We All Need Somebody To Lean On

When we were children, many arguments were punctuated with the statement, “It takes one to know one.”  When applied to the needs of many veterans, that statement is no longer child’s play.  With only about 1% of the population currently serving in uniform, many service members find that they are leaving the military to transition to a culture that can’t begin to understand the experiences, perceptions, and pressures that today’s veteran brings into the civilian world.  Many veterans who served prior to these latest conflicts have not resolved internal feelings that prevent personal acceptance and resolution of their experiences.  Isolation is the enemy and peer support is the strongest ally available to these men and women.  Vet to Vet is a resource that exists to create that vital peer contact.

 Roger Hoffman

Massachusetts Marine Corps League State Department Chaplain Roger Hoffman has built on his role as the VAVS Outreach Officer for the Brockton VA to develop an “ex officio” position on the Board of Directors for Boston Vet to Vet, an organization that seeks to address that isolation that veterans might feel.  An independent, not for profit alliance of volunteer veterans, Vet to Vet provides education and support for veterans, their families and friends to help address medical, emotional, and social challenges that are being faced.  The organization trains and makes available peer facilitators who can advocate for veterans who might otherwise be unaware of or intimidated by the services and options available to them.  In his advisory capacity, Roger works with the leadership of Vet to Vet to help in setting direction, arranging programs, and coordinating services.  While he is active in supporting veterans’ services both in Brockton and statewide, Roger deflects attention back to the Vet to Vet  program where the services are delivered.

A current board member reflected on her own experience.  Initially as a veteran receiving services eight years ago, she was exposed to Vet to Vet through VA contacts.  Having had a positive personal experience, she took action to become a Peer Facilitator, under the tutelage of founder Moe Armstrong.  Using Armstrong’s leadership style as an example, she acquired the baseline skills needed to control a group session and utilize her listening skills while operating with the framework of Vet to Vet rules.  Since starting as a Peer Facilitator, she has pursued continuous training to increase her skills.   All session interactions are confidential.  Other than the facilitator and the participants, no VA, medical or others attend.  No notes are taken.  Participants agree to a basic set of rules around respect and effective interaction and work with each other in a model of mutual support.  Weekly, she meets with a group of inpatients at the Brockton VA.  Attendance and participation is completely voluntary.  She is able to recount a case of one veteran who started at a very low spot in her life but is gradually getting to the point where she is feeling better and becoming more interactive.  It is rewarding to this Vet to Vet board member to have participated in helping a fellow veteran whom she now considers a friend.

                                               Vet to Vet is found nationwide.  In some places it is affiliated with the VA.  In other places it operates 

Moe Armstrong

independently.  In both cases the organization maintains continuous outreach.  The roots of the organization are traced to Moe Armstrong, a Navy veteran of Viet Nam whose experiences as a Corpsman with the Marine Corps and with Special Forces, brought him to confront isolation, substance abuse and mental illness.  After a lengthy process of looking for himself, Armstrong arrived in New Mexico where,  in his early 40’s, he began his ascent back to a life that was closer to what he hoped for.  Reflecting on his own experiences, he realized that the isolation that he felt was a major contributor to his problems.  In retrospect he realized that only others who had some basis in shared experience could pierce that isolation.  More information on Armstrong’s personal journey and the roots of Vet to Vet can be found at http://www.web2carz.com/people/everyone-else/2593/moe-armstrong-one-vet-at-a-time.  At the core of Vet to Vet is the fact that participants are dealing with others with at least some common bond.  Many of the services that veterans need are offered by the VA and other government and private organizations.  At times, access to these services can be dependent on administrative and procedural steps that can be intimidating and off-putting to an individual who still finds it hard to articulate what he or she is really seeking.  Through Vet to Vet, the individual has a peer contact who is trained to navigate these systems and able to point to the most likely resources.  Vet to Vet is geared to be more of an individually focused, peer-centric resource to the veteran.  The group has active liaison and support from the VA, but is an independent advocate for the individual who needs services.  True to its name, the group knows that its success comes from the fact that its volunteers and facilitators can interact with veterans based on a common bond.  At times that bond is the key component in making the veteran aware that there are both concern and resources available to help him or her.

David Wilson has been associated with Vet to Vet since 2005.  A member of the Board of Directors and a trained Peer Facilitator, David is active in continuing to grow Vet to Vet into a more established organization. With his own experiences and feelings as a backdrop, Wilson is able to interact with individual veterans and be active in guiding the organization so that it stays consistent with its roots.  Approximately one year ago, the Board of Directors was founded and the local organization was registered as a 501(c))(3) entity.  Formal fundraising is in place.  The leadership team is working on linking up with other regional Vet to Vet groups.  This would enable them to enhance services and increase support through grants and other formats.  A unified Vet to Vet New England is a potential model that could be more attractive to sponsors

 Like the individual forward deployed troop, Vet to Vet is backed up by a comprehensive network of resources.  The Veterans Administration is active in coordinating with Vet to Vet resources and provides space and staffing to insure continuity of service delivery.  Mental health professionals assist in training Peer Facilitators and guiding veterans to appropriate resources.  Corporations and private parties assist with funding and support for programs.  Growing from the seed of initial contact with a concerned peer, a veteran in need of services can access a directed network of tools and resources that can help in the individual journey.  Through  interaction of peers who offer mutual support without complex entry requirements, Vet to Vet provides a solution that is elegant in its simplicity.

Massachusetts Marine Corps League Marines of the Year

Each year, Marine Corps League Detachments select a member to be Marine of the Year.  In this space, we will recognize those Marines who have been chosen by their peers as having gone the extra mile in exemplifying the ideals of the Marine Corps.

Commitment, Reliability, Action

Sometimes it doesn’t take a lot of flash and noise to add value.  The family car that always starts and runs well is often a better deal than the latest and greatest new model that isn’t so reliable.  As Oak Ridge Detachment #628 Commandant Tim McCory has learned, the same can apply to people.  In recommending Don Worden as the Detachment Marine of the Year, Tim stated, “He is always at every function and always helping out whenever the League has a need. He has been a Jr. Vice, and is currently a Senior Vice but also steps in at every meeting if one of the other officers is absent”.  This is the kind of reliability on which successful detachments are built and we are pleased to join Commandant McCrory in recognizing all that Don Worden does.

When he walked into the recruiter’s office in 1960, Don was not looking to join the Marine Corps.  Inspired by the events surrounding the Russian launch of Sputnik and the continuing challenges in developing the Vanguard and Atlas Rockets, young Worden hoped to bring his interest in aviation to bear with service in the Air Force.  Although the Air Force recruiter had chosen to take that day off, the Marine Corps recruiter was happy to point out that a motivated young man such as Don could work in aviation in the Corps.   With an offer of an aviation guarantee, the recruiter was quick to get Don tested and enrolled.  Soon, Don departed Western Massachusetts for sunny Parris Island on what was arguably the last available seat on the train.  While Parris Island was very different from what he might have experienced had the Air Force recruiter chosen to work that day, Don was able to complete boot camp and was soon off to school to prepare for assignment as a jet engine mechanic.

Following training, Don Worden reported to Cherry Point for his first duty station.  After one year in that assignment, he was transferred to CVA59 on the USS Forrestal.  At this point he had moved from work as a jet mechanic to a role as a crew chief with responsibility for all aspects of keeping the airplane operating.  Sea duty ranged from intense boredom while waiting for planes to arrive, to periods of intense activity.   This assignment was followed by being stationed at Atsugi Japan, where Don continued to work on the flight line.  During this tour he had opportunity to fly to other locations on hops as space was available.  Working in sight of Mount Fuji is something that Don remembers about Atsugi.  Returning stateside, Don completed the final year of his enlistment at Cherry Point, then returned to the North Hampton area.

Departing church one Sunday, shortly after he returned, Don ran into an old acquaintance who was looking for help in his moving and rigging business.  For a year and a half, Don worked with Gleason Moving and Rigging before departing for a position at Lunt Silversmiths.  For 42 years, Don worked at Lunt, initially producing their Eloquence flatware pattern, and later working in the rolling mills.  Producing an heirloom quality silver pattern like Eloquence requires multiple blows with a press.  Don recalls having completed as many as 8000 blows in one seven hour shift.   At one point he was the sole employee operating the press, a job designed for three people.  The Eloquence is still considered a premier design and highly sought after.

Although Don Worden’s brother in law was in the Army, it was he who introduced Don to the Marine Corps League.  Having been involved in the Bernardston Veterans Club, Don had some level of activity.  Once he became involved in the Marine Corps League, he became fully engaged.   The same level of energy that let him do the work of three men at Lunt Silversmiths, transferred into the Marine Corps League.  Since joining, Don has served as the Junior Vice Commandant and Senior Vice Commandant.  On every third Sunday of the month, he is an active participant in the detachment breakfast fundraiser.  Open to the public, the fundraiser offers a full, cooked to order breakfast for $7.00.  On average, about 30 people attend, with many being regular clients.  This is a main fundraiser for the detachment that has been applied to activities from veterans outreach to funding new uniforms for the local high school softball team.

Don is active in staffing the detachment’s food booth at the Greenfield Fair, another major source of funds.  During the Memorial Day Weekend, he is involved with placing flags at three local cemeteries, marching in two parades, participating in firing details for three local ceremonies and wreath laying activities, as well as helping out at the detachment chicken barbecue.  Don is proud to attend the wake and funeral of local Marines and participates in the detachment honor guard and firing detail as needed.  Don’ willingness to help and initiative in being available for all detachment activities has led to his nomination as Oak Ridge Marine Corps League Detachment #628 Marine of Year.  We join Detachment Commandant Tim McCrory and his detachment member in saluting Don Worden.