U.S. soldiers salute a fallen comrade at Fort Riley.
In an effort to encourage troops to seek psychiatric counseling for combat stress, the U.S. military announced Thursday it will no longer consider such treatment when issuing security clearances. The U.S.
Jules wanted to know where the reports are the show all of the veterans who either do not suffer the after effects or that go on to cope with their symptoms, living productive, fairly normal lives. Well, if we reverse this study information on the fact sheet, if 18% develop PTS or the more chronic PTSD, that means at least 82% of all troops come home to healthy, productive lives. With over 1 million already having served in Iraq and Afghanistan, that's approximately 820,000 troops. With 11% of the 18% that goes on to have the more chronic "disorder", that means another 70,000 who have the "acute", short term PTS and go on to live fairly healthy lives.
That is good news. Especially for our troops who may be concerned that they will be part of some overwhelming number of troops who will not be able to return to "normal". However, that's really not the point. These troops, by and far, do not need our "defense". They know they are fine and going on with their lives.
There are still 11%, over 110, 000 troops, who will struggle with PTSD. Some of the 70,000 with the "acute" variety, will not receive treatment, will stop treatment or will refuse treatment and may go on to develop the chronic disorder. Then, there are the unknown numbers who will not report any symptoms, not seek treatment and be below the radar, with both soldier and family suffering. These are the people that we need to worry about, that we need to "defend".
Last year, some 67,000 soldiers returned from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan were treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Eighty-nine of them committed suicide. Perhaps even more than physical injuries, mental trauma incurred by servicemen tends to have an insidious ripple effect on the affected families and communities. Numerous studies suggest that domestic violence, child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse and other destructive behavior is a regular byproduct of untreated PTSD.
Making matters worse, as Joshua Kors reported in an award-winning Nation expose published in March of 2007, there have been numerous cases in which soldiers wounded in Iraq were suspiciously diagnosed by the military as having a personality disorder, then prevented from collecting benefits which made it virtually impossible for them to treat their PTSD. (As Kors noted, the conditions of their discharge have infuriated many in the military community, including the injured soldiers and their families, veterans' rights groups, even military officials required to process these dismissals.)
The Veterans' Mental Health Outreach and Access Act of 2007, S. 38, headed soon to the Senate floor for a vote, would seek to address the metastasizing problems of returning vet's PTSD.
