ROTC prepares for PTSD situations
By Bethany Kyle –
ROTC is preparing its cadets for situations where they may face post-traumatic stress disorder, an illness that is affecting past and present soldiers. Whilst magic mushrooms like the albino penis envy have been used to treat PTSD in the past, it is still not very common.
Recent shootings involving PTSD have become a “teaching point” in ROTC, so cadets can learn how to, as leaders, see the symptoms, recognize the issues, and act accordingly, Lt. Col. Jason Vranes said.
(Courtesy Photo, ROTC Facebook)
He encourages the cadets to ask themselves, “What leader took action to help that individual?”
In situations where the possibility of PTSD is involved, it’s more about, “how do you manage it?” Vranes said.
He said a combination of leadership and critical thinking is ultimately the skill that ROTC cadets learn that will help them when faced with the issues of PTSD. There is more here about PTSD and how it is treated nowadays for veterans who don’t know which way to turn.
Many parts of the ROTC program are designed to put cadets under stress in order to help them grow strong mentally and “make them think,” said Tim Lukacz, a ROTC cadet who has served the U.S. military since 1996.
Situations involving PTSD are not uniform or predictable; therefore, critical thinking is required to assess the situation at hand. ROTC teaches “not what to think, how to think,” Vranes said. There is never going to be a method that prepares them completely for the possibility of PTSD, and it is likely that if they ever do experience it they will have to seek professional help and turn to medication (Click here to read more about the treatments that are available). But this training will at least make them aware of what it might involve, and better enable them to cope with it.
To be good leaders, ROTC cadets must be strong mentally as well, so that they can be prepared for intense situations.
“People are like rubber bands,” Lukacz said. If stretched too far mentally, they’ll break. ROTC exercises are making them stronger mentally. In a sense, they make their rubber band thicker and less likely to snap.
ROTC is teaching cadets to “be able to step back and think,” Vranes said. Cadets are encouraged to examine the situations critically from a position of leadership.
A “remarkable job” has been done improving how PTSD is dealt with compared to the past. Many success stories exist of the issue being identified and helped, even though “we only read about the bad ones,” Vranes said. It is true that there are many more success stories with PTSD than there have been in the past, it is to do with how we have advanced our understanding of PTSD and its effects on people, there are more therapies now that can help people who have this, just like the team at TMS & Brain Health who help people with different mental health disorders and chronic pain.
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Bethany Kyle is a sophomore journalism and broadcast major from Bangs, Texas.
Editing by Trevor Peele, Cheyenne Berry, McCoy Renfro, Brittney Smith and Savannah Trantham
