Military Kids Are Seeking More Psychological Treatment

The Associated Press ran a recent piece stating that there has been a significant increase in the number of military kids receiving mental health care.

Children of U.S. military troops sought outpatient mental health care 2 million times last year, double the number at the start of the Iraq war, and there was also an alarming spike in the number of military kids actually hospitalized for mental health reasons.

I'm not exactly surprised by this. As the article states, the stresses of military life are many: frequent moves (on average every three years); parents returning from combat zones with post-traumatic stress disorder; or, worst of all, parents not returning at all.

On the whole, I'd say this is not a bad thing in and of itself. Receiving mental health care doesn't have the stigma it once did. I'd guess there were a lot fewer kids and spouses seeking psychiatric care during Vietnam even though such care would have been beneficial in helping them deal with the psychological stresses they experienced. And, of course, we've made great advances in psychiatry since Vietnam.

The underlying problem is the fact that these kids need the care in the first place. It's yet another stark example of the huge tolls the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are taking on US military service members and their families.

Hey There, Sea Warrior

Maybe it's not my place to comment on this, but I just couldn't resist. Last week, Danielle told me that Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has suggested that US Navy service members refer to each other as "sea warrior" rather than "shipmate." Apparently, according to Admiral Mullen, "shipmate" has become a "derogatory term."

Um, ya think?

But it's not always derogatory. More often than not, I hear it used the way you'd use "buddy", as an easy term of endearment.

"Sea warrior," on the other hand, is destined to always and only ever be used in a derogatory way. It's just corny-sounding.

Am I right, or am I way off base? Or should I just keep my civilian, land-lovin' mouth shut?

Is Subway Evil?

Troubling Story for Reservists

The other day, I received an email (subject line: "Story idea--Military bocott [sic] of Subway") from a woman named Susan alerting me to a story in the Dallas Morning News about a Reservist who lost his Subway franchises when he got behind on his rent while he was serving in Afghanistan:

While serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army Reserve, Leon Batie Jr. dodged roadside bombs and scrambled to safety when rockets pierced the night sky.

When he returned to Dallas in early 2006, another battle loomed.

As Batie was returning from Afghanistan, he learned he was being stripped of the two Subway restaurants he bought before mobilizing.

The stores were sold to Subway insiders, with one transaction yielding a Subway executive a $100,000 profit, according to a lawsuit Batie filed last year in state court in Dallas County. One issue in the case is set for trial this week.

This is obviously a troubling story, but the way in which I received it, and a follow-up email supposedly from some Subway public relations-type, is curious.

What's troubling about the story is the possibility that Subway took advantage of Batie's deployment to sell his franchises and make a nice profit for some corporate cronies. It's also true, however, that Batie was behind on his rent and that he was unable to secure competent management for his business while he was away.

Could Subway have stepped in to help keep the stores afloat until Batie returned?

Or is this "just business"? Is it asking too much for franchises like Subway to provide special treatment for Reservists or National Guard members? If Batie had been running an independent restaurant that had failed while he was overseas, would this even be a story?

Email Weirdness

Shortly after I received Susan's email about the story, I received another email from her forwarding a spoof press release about the kidnap of Jared (of Subway commercial fame) by a team of Army Rangers. This forward also had language in it about boycotting the chain.

Then I got an email from asksubway@subway.com. It was a kind of ham-handed attempt to get the "real story" out there, saying,

there's much more to this story, and available public information, than what was reported in the newspaper.

As a mater of public record, the following points can be gathered from court documents pertaining to the case:

Leon Batie’s brother Chris had Power of Attorney to operate his SUBWAY locations and represent Leon during a March 2006 court appearance for failing to pay his rent at one of his two SUBWAY locations. The court recognized the Power of Attorney as valid and ruled to evict Leon Batie from that location for failure to pay rent to the landlord.

2. Leon Batie appeared in court a few days later for failing to pay rent at his second location and the court ruled to evict him from the second location as well for failure to pay rent to the landlord.

3. On two occasions, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas has dismissed the exact claims now pending in the Texas State Cou rt [sic].

Now, the reason this is weird is that at the time I received this email, I hadn't written a word about this story, or Subway in general, except in an email response to Susan. So did Subway just pick about 15 random military-related bloggers to send this ridiculous press release to? Or is this potentially not from Subway at all? (It's easy enough to spoof an e-mail address.)

I put in a phone call to Subway public relations to confirm whether the email did in fact originate from them. I have not yet heard back. (I do, however, feel like a real journalist.)

Then I looked more closely at the mailing lists of Susan's forward and the Subway press release. They were almost identical. This had me thinking conspiratorially, until I noticed that Susan's forward was sent to Kevin Kane, of Subway public relations.

That explained why I'd received the press release (or whatever you want to call it), but it didn't explain why Subway is handling this so badly. Rather than dealing with Mr. Batie as a human being and respecting his service to the country, they're trying to make this a non-story.

Good luck, Subway, but you're going to have to do better than that.

I Wonder if a Master of Fine Arts Is Considered "High Demand"

Earlier this month (or late last month, I'm not sure), the Department of Defense expanded the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account program (MyCAA). MyCAA provides up to $6,000 ($3,000 per year for up to two years) "to help pay for licenses, certifications and education in high growth, high demand portable career fields," according to Military OneSource.

What I'm wondering is, what constitutes a "high growth, high demand portable career" field? I've been wrestling with the idea of going back to school for my MFA next year, but I don't want to pay out the nose for it. A master of fine arts is not the sort of degree that guarantees better job prospects or higher pay. It's a degree that would hone my writing skills and qualify me to teach writing to undergraduates, probably as an adjunct (i.e. non-permanent) professor.

The teaching credential would certainly be handy. Pretty much every town has a college in it, so that would be a pretty "portable" career for when Sean's older and in school himself. It's worth looking into. If I could combine some financial aid from the university (a teaching assistantship, or something) with the MyCAA benefit, this could be the last push I need.

It could also be the last push you need to go back to school. There's no time like a recession to get more education or retrain yourself in a new field. You'll be more competitive when the economy picks up again.

The official website where you can explore further, create an account, and start the application process is here.

Mr. Mom (Really? Again?)

"Mr. Military Mom"

Does this bother anyone else as much as it bothers me? Can't we just leave this behind? It's not that it somehow offends me as a man. It offends me because it's trite and lazy.

Which is too bad, because it's a good article. It's relevant to Fathers' Day Weekend, and it's accurate in its portrayal of the complexities in the lives of dual-military families.

A typical day for Darrell starts with a 6 a.m. wake-up, daycare by 7 a.m., work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., daycare immediately following, home for dinner, play time with the boys, read a book with the boys then put them to bed by 8 p.m.

After Ty and Max are tucked in, then Darrell has a chance to do housework, pay the bills and plan the upcoming weekend. By the time everything is done, Darrell heads to bed by 1 a.m., leaving him with about five hours of sleep before it starts all over in the morning.

Along with the everyday routine, Darrell said he and the boys are involved in various activities such as school events, boy scouts, city council meetings, the American Legion and the VFW to keep them extra busy.

"There is too much going on," he said.

I don't think we've heard from any husbands from dual-military marriages here at the site. I have a tremendous respect for those families.