DCoE Launches Real Warriors Campaign

May 22, 2009

The Real Warriors Campaign — an important and long-term effort to help warriors and their families get the help they need for psychological health and traumatic brain injury — is underway.

The Real Warriors Campaign is a multimedia educational effort to combat the stigma associated with seeking care for psychological health and traumatic brain injury. At the center of the campaign are the personal stories of warriors — told in their own words — who have sought and received help. By sharing their experiences, these warriors will encourage fellow service members to seek the support they need and deserve.

“Service members see and experience things while deployed that many of us cannot even imagine,” Brig. Gen. Sutton said. “The Real Warriors campaign is going to help tear down stigma, and make it easier for them to ask for the treatment they may need after deployment.”

Dr. Sonja V. Batten, DCoE deputy director, said, “To ask for help is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength. With the Real Warriors campaign, we’re going to make it easier for warriors and their families to ask for and receive the care they need and deserve.”

The Real Warriors Campaign will:

• Promote psychological resilience as a proactive readiness objective among military commanders and service members.
• Communicate that effective treatments are available for psychological health concerns and traumatic brain injuries.
• Educate families about the resources available to them to help support their service member or members and keep their families emotionally strong.
• Promote positive messages of service members’ resilience and reintegration.

For more information about the Real Warriors Campaign, please visit www.realwarriors.net.

If you have a question or concern about psychological health or traumatic brain injury, call the DCoE Outreach Center, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The toll-free phone number is 866-966-1020. All calls are confidential.