Full-time red-tape cutters help troops adjust

Darcy Woodke, family assistance coordinator in Oregon for the military, works the phone at her office in the Oregon National Guard armory in Eugene, Ore., earlier this month. Woodke is an advocate for veterans, arranging medical treatment, therapy, marital counseling and other assistance to help soldiers and their families deal with the transition from hyper-vigilant warriors back to husbands and wives, moms and dads.


Full-time red-tape cutters help troops adjust
By Brad Cain - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Dec 31, 2007 18:06:32 EST

EUGENE, Ore. — Darcy Woodke recalls the day she picked up her husband and several of his National Guard buddies after they got back from Iraq.

“I stopped at a four-way stop sign. I have never seen people in my life freak out like that. They were saying, ‘Why are you stopping? Go! Go! Go! Go! Don’t stop! Don’t stop!’” Woodke says.

The soldiers had been trained in Iraq not to stop at intersections because that can make you an easy target for insurgent gunmen or bombers.

That is the mind-set Woodke has to deal with in her job — helping soldiers readjust to civilian life after being shot at, bombed and psychologically maimed while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Woodke is a family assistance coordinator in Oregon for the U.S. military. As the title suggests, her job entails dealing with the Pentagon’s legendary red tape.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/12/ap_familyassistance_071231up/