Customer Reviews

Down Range: To Iraq and Back

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kudos to Chuck Dean and Bridget Cantrell- I am very grateful for finding this book. How I longed for such a book back in 1968, when a soldier I loved came back from Vietnam with PTSD.
I didn't know what I was dealing with then, only that our lives were not normal.Those of us whose lives were personally affected by Vietnam, during and after the war, suffered from a lack of information, as well as the general apathy of the American public. Many of us survived our experience on our own,yet carry deep scars. Many didn't survive at all.
It is heartening to know that our latest warriors and families will have this life-altering, mind-saving, packed with knowledge guide to help them along the rocky road of living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on a daily basis. This book should be read by the general public, so that they would gain insight into the challenges faced by those sent off to foreign lands, to fight their battles. Read it, share it, and pass it on. We'll all be better for it.

I received this book for free from the mobilization station when I was leaving for my overseas duty and it is available to all soldiers all you have to do is ask. A must read for all soldiers returning from operations in the Middle East. You have so many things in your mind that you cannot explain or understand and this book helps put your feelings and thoughts into perspective. I highly recommend that all soldiers request and read this book and share with their families. Acclimating back into your life that you left is a hard thing to do and it can also be quite the challenge for those left at home that don't understand what we saw and did, so help them out and give them this book! All family support centers should be able to help you out and if you can't find it anywhere in the Army system, then buy it! It is worth the cost to help understand and to help your families welcome you home again.

The book should be in the possession of every combat serviceman and his family. Dean and Cantrell build on Dean's two prior books about essentially the same topic: The damage warriors bring home, but that cannot be easily seen. Nonphysical wounds of a psychological nature are as real as shrapnel holes! Returning to the family after being in combat can be a difficult transition for many young men and nowdays for women. Families need to know what to expect, and so does the returning service member. It was recently estimated that as many as 36% of our returnees from Iraq and Afghanistan may be affected by serious cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If this is true, it's a calamity we cannot ignore.
Get the book and read it cover to cover. It takes on difficult challenges, and may help get us through the minefields of trauma in homecoming.The message is important to families as well as to the serving member. This first edition has some grammar problems that detract from the message at times. Subsequent editions can be expected to be more professionally edited.
A best seller? We shall see, but it is certainly something it will pay to get your hands on if you have a loved one in a combat zone.

This book is spectacular. Not everything in it applies to all combat veterans, of course. But it can be a lifesaver if you can get your loved one who has been through combat to read it. It saved the mental health and the marriage of a couple of friends of mine, and I'm grateful. I've ended up buying 6 copies because I keep finding people to give them away to.

It combines the 'I've been there too' perspective of a Vietnam veteran with the knowledge of a Ph.D, and it can be invaluable in helping veterans seeing that they are not alone, that they are not 'broken', and that help is available. It can help their loved ones to understand what the veteran is going through, realize that what seem to be insurmountable problems in their relationships may just be the veteran struggling to deal with his wounds any way he can.

Soldiers and families of soldiers: buy it and read it even if you don't think you'll need it. Read it so you have the wherewithal to help a friend in need, if nothing else.

And to combat veterans of OIF/OEF: if you get out of the service, immediately register at the VA. If you don't register w/in two years of discharge, your eligibility for health care, even for combat-related conditions, is severely limited. Register upon discharge even if you don't think you'll need the help... because you'd rather have the option and not need the help, than need it and be ineligible.

I recieved this book at a reunion/homecoming briefing that was held by the National Guard Unit that my fiance is currently serving with. I read the book in less than a week and found that it had a lot of information I had already known however it was put into a context that made it much easier to understand. I have already suggested it to some people I know who have loved ones serving overseas. Personally, I think this would even help those who have no affiliation with the military as well. I think that it would give them a better understanding of what it is like for our veterans who are now returning and also those who have returned from past wars as well.

Simply stated, this is a great resource and I found the information to be of tremendous value!

This book really hit home for me having served in Afghanistan in 01-02 and then Iraq in 2003. I think it could be very helpful for families too.

Thanks!
For about 35 years I lived in denial of the term PTSD. Being a self-sufficient Swede, martial arts instructor, logger,a combat-Marine and finally a pastor I didn't believe my attitudes had little or anything to do with the war. After reading Chuck's book "Nam Vet and now "Down Range:To Iraq and Back", the latter containing professional insights by Dr Bridget C. Cantrell, I am now convinced that Vietnam in fact have negatively influenced my life drastically.
Thank you for taking time and making this a literature of hope for me and my wife. We are looking forward to become involved in helping others as well in their endeavors to overcome the traumas of the past.
May God bless your work with veterans and their families of the past, the present and in the future.
Thanks again.
Bjorn "Swede" Dahlin

I found this book to be very enlightening. I am recently married to a soldier, and many of the things addressed in this book were very helpful in aiding my understanding of what he has gone through and is currently facing. My only complaint with the book is that it seemed to be poorly edited. I hope that a new edition comes out soon so that these errors can get corrected! Despite this, the content was very informative, and I feel will make me a stronger support system for my husband.

If you were there, you either lived it, saw it or heard about it. Something in this book will apply to you and it can make the difference between being at home or homeless. A must read for those who question"...maybe it's just me...". Iraq 03-04

PTSD. Delayed Stress Syndrome. Many U.S. Troops believe that only "weak-minded" soldiers get PTSD. However, the home-front behavior of many war vets paint a different picture. The statistics look grim. It is a terrible shame for those who serve our country to come home with very real, unresolved issues which may cause them to make errors in judgment. Historically, these "poor judgment calls" have landed many of them in prison for the rest of their lives.
The book, Down Range very simply and accurately addresses this issue as well as others facing the reintegration process of our war heroes back into civilian society.
A must for the domestic partners of soldiers returning from war. Once we understand what our soldiers are up against coming home, we all have a better chance of surviving "the time after" together. A+