Missouri National Guard Aids Troops with Reintegration
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Missouri National Guard Aids Troops with Reintegration

Date: October 27, 2011
By: Jessi Turnure
State Capitol Bureau

Intro: 
Twenty-nine Missouri National Guard members have committed suicide out of the 11,000 deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11.
RunTime:  0:55
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: A Missouri National Guard lieutenant says the Guard has worked aggressively every day for the past several years to

improve its suicide prevention programs.

Its focus has been on educating the troops' families and friends on the signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Lieutenant John Quin says the Missouri Guard does not view deployment as a primary factor for suicide.

Actuality:  QUIN4.WAV
Run Time:  00:10
Description: "What we found is that in almost every case it was tied to a relationship whether that was a spousal relationship or a parent, child, friend."

Quin says the Missouri Guard also has a suicide prevention office and marital and other relationship programs.   

This year the numbers are looking better with one suicide loss.

Reporting from the state Capitol I'm Jessi Turnure.

Intro: 
As U.S. troops are pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Missouri National Guard is adjusting employment programs to help them.
RunTime:  0:47
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics study shows nationally eleven point seven percent of veterans who served since 9/11 are unemployed.

The Missouri National Guard offers two programs to ease this transition from deployment to civilian life.

One program created in 2010 helps veterans find jobs.

The other program aids troops with resume writing and interview training.   

Missouri National Guard Lieutenant John Quin says both programs' goals are: 

Actuality:  QUIN2.WAV
Run Time:  00:14
Description: "A. that when the soldiers come home their jobs are still there waiting for them and B. if they don't have a job, we can help them find a new job and link them up with employers who are looking for that kind of experience and the skill sets that they can get as being part of the military."

Quin blames the current economic climate for military unemployment.

Reporting from the state Capitol I'm Jessi Turnure.