To all PTSD Forum readers:

We are in the process of producing a 30-minute program on combat stress and PTSD for the Pentagon Channel. If you're unfamiliar with us, we're a DoD broadcast operation, seen primarily on bases in the US and overseas. We're also on Dish Network and a handful of commercial cable operations. But the audience is primarily active duty military and military families.

I'm looking to do an on-camera interview with someone who served in Desert Storm, Iraq or Afghanistan, and who is willing to talk about their PTSD-causing experience and its effect on them afterwards. I'm willing to accept restrictions from that individual--not discussing certain areas, shooting the interview in shadow so they're not recognizeable, etc--if that's what it takes to get someone to be willing to do an interview.

The intent of the program is to show that PTSD is something with genuine long-term effects, and to provide those in the military audience who are reluctant to seek treatment some reasons to do so. The program will be on the air in October.

You can see some examples of our work on pentagonchannel.mil ... select View Programming, select Recon from the Channels list. The last 3 programs are available as VOD.

I can be contacted by phone, by e-mail via the forum, or by office or personal e-mail.

Jim Schaefer
Producer
703-428-0476
DSN 328-0476
jim.schaefer@pentagonchannel.mil
jschaeferva2@hotmail.com

Jim,

Welcome to the forum. I think it's great that you are making this documentary. However, please also understand that it's not just people in the military who get PTSD; there are many more of us (probably the majority of those with PTSD) that got it from things not associated in any way with the military.

Although I don't know what your script says or what you're planning on highlighting in your film, but it would be nice and most appropriate to at least mention non-military PTSD being present in the world.

Also, is there a way to get a copy of the film?

Hi Jim,

I have placed this across as a global announcement throughout the forum for the next month.

To all who read this, I would personally encourage you to contact Jim if you fit the criteria he is seeking, to help expose some of what is going on with PTSD to the relevant audience he is targeting. Any exposure is better than no exposure.

Anthony, KimG ... thanks for the support and the interest. And yes, we will certainly mention that PTSD affects a much broader group than just combat veterans, and afflicts a substantial percentage of the general population at some point.

However, our audience is primarily military, so the program will mainly address the military experience ...

Copies, while not out of the question, may be hard to deal with, depending on volume of interest ... we're set up to produce and broadcast, and have only limited duplication ability. I can revisit this once there's actually a program.

The program will be available for several months as VOD on our web page, pentagonchannel.mil.

Jim thank you for doing this My husband is retired military 20yrs MP and suffers everyday from all the things he saw and investigated. It's not just combat duty vets who suffer from this dreaded disease.i will pass the word along to my daughter who's husband just got out of the marines maybe one of his buddies will contact you. again thank you..

Still hoping a present or former servicemember will respond to this posting ... looking for an individual or two willing to talk on camera about their experience, particularly about homecoming and readjustment to everyday life.

We'll limit ourselves to discussing whatever areas those folks are willing to discuss. We can do a "shadow" interview, so faces won't be recognized, if that's requested.

Jim Schaefer