2013
A Veteran’s Day Suggestion
Like many veterans, I have a list of dates that are important to me. They come and go with regularity throughout the year and rarely do they coincide with designated "holidays" like Veteran's Day. There are the normal ones, like birthdays and my anniversary, and then there are the others. 14 February: The day Teddy and Nes were killed when their huey went down. 23 March: An Nasiriyah. 22 July: The day I learned James had been killed in Afghanistan. 7 August: The day my younger brother crashed in Afghanistan. And others. I mark the passing of each of these [...]
TV Interview: “The Roger Hedgecock Show”
I had the opportunity to be interviewed today by Roger Hedgecock at U-T TV in San Diego. It's a short clip, about 8 minutes long, and Roger was very supportive of After Action. Dan Sheehan's TV Interview on "The Roger Hedgecock Show" Thanks for viewing.
NPR Interview: Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane
I was a guest today on WHYY Philadelphia's show "Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane." I really enjoyed speaking with Marty and appreciate the opportunity to share my story. Here's the link to the interview: Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane: Dan Sheehan
What’s A “Vet Center?”
My last combat tour was in 2004 and I just recently went to talk to a counsellor at my local Vet Center. Why did it take me nine years to do this? Mostly because I didn't know anything about the Vet Centers. I envisioned the Veterans Administration as a monolithic organization that sucks you in and sticks pills down your throat as soon as you walk in the door. There was no way I was going to put myself in that position. This post is designed to shed some light on the misperceptions I had about the VA, specifically the [...]
Why Do We Shun Help?
It's no secret that the vast majority of people in distress can get relief by asking for help. Indeed, most issues get worse when ignored, not better. This is especially true for veterans where adjustment issues and PTSD mutate into insurmountable obstacles for the lack of professional assistance. So why, if help is available, do we prolong our suffering by refusing to ask for help? Because that's how we were brought up. I don't mean by our parents or society. I mean by the military. The changes a person goes through when joining the military are designed to prepare them [...]
Upcoming Interview: American Heroes Radio
With this post I am opening a new category on my blog: Shameless Self-Promotion. Please join me live during a radio-podcast with American Heroes Radio on Saturday, 14 Sept 2013, at 3pm pacific time. I'll be on for about an hour discussing After Action, my current writing projects, and anything else the host comes up with. Please call in with any questions you may have about my experiences in Iraq and afterward: 646-378-1513 And here's the link to the American Heroes Radio website where you can listen live. I believe the show will be archived here as well: American Heroes [...]
Syria: Once More Into The Breach?
Forces are being readied for possible US intervention in Syria. These same forces have been engaged in constant combat for over a decade. They are tactically and technically prepared for whatever mission the Commander In Chief assigns them. They will carry out this mission with the honor, sacrifice, and dedication America expects from it’s warriors. But their success will come at tremendous personal cost. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Beware The Coming Storm, veterans preparing for their next deployment rarely try to unpack the emotional pain and suffering from their last one. Experiences and emotions from multiple deployments [...]
How To Help The Veteran In Your Life
I was getting the kids ready for bed last night when the phone rang. I almost didn’t answer--I didn’t recognize the number, the kids were rebelling like only 3 and 5 year-olds can, and I could feel the chances of getting to bed at a reasonable hour slipping away. As one pants-less monkey jetted down the hall--chased by another with only a spiderman mask on--I answered anyway. I’m really glad I did. On the other end of the line was a Marine I’ve never met--let’s call him Tim. Tim had just finished After Action and found that the experiences I wrote [...]
Line Of Advance: Literary Journal for Veterans
It's no exaggeration for me to state that writing has positively changed my life. Writing became the avenue through which I was able to process my combat experiences and deal with the challenges of coming home. Things I was never able to articulate verbally finally achieved expression through the written word. For these reasons, I am very happy to post this email from Chris Lyke, one of the founders of Line Of Advance, a non-profit literary journal dedicated to preserving the voices of veterans. To make this a reality, Chris is soliciting donations via http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/line-of-advance. I have never met, nor conversed, [...]
Beware The Coming Storm
We've pulled out of Iraq and the politicians are figuring out how to do the same in Afghanistan. Combat deployments for US troops will decrease over the next year and eventually drop to zero. This might sound like great news for the millions of families with loved ones in the military--and on one level it is--but it will bring new challenges that must be addressed. Military personnel and their families have spent the last decade living with repeated combat deployments. After each deployment there should be a re-adjustment period, a time when the recently-returned veteran comes out of the combat mentality, processes his [...]
Recent Comments