Dear Military Families,
The next two programs on PBS's Frontline (now airing at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays) -- airing on Tuesday, February 22 and Tuesday, March 1, are described below:
A Company of Soldiers
Tues., Feb. 22
FRONTLINE reports from inside the U.S. Army's 8th Cavalry Regiment stationed in Baghdad for an up-close, intimate look at the dangers facing an American military unit in Iraq. Shot in the weeks following the U.S. presidential election, the film tracks the day-to-day challenges facing the 8th Cavalry's Dog Company as it suddenly has to cope with a dramatic increase in attacks by the insurgents.
The Soldier's Heart
Tues., March 1
As the war in Iraq continues, the first measures of its psychological toll are coming in. A U.S. Army study estimates that more than one in six returning veterans are suffering from major depression, anxiety, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. For those who have survived the fighting, the battle is not over. FRONTLINE tells the stories of soldiers who have come home haunted by their experiences and asks whether the government is doing enough to help.
The first program (February 22) focuses on a unit in Iraq that includes the loved ones of MFSO members. The second program (March 1), focusing on PTSD, will include a focus on Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey, the son of MFSO members Joyce and Kevin Lucey and brother of MFSO member Debra Lucey. Jeffrey Lucey served in Iraq in 2003; he began to display symptoms of PTSD months after he returned home. He did not get the care he needed at a V.A. Hospital; he committed suicide in June, 2004.
Military Families Speak Out, with over 2,000 member families and new families joining every day, continues to call for ending the occupation, bringing the troops home now, and taking care of them when they get here! We hope these programs bring others across the country to those same conclusions.
In Peace and Solidarity,
Nancy Lessin and Charley Richardson
for Military Families Speak Out
www.mfso.org
www.bringthemhomenow.org