Michael Cochran is a senior UTM University Studies major who grew up with his parents and younger brother and sister in Marysville, Mich., where he graduated from Marysville High School in 1979. Both his parents served in the Air Force; however, his mother got out before he was born. Cochran’s father got out of the Air Force when he was 6 years old, but not before making such a huge impression on him that he served as his inspiration for Cochran himself later joining the Air Force at the age of 22.
“I had to serve. In my mind I had to serve but I wasn’t sure that I wanted to, because I didn’t want to get treated like garbage when I came home,” Cochran said.
The movies portrayed WWII soldiers coming home from war and being treated as heroes, but in the 1960s and 1970s soldiers were spit on, had bottles thrown at them in the streets and called baby killers. This double standard confused Cochran, but this along with his father’s service was the main reason that he felt so compelled to serve his country. He eventually was on the receiving end of some of that bad behavior.
“I’ve had bottles thrown at me, people spit at me, people cuss at me, because of being in uniform, back in the early days. But I have also had people that were in wheelchairs as a result of things that happened in Vietnam to try to stand up, shake my hand and thank me for what I did, and I didn’t do anything but what was asked of me. The big difference between me and the guys that went to Vietnam is that since 1973 the military has been 99 percent voluntary,” Cochran said.
“A good many of the men that went to Vietnam were drafted; they had no choice. So, to me, they were more the hero than those of us coming back from Iraq, Afghanistan and any of these other conflicts. Yes, the things that get done are heroic deeds but we didn’t have to do it; we volunteered to do it. We might’ve had the mentality of, ‘I’m going to go out and save the world,’ or we might’ve had the mentality of, ‘I need a job; if I go to work for the military, I won’t get laid off; whereas, if I go to work for XYZ Company, I may get laid off.’ So, the military was job security for a lot of us.”
Cochran served in Iraq and his platoon was fortunate enough to only have one injury that warranted a purple heart. Ironically, that injury happened only two weeks before they left country, Nov. 11, 2005, Veterans Day. He served nine active years in the Air Force before getting out in 1992. When he left the military in April 2009, Cochran had a total of 22 years of service between the Air Force, Army National Guard and the Reserve. When he got out of the military, he was having some health issues and ended up having triple bypass surgery 18 months after he retired.
He had been home from Iraq for about two years when one day someone handed him a book called, “Down Range: To Iraq and Back” by Bridgett Cantrell and Chuck Dean, and told him that he should read it. They said that from their conversation with him they felt that he would find it helpful. The book is designed to give the reader an idea of what a soldier returning from combat goes through and to help them and their loved ones to deal with it. After reading the book, Cochran realized that he had PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. Cochran often recommends that others check the book out of the Paul Meek Library, because it is such a good resource of information concerning PTSD.
“When I discuss PTSD, I try to remind people that it’s not just a military thing, even though 25 percent coming back from combat zones suffer with PTSD. I try to remind people that if you are in a car accident, that’s a traumatic event and you can go through the same thing, just not in the same way,” Cochran said.
“I’ve had bombs go off close to me, so I’m going to have weird reactions to loud noises, flashing lights or whatever. If you’ve been in a car accident you might hear a glass breaking in the kitchen and react to it because you think it’s a windshield breaking, or that sort of thing.”
It’s hard for Cochran to admit that he has sought counseling off and on since 2005 for PTSD, because he was taught that he should be tough and able to handle anything. Cochran said that the military teaches soldiers that they shouldn’t have feelings anymore, and they should just be machines. He explained that in the past seeking counseling has caused some individuals to lose their jobs, because up until the mid 1990s the military considered you a wimp if you claimed PTSD. However, the military currently recognizes PTSD and is offering treatment to soldiers.
“One thing I always tell a military member or a civilian that is dealing with PTSD is, ‘Don’t be afraid to seek help,’” Cochran said.
Working with the theatre helps Cochran not only with his PTSD but also with his ADHD. He played Baron Elberfeld in Masquerade Theatre’s March 2013 production of “The Sound of Music,” Vinnie in Masquerade Theatre’s May 2013 production of “The Odd Couple” and Constable Warren in The 3rd Floor’s August 2013 production of “Our Town.”
Cochran serves as a daily example to fellow students to not be afraid to seek help when they need it.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help. All the professors on campus have office hours; go to their office hours. Don’t be afraid to ask [for help]. Nobody is going to look down their nose at you and call you stupid if you ask for help. Where you’re stupid is not asking for help. Where you’re not doing yourself any good is where the help is out there and you don’t take advantage of it,” Cochran said.
