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A new documentary highlights military and veteran spouses’ experiences with caregiving, vicarious trauma, dramatic life changes and loving someone with PTSD. In this episode, two spouses involved in the film share their stories.
About the guests:
Betty Rodgers comes from a long line of military veterans and was born to a mother who appreciated and recorded their stories. In 1985, Rodgers married a Vietnam veteran who had survived the terrible Siege of Khe Sanh in 1968. Not until a reunion of Khe Sanh veterans in 2008 did she learn about PTSD and other manifestations of combat that haunted the man she loved, and that now had a name. In 2010, Rodgers and her husband, Ken, began production of the award-winning documentary “Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor,” a very personal film about Ken Rogers’ company of Marines during the siege. On this journey, they developed a keen awareness of the untold story of the wives of combat veterans. This was the seed for their second documentary film, “I Married the War,” for which Betty Rodgers is a co-producer and director.
Anne Potts Jackson is a prosecutor in Bell County, Texas. She has presented lectures about the intersection and interaction of military and civilian jurisdictions at Texas Council on Family Violence Judicial Summits, for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, and at the Conference on Crimes Against Women in Dallas. Jackson has also spoken to a variety of groups around the country about a multi-disciplinary response to family violence and about PTSD and domestic violence in military families. She has prosecuted and tried multiple family violence cases against civilians and military members. Jackson is also a founding member of Belton Area Military Spouses Support, a committee of the Belton Chamber of Commerce, and Bell County Autism Intervention Team. In January of 2013, she was awarded “Citizen of the Year” by the Belton Chamber of Commerce for her work with military families and as a prosecutor. Jackson is married to retired Air Force Lt. Col. Michael L. Jackson Jr., who deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn.
About the podcast:
The Spouse Angle is a podcast breaking down the news for military spouses and their families. Each episode features subject-matter experts and military guests who dive into current events from a military perspective — everything from new policy changes to research on family lifestyle challenges. The podcast is hosted by Natalie Gross, a freelance journalist and former Military Times reporter who grew up in a military family.
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