Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the VA’s first efforts at media outreach to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. 

As an Iraq veteran, I know how important the VA’s outreach is.   When I was in Iraq from October 2005 to September 2006, I served with the Georgia National Guard in Bayji, a town about 130 miles north of Baghdad.  I was a member of a Military Intelligence Team that required me to go out on approximately 200 combat patrols.

When I came home I dealt with a wide range of adjustment issues/PTSD symptoms; rage, anger, seeking revenge, increased alcohol use, withdrawal from friends and family, depression, high anxiety, agitation, nightmares and hyper-vigilance.  My symptoms altered and grew over time.  I was not the person I used to be and I knew it.   I suspected I might have PTSD, but I could not figure out if I did, even though I searched endless websites.  Nothing was comprehensive, nothing spoke to me as an Iraq Vet.  I even searched the VA website and it was no help to me.  I could not put the pieces of the puzzle together on my own. 

The best way I can describe PTSD is feeling lost and disconnected, sitting in a dark hole.  It is very hard to compose yourself to the point of working your way through the VA maze.  Most people will not get help because it is so daunting.  Personally, I would still be lost, or possibly worse, if I had not had the dumb luck of running into another veteran who already had gotten help, and who pointed out that a Vet Center could help me start the navigation of the VA system. 

Recently, when I first saw the VA’s posters in the Metro, I thought it was fantastic that they were finally reaching out to veterans, instead of waiting for us to come to them.  I have seen the posters several times.  But I also had to ask: where was the VA two years ago, when I really could have used it?   Because the VA is so late to the game, there’s a huge backlog of veterans who were not as lucky as I was, and who have not yet found their way to the services they need.  There is a huge amount of catching up to do.

I also recently read a copy of the letter the VA is apparently sending out in conjunction with this campaign that outlines several of these symptoms, I mentioned above, in one place.  The letter is good and comprehensive, but I ask who is and is not receiving it?  I have not received it.

I also have some concerns about the way the ads are designed.  For instance, the phone number is hard to read.   A veteran in a crowded metro car is not going to want to draw attention to themselves by getting up and walking across to a poster.  If they can sit far from the poster and still see the number, it would be much more effective.  While these ads can and should definitely be improved, I am certain that even this outreach will help a few lost souls. 

Before being asked to testify, I had not come across the Public Service Announcement with Gary Sinese.  One concern I have about the ad is that it focuses only on suicide, instead of the more typical combat stress reactions most veterans are facing.  Most soldiers who may be facing PTSD do not want to admit it.  They think "I can handle it” or “I am the lucky one, I have all my limbs, I do not deserve help.”  If the hotline is perceived as being only for those considering suicide, they may think they do not deserve to call it, that there are others worse off than them, and that they should just “suck it up.”  We do not want them to suck it up until they really need a suicide hotline.  PTSD is much better dealt with early, so the veteran has the best possible chance of recovery.  Overall, I think the messaging for the TV ad could be improved.  In addition, I know the hotline can be utilized by the families and loved ones of veterans, but that is not clear through the commercial as it is.

I think a lot of these problems would be solved if the VA did more testing of the ads before they rolled them out.  Testing the ads on focus groups of actual veterans would give them a better sense of what messaging would actually work. Also, ads in the Metro and on buses might not be as effective as TV, radio, print and online advertising, especially for the many new veterans from rural areas.  I do not know what the guidelines for print advertising are for the VA, but the papers and magazines the majority of military men, at least, read are the Army Times and all the sister service Times papers, fitness magazines and magazines such as Maxim.  Basically, anything that is sold in the PX/BX on base could be targeted.  In addition, many many troops and veterans use MySpace, Facebook, and other online social networking sites.

In my spare time, I am a representative of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the country’s first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan Iraq and Afghanistan veterans group, with more than 100,000 active veteran members and grassroots supporters nationwide.  I wanted to let the committee know about the progress IAVA has been making on our own anti-stigma campaign.  IAVA has partnered with the Ad Council to conduct a multiyear Public Service Announcement campaign to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health care and to ensure veterans seeking access to care and benefits, and particularly those who need treatment for their psychological injuries, get the support they need.  Ad Council is responsible for many of the nation’s most iconic and successful PSA campaigns in history, including “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires,” “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste,” and “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.”  The IAVA-Ad Council PSAs will exist on television, radio, in print, outdoors and online, and will be rolling out in November of this year. 

But our PSA campaign will in no way eliminate the need for the VA to plan its own outreach and advertising campaign.  Only a concerted effort on the part of the VA will ensure that veterans finally have easy access to the many benefits the VA has to offer.  Thank you for your time.

Respectfully submitted.