LAYNE MURDOCH/COURTESY OF THE BUSH CENTER
BUSH
AT PEACE
of support that is pretty predominant in our country is channeled
in a way that is effective.”
I asked him about that comment the next day when we spoke.
“Yeah, see here, one of my concerns at the Bush Institute is that
the outpouring of support for our
vets, while impressive, could be
misguided,” he said.
He talked for a moment about
making sure that financial donations go to organizations that are
spending money on veterans, not
HUFFINGTON
06.16.13
overhead, and that are having a
real impact. Then he talked about
post-traumatic stress disorder.
“If you talk to some of these
vets, if they level with ya, they’ll
say one of our biggest concerns is
that PTSD is viewed as a disability and employers don’t want to
hire a disabled person. So one of
the things we’re going to try to do
is help destigmatize the injury,”
Bush told me.
Of the 13 veterans invited to the
ride, only four of them had visible wounds (Gade, who also rode
last year, was not one of the designated veteran riders for 2013). A
Bush shakes
hands with
retired U.S.
Marine
Staff Sgt.
Joshua M.
Krueger after
completing
the first
day’s ride at
the Warrior
100K.