When the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee looked into how well America is supporting the families of wounded warriors, I was invited to submit written testimony. It was an honor to speak up on behalf of our wounded families. (Read the complete testimony.) Sad to say, seven years into the "Global War on Terror," we still haven't got it right. Here's an excerpt: 

Even before Paula's husband left for Iraq for the third time, she knew something was very wrong with him. She was right. Her soldier was suffering so severely from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that when he was finally diagnosed eight months into his 15-month deployment, he was sent straight back to Fort Bliss, Texas. (Because of his worries about stigma, he asked that his name be withheld.)

"He was completely changed," Paula says of him when he returned in the summer of 2007. He was depressed, suicidal, and self-medicated with alcohol. She remembers, "He was always very loving. He wasn't aggressive at all before he went into the military." But he was now so aggressive and verbally abusive toward Paula and their four children, ages 2 to 12, that he was temporarily removed from the family. Paula got some counseling, but the stress of his homecoming forced her to drop out of school, where she'd been studying human resource management. 

According to Paula, the case manager who got him into therapy was good but new. She didn't know enough to help them navigate the system -- evidence that the system is only as good as the people who administer it, or only as good as their training. As Paula's husband transitioned out of the Army, "There was no information about what we do next," says Paula. They didn't even know whom to contact at the VA.

So Paula did her own research. Surfing the Internet, she found the Army Wounded Warrior program (AW2) and connected with an AW2 representative on Fort Hood, Texas. Paula also stumbled across Operation Homefront, a private charity that provides assistance to military families in crisis.

Meanwhile, the disability rating process took much longer than they were told to expect. In my conversations with disabled veterans, this comes up as an almost universal problem, whether they've been wounded physically or psychologically. Accessing care in a timely manner is also an issue. Another veteran suffering from PTSD tried to commit himself, but was told by the VA that he would have to wait two months. A private charity, USWelcomeHome.org, stepped in to find a mental health practitioner who will volunteer to make sure he's at least receiving some counseling support while he waits.

In the case of Paula's husband, the delay and lack of information during the transition led to a gap in treatment. Left to deal with his anxiety and other symptoms on his own, his solution has been to isolate himself. Paula is no longer receiving counseling either. Even the children have fallen through the cracks. They have essentially lost the father they used to know, what experts call a "metaphorical death." Yet they've had no therapy or expert guidance other than what Paula has been able to tell them herself. Paula, who's responsible for caring for her children and her disabled husband, has never been offered respite care.

Recently, the family left Fort Bliss and the Army for San Antonio. Even though they're from a distant state, they moved to San Antonio because they heard that they could find the long-term services they’re going to need from the VA and various private organizations there. Operation Homefront is providing them with a free apartment in its new transitional housing complex near Brooke Army Medical Center. AW2 continues to advise them.

On top of having their lives turned upside down by their soldier's psychological injury, this family has taken a huge financial hit. He’s not well and has no job, but his 30 percent disability rating means his income is now a fraction of what it was on active duty. As Paula settles the children into their new schools, she's attempting to get back into the work force after many years as a homemaker. The only employment readiness help that she has received came from the AW2 representative, who alerted her to an upcoming job fair.

If Paula had not been lucky enough to find AW2 and Operation Homefront on her own, who knows what would have become of her and her family? Without the help of those two organizations, Paula's husband would have transitioned from the DoD system to nowhere.
 
What do the families of wounded warriors need? Paula's story reveals the specific types of support that are absolutely necessary for family caregivers. Since many soldiers are single, this includes parents and siblings as well as spouses.

1) One-stop shop for information. At the very least, transitioning families need a one-stop shop for information referral modeled after MilitaryOneSource.com.

2) Caregiver training. The VA's eight caregiver assistance pilot programs need to be rolled out nationwide to support families as they learn to care for their disabled veterans.

3) Compensation and job placement assistance. More must be done to compensate family members who sacrifice their careers and relocate to care for America's wounded warriors.
 
4) Child care and child counseling. Children of the wounded need professional counseling. Plus, at certain moments it's not possible to simultaneously care for an injured veteran and parent a small child. Those caregivers need free, safe, reliable child care.

5) Respite care. The VA's four Project HERO (Healthcare Effectiveness through Resource Optimization) demonstration sites are providing drop-off respite care. These must be expanded to provide access to in-home respite care with 24-hour availability.

6) Counseling and peer support. Counseling for dependants is very accessible while they're still in the DoD system. The barriers arise during the transition to the VA system. Peer support groups for family members must be expanded and actively promoted.

Our wounded families, who have already sacrificed so much for our nation, should not have to rely on luck to avoid being abandoned with most of their needs unmet.

 
Editor's Note: Military.com's Spouse Network also offers resources to help Wounded Families get the help they need to heal. Click here for more information.