Join director, Tom Donahue, producer, Ilan Arboleda, and Veteran William Rodriguez when they come to BUILD to take us through the making of their new film, “Thank You for Your Service.” The documentary tells the story of four struggling Iraq War veterans, including Rodriguez, and offers viewers a glimpse into the systematic neglect happening in the U.S. military. Donahue and Arboleda give us a plan for creating internal change by showing, not telling the stories of soldiers and spouses. Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. VALID ID REQUIRED FOR ENTRY for security purposes (No age minimum). This event will be streamed LIVE on AOL.com/BUILD!

— www.creativechaosvmg.com Thank You for Your Service in theaters October – http://bit.ly/2bZZmON Best Documentary, G.I. Film Festival | “A film every American should see” -The Star-Ledger The Emmy-nominated Casting By now on Netflix, DVD & iTunes “Outstanding” -Leonard Maltin; “Nothing short of awesome” -Variety; “Fascinating’ -NY Time

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It’s no secret that our newest generation of warfighters has been plagued with a slew of mental health issues over the past decade and a half. Though suicide statistics are somewhat difficult to come by, there’s no doubt that diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues affect significant numbers of post-9/11 vets. Who, if anyone, is to blame for this disgrace? And what can be done about it? These are the questions Tom Donahue brilliantly shines a light on in “Thank You For Your Service” — an important documentary for anyone wanting to understand the impact of mental health problems on our veterans.

The film follows four service members to make sense of their actions in war, but does more as well. The film shares a lot of appalling statistics that help contextualize the severity and complexity of the problem while providing a foundation to understand how today’s situation was allowed to happen in the first place.

Donahue draws on more than 200 interviews to share the insight of experts in their field such as Karl Marlantes, who wrote a book on what it’s like to go to war. The film explains what warfighters experience in combat. It also shows high-ranking officials who did their best to address systemic failures from the beginning of our most recent wars, like Dr. Mark Russell. Despite Russell and others sounding the alarm to officials as high as the Veterans Affairs secretary, the VA and other organizations failed early on to prepare for the mental health needs of returning troops.

It would be one thing if military leadership didn’t know about the issues. However, as retired Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton explains, back in 2003 they knew, but they “weren’t allowed to discuss the invisible wounds.” The film gives numerous examples that demonstrate despite the problems being understood and anticipated, they were ignored by some of the highest ranking leaders at the time — leaving countless service members and veterans alone and in pain with little or no options for care. And those who bravely sought to overcome the stigma of seeking psychological help between 2001 and 2012 were often on the receiving end of a 259% increase in narcotic prescriptions from the VA, despite there being only a 29% increase in patients during the same time.

The statistics, stories, and visuals hit close to home for me as a veteran who has struggled with mental health issues. However, arguably the film’s most important accomplishment is to highlight the resilience of our service members and the incredible people that continue to serve them. Experts in the film discuss ways to eliminate stigmas and other barriers to seeking care. Donahue highlights how organizations like Save a Warrior and Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue use time-tested methods to help vets process their wartime experiences and live their lives to the best of their abilities.

One of the film’s most thought-provoking ideas is to advocate for the creation of a behavioral health corps — an idea originally brought up after World War II. Because behavioral health is generally the lowest priority within the Medical Corps, a standalone corps would alleviate the bureaucratic red tape that prevents the behavioral health of every warfighter from being the priority it deserves to be. Regardless of whether you think this would work or not, the most important thing this gripping documentary does is provide context as to how these mental health problems became so rampant, which will hopefully spark the much needed conversation to address these issues.

“Thank You For Your Service” open theatrically in D.C. on Friday, Oct. 21 for a week run at the Landmark West End and in New York City on Oct. 28 for a week long run at AMC Empire on 42nd Street. Learn how you can also host your own screening of the film.

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His first hospitalization came only two months after we first met in 2009. He was a corporal in the Marine Corps who served one tour in Iraq in 2003. He had a few noticeable PTSD symptoms but remained fairly social, very sweet and employed full time as an aircraft mechanic at our local Air Force base. But over the course of five years, I watched my best friend’s quality of life decline.

As time went on, he experienced more nightmares and flashbacks. Paranoia and hyper-vigilance became constant companions. Depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety were now a part of daily life. He attempted suicide twice (thank God for BLS training). His condition had deteriorated so much that it was clear he needed serious help. Taking his recovery into his own hands, Kenny decided to give up drugs, violence, smoking and alcohol in 2014. After doing all of that, I knew it was the right time to marry my best friend and love of my life.

I had no idea that being his wife would by default mean becoming his full-time caregiver. Although I’d known Kenny for years, it was a different experience to witness his symptoms 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Insomnia, flashbacks, hallucinations and delusions were a nightly ritual.

Hardest of all to grapple with is the shame my husband feels about his PTSD. To him, it means that he’s a failure, that he’s weak. He dreads small talk questions like, “What do you do for a living?” or “What do you do for fun?” The last thing in the world he wants to admit is that he’s fully disabled because of his time in the military and can’t work.

In my husband’s experience, PTSD was not something that you’d admit to in service. You didn’t want the other men to know — and you sure didn’t want your superiors to know — that you were struggling. It meant you were “weak,” and there’s no room for weakness on the battlefield. That mentality has followed him throughout his life, and now he considers himself broken and useless.

My husband is the love of my life. He is an incredible, brave person who has always been extremely supportive of all my goals, dreams and even my shenanigans. He unfortunately also has very significant health needs, and he deserves better, just like the 11-20% of Iraq veterans who suffer from PTSD. He should not have to cope alone with the debilitating challenges and the equally-debilitating shame he suffers from being a disabled veteran.

As a caregiver, I want to work to end the stigma around mental health care in the military. Why are service members like my husband afraid to seek help or let anyone know they’re struggling? The shame attached to combat and military-related PTSD makes the condition and recovery worse. It shouldn’t be a sign of weakness to ask for help. It should be a sign of strength. We send them into battle with physical armor, medics, training and weapons in order to protect their bodies. Now the military needs to do more to make sure that these brave men and women come back mentally well too.

Angie Toone is a mother, wife and full time caregiver of Kenneth Toone, Iraq War veteran and subject of the new documentary available nationwide now, Thank You For Your Service— which addresses the mental health crisis in the U.S. Military. Toone is the founder of The American Homemaker and currently serves as the Pinups for Patriots Utah Platoon Leader.

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“We couldn’t have drawn up a more catastrophic way to fail to meet mental health needs than the blueprints that were followed in this war,” a retired Navy psychologist says about Iraq. The facts bear him out: Over the past decade, the number of suicides among veterans has soared.

The statistics here are backed by interviews with those who have returned home in agony after fighting. One man describes being alone and playing Russian roulette, while others talk about constant nightmares and crippling survivor’s guilt.

Most infuriating are stories of those who’ve sought treatment in the understaffed federal Veterans Affairs system. One employee recalls, “We knew of horrific firsthand accounts of veterans who went to V.A. one, two, three times trying to get mental health care only to go out to a V.A. parking lot and literally blow their brains out in their car.”

“Thank You for Your Service,” directed by Tom Donahue, uses its late scenes to explore nongovernment programs that have arisen to help veterans. Those examples are heartfelt and encouraging, and offer some hope after the devastating early sections.

Still, that hope is tempered by cruel reality. This important film ends with a silent onscreen note: “While you have watched this documentary, a veteran has committed suicide.”

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