Mission to self
Former LAV sergeant Doug Allen wants to help soldiers make transition to civilian life
As a soldier, Doug Allen knows the challenges of returning to a civilian world. “Coming back from a tour of Afghanistan, in particular, was difficult for me. I had been involved in a combat fighting role in 2008, and we had lost soldiers in our platoon,” recalls the former LAV sergeant. Back in Canada, his fellow soldiers were also hurting. “I was trying to set up one particular soldier to go to a gun camp for three months of training, and he was proceeding to tell me he was thinking of killing himself,” says the Berwick, N.S., resident during a visit to Charlottetown Friday. Shocked by the disclosure, Allen realized he needed to use a different tact to help this young man. “It was a turning point in my life. As a leader, I saw these young men doing things that I didn’t have to do when I first got in. I had such a profound respect for them. I really felt that my dedication was to them as people as opposed to the mission itself. “So when I came back home I really wanted to work with veterans,” says Allen, now operations and recruitment co-ordinator for the Atlantic Region’s Veterans Transition Network (VTP) who presented an information session at HMCS Queen Charlotte. VTP is a group-based program developed at the University of British Columbia by psychologists and medical experts to help men and women returning from military service drop the emotional baggage and readjust to civilian life.
“It also brings back a sense of camaraderie,” says Allen, of the upcoming 10-day fall program.
It’s broken into three phases which helps members to go back into their real world and try their new skills on for size. “Then it gives them the opportunity to return to reflect on what worked and fine-tune the skills in areas that they still struggle with.” The struggle continued for Allen until 2011 when he lost all of the people he had worked with. “I got posted away from my unit. I felt isolated and alone. I was still on this advocacy campaign, but I was fighting for everyone else but me and then I heard about this program. And I said I will never put anybody on a program until I know it’s safe,” says Allen who signed up to take VTP in 2013.
Within the first 12 hours, his life completely turned around.
“I realized that I needed help. The program allowed me to identify that I never said goodbye to the soldiers that we had lost in the platoon. “The program enabled me to say goodbye. It also helped me move forward. I’m here because that’s what I got from it. And I want every member who has ever served to experience the same thing.” Donna Earl, executive director, P.E.I. Military Family Resource Centre, welcomes Doug Allen, operations and recruitment co-ordinator for the Atlantic Region’s Veterans Transition Network, who presented an information session at HMCS Queen Charlotte Friday.