Welcome back to our discussion of humor and comedy in deployed locations. Last time I interviewed comedian Kathleen Madigan about her USO performances over the years. In this part, I will speak with comedian Roy Wood, Jr. and former Army Specialist Michael Dillon about their experiences with comedy performances downrange.
Training is something that we have all experienced as healthcare professionals. We experienced training in our academic programs, our workplace settings, through continuing education requirements to maintain our licensing credentials, or as part of our professional development. We engage in all of this training in order to achieve a desired level of competence.
While Veteran employment issues have received substantial attention, the difficulties related to military spouse unemployment and underemployment have long existed in the background. Recently, multiple studies and surveys have turned the spotlight onto these issues and the individual and societal problems they present for military families.
In 2010, Congress designated the 27th of June as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Day. This has now expanded to the month of June as a whole. Even though more of the public has become aware of PTSD in recent years, there is still much work to be done. Many people still have only a vague understanding of what PTSD is, its causes, symptoms and potential treatments.
I’ve always loved comedy and gravitated towards individuals with humor and quick wit, whether in a friend, colleague, or comedian. I find that comedy and humor can be base, but in other moments incredibly stimulating intellectually and even emotionally powerful. Comedy can make connections between ideas and subjects that are seemingly unconnectable, it can short-circuit the brain into confusion and epiphany in a singular moment of time, dousing our brains with dopamine and contorting our bodies with intense laughter.