By Megan Rolland
NewsOK.com
Okla. — In war and peace, the U.S. Army assigns soldiers “battle buddies,” partners to watch each other’s backs, keep each other out of trouble and boost morale when things get tough. But veterans often need battle buddies when they get back home too, said Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon, secretary of Oklahoma’s military and veterans affairs.
“They came back from battle medicated — self-medicated with drugs and alcohol — and either they drank too much and got behind the wheel of a vehicle, or they got in a fight or they just made bad decisions,” Aragon said. There are 1,480 identified veterans in Oklahoma’s medium- and maximum-security prisons, according to the latest numbers from the Corrections Department.
“If we believe that these things are a result of their combat, their active duty, then we have to say ‘what can we do for them?’” she said. The answer to that question came as a Battle Buddies program that is still in its infancy in Oklahoma. Volunteer veterans will be paired with incarcerated, recently paroled or recently released veterans to provide support.
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