For Mike Bowman's testimony see: http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/Testimony.aspx?TID=11020 Excerpts: "Family members of F202 were given a 10 minute briefing on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) before the soldiers returned and the soldiers were given even less. The commander of F202 had asked the Illinois Guard command to change their demobilization practices to be more like the regular army, only to have his questions rebuffed. He knew that our boys had been shot up, blown up by IED’s (Improvised Explosive Device), extinguished fires on soldiers so their parents would have something to bury, and extinguished fires on their own to save lives. They were hardened combat veterans now, but were being treated like they had been at an extended training mission. ... You see our National Guardsman from F202 were not out filling sand bags. They departed in October of 2003 for 6 months of training at Ft’s Hood and Polk. On Tim's 22nd birthday, March 4, 2004, Foxtrot left for Iraq where they were stationed at Camp Victory. Their tour took them directly into combat including 4 months on "the most dangerous road in the world", the highway from the airport to the green zone in Baghdad where Tim was a top gunner in a humvee. Tim as well as many other soldiers in F202 earned their Purple Hearts on that stretch of road known as Route Irish. We are STILL waiting for Tim’s Purple Heart from various military paperwork shuffles. My wife and I are not here today as anti-war protestors. Our son truly believed that what his unit did in Iraq helped that country and helped many people that they dealt with on a daily basis. Because of his beliefs, I have to believe in the cause that he fought and died for. That doesn’t mean that I don’t feel that we lost track of the overall mission in Iraq. ..."

said clarkdemocrat 2007.12.14 at 18:34:10 PST