Brad Wenstrup: “I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5649. As a member of the Army Reserve who served in Iraq, I know how difficult the…”

“I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5649. As a member of the Army Reserve who served in Iraq, I know how difficult the transition to civilian life can be after service for so many of our servicemembers. I still remember the eerie feeling of the quiet and serenity of home life after returning from the battlefield. For those servicemembers who don't have a clear cut path upon their return to civilian life, there is often a struggle for what I like to refer to as post-necessary stress. When you go from being completely necessary, part of a team, part of something big, and you come home and you don't have that same feeling, it takes its toll on you. It is hard for many servicemembers to actually settle back into civilian life when they get back. This is what this is about. We can combat this problem by encouraging servicemembers to focus on transition earlier. Even when they first join the armed services, imagine if you were being recruited and you are talking to a recruiter about what you plan to do when you enter the military, and if they also said to you, and what do you plan to do afterwards? If we were plotting a course for your life when in uniform and after. So this gives us a chance to modernize our curriculum for those going through the Transition Assistance Program to ensure that the information they have is timely and specific to the servicemember.…”