PTSD and Military Discharges

I’ve been slow to post on this because it’s an emotional issue for me, both as a war supporter and as someone who was diagnosed with PTSD and dissociative disorder many years ago. Henry Neufeld has two posts about PTSS/PTSD and how the military may be treating – or NOT treating – troops who have them.

After two combat tours in Iraq on a “quick reaction team” that picked up body parts after suicide bombings, Donald Schmidt began suffering from nightmares and paranoia. Then he had a nervous breakdown. The military discharged Schmidt last Oct. 31 for problems they said resulted not from post-traumatic stress disorder but rather from a personality disorder that pre-dated his military service.

It was the responsibility of the military to learn about any issues this young man may have had back in boot camp and during his advanced training. Once they sent him to Iraq, as far as I’m concerned the warranty ran out; they “own” that soldier and should be responsible for keeping him in good condition. And even if he did have a previously undiscovered pre-existing condition, it is safe to say that the job of picking up body parts in a war zone will have exacerbated it. That said, I’ll wait for more information before I condemn the military on this one. (Never let it be said that I can’t be taught.) If this story is accurate, there will be a LOT more information coming out – as there should be.

Henry also points out in a related post,

The figure given in the Newsweek article is that veterans care resulting from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will be at least six times the official estimates. I can’t confirm the accuracy of those figures, but it does fit in with a constant refrain from these wars–they cost more than is projected, and the actual cost is extremely high.

Well, Newsweek has been wrong before; one notable example is the infamous Koran flushing story. But I’ll reserve comment pending further information except to say – a LOT of predictions about Iraq have been wrong, not just the cost of the war. Furthermore, Linda Bilmes, who made that estimate, is more than just a policy analyst. Given that she characterized Abu Ghraib as “the systematic violation of human rights practiced or permitted by authorities of the United States within occupied Iraq” I’m unwilling to take her at face value as a neutral source. More research is in order, and I don’t just mean this facile dismissal.

I completely agree with Henry when he writes,

I believe people from all across the political spectrum should be able to agree that we must take good care of our troops and our veterans.

This is an area that we all, whether we support the war or not, need to be diligent about – if it’s happening, we need to put a stop to it. Our troops deserve the best, and it’s our job to ensure they get it. I’m going to be researching what bills are out there with regard to funding health care for the troops, and if I find anything worthwhile, I’ll post it so we can all encourage our Congressional representation to support it.

For more information on PTSD, this Pentagon channel (I originally linked to it in April) is very interesting and there’s a good discussion on follow up for PTSD about ten minutes into the video:

The Pentagon Channel:
The Wounds Within
RECON
Exploring the debilitating condition of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. You’ll meet servicemembers whose physical battlefield injuries have healed, but yet emotional wounds linger on.