JBLM program reaches out to soldiers with PTSD, TBI

Soldiers returning to JBLM after being overseas can turn to Men of Valor for support. (AP Photo)

Joint-Base Lewis McChord has been in the news a lot lately and much of it hasn’t been good: From soldiers behaving badly to increased suicide rates.

Now there is a program at the base that’s showing success and giving hope to soldiers dealing with PTSD and traumatic brain injury [TBI].

Retired Sgt. Josh Renschler is leading the Men of Valor at JBLM. He says the program is a combination of the best practices from the medical and mental health communities.

Renschler says the program finds men when they’re in crisis. “If evil things happen to me, if I get blown up over there, if I watch my buddy die, where is this great God that loves me?” he says the often ask.

The program meets the soldiers there, at that stage and helps them move on to a new sense of normal in their lives.

Renschler understands what these soldiers are going through, because it happened to him. He received a TBI in combat in operation Iraqi Freedom 2004. He was a part of one of the first deployments out of Fort Lewis with the Strykers.

His entire squad died in Iraq while Renschler was back at JBLM receiving treatments. “So I really suffered what was called, ‘survivor’s guilt’ as well, and because I was here, my entire squad, everyone I worked with, died.”

While Renschler was dealing with the hell he brought back with him, others were suffering right along with him including his family.

“We went through, really, a rough few years transitioning out of the military. We lost everything – house, truck everything.”

So the Men of Valor turn to the ‘combat trauma healing manual.’ They start getting at the root of healing, and Renschler says repairing a soldier’s wounded spirituality and being around fellow brothers that share similar experiences is key.

“They walk in there and they realize that they’re not the only person that is going through these issues,” he says. “They feel like they’re crazy and they belong in a straight jacket and not a single person on earth can know what they’re going through, but they walk through those doors and they feel like they’re amongst family.”

When soldiers don’t have family nearby, the community steps up to become that family unit. “We motivate, we educate and we mobilize the local churches, secular based organizations altogether to just step up and be that family unit for these soldiers.”

There is a tremendous change in these soldiers, according to Renschler. They’re seeing immense growth and transformation in the group.

As Men of Valor grow, Renschler says they continue to seek help from the community. “It doesn’t matter if you like baking cookies or if you’re Bill Gates – we can use you in our organization. If your heart and passion is baking cookies then you can put a love note on it and we can take it down to the hospital where soldiers are in there right now suffering and that’s some of the most love they’ve seen in a very long time.”

If you’re Bill Gates, of course, they could use your contributions to provide materials for soldiers, as well.

Learn more at branchesofvalor.org