TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE

PROMO  11/22/2009        "Coming Home"

President Obama says our combat mission in Iraq will end by August 31,
2010.  This leaves many unanswered questions.  What was our mission in
Iraq?  Did we succeed?  What will become of the country we invaded?
Whatever the answers, our troops are coming home.  But what are they
coming home to?  I'm Jim Fleming.  Next time on To the Best of Our
Knowledge, we'll talk with Iraq War veterans about the challenges of
coming home.  And, what about us?  Are WE ready for THEM?  That's To the
Best of Our Knowledge, from PRI, Public Radio International. 


PROGRAM RUNDOWN:  "Boots on the Ground: Stories from the War in Iraq,
#5, Coming Home"

0:00 - 17:56        SEGMENT 1: (17:57)
            President Obama reminds us that he intends to end combat
            operations in Iraq by August 31, 2010 as we spend this
            hour surveying just what the troops are coming home to,
            and what it has all meant.  Major Steve Beck is a Marine
            Casualty Notification Officer.  Journalist Jim Sheeler
            wrote his book, "Final Salute," about him. Sheeler tells
            Anne Strainchamps that a Marine family's worst fear is
            seeing Major Beck at their door.  Also, Iraq War veteran
            Sergeant John McCary reads an e-mail he sent his family
in 2004 about the brutal nature of the insurgency.     
            Segment One Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio
            International."

17:57 - 18:26  LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

18:27 - 28:07       SEGMENT 2: (9:42)
            Kyle Haussmann-Stokes, like many returning Iraq War
            veterans, struggled alone with his PTSD.  Eventually he
            got help and made a film called "Now, After."  He talks
            with Jim Fleming.  Stokes is currently a film student at
            USC. 
                         
            Segment Two Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio
            International."

28:08 - 28:37       LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

28:37 - 53:00       SEGMENT 3: (24:22)
            We hear the Commanding Officer of Fort Campbell, home of
            the Army's 101st Airborne Division, recorded when the
            based closed down for three days following a rash of
            eleven suicides. And, Brigadier General Loree Sutton is
            the military's top-ranking psychiatrist and Director of
            the Pentagon's Centers of Excellence for Psychological
            Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. She talks with Steve
            Paulson about what the military is doing to combat the
            alarming statistics concerning suicide, alcoholism and
            PTSD in returning vets. Also, Anne Strainchamps talked
            with Colby Buzzell over 4 years ago after he returned
            from his first tour of duty in Iraq.  At that time,
            having seen a lot of heavy combat, Buzzell wanted to sort
            out what had happened, get himself back together and take
            advantage of the GI bill for college.  Now, Buzzell has
            been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and
            struggles with addiction.  He and Anne talked again.  A
            collection of Colby Buzzell's Iraq War blog entries can
            be found in his book, "My War."
            
            Segment Three Outcue: PRI Audio Logo

For a copy of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number
11-22-A.

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