Future Casualties

Combat in Iraq is winding down, but in Afghanistan it will only rise as spring comes on.  However, there is a greater threat to service members than either of these theatres.  “Of the more than 30,000 suicides in this country each year, fully 20 percent of them are acts by veterans,” noted VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.  With Iraq going on for seven years and Afghanistan now almost a decade, there are over two million veterans from these two conflicts alone.  The problem is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

I think the issue is two-fold.  First, the issue of mental health and treating it properly in the services must be addressed.  There is still a bias in the armed forces against any member seeking help for problems they may be experiencing while in theatre or after returning home, while still on duty.  There has been some movement to change the mind set in the military, but this has been slow going.  More needs to be done to train NCOs and officers not only to look for signs of PTSD and other mental health issues, but to look on it as something other than a weakness.  The situations our troops are experiencing are very stressful, and they need to know that the help they need is not only available, but should be sought both while they are on active duty and after they separate from the service.  The other aspect is the availability of care after they leave the service through the Veteran’s Administration.

A number of years ago when it came out that the VA hospital in Washington was in terrible shape a lot of people became outraged that this should happen.  But I can say that the VA and support for troops after separation has always been lacking.  We say we support our troops.  But often our attention is focused on active duty and does not include veterans.  Last year Obama announced an increase of 25 billion dollars over the next five years for the VA, which seems like a great deal of money, but I don’t think it will cover the troops that will need to receive care.  Money isn’t the only issue.

There are many former service members that return home after duty, but they are not anywhere near a VA hospital or facility where they can get access to the care they need.  With all the hubbub over health care, I have found no provisions that service members can seek assistance, whether for physical or mental health issues, through a private source which will then bill the VA.  With the advances in body armor and medical procedures, many wounded on the battle field are surviving when they would not have before.  But many of those who survive are either missing limbs or have suffered traumatic brain injuries.  Many of those returning to civilian life will need long term care for the wounds they suffered while in the military, some of them for the rest of their lives.  We, the civilian population, have to be sure that our government does not forget what veterans have given.  Politicians generally only pay attention to whatever is in front of them at the moment, and we have to be sure the VA and care for service members does not slip out of sight.

Those who have been physically wounded are much more easily cared for, the problem is apparent, but those suffering from mental health issues may not be so easy to diagnose.  A few of the symptoms of PTSD are nightmares, sleep problems, trouble concentrating, irritability, anger, poor concentration, blackouts or difficulty remembering things, increased tendency and reaction to being startled, and hypervigilance to threat.  Those suffering may manifest fears about certain places or large groups of people; they may be overwhelmed by continuing memories of certain situations that contributed to PTSD.

If you know veterans who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, talk to them; ask them how they are doing, if you see problems encourage them to seek the help they need.  They have done everything they were asked to do.  Now we have to do everything we know we should do.