Today, a nurse from the VA Medical Center in Milwaukee begins training for deployment to Iraq. At the VA, Russell Seager treats veterans suffering from mental health problems related to their war experience. In Iraq, he’ll work to address those problems when they first appear. WUWM’s Erin Toner caught up with Seager at Bryant and Stratton College in Milwaukee, where he also teaches.
“Alright, question number one, and remember raise your hand or you get a body part. The eye has many similarities to what?”
It’s a tradition to play anatomy hangman in Russell Seager’s last class of the semester. When the students answer wrong, Seager draws a body part on the white board.
"Fingerprint? (buzzer sound) What is the answer? A camera! So that’s one point for Dr. Seager, zero points for the class," Seager says.
He draws a head on the board, his own bald head, with the Army beret tilted down toward his right ear. Seager’s class is ending two weeks early because he’s been called up for active duty in Iraq. He leaves today for training in California. Seager signed up for the Army Reserve four years ago, and has aggressively pursued this first deployment.
“I’ve always had a great deal of respect for the military and for service, and I just felt it was time that I stepped up and did it, actually, I mean it sounds corny and patriotic, but when you talk to people that decide to do this, the feelings are similar,” Seager says.
However, the 51-year-old Seager admits it did feel a little strange at the beginning, especially when he had his physical.
“I had to sit in a room in my boxer shorts and nothing else with a room full of young kids for hours and do all these bizarre exercises and activities with them and all these kids were looking at me and I was old enough to be some of their grandpas practically. So that was kind of an experience that you never forget,” Seager says.
At the VA, Seager leads a mental health team. His patients range from 20 year olds just back from Iraq and Afghanistan, to veterans in their 80s and 90s. Seager says there’s a high rate of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression, and something called adjustment disorder.
“A term that soldiers like to use is, they ‘own the road’ when they’re deployed. And it’s very difficult to come back here and need to do the speed limit and deal with people that don’t show you the respect that you had just a few weeks or a few months ago. It’s very hard for soldiers to come back and not have their weapon, they feel very uncomfortable because they don’t have that sense of security and that sense of purpose,” Seager says.
Seager says many returning soldiers see their marriages or relationships fall apart. Therapy and medication work for some veterans. Seager, with his PhD in alternative medicine, also stresses wellness of mind, body and spirit.
“That’s not always something you necessarily relate to the military, but it’s something that I think is very important for a soldier and if we can promote a high level of wellness in our soldiers, I think they’ll be much more physically and emotionally healthy and feel better,” Seager says.
In Iraq, Seager will work to prevent the mental health problems he sees at the VA from developing in the first place. His Combat Stress Control unit will watch for warning signs among soldiers on the front lines – things like anger and insubordination – which could signal long-term problems.
“Every soldier wants to be perceived as being strong, but the Army has made it a point to stress that it takes a strong soldier to ask for help and I think we’ve come a long way,” Seager says.
Seager says the Army’s become more aggressive at addressing mental health issues. The military’s faced a lot of criticism for its handling of those problems, and this year, the Army reported record-high suicide rates among soldiers.
As for his own well-being, Seager says he doesn’t fear his mission. And he’s not worried about his wife and son. He says they’re strong and they’ll be fine when he’s gone. He says the toughest thing is leaving behind his patients at the VA.
“Their first question is, ‘Who’s going to take care of me?’ And I have to tell them right now I’m not sure because it hasn’t been determined yet. But one thing I can reassure them is that I work in a tremendous environment and I know they’ll do the right thing,” Seager says.
“I’m going to call you up one at a time and I’m going to give you your final percentage and your course grade,” Seager says.
Seager will also be missed here at Bryant and Stratton College in Milwaukee. His supervisor says Seager’s been like a father to students, always going above and beyond with his time and attention. Last week, some former students came back for a party for Seager to say, goodbye and be safe.
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