“Real Warriors” is a campaign launched by members of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. This project aims to heal veterans who seek treatment for the invisible TBIs they have suffered from since their service, as well as to eliminate the humiliation of seeking psychological health care.
Retired Army Major Ed Pulido explained that his “mission through the Real Warriors campaign is let our noncommissioned officers, enlisted personnel and other officers know that we can’t leave anyone behind in the field of battle.” He added that post-traumatic stress doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with you. “There is no way the images of that day and the traumatic injury I received from that blast are going to go away… But what we can do is understand it, live with it, and know that if you have any emotional episode about that experience, that it is healthy. It’s part of your healing.”
The Brain Trauma Foundation, with Chairman Alan Quasha, is another organization which works to promote the importance of brain trauma awareness and treatment, as well as to provide new, innovative solutions to the various repercussions of TBIs.