Front-Line Mission for Peace Since 1969
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Child Soldiers and the Transformation of a Navy Petty Officer
by Lenore Yarger, Quaker House GI Rights Hotline Counselor
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In December 2016, we received a call from a sailor who wanted our support as she applied for conscientious objection. Petty Officer Allen’s* story provides a powerful example of a military member who was transformed through her experiences and found the courage to state publicly and emphatically her opposition to war. We share her story here in gratitude for all of our donors who make it possible for us to support Petty Officer Allen and others like her.
By her own account, Petty Officer Allen grew up sheltered and relatively privileged, but by 18 knew she wanted to contribute something meaningful to society. Skilled at learning languages, she enlisted in the Navy as a translator and reported for duty in November 2013. Smart, ambitious, and dedicated, she threw herself into her training as a linguist at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) and later in Georgia at her permanent duty station. Her teachers at DLI, many of them native Arabs, shared stories about their once-beautiful homes and countries that had been destroyed by war. For the first time, she was exposed to other cultures and ways of life. She felt a strong desire to see more of the world and to meet new people.
Highly successful, Petty Officer Allen promoted quickly. Near the end of 2015, she also began volunteering with the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps, a nonprofit youth organization that recruits youth to the sea-going military services. Petty Officer Allen loved the work and quickly became a recruiting and public affairs officer. She got to know her cadets well, establishing close bonds with them:
We would joke together, talk about their crushes, their first car, how “mean” their teachers were. I was their mentor, but I also bonded with them. I was extremely passionate and dedicated to the Sea Cadets, often referring to them as “my kids.” Local enrollment numbers tripled due to my extensive recruiting efforts.
Most of the first nine months of 2016 were taken up with more training. She became a little disillusioned by the politics and sexism she experienced in military culture and decided that she would not reenlist after her six-year contract. Late that summer, she also traveled with her best friend to New Orleans, where she felt spiritual stirrings. She returned from that trip sensing a connection between all living things and realizing that love and beauty could be found in everyday life. Then things grew difficult. . . .
*Petty Officer Allen’s story, words, and name used with her permission. We vigorously protect the confidentiality of people who call into the hotline.
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Inspire to Serve or
Conspire to Conscript?
by Kindra Bradley,
Quaker House Executive Director
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What does this photo say to you? What do you think it is advertising? What is the meaning of its creative internet address, “
inspire2serve.gov
”? What if I told you it is inextricably linked to convincing young people to serve in the military? Are these fun, go-lucky young people thinking about how to fire automatic rifles at other young people, throw grenades, drop bombs, and make split-second life-and-death decisions in chaotic and unclear circumstances? It does not appear so, yet this is one of three similar photos that the newly formed Congressional
National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service
is using on their web site. To be fair, the Commission’s mandate is not just about military service requirements. It is also covers future requirements or incentives to inspire more people to enter other areas of public service. . . .
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The Gift of Time and Help to Heal
by Joanna, Quaker House Counselor
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Emotional abuse can be just as damaging as physical abuse, if not more. Physical bruises can heal, but words can damage for a lifetime. This was very evident in a client we have been seeing for over a year. This client, in her mid-60s, was abused emotionally by her mother, then left the house by marrying a service member, who was physically and emotionally abusive. After a short marriage, they divorced, and she remarried an emotionally abusive service member. She stayed for the sake of their child and found that she remained married in this loveless and abusive marriage, even after their child was grown and moved away.
She recently began taking steps to move out of the state to have her own place near her family who love and support her and to be away from her distant and emotionally abusive husband. This decision was not made quickly or easily. There was second guessing, fear and anxiety about her husband’s reaction, and self-doubt, which is often seen in victims of emotional abuse. Luckily for our client, her husband (now a military retiree) did not meet the decision with resistance, and, through counseling, our client gained the strength she needs to put the past behind her and start fresh. She knows she will face challenges, but her true healing can begin.
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The Collaborators--Quaker House, GIRN, and CMRN
by Kindra Bradley, Quaker House Executive Director
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Quaker House does important work, but we do not do it by ourselves. We work in partnership with other organizations so that we can provide the best service possible. And, our most important partnership is with you, our loyal donors and supporters, who carry our concerns in your hearts.
In every newsletter, we usually include an article written by Steve Woolford and/or Lenore Yarger, our GI Rights counselors, and an article written by Joanna, our licensed social worker counselor (her last name is not used due to working with domestic violence clients). This edition of our newsletter, below, includes an article about an important study just released in
Military Medicine
, a journal published by Oxford University Press, about the work of the Civilian Medical Resources Network (CRMN). Each of these entities, the GI Rights Network (GIRN), the Quaker House Counseling Program, and CMRN, fills a particular need and also reinforces and strengthens the other two in accomplishing their work. (
Continued in next column.)
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This is how that happens (please also see diagram on insert): The GI Rights Network is a network of approximately nine “nodes”—small groups of trained individuals who answer the hotline phones when a service member, stationed anywhere in the world, or their family member, calls for help. Often the service member calls in crisis and while away from the support of home. Among its other activities, Quaker House is one of the hotline nodes and answers about 300 calls a month, which averages over a third of all calls coming into the entire Network. Our two counselors, Steve Woolford and Lenore Yarger, each have 17 years of experience and skill in doing this work. Sometimes, service members request help with mental health services, either to receive ongoing counseling or an accurate psychological evaluation, or both. In these cases, Steve or Lenore makes a referral to either Joanna at Quaker House’s Counseling Program (if the caller is local to Quaker House) or to the Civilian Medical Resources Network (if the caller is not local to Quaker House).
This system works in reverse, as well. Sometimes, people come to or call Quaker House who need help navigating the regulations of the military, and we can put them in touch with the skilled assistance of Steve or Lenore.
All of this is possible
only
because of our donors and supporters. These services are provided free of any financial or other cost to any service member (and, with our counseling program, to any veteran and/or family member). We are able to do this because your donations pay the high-quality, skilled, and experienced professionals involved in this supportive system, Lenore, Joanna, and Steve. Thank you!
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Study Published on the Unmet Needs of Soldiers
by Kindra Bradley and Lenore Yarger
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Last month, Oxford University Press’
Military Medicine
published a study about military service members who seek medical services, including mental health services, outside of the military. With approximately 20 veteran and 1 active duty suicides per day, serious unresolved issues exist with military service itself and with the access (and perceived access) to the most appropriate medical care.
At Quaker House, we are familiar with the factors involved in this high rate of suicide, especially through our GI Rights Hotline counselors and our licensed social work counselor. The lead researcher on the study, Dr. Howard Waitzkin, understands the critical nature of this work. He is the director of the Civilian Medical Resources Network (CMRN), an organization that he founded to provide medical care for active-duty service members when they seek assistance.
The study found a prevalence of several themes in client narratives about why they sought medical care outside the military, including insufficient and unresponsive services (93%), fear of reprisal for seeking services (56%), mistrust of command (48%), pre-existing mental health disorders (22%), military sexual trauma (22%), and cost as a barrier to receiving health care (19%). . . .
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Q: How do Friends start a race?
A: Ready . . . Set . . . Go, when the Spirit moves thee.
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223 Hillside Avenue
Fayetteville, NC 28301
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