Airman battles PTSD with the aid of a service dog

  • Published
  • By Brian Brackens
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Arriving home after deploying to a war zone can bring new challenges to military members. Many discover that their fight isn't over and they end up facing an unseen enemy, with sometimes serious consequences. That enemy is post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that may affect individuals who have experienced extremely stressful and traumatic events. Such events may include witnessing the loss of human life, as well as being a victim of a violent attack.

Master Sgt. Justin Jordan, Air Force Support Integration superintendent with the Air Force Inspection Agency at Kirtland AFB, suffers from PTSD. Sergeant Jordan is a tall, athletic man, with 17 years of experience in the Air Force, including numerous overseas deployments and assignments with mortuary affairs.

"Constantly dealing with death, dismay and putting soldiers in the ground at record pace is what led me to having PTSD," said Jordan. "Your brain is just not equipped to take that all the time."

Looking at him, you couldn't tell that he suffers from PTSD, because the signs are not always obvious.

"People who worked around me had no idea that I had these issues," he said. "I could be totally freaking out and holding a conversation with them at the same time."

Some of his symptoms include, zoning out for hours at a time, flashbacks to stressful events, fear of crowds, avoidance and constant worry.

"There were times when I would drive 20 miles an hour down the highway because I was positively certain that a tire would pop."

His family was affected by his condition as well.

"My children suffered, for there were times when I didn't let them go outside to play because I was so worried that something was going to happen."

All of these things led his friends and family to tell him that something was wrong and that he needed help. While attending an event on base with his daughter, Sergeant Jordan met Jim and Lindsey Stanek, founders of a nonprofit organization called "Paws and Stripes." The sole purpose of the organization is to train and provide service dogs for veterans dealing with PTSD and other mental and cognitive disabilities at no cost. Talking with the Stanek's gave Sergeant Jordan hope that this could be exactly what he needed, and after extensive research and consulting with his doctor he decided to enroll in the program.

Paws and Stripes trains dogs to be constant companions of their owners, so where ever the owner goes, the dog goes. This includes trips to the store, doctor, work and elsewhere. Because they are service dogs, in the same category as Seeing Eye dogs for the blind, by law, business establishments, and airlines must admit them.

While Paws and Stripes provides veterans with service dogs, Sergeant Jordan elected to have the organization train a dog he already had, a two-year-old English Bulldog named "Dallas"; after his favorite football team the Dallas Cowboys.
Having a canine companion in the workplace is an important part of the therapy that the dogs provide. Leaving the dog at home would be the equivalent of not taking your medicine for the day. For this reason, Sergeant Jordan sought and received approval from his chain of command to bring Dallas to work, becoming possibly the first active-duty Airman with a service dog.

"I got a lot of support all the way from chiefs to colonels, who told me that they knew exactly what I was going through," said Sergeant Jordan.

Taking Dallas to work every day can be very rewarding, because she mitigates the effects of PTSD. She has an area right next to his desk, and to keep him from zoning out, she is trained to tug on his sleeve several times an hour, as well as pace back and forth in order catch his attention.

In the same way that dogs are trained to detect seizures before they occur, "Dallas is being trained to detect if I'm about to have an issue, and if so she'll do something to distract me," said Sgt. Jordan.

Dallas is also trained to literally watch Sergeant Jordan's back. When his back is turned to a door, she is trained to face the door so that if anybody comes in, she'll be able to alert him. Also, if he's in a line, Dallas will position herself behind him in order to give him space and prevent others from getting too close. All of this is done in a non-aggressive matter. She doesn't bark, bite or threaten people in any way.

Having a dog at work can create challenges because Dallas is on a leash with Sergeant Jordan at all times. If someone in the office needs help lifting or moving something, Jordan will tie Dallas' leash to his belt and help out.

"One of the things about being active-duty is that I can't be treated 'special' and I don't want to be treated 'special'," said Sergeant Jordan. "I have a dog and she helps me, just like someone with a wheelchair. I don't want anyone saying that because I have a dog I can't do something. Whatever it is that I have to do, me and Dallas will make it happen."

Other challenges that Sergeant Jordan faces include getting odd stares and sometimes getting stopped by people wanting to know why he has a dog in the building. But these challenges are turned into opportunities to talk about PTSD and organizations like Paws and Stripes, which help veterans assimilate into society.

"The easiest way to explain what I've gone through in the past is, if you're driving in your car and you have a near-miss accident and you get that feeling that your stomach drops out and you're just sitting there breathing hard for five minutes," said Sergeant Jordan. "I've lived with that for about 80 percent of my day before I met Dallas."

Because of the perceived stigma associated with mental-health disorders, many choose not to talk about or get help for the issues that they are facing.

"I've suffered a lot of guilt," said Sergeant Jordan. "We are taught as young men to suck it up. Your whole life, someone has told you to stop being scared, don't be a baby. But I'm old enough now to know if you need help, get it. Dallas provides that help. She's got my six every day."