Political Quotes

“today I am introducing for the second year in a row a Senate resolution to designate June 27 as National Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day. That date was inspired by the birthday of North Dakota National Guard Staff Sergeant Joe Biel. Staff Sergeant Biel served two tours of duty in Iraq as a Trailblazer, part of a unit responsible for route clearance operations. Each day, Joe's mission was to go out with his unit to find and remove Improvised Explosive Devices and other dangers from heavily traveled roads to make it safe for coalition forces and Iraqi civilians to travel. As a result of those experiences, Joe suffered from PTSD and, tragically, took his own life in April 2007. There is absolutely no doubt that Joe Biel is a hero who gave his life for our country. I learned of Joe's story because friends from his platoon, the 4th Platoon, A Company, of the North Dakota National Guard's 164th Combat Engineer Battalion, have organized an annual motorcycle ride across the state of North Dakota in his memory. The Joe Biel Memorial Ride serves as a reunion for the 164th, a memorial for a lost friend, and a beacon to those suffering from PTSD and other mental issues across the region. The key point made to me by the event's organizer, Staff Sergeant Matt Leaf, is that we have to raise awareness of this disease so that the lives of servicemembers, veterans, and other PTSD sufferers can be saved by greater awareness of and treatment for this disorder.…”