Our Central Command Post
About
Our Central Command Post, OCCP, Hidden Heroes: Military/Veteran Caregivers Living with a Constantly Changing Daily Normal In Partnership with The Elizabeth Dole Foundation.
The Elizabeth Dole Foundation is the leading organization empowering, supporting, and honoring the nation’s 14.3 million military and veteran caregivers. These caregivers include spouses, parents, family members, and friends who care for America’s wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans. By providing access to vital resources and support networks and advocating for policy changes, we improve the quality of life for caregivers, their families, and those they care for.  
2nd Annual Suicide Prevention & Awareness Forum 2025
This year, the Heroes Center and Our Central Command Post are collaborating on a joint venture. I am excited to have the Heroes Center participating.
Registration is now Open for our 2nd Annual Suicide Prevention & Awareness Forum 2025.
For Military, Veterans, Medical & Mental Health Professionals, Hidden Heroes, Supporters of the Military Community.
This is a NO-COST Forum for those who have experienced suicide personally, within their family, treat patients of suicide, or are supporters.
What to Expect:
Panels, Story Telling, Benefits of Recreational Therapy, Open Discussion, Informational Table
Scan the QR Code or go to https//tinyurl.com/4kjkkvem to save your seat at the table.
Location: High Point Elks Lodge.
Hidden Heroes Summit 2025
While my Veteran was deployed in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, I outranked him in the challenge coin arena because I earned a Brigadier General’s coin. Then he decided he had to get hurt for the fifth time. He was sent home on an advanced plane in October 2005, where he received former Idaho Governor Kempthorne’s challenge coin. Now, he clearly outranks me. This cannot continue; it cannot be allowed. To outrank him, I will need the President of the United States' challenge coin.
Time has passed. Countless counseling sessions and strong family support have helped me find humor within all this sorrow. I can either laugh or cry while grieving, and I choose laughter. DeWayne, my Veteran, had a tour in Kirkuk, Iraq, from December 2004 through October 2005. During his time there, he was involved in five (5) concussive accidents - yes, you read that right, five - with the last one being the worst. Let us not forget that in between being blown up, he was sent outside the wire to experience all the soldiering tasks: training Iraqi Soldiers and Police, conducting search and seizure operations,
Managing security details, participating in hand-to-hand combat, engaging in gun battles, and dealing with mortar attacks. There was no time for his brain to recover in between.
I have been his caregiver for 19 years now. I joined the Elizabeth Dole Foundation as a Hidden Hero in 2013 and became part of the 2016 Fellowship program class. It is an honor to be an Emeritus Elizabeth Dole Foundation Fellow.
April 12, 2025, marks North Carolina’s first Hidden Heroes Rise Summit, which will focus on Mental Well-Being. My goal is to have 50 to 100 caregivers and 15 to 25 vendors. These goals are starting to become a reality. FYI, Military/Veteran Caregivers, aka Hidden Heroes, are anyone who supports veterans, regardless of the number of hours they spend doing so: family members, friends, or neighbors of veterans from all age groups.
Details about the Summit: Doors open at 7:30 a.m.; the summit starts at 8:45 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. The evening entertainment features Letters From Home, USO-style entertainment. This event is open to all attendees and the community. I am seeking donations to further my non-profit outreach within North Carolina and beyond alongside my fellow Fellows at the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.