bush and formed the anti-Bush organization, OpTruth, from which sprang the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. In fact, do a Google search on OpTruth and IAVA is top the top search result. So, the first thing out of Reickhoff’s mouth is that we have find a way to pay for it.

But the Bush Institute calls for a coalition of public and private institutions to de-stigmatize PTS, so the money thing is being handled, Paul. Bush isn’t sniping from the sidelines looking for government money, he’s bringing together government, universities, nonprofits and private companies.

“We’ll be … relentless in serving our vets,” Bush said. Somehow, he is more believable than that fellow who said he’s not going to balance the federal budget on the backs of veterans. Or that Hollywood “Got Your 6” bullshit. Or Paul Reickhoff.