Happy families across our state and nation are eagerly planning homecoming parties for service members whose combat mission in Iraq officially ended this week. But for many of those who served, the trauma they experienced will overshadow any sense of celebration.
It’s not easy to walk away from combat stress, and some of our best and bravest have found themselves in the previously unimaginable position of returning home with drug or alcohol addictions. They need and deserve our support, but the unfortunate stigma of needing mental health services still lingers in the military, causing countless service members to suffer in silence.
I was proud to join Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the former U.S. Director of National Drug Control Policy, when he launched “National Recovery Month” on Wednesday at the Wilmington Treatment Center. Staffed by highly dedicated professionals and hailed as a national model, the center specializes in providing counseling to men and women in service and post-service, as well as their families.
On behalf of all North Carolina veterans and service members, I am proud to acknowledge Gen. McCaffrey’s role in recognizing their needs through his efforts to both improve and increase access to meaningful treatment options. Truly a “Soldier’s General,” he has taken this issue to heart and inspired all who attended to embrace the challenge to do more for those who have sacrificed so much to ensure our freedoms.