The NCSS campaign is underway — here's how to be part of it
by G.A. Thompson
[This post will be updated as the campaign develops. Last updated: April 2026.]
In April 2026, I submitted a formal proposal to the Department of Veterans Affairs asking for recognition of Non-Combat Service Shame — NCSS — as a clinically relevant condition affecting millions of non-combat veterans from the Vietnam and Korea eras.
The proposal is backed by peer-reviewed research. It is supported by clear clinical precedents. It follows the exact same path that brought the VA to recognize moral injury, Military Sexual Trauma, and toxic exposure — veteran testimony, supporting evidence, a gap in existing care, and a clear ask.
Now comes the harder part: making enough noise that the institution listens.
Here's how you can help. Pick whatever fits your situation. Every action matters.
If you are a non-combat veteran
The single most powerful thing you can do is say so — publicly, specifically, in your own words.
If you have felt what I've described — the persistent sense that your service didn't count, that the thanks were given to the wrong person, that you got away with something while other men didn't come home — you are carrying NCSS. And your voice is evidence.
Share this post. Share the personal story post. Leave a comment below with your own experience. Write to your VA representative and tell them your story. A proposal backed by one veteran's memoir is a personal document. A proposal backed by hundreds of veterans saying yes, that's exactly it is a movement.
You don't have to be eloquent. You don't have to know the research. You just have to say: this is real, it happened to me, it has a name now, and I deserve care.
If you know a non-combat veteran
Have the conversation.
Ask them — gently, specifically — whether they have ever felt like their service didn't really count. Whether they've ever said, to themselves or out loud, I didn't do what I was supposed to do. Whether the handshake and the DD-214 ever felt like they were given to the wrong person.
If the answer is yes, tell them what Martinez told Jerry in that VA room in Vancouver: You served. You put on the uniform, you did what they told you, you got out honorably. That's your service. Don't let anyone — including yourself — tell you it doesn't count.
Then share the proposal link. Show them they're not alone. Show them there's a name for it now, and people fighting to get it recognized.
If you want to contact the VA directly
Send a message to the National Center for PTSD, which is the research and policy center where NCSS recognition would originate. Email is ncptsd@va.gov. Address it to Dr. Paula Schnurr, Executive Director.
You don't need to write a formal letter. A paragraph is enough. Tell them you're a non-combat veteran who has carried this shame, or that you know one who has, and that you support formal recognition of NCSS. Tell them the research supports it. Tell them the population is aging and the window is closing.
One email is a data point. A hundred emails is a pattern. A thousand is a mandate.
If you want to contact your Congressional delegation
Your Senators and Representative have staff whose entire job is constituent services — including formally transmitting issues to federal agencies on a constituent's behalf. A proposal that arrives at the VA via a Senator's office gets treated differently than one that arrives cold.
Go to your Senator's website and find their contact form. Tell them you're a constituent and a veteran (or the family member of one), that you support a formal VA proposal on Non-Combat Service Shame, and that you'd like them to transmit this issue to VA leadership on your behalf. That's a routine request. They do it all the time.
Washington State veterans: contact Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. Both have strong records on veteran issues and active constituent services operations.
If you're with a veteran service organization
The VFW, American Legion, and DAV all have formal channels for endorsing policy proposals and communicating with VA leadership. If you have standing with any of these organizations, ask your chapter or department to formally endorse the NCSS proposal and transmit that endorsement to the VA's Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.
I've written directly to the national headquarters of all three. If you can help move those letters up the chain, or if you know someone who can, please reach out through the contact form at brinraven.com.
If you're a clinician, researcher, or VA employee
You already understand what I'm describing. You've seen it in intake rooms and group sessions — the veteran who presents as fine, who says nothing is wrong, whose shame is the barrier to the care they need. The veteran who has never heard anyone put a name to what they're carrying.
If the NCSS proposal resonates with your clinical experience, say so. Write to the National Center for PTSD. Share the proposal with colleagues. If you're positioned to facilitate a conversation with VA mental health leadership, I'm available — contact me at brinraven.com.
The campaign so far
April 2026: Formal proposal submitted to VA National Center for PTSD, Dr. Paula Schnurr. Letters sent to VFW, American Legion, and DAV national headquarters. Op-ed submitted to the Goldendale Sentinel. Letter sent to Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.
Updates will be posted here as they develop.
The motto of this campaign is simple:
You served. You put on the uniform, you did what they told you, you got out honorably. That's your service.
It was true in 1974. It's true now. The VA needs to say it officially, and we need to make enough noise that they do.
Thank you for being part of this.
G.A. Thompson is an Army veteran (1972–1974) and the author of A Magnificent Ride to Nowhere (Brin/Raven Publishing, 2026). The full NCSS proposal is available at brinraven.com. Questions and media inquiries: 253 576 1024.
