ultimately affects you. it's what our broadcast company is calling charlie foxtrot. many of you know someone who has come home and something is off. you are not quite sure what it is. young soldiers or those starting off don't get intense training about post-traumatic stress disorder or other issues. most are just taught how to transform from a civilian into a soldier. >> go faster. [ bleep ]. >> have you ever been scared? >> you know, that sheer moment of terror?

two and a half years. >> it's about being a smart, fast, lethal soldier. >> you don't know who the bad guy is. you don't know who the good guy is. kill or be killed. the moment you drop your guard, you're done. >> they train you how to go the deployment, but they don't train you how to come home. >> we have just got do more for them. >> we started outlooking for an answer. why are so many of our service members forced out of the military with a less than honorable discharge? we found out that the reason for those discharges can be linked to post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries. 28% of our troops come home

and the symptoms can be misunderstood. >> do not look at veterans as injured soldiers. these are high-level athletes. these are high performers. they have had injuries, and we want to try to maximize their performance and get them back to the game. >> they come and the scarecrow and they unstuff him. he is just laying there thinking, i am done. each arm blown off. each child i saw die. each was a little bit of my stuffing coming out, being left there. it was just like the scarecrow. so i relied on really good friends and family and mental health professionals to restuff me. >> we really have an epidemic

suicide. it's just unacceptable. we know that traumatic brain injury and ptsd and these exposures increase risk of ending up in that situation. >> lots of times i see -- i pulled a gun on my wife. i was very paranoid. i thought she was trying to kill me. i and there is just blood all over all the walls. when i was over there, it really broke me and tore me apart. >> did your basic training, did that prepare you for what you were going to experience when you were there? >> no, not at all.

>> welcome to the army! take your time! let's go! why are we stopping? don't stop. is that your basic training? do >> yes, sir! >> everything has a purpose to begin that process of instilling the army values, turning them from a civilian into a soldier. >> good. [ horn sounding ] >> get where you're supposed to be! how about you? get there, where you are

where is your camel? you don't care? >> it's a shock and all. it's extremely difficult to replicate the rigorous combat. the stress. the adrenaline rush. so we have to induce stress in some way. >> move that [ bleep ]! move that way! move! walk! >> most of these kids are coming straight from high tend to focus on as much here in this environment. >> with that suicide class, what are some of the things that are taught? >> the biggest thing is recognizing signs. the other thing is trying to remove that stigma that if you seek help, that you're weak or that you're not a soldier. >> we teach how to get through

>> every soldier we recruit has the best opportunity to complete basic training. >> if they are not ready physically, there is a process in place to delay their entry into basic training until they are. is there anything like that in place for mental health? >> not that i'm aware of. >> you got stressful times that are so far beyond what you could imagine. many, many briefings started with, hey, it's going to be dangerous today. hey, i have every intention of trying to get us killed today. >> and right now we want to go back to our panel of veterans that we brought in for charlie foxtrot. courtney and phil. >> you know, i think sitting here watching that piece, you all could relate to basic

about the maybe lack of training for what's to come, jamie, we had talked about this because you now treat veterans who may be dealing with a mental health crisis. do you hear that a lot? i'm not prepared for the real world? >> i can tell you that there is a big issue when it comes to the transition from the military. as it was pointed out in the video, many of these people that go into the military, they are coming straight out of home. they are just out of school. while they were home they were with their parents. they had a roof over their head. they had all their meals for them. everything was prepared. the only money that they may have spent is if they picked up an odd job here and there. they go right in the military. room and board. roof over their head. everything's structured. then all of a sudden now they are out in the real world after they go through however many hitches they do, and with the exception of maybe having to buy a car or something, everything was prepared for

hard for them. they are not prepared for that. i am sure it's a little different now than when i was in. i didn't have a transition when i got out. i got out in '88. i was straight into working in the work force. i didn't sign up for the v.a. i didn't sign up for benefits. in fact, i didn't sign up until about three years ago. i was working with the department of homeland security, was out of work after that for over nine months, and i was turned down. here i am an honorably discharged veteran with a bi and i was told i was ineligible. said i made too much money. i am like, what do you mean? how can i make too much money when i haven't worked in nine months? so there seems to be some issues. somewhere there is things that are lacking in that. and when you have some of these other veterans that have something that's not an honorable discharge, there is plenty of different discharges, they are not eligible for the v.a. service either. and when you have a combat

shown previously, it's a shame because here they are. the thing that most people think about when they think of a disabled veteran is what they see, whether there is a missing limb or something like that, or some physical scarring. you had made the point about the percentage is small, and i think they posted 28% on the thing. honestly, i believe it's higher than that because when you deal with something like ptsd, the symptoms can go on without more before that even shows those symptoms and find out that you have it. you have people not only through come bacteria-related ptsd. you can have something with sexual assaults. it's prevalent that is cause for ptsd these days, among other things. >> jamie, thank you. these are such important issues. >> we are really just scratching the surface.

if you know someone who has committed suicide after serving, you will agree something needs to be done. now, here is the mission to get change and see nation's leaders are doing about it. [ music playing ] >> these soldiers have seen hell. brian took his life one week

>> it's about being a smart, fast, lethal soldier. >> you don't know who the bad guy is. you don't know who the good guy is. kill or be killed. the moment you drop your guard, you're done. >> they train us how to go to the deployment, but they don't train you how to come home. >> we have just got to do more for them. >> brian was 17 when he went in the army, and he signed up as infantry. he wanted to go in. so he got his ged and his dad signed him in. brian came home with ptsd and traumatic brain injury. but i didn't realize, i knew he

going, guys? >> at the georgia aquarium i looked at him and he goes, we got to go. he said with the people on the upper level looking at the lower level and all those crowds reminded me of being in iraq with snipers on the roof. last thing i said to him, i love you. he had called me, and i said, brian? and he said, mom, why are we not friends on facebook? i said, well, probably because you're 23 and i am your mother. and i said, just hit me up, you know? and i think that was it. then i said, i love you. >> so this is the paper trail.

this is the first deployment. he went back a second time right there. it was, quote, like hell on earth. being back in iraq in the same areas brought up the memories and i had some panic attacks early on embarrassing to be waking up screaming and my roommates would hear me. i can't even imagine. no go. depression. ptsd. so they put no go. >> they circled no go first. >> they circled no go first and crossed it out.

hesitations on re-sending him. i am before you today to share brian's story. our soldiers never hesitated in their mission to protect, serve, and sacrifice for our country. now it's time for the v.a. to prove their commitment our soldiers. >> secretary mcdonald, what are you doing to reduce the wait time? >> we can't allow there to be any separation from the time the individual leaves the active duty service and they become a full-fledged veteran. we want that to be entirely seamless, and that's what we're working towards. >> i actually think i found something. this is from 1978. they say in the study that service members with less than honorable discharge it negatively effects them from

to employment. it says it in here. it's the same thing. >> so a u.s. president saw this was a problem 40 years ago? it was a warning? >> absolutely. it was absolutely a warning 40 years ago. >> i think the government could finance mental health treatment not only in veterans hospitals, but also any veterans who can't get almost immediate care in a veterans hospital, let them have the funds to administration to go to private psychiatrists. >> you shouldn't have to wait days. you shouldn't have to wait weeks. you should get those services the very same day. >> they are not democratic veterans and republican veterans. they are american veterans. americans volunteered and sacrificed their lives and put their lives on the line for us. parties should never get in the

we should see to it they get them now. >> and only congress can modernize the archaic appeals process. >> there are hundreds of thousands of vets who are locked out of the v.a. because they have an other than honorable discharge. horrifying. >> it's not just an interest of fairness. it's an interest -- it's in the interest of fulfilling america's promise to veterans. >> it's just like a charlie foxtrot. you can get past this.

it. you got to back up, okay? and you know you got it. so, you know, you ask them, tell me about your charlie foxtrot moment. >> if another veteran is talking with you, you'll open up because you military people, we like to stick together. >> my service meant something. >> couldn't believe they are broken. >> for someone to let me know they care about me meant the world to me. >> that's what moves the world forward. >> that's my duty. that's my mission.

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i do! thanks, sweetie. the veterans day preview is on now at havertys. life looks good. final thoughts from our vets. let's get to our veterans. dennis. >> that the vfw, the veterans of foreign wars, is in existence for bun thing -- for one thing, to assist from the people in the military to civilian life and their community. we are here, have been here, and will be here for the assistance to families, to the individuals who might have problems and mental issues, for their finances, and for ways to get their benefits going when they have been denied.

veteran, please contact your local vfw. we are here to assist you to get benefits you deserve and will get. >> andy? >> i guess as a civilian, you don't have to necessarily join the military to help out. there is local organizations like the vfw that you can join to help the local people like us and help us move forward. >> you know, the v.a. needs to treat their veterans with they don't do that. there is no sense of urgency. it's populated with people who did not serve. it needs to be brother to brother, sister to sister so people in the v.a. understand what's going on and where you are coming from. the lack of urgency translate in a real way for me. i have been waiting over a year on an appeal. i was vaulted by somebody --

was unhappy that i was there in the first place. i felt like a lab rat on a reality show. >> if you are feeling suicidal or someone you know is in crisis, start the hope, health, and healing with the crisis center. dial 211. >> gentlemen, thank you so much for your time and your service, and for your perspective. >> this hour is just about over, but as we've talked about, the struggle if you feel compelled to help, there is a way that you can help and make a difference. there is the petition that you can sign for the fairness for

good evening. i am courtney robinson in for reggie smith. >> i am dion lim. we want to thank you all veterans for service to our country. >> all day long the nation paid its respect to all our military members. in the first flag-raising

honored a cancer survivor. arthur kropff went missing in action. he was rescued after a night in a life raft. in tampa veterans had a chance to get back on their feet. look at this right here. everything from clothes to insurance help, legal advice, and even apartments. all of this made possible by government agencies, non- profits, and businesses. it is hard to imagine with the amount of appreciation that we have seen for our veterans that there was a cursed at, spit on, called horrible names for what they thought what they were doing was patriotic. >> on this veterans day eric glasser spoke with people who experienced a much different homecoming years ago and are grateful things have changed. >> reporter: signs of appreciation everywhere in the bay area for our military veterans, and no one is happier to see it than warriors who came home to a seemingly less grateful nation. >> back in the early '70s, you