http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0204-21.htm
Sunday, February 4, 2007 by the Baltimore Sun
Troops Return to Painful Wait for Needed Help
by Andrew Weaver and Ray McGovern
The California Nurses Association reported that in the first quarter
of 2006, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs "treated 20,638 Iraq
veterans for post-traumatic stress disorder, and they have a backlog
of 400,000 cases."
A returning soldier has to wait an average of 165 days for a VA
decision on initial disability benefits, and an appeal can take up to
three years.
This is unacceptable and reprehensible.
The saying "War is hell" doesn't begin to describe how horrible it has
been for tens of thousands in our military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
War inevitably involves witnessing and sometimes engaging in gruesome
acts of violence.
It is a shocking confrontation with death and devastation.
It is normal for human beings to react to war's psychic trauma with
profound fear, anger, grief, repulsion, helplessness and horror - or
with emotional numbness and disbelief.
Trauma is the Greek word for "wound."
Just as a physical wound from combat can cause suffering in the body,
psychological trauma can cause acute suffering of mind and spirit.
It is not surprising to find that an assessment of more than 220,000
military personnel returning from Iraq published in the April Journal
of the American Medical Association found that nearly one in five has
significant mental health problems.
Repeated tours of duty increase the risk of post-traumatic stress
disorder by 50 percent.
At the same time, we are hearing disturbing news reports that these
traumatized soldiers are not receiving the mental heath care they
urgently require.
Last month, National Public Radio journalist Daniel Zwerdling did an
extensive story on the military's treatment of personnel returning
from Iraq who suffer from emotional problems, including PTSD.
Veterans coming home stated that their superiors have harassed and
punished them for seeking help for psychological problems triggered by
their service in Iraq.
Several of the soldiers' supervisors acknowledged the callous
treatment.
A recent national study by the Government Accountability Office found
that most of the troops who show signs of PTSD were not referred to
mental health professionals, despite Pentagon claims, in NPR's report,
"that providing support to soldiers with emotional problems is a top
priority" and "that resources are being made available to returning
veterans."
If the same disastrous pattern unfolds that affected Vietnam-era
veterans, and these PTSD sufferers do not obtain appropriate and
timely assistance, tens of thousands will become unnecessarily and
tragically addicted to drugs or alcohol, and many may commit suicide.
Besides the 58,000 lost in combat, we lost tens of thousands of
Vietnam-era military personnel to suicide and drugs.
The American people must actively advocate and demand appropriate
treatment for veterans who have been psychologically wounded by war.
___________________________________________________
Just having a "support our troops" ribbon stuck to your car doesn't
hack it anymore.
Harry
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