Here at RNR Oasis we are..
Help for Wounded Warriors and Armed
Forces Veterans
Combat Veterans Ourselves, and we hold that..
RNR Oasis is a Charitable, Non-Profit Corporation. Our volunteer staff of disabled Veterans is working to improve the emotional care given to our disabled combat brethren. RNR Oasis provides outdoor "Rest aNd Recuperation" to these brave veterans who are unable to get out and relax around the camp fire or just to go fishing and unwind for the day.We intervene in combat caused depression that starts as CRS (Combat Related Stress) and can progress into PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Our "peer counseling style" of intervention begins with a fishing or gold panning trip, continues with a personal and positive campfire experience, and finally, referral and acceptance into a funded program.
The combat soldier is the one that will kill or be killed on the battlefield. He is the one that had his friend die in his arms. He is the one that is most likely to suffer from survivor guilt, depression, emotional numbing, nightmares, flashbacks, addictive behavior, self-mutilation, domestic violence and even suicide. Unfortunately, these individuals are least likely to recognize they need help or to seek it out.
Our Armed Forces train and equip ten members to support one Combat troop, but in the present day conflicts there are no "front-lines" and many of these individuals will end up hearing the bullets rip, feel the explosions, and breathe the dust and stink of combat.
With the current trends of extending enlistments involuntarily we now are seeing Combat Troops with as many as six tours in a war zone. The skills and reactions that these men and women learn in order to survive become so ingrained that when they return to "the world" as my Vietnam Veteran Buddies called it that they actually work against the veterans when they try to return to the peaceful life they lived at home.
In the case of many of my generation, our families suffered as we tried to return to "normal" without realizing why we had so many problems. Crowds left us feeling trapped and unable to control our surroundings so we avoided them. In crowded rooms or at family gatherings we found a spot where we could look out at all the occupants to try and spot trouble before it came, and we usually were the first to leave. We could not accept anything but immediate compliance from our children since, as we learned so well, there are only two kinds of individuals. The ones who did things right and watched out for each other, and the ones who screwed up, didn't learn or follow directions fast enough and got themselves, and others killed. It took me forty years, four heart attacks and a bypass operation before I was finally forced to deal with my nightmares and unrealistic expectations. Many of us never have learned.
We, as combat veterans, believe that the soldiers of today need help just as much, if not more than we did and do. Many of our generation of warriors are just now finding that they still need help. One recurring statement heard from the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom troops during some of the PTSD help sessions I attended was " It is so great that you guys show us how we can deal with, and live with our problems in returning to a normal (post-military) life.
As the current conflicts go on we are only going to need more and more groups helping our Veterans to live a productive and high quality family life. The VA cannot possibly do it all as they are subject to political whim and budgets decided by the same.