Navy Times & Marine Corps Times Publish About TM & PTSD 

 

The editors of Air Force Times, Marine Corps Times, Army Times, and Navy Times (publications at Gannett Government Media Corp.) ran an article titled "Transcending Trauma" about the David Lynch Foundation project "Operation Warrior Wellness."

Although "Transcending Trauma" was a well-written article, there was some incorrect information in these articles. Dr. Matthew Friedman, executive director of the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD, was quoted as follows:

"There are no published randomized clinical trials testing transcendental meditation for PTSD."

CAMS members Col. (Dr.) Brian Rees and Dr. David Leffler coauthored a letter to the editor that was published in the Navy Times and the Marine Corps Times setting the record straight on this incorrect information. The letter appears in "Opening Shots." They discussed a random assignment study of Vietnam veterans that was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Counseling and Development 64: 212-215, 1985. It found that the Transcendental Meditation technique was effective against PTSD.

Photograph of US Navy SEAL Dan Burke in Panama during combat operations in 1989. Dan and his teammates were on a rest break during a jungle patrol. While sitting in the security perimeter, Dan closed his eyes and practiced the Transcendental Meditation technique and a friend took this picture.

The late Dan Burke was a combat veteran of US Navy SEAL Teams, a prior-enlisted "mustang" who retired after eight years of active duty and twelve years of US Navy Reserves duty. He earned his B.A. in the Science of Creative Intelligence (summa cum laude) and M.A. in Professional Writing (with honors) from Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, where he served as Student Body President and wrote an undergraduate thesis entitled "Military Science & the Science of Creative Intelligence." He organized introductory lectures on the applied benefits of the Transcendental Meditation technique and the TM-Sidhi program for top US military commands. He co-authored the article "Invincible Defense: A New 'Secret Weapon'!" published by the Canadian Centers for Teaching Peace. 

 

In the previously mentioned article published in the Sri Lanka Guardian and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders: PTSD News & Information, Dan tells how he found the TM technique to be "tremendously beneficial" during combat operations in Panama while serving with the US Navy SEALS in 1989. After two solid days of leading his SEAL team in this combat operation, sleep deprivation had seriously lowered his combat effectiveness and that of his men. After the deep rest gained from his short meditation, Dan gained an "unfair advantage" over his special forces team as well as his opponents. Wise warriors know that in war nothing is "unfair," and therefore one takes whatever advantage one can to gain the upper hand. 

 

Dan was not only a great warrior but also a deep thinker. He wrote: "Later in life I realized that, on the one hand, training for peak performance was a thrill and an achievement, but on the other hand, I was fully capable of serving in and leading top-performing groups without ever having to prove myself in combat." Dan was wise because he understood the higher value of gaining victory before war by preventing an enemy from arising in the first place.

 

Sadly Dan will not see the peaceful world that he so much wanted to help create. He passed away on 2 Feb 2011 from leukemia. But he leaves us with the charge to help build a better world through Invincible Defense Technology.

"War is an addiction; it's a curse. We have not learned one thing since David, 5000 years ago, slung a pebble at a guy and killed a giant. All we've done is invent better pebbles and better slingshots, human to human." - Jerry Yellin

CBS Radio broadcaster Beecher Martin interviewed author and decorated WW II P-51 fighter pilot Jerry Yellin. Jerry is the author of the new book The Resilient Warrior: Healing the Hidden Wounds of War (2011). The thirty-minute radio interview was released on 20 February 2011 and broadcast on five CBS radio stations in the Florida Tampa Bay area. (Click here to listen to the interview.)

Jerry Yellin serves as the co-director of Operation Warrior Wellness, which is a division of the David Lynch Foundation. In the CBS interview he described his wartime experiences and the difficult transition from combat to civilian life. Like other veterans, Jerry suffered from PTSD, which was not then understood. He discussed how his practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique transformed his life.

Besides his personal experiences of the tragedies of war, Jerry spoke about his goals to immediately start treating our military personnel and veterans who are suffering from PTSD. He also discussed the tremendous stresses that today's military personnel are experiencing and the difficult time they are having transitioning back from combat. Jerry does not want to wait until the US government addresses these issues. He wants to help military personnel and the families of war veterans immediately. Jerry wants US warriors to learn TM as part of their basic training and says the US government could save $15 billion a year if the practice were adopted.

 

 

David Adelson, the host of The Simplest Ways, conducted three separate interviews with Dr. Sarina Grosswald, Dr. David Leffler and Jerry Yellin. The Simplest Ways program is broadcasted via WebTalkRadio.net. Here are the links to the interviews:

 Veterans, Students, and Overcoming Stress - Dr. Sarina Grosswald [expired link: http://media.blubrry.com/webtalkradio/p/webtalkradio.net/Shows/TheSimplestWays/week1052.mp3

Victory Before War - Dr. David Leffler - The charts that Dr. Leffler refers to in his hour-long interview are available by clicking here.

Operation Warrior Wellness - Jerry Yellin [Expired link: http://media.blubrry.com/webtalkradio/p/webtalkradio.net/Shows/TheSimplestWays/week1051.mp3

Short YouTube samples of the interviews are also available online:

Dr. Grosswald (audio) - Click here [expired link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0IKR-gn1Z8

Dr. Leffler (audio) - Click here [expired link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh4HL7GpSUM&feature=player_embedded#at=13

Jerry Yellin (video)- Click here [expired link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kV2I6PTfR0

A new pilot study to be published in Military Medicine shows that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans experienced a 50% drop in PTSD symptoms by the 4th week of Transcendental Meditation practice, and even greater improvements by two months and three months.

  

The study, titled "Effects of Transcendental Meditation (TM) in Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Pilot Study," is scheduled to be published early this summer and is summarized in the new book The Resilient Warrior: Healing the Hidden Wounds of War (2011) by author Jerry Yellin with Dr. Sarina Grosswald. Dr. Grosswald was recently interviewed about PTSD and this study on the previously mentioned program The Simplest Ways.

[expired link for The Simplest Ways: http://media.blubrry.com/webtalkradio/p/webtalkradio.net/Shows/TheSimplestWays/week1052.mp3

Dr. David Leffler, the Executive Director at the Center for Advanced Military Science (CAMS), and Jerry Yellin, co-director of Operation Warrior Wellness, were interviewed on the program Radio Health Journal by host Reed Pence on the topic "Treating and Preventing PTSD in the Armed Forces." The show was syndicated to 440 of America's radio stations and is available online by clicking here.

 

Radio Health Journal promotes itself as "a weekly, half-hour program reporting on important issues in health and medicine. Award-winning reporting on current issues in health and medicine, featuring America's leading health experts and the latest news in medical research."

 

According to their website, "Radio Health Journal has been honored with the MADD National Media Award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the National Hearing Conservation Association National Media Award, the Profiles in Progress Award from the Board of Directors of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Communicator Awards Crystal Award of Excellence, and three Peter Lisagor Awards, the top honor from the Chicago Headline Club/Society of Professional Journalists. Radio Health Journal has provided listeners with award-winning coverage of issues in health since 1992."

 

Clarification: During a segment of the program Dr. David Leffler was introduced as being "formerly of the Army War College." Dr. Leffler was an Associate of the

Proteus Management Group, a think-tank project since eliminated due to budget constraints, at the Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College. In this consultant capacity Dr. Leffler published on the topic of Invincible Defense Technology (e.g., "An Overlooked, Proven Solution to Terrorism" that appears in "55 Trends Now Shaping the Future of Terrorism" link goes to PDF). Dr. Leffler was honored to serve the US Army War College in this capacity.