Combat Stress Blog

22/12/10
By sea, by land, by air - to the ends of the Earth

We’ve always been lucky enough to have fantastic volunteers and fundraisers willing to give up amazing amounts of time and effort to raise awareness and funds for Combat Stress.

Over the last year it seems that people have been willing to go further and further to show their support.

I’d like to introduce you to several fundraisers who are doing amazing things for Combat Stress.

Because It Is There: A Zero Emissions Odyssey

On 24 March 2010, Kevin Shannon set off from his home town in Cheshire and began the mammoth task of circumnavigating the globe by bicycle (and sailing the wet bits) to raise money for Combat Stress.

This three-year journey has so far taken Kevin as far as Istanbul - the best part of 3,000 miles. Unfortunately a hit-and-run incident in the West country forced Kevin to rest up and delayed his trip across the channel and has put the expedition back – this means he now faces a very cold winter pushing into Iran and across Central Asia.

You can follow Kevin’s adventure at www.becauseitisthere.co.uk and @Kev_Shannon on twitter.

Team Hallin - One Ocean, One Aim, One Month

An attempt on the east to west trans-Atlantic rowing record aiming to make the voyage in just 30 days - breaking the current world record by 3 days!

With an extremely accomplished team comprising talented rowers (who between them have rowed at university level, for Great Britain and completed the Marathon des Sables to name but a few achievements) we reckon they can do it...

…they even have an endorsement from the skipper of the current record holding expedition!

For more info please visit www.teamhallin.co.uk

Chris Foot’s 4ward Motion, The South Pole Expedition

No one has ever travelled solo, unsupported and unassisted to the South Pole and back - Chris Foot plans to change this.

As I post this, Chris is on the ice and battling on with his 1,392 mile journey. A former Royal Marine with the accolade of being the youngest serving member of the SAS at just 21, Chris is obviously a man with the ability to face challenges head on.

Due to adverse weather, Chris’s flight on to the ice was delayed but he is now well on his way and we wish him the best of luck.

For more info and to follow Chris's ice-bound blog, please check out his website, www.chrisfootsouthpole.com

The RAF Regiment Northern Exposure 2011

In February 2011, Wing Commander Matt Stowers and Squadron Leader Jules Weekes will be setting off from Northern Canada, across the frozen Arctic Ocean, to the Geographic North Pole.

The plan is to ski, walk, paddle and swim (yes, swim) the 478 miles without any outside help so as to complete the expedition ‘unsupported’.

It will take 38-60 days, 5000-6500kcal per day and an unbelievable amount of determination.

You can read more here, www.northernexposure2011.com

21/12/10
Combat Stress partners with new Brit Flick

As Service-related mental ill health stays high up on the public and media agenda, we get approached with a great deal of requests to help with research for articles, documentaries, books and films.

Due to the high interest in Veterans’ mental health and the sensitivities around embarking on media work, we are not always able to help but when we do we hope that speaking to staff and sometimes clients can help journos/writers/directors produce sensitive, faithful and empathetic pieces of work.

We are extremely pleased to say that since director Brian Welsh, producer Michelle Eastwood and actress Joanne Froggatt (of Downton Abbey fame) spent some time at Combat Stress we have been working together to promote their powerful new film, In our Name.

In our Name follows Suzy, a young Gunner in the British Army, as she returns home from Iraq and struggles to return to life with her husband and young daughter. It raises the urgent issue that while most sailors, soldiers and airmen find their Service to be a really positive experience, a significant minority return to civilian life with a mental health problems.

Depression, anxiety and Post traumatic stress disorder can have a massive impact on a Veteran’s life. In In our Name, Suzy's battles at home illustrate some of the symptoms experienced by Veterans who contact Combat Stress and show why it is so important that there is specialist treatment and support available for those who need it.

The film was released on Friday 10 December via Artificial Eye and can be seen at Curzon cinemas and selected Independent cinemas around the country.

There is more info on the film on our News page at www.combatstress.org.uk - where you can also see the trailer.

All that’s left to say is congratulations to Brian, Michelle and the whole cast and crew for a really thought provoking film, a nomination for Best British Newcomer at the London Film Festival, a nomination for Best Achievement in Production at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) and specifically to Joanne for Winning the Most Promising Newcomer category at the BIFA!

P.S. If you can’t make it to the Curzon or your local cinema isn’t showing it (shame on them), In our Name is also available on the Curzon on Demand service - http://www.curzoncinemas.com/film_on_demand/

03/12/10
Well it’s been very snowy at Combat Stress HQ and things are getting festive out there.

Every December, Combat Stress sends out its Christmas mail appeal, the Candle of Hope. Candle of Hope allows us to approach our generous supporters at this charitable time of year and highlight the work we do through the words of one of the ex-Service personnel that comes to us for support. This year, Iraq Veteran Paul has kindly shared his experience with us.

Paul trained as a Combat Medic and, whilst serving in Iraq, worked tirelessly to save the lives of the men, women and children who needed his help. The days were long and the work was unrelenting.

“I was on-call 24 hours a day and working 12-hour shifts. When I was not working on the ground, I was in the A&E department of the field hospital. My very first shift saw an influx of mass military casualties. We worked around the clock and tried our very best to treat and save everyone, regardless of who they were – men, women, children, and Iraqi prisoners. Some of the worst cases I won’t talk about. It’s enough to say that there are memories that will never leave me.

“Every day was much the same as the day before – more bodies, more injuries and more attacks. Black humour got us through and silent tears when we were alone.” – Paul

Within the envelope that we send out is a Christmas tree decoration with a blank space for a personal message. We ask our supporters to fill these with a note to the Veterans receiving support from Combat Stress and staying at one of our three treatment centres over Christmas.

If you do receive one of our mailings please find the time to send back your tree decoration – they are really appreciated.

03/12/10
New wing opens at Combat Stress’s Leatherhead Treatment Centre, Tyrwhitt House

Back in 2009, Combat Stress received an amazing grant of £3.5 million from fellow Forces charity, Help for Heroes.

Since then we have put the money to fantastic use with a number of building projects to make sure that our facilities are more than fit for purpose in the 21st Century – this is especially important as we gear up our services for the increase in demand that we continue to see.

On 11 November 2010, Bryn and Emma Parry, co-founders of Help for Heroes, officially opened the Help for Heroes Wing at Tyrwhitt House – the latest development at Combat Stress made possible by the generosity of the charity they established.

The opening followed a poignant Service of Remembrance which was attended by Veterans, Staff and members of The Enemy Within Appeal Board including General Sir Richard Dannatt and former Rugby World Champion and ex-Army Officer, Josh Lewsey MBE.

This new building has provided the Veterans staying at our Leatherhead treatment centre with a new living zone comprising two new lounges, a new library, canteen, laundry as well as four new twin bedrooms so that carers can attend with Veterans when necessary - these new bedrooms all have en suite bathrooms suitable for disabled Veterans.

Not only is this new wing a welcome improvement to the living quarters at Tyrwhitt House but it has also allowed the next phase of work to start - the remodel of the main house.

The ground floor of the main house is currently being re-organised in order to optimise the existing space for treatment delivery – with purpose built consulting and therapy rooms.

Since 2005 we have seen a 72% increase in Veterans contacting Combat Stress for support – with no sign of this demand abating, projects like this keep us ready and able to deliver dedicated, specialist treatment for Veterans suffering from psychological injury.

29/07/10
Sorry , Bruce, not Born to Run but willing to try...

An amazing 94 runners took the streets of London for the British London 10k run on Sunday 11 July to raise money for Combat Stress and awareness of the charity’s great work.
We had several runners from head office staff taking part, the ARmy Rumour SErvice and some of the companies that we have worked with in recent years (including JJ Love Construction, Detica, Finerty Brice and Kenexa).

A special thanks to Roger and the ARmy Rumour Service team for cheering loudly on the first turn.
It was great to see so many people in Combat Stress t-shirts on the course and hear shouts of encouragement from spectators supporting the cause – lots of high-fives on offer as we ran along for a bit of a boost too.

My goal was to cross the finish line in under an hour – not a hard target for a seasoned runner but as the above title suggests, I’m not a natural...

I checked my watch as the announcer told us we were 300m from the finish and had to go for a bit of a sprint (well it felt like a sprint but I could probably only manage snail’s pace by this point) and I clocked in at 59m 43s.

I’m really pleased I managed to hit my target; I found it harder than I expected but who knows, I might go for a longer distance next time... think I might hang up trainers for a week or two now though.

But that was me, finding it tough in a t-shirt, shorts and trainers... spare a thought for this absolute trooper who stormed around the course in an NBC suit with Respirator!
The atmosphere was great and a lot of money was raised for great causes. Last year the runners for Combat Stress managed to raise a fantastic £13,000 – we’re still counting but hopefully we will do better this time around!

If you fancy getting involved in a similar event – or want to concoct an event of your own – there are lots of ideas and info on our website, as well as details of upcoming events that you can support/attend like the 2010 Battle Proms concerts

Well... where to start?
Introductions first, I think.

My name is Stephen/Steve – not too fussed about which one people use. I work for Combat Stress which you may know is one of the charities that the BFBS Big Salute supports.
You can see a short film about us by searching 'Combat Stress' on this site.

That is the heart of what we do. I hope that through this blog I can also share some of the other sides of Combat Stress that we don’t always get to flag up.

When you label someone there is always a tendency for this to be the only point of reference for them, to reduce them to just that detail. Mental illness and Veteran are loaded terms; they lead people to ideas that make it easy for them to understand but often overlook the bigger picture.
A Veteran can be any age, not just the brave men and women who served in wars past, and mental health is something we all have but sometimes need help maintaining – just like physical health.

Unfortunately, because you cannot see psychological injuries, we don’t always think of them in the same way as the equally tragic physical scars. It makes it harder for all of us, sometimes even those suffering, to understand what they are going through.

Working at Combat Stress I have been privileged enough to meet some of the people who receive help from the charity and the generous volunteers that give their time and energy to raise funds and support us in various ways.