thedrifter
12-27-04, 08:27 AM
Stressed Veterans Deserve the Best Support
By Philip A Quigley
The biggest tragedy of the Vietnam War was not that we were involved in a hugely unpopular war against a highly adaptive, morally unscrupulous enemy with high collateral losses, but that returning veterans were treated with disrespect and disdain from the nation they had served.
Today, we are waging a popular war against terror with Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Like Vietnam, our enemy is highly adaptive, but unlike our enemy in Vietnam, today’s insurgents are fueled with religious fanaticism and unafraid of death.
The fighting is fierce amidst marketplaces, religious sites and homes, with the fog of war shrouding all. Today’s soldiers and Marines cannot tell friend from foe. They lose comrades from Improvised Explosive Devices on highways and roads. They can never be sure when they might be relieved and see home again. These are just some of the stresses troops today are suffering.
In urban guerilla warfare, troops can never truly “let their hair down.” They are always on edge, always looking over their shoulder for that ever-looming insurgent attack. It should be no surprise that our returning veterans are coming home with varying degrees of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to a report in The New York Times on Dec. 16, 2004:
“An Army study shows that about one in six soldiers in Iraq report symptoms of major depression, serious anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, a proportion that some experts believe could eventually climb to one in three, the rate ultimately found in Vietnam veterans …. Some experts predict that the number eventually requiring mental health treatment could exceed 100,000.”
These newly published figures are now coming to light. Many medical professionals see this as the “medical story of the war,” according to the Times report, and are uncertain of the civilian medical community’s ability to adequately treat such a huge number of patients. Many of our readers have loved ones deployed overseas and ask, “What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? How will it affect my loved one?”
Simply, PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events, particularly modern combat. People who suffer from PTSD often relive these experiences through nightmares and flashbacks. They have difficulty sleeping, and feel detached or estranged from their “normal” home environment. These symptoms can be so severe and last so long to significantly impair the person's daily life.
(For detailed information, contact the Intervention and Treatment Branch, Building 1122, Camp Pendleton, CA, or phone (760) 725-9051).
Many Americans viewed returning Vietnam veterans with contempt. Because of the thinking of the day regarding mental health, they placed many societal stigmas on these veterans. How many movies, television shows and books have we seen depicting the Rambo-type, gun-toting, rabid, war-fanatic Vietnam veteran with a scarred psyche? All of these examples are extreme cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and border on psychotic.
Many veterans were citizens who did their job, did it with honor, and came home. They were treated poorly. Today, society has changed its stance on mental health and some of the stigmas have gone away. With a popular war on terror being conducted, the veterans returning home now are treated much better and with more respect than generations before them.
A good portion of our readers here at SFTT.org are upstanding citizens with military backgrounds. A much smaller fraction are citizens with both a military background and combat experience. A far larger proportion than both of the above are upstanding citizens who have never worn a uniform.
No matter our personal backgrounds and experiences, we all have a duty as Americans to show our gratitude and respect for today’s returning veterans. We must be open and understanding for their current emotional, physical, and psychological state. As taxpayers, it is our duty to support them and to press our congressional representatives to ensure that sufficient resources are provided to programs aimed at helping veterans diagnosed with PTSD.
We as a nation must make it known to out veterans we understand they have experienced a dangerous and stressful time, and even though they have returned home, they may experience some strong emotional and physical reactions. It is normal what these veterans are experiencing. This does not mean they are crazy or weak. What this means is they have experienced something so emotionally overwhelming that they need our help and our support.
Let’s all do our part to guarantee that support is there.
Contributing Editor Philip A. Quigley Jr. served as an enlisted Marine combat scout during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and is pursuing a post-military goal of writing about contemporary defense issues. He can be reached at HawkmanPQ@aol.com. *Send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.
Ellie
By Philip A Quigley
The biggest tragedy of the Vietnam War was not that we were involved in a hugely unpopular war against a highly adaptive, morally unscrupulous enemy with high collateral losses, but that returning veterans were treated with disrespect and disdain from the nation they had served.
Today, we are waging a popular war against terror with Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Like Vietnam, our enemy is highly adaptive, but unlike our enemy in Vietnam, today’s insurgents are fueled with religious fanaticism and unafraid of death.
The fighting is fierce amidst marketplaces, religious sites and homes, with the fog of war shrouding all. Today’s soldiers and Marines cannot tell friend from foe. They lose comrades from Improvised Explosive Devices on highways and roads. They can never be sure when they might be relieved and see home again. These are just some of the stresses troops today are suffering.
In urban guerilla warfare, troops can never truly “let their hair down.” They are always on edge, always looking over their shoulder for that ever-looming insurgent attack. It should be no surprise that our returning veterans are coming home with varying degrees of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to a report in The New York Times on Dec. 16, 2004:
“An Army study shows that about one in six soldiers in Iraq report symptoms of major depression, serious anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, a proportion that some experts believe could eventually climb to one in three, the rate ultimately found in Vietnam veterans …. Some experts predict that the number eventually requiring mental health treatment could exceed 100,000.”
These newly published figures are now coming to light. Many medical professionals see this as the “medical story of the war,” according to the Times report, and are uncertain of the civilian medical community’s ability to adequately treat such a huge number of patients. Many of our readers have loved ones deployed overseas and ask, “What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? How will it affect my loved one?”
Simply, PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events, particularly modern combat. People who suffer from PTSD often relive these experiences through nightmares and flashbacks. They have difficulty sleeping, and feel detached or estranged from their “normal” home environment. These symptoms can be so severe and last so long to significantly impair the person's daily life.
(For detailed information, contact the Intervention and Treatment Branch, Building 1122, Camp Pendleton, CA, or phone (760) 725-9051).
Many Americans viewed returning Vietnam veterans with contempt. Because of the thinking of the day regarding mental health, they placed many societal stigmas on these veterans. How many movies, television shows and books have we seen depicting the Rambo-type, gun-toting, rabid, war-fanatic Vietnam veteran with a scarred psyche? All of these examples are extreme cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and border on psychotic.
Many veterans were citizens who did their job, did it with honor, and came home. They were treated poorly. Today, society has changed its stance on mental health and some of the stigmas have gone away. With a popular war on terror being conducted, the veterans returning home now are treated much better and with more respect than generations before them.
A good portion of our readers here at SFTT.org are upstanding citizens with military backgrounds. A much smaller fraction are citizens with both a military background and combat experience. A far larger proportion than both of the above are upstanding citizens who have never worn a uniform.
No matter our personal backgrounds and experiences, we all have a duty as Americans to show our gratitude and respect for today’s returning veterans. We must be open and understanding for their current emotional, physical, and psychological state. As taxpayers, it is our duty to support them and to press our congressional representatives to ensure that sufficient resources are provided to programs aimed at helping veterans diagnosed with PTSD.
We as a nation must make it known to out veterans we understand they have experienced a dangerous and stressful time, and even though they have returned home, they may experience some strong emotional and physical reactions. It is normal what these veterans are experiencing. This does not mean they are crazy or weak. What this means is they have experienced something so emotionally overwhelming that they need our help and our support.
Let’s all do our part to guarantee that support is there.
Contributing Editor Philip A. Quigley Jr. served as an enlisted Marine combat scout during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and is pursuing a post-military goal of writing about contemporary defense issues. He can be reached at HawkmanPQ@aol.com. *Send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.
Ellie