OUR NAME and OUR LOGO

There are literally thousands of organizations that assist our military veterans. Some specialize in traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder. But, no organization was providing services in a delivery system that matches the unique needs of invisibly wounded veterans until The Arms Forces was founded in September 2009.  Our organization gets asked frequently about our name and our logo.  Our name is a play on words taken from the term for all the branches of our military service personnel, the Armed Forces.  We say we are the “softer side”, we hug people! 

We are not part of the Armed Forces, but our organization desires to work in partnership with all branches of the military, government and other organizations to coordinate services and develop the best system of short term and long term care for our veterans with invisible wounds.

Our logo, two outstretched arms, one red and one blue represent our mission.  We are embracing military veterans with TBI and PTSD and the families who love them in many ways that you can learn more about on other pages of our website.  The blue arms are for the veterans and their families.  The red arms are citizens, who are committed to lifting up and giving back to our country’s veterans whose sacrifices don’t end on the battlefield.  Citizens who donate their time and resources to The Arms Forces can see the direct relationship between their dollars donated/time spent and the higher quality of life that is possible for the veterans we serve.

 OUR MISSION STATEMENT

The Arms Forces provide education and programs that allow those who have served or who are now serving in the military who have a traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder find understanding, purpose and direction as they face “the other war” at home living with their invisible injury.

WHO WE ARE and WHY WE EXIST

The Arms Forces is a nonprofit organization that embraces the unique needs of veterans who have a traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder.  We develop and maintain a network of trained volunteer Life Navigation Coaches who give individual assistance to our wounded warriors who have the invisible wounds of war, at no cost to the veteran.  We provide support to families and loved ones through our LEEF Support Experience.  We bring about change in the stigma attached to such injuries by raising the consciousness of citizens as to what TBI and PTSD are and what they are not, through educational presentations, speeches and organizational culture.

 The Arms Forces Founder, Pam Hays, is a severe traumatic brain injury survivor. She not only understood the gap in services that existed for civilians such as her, but found that there was a critical gap in services for military veterans with TBI or PTSD. Through research, observation and assessing the current system of supports and services that exist for our veterans, it became clear to her that those whose injuries did not require full-time care were falling through the cracks when it came to services that adequately met a veteran’s needs.

 After a service member leaves or is transitioned out of the military there can be a “honeymoon phase”.  Those with TBI or PTSD might not realize the depth of the struggles they may incur when trying to reintegrate into civilian life.  Reintegration programs are usually filled with a great amount of information that is not relative until one is faced with the opportunity to need the services discussed.  If they are able to navigate the often cumbersome system of supports and services available to them in the months or years ahead,  they often times find a system that is not prepared to provide services that match their needs and oftentimes find service providers who do not understand their unique challenges.

 The Arms Forces has found a way to bridge the gap in service delivery, as well as provide support resources for invisibly wounded veterans and their families, and to be a provider of “real life information” training for individuals, organizations, nonprofit, social service, and government agencies so they can better serve veterans.