Iraq vet looks to aid troops in combat
Posted: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 10:45 AM by Ian Sager
Filed Under:
Conflict in Iraq
By Scott Foster, NBC News producer, Washington
Last night, on our Veteran's Day edition of Nightly News,
Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski reported how military chaplains are
serving on the front lines helping combat troops overcome the stresses
from war.
One of the
characters we included in the story is Skip Spoerke, and Iraq war veteran whose
own experience shows just how positive the influence of a military chaplain can
be.
Dealing
with sleeplessness, depression and what would ultimately become a diagnosis of
post-traumatic stress disorder, Spoerke says his life was saved through interaction
with a military chaplain.
Skip, who
is now out of the Army, is learning to live with the lingering effects of PTSD
and says he's having a much better time coping with the symptoms.
In fact,
there's an additional positive angle to Skip's story. He's personally working
to ease the burden on troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan by helping them realize
that their combat service is appreciated.
Skip helps
run a non-profit organization that bears his name, Special Kindness in
Packages, Inc., which sends care packages to troops overseas.
On a
recent Monday at a post office outside Boston, Skip and several other
volunteers sent out nearly 200 shoebox side packages that included cookies,
candy, DVDs, and other donated items designed to lift the spirits of
American troops serving in the nation's wars.
Skip
says he's motivated by knowing that often, a care package can be just
what a service members needs after a particularly stressful or difficult
day. "All of a sudden you come back from a mission and you have a care
package and it lightens the mood, it lightens everything, it really does make
the service that you're doing worth it," he explains.
Skip knows
the toll combat stress can take. "For me to be able to be on the sending
end of this and not the receiving end I know that I'm still supporting my
friends, my comrades and the guys that I served with over there before,"
he says.
Skip
explains, "...a service member doesn't know necessarily know that a care
package is coming...it's puts a smile on the troops' faces and that's why I'm
happy to be a part of this organization."
To find
out more about Skip and his organization, visit www.skipcares.org.
Click here to watch Jim Miklaszewski's report on military chaplains.
