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Username:: elderjane
Name:: Jeri
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Southwestern Woman

Politics & Legal > Living with P.t.s. D.

Living with P.t.s. D.

The news last night was more distressing than usual. The
marine who gunned down l6 civilians in Afghanistan had simply
had more stress than he could stand. The constant killing
made it seem the norm. This same night, Tinker Air Force
Base had a murder-suicide. The suicide rate for Oklahomans
is ten percent for civilians and 25 percent for military
personnel of all deaths that occur.

The constant deployment of the same men gives them no closure
and no relief. We have had years and years of endless war.
It is time for all of the armed services and especially the
Marine Corp to make some changes.

I walk around the V. A. hospital when I go with Ted and I
see the traumatic brain injuries that are so common now and
it breaks my heart. The treatment is not what it should be
because the V. A. medical facilities are so over loaded. A
lot of the men have alcohol induced Hepatitis C.
They self medicate to quell the demons inside.

I certainly don't have any solution to the problem but it would seem to me that mandatory support groups and counseling would be valuable if they are not already in place. Sharing the burden would help too. I don't see that
it would be wrong to institute the draft so that the
same men would not have to go through hell time and time
again.

posted on Mar 13, 2012 5:56 AM ()

Comments:

I disagree that war never solved anything because if we hadn't stepped in, in 1944, Europe, and Britain, too, would have fallen to Hitler, and the pogrom against Jews would have continued. Success overseas would have emboldened Hitler to invade the U.S. Nazi U-boats were already offshore here, looking for opportunities. There are times when self-preservation must come first. But we were dealing with a traditional enemy then -- now we are dealing with entities, cultures, so fragmented that we cannot unify them, let alone bring democracy. And their survival, to them, has always depended on dominating one's tribal neighbor with brutality. It's a no-win for us.

comment by tealstar on Mar 15, 2012 4:44 AM ()

I feel so badly for soldiers and their families. War is hell. I cannot image what demons drove this soldier into killing women and children.

comment by dragonflyby on Mar 14, 2012 10:09 AM ()

Four hundred people turned out last weekend for the return home of a 26-year old marine who "stopped breathing" after three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. It is almost an injustice to his fellows to refer to it as that since the issue needs so desperately to be addressed and publicly acknowledged. A widow was interviewed on Nightly News who said that her husband's suicide could have been prevented, and she is undoubtedly correct. The experience gained by multiple deployments may save lives in one way, but if that is to be the policy, the follow-up to "undo" years of training and experience is essential.

comment by jjoohhnn on Mar 13, 2012 8:02 PM ()

?We live on in our worlds so insulated from war and do not think about the
grief that military families feel when they are torn asunder by deployments
as well as death, wounds and mental illness. We must do something about this.

reply by elderjane on Mar 14, 2012 3:04 AM ()

Psychological support care and mental health services for active duty armed forces is utter abysmal, tragically so in this case, and also evidenced in chronic suicides, PTSD, depression. The pointless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been endlessly abusive to our service members and their families and must end as soon as possible. Get. Out. Now.

comment by marta on Mar 13, 2012 5:35 PM ()

Insanity isn't it? War never solved anything but it sure has caused a lot of
grief. Jondude is so right. They only want a theocratic government. We should not and cannot impose our values on them. Get these men home and
help them pick up the pieces of their lives.

reply by elderjane on Mar 14, 2012 3:12 AM ()

The only one who ever 'conquered' the Afghans was Alexander the Great, and he left the place as soon as he could. It is a lost cause. The Middle East will never cling to any form of 'democracy.' In their metaphysics only Theocracy works.

comment by jondude on Mar 13, 2012 2:45 PM ()

The cost in human life is too great. We aren't going to change anything and
the longer we stay there, the more men will be killed and maimed and the slaughter continues. We owe a duty to these families who have suffered so
much and to the men who have fought so long and hard.

reply by elderjane on Mar 14, 2012 3:25 AM ()

I liked teal comment.Yes,we I go to the VA see all the young men there.
Some looks spaced out and other not sure what this is all about.
The VA here are doing the best that they can and have been renovate the bldg.
Not sure if we have the best doctors there,but that is the best that they can do.
This young man that slaughtered those people are very sad to hear.
They should have a time label how many times that they can go back to this place.

comment by fredo on Mar 13, 2012 9:29 AM ()

It is so hard for these mean to avoid adjustment problems. They are programmed for war.

reply by elderjane on Mar 13, 2012 11:55 AM ()

Our society wants everyone to 'be normal' - just put all that war stuff behind them and start punching a clock. I think the WWII vets did that a lot, but things have changed over the decades. Better battlefield medicine is bringing more severely-injured soldiers home, and the stigma of associated with even participating in a war pressures the vets into suppressing their difficulty re-integrating into a society that would rather ignore the existence of armed conflict half-way around the world. Although our country gives lip service to 'those who sacrifice for our freedom,' it rings hollow.

comment by troutbend on Mar 13, 2012 8:45 AM ()

Ted has told me a lot about marine corp training but the movie that says it
best is "Full Metal Jacket". It shows the psychological deterioration best.

reply by elderjane on Mar 13, 2012 11:58 AM ()

This was sad news, and I am glad you took the time to write more about it because I had read the headline and moved on. It is really sad that our vets don't get more money invested into their cause, esp since they give us the ultimate sacrifice if needed.

comment by kristilyn3 on Mar 13, 2012 7:35 AM ()

Living close to an Airforce base and being in constant contact with the things that go on has made me very aware of the problem.

reply by elderjane on Mar 13, 2012 12:00 PM ()

This tragic episode has galvanized the thinking about total withdrawal (and about time). Recently I heard a pod cast from NPR about how dogs are helping to reduce mental and emotional stress in returning vets with these issues. Some dogs, as in the seeing-eye, are trained to be constant companions and protect the vet from traumatic encounters. We should make dog-therapy a key effort, I think, in many therapeutic situations.

There was also a fascinating interview on one of the news analysis programs last night where a retired officer said Afghanistan was not a country in the traditional sense, but an amalgam of tribes. That no
"victory" of any sort was possible there, that we repeated the disastrous USSR intervention of some years ago and that the Russians have looked on in amazement as we have repeated their mistakes.

comment by tealstar on Mar 13, 2012 6:20 AM ()

That is exactly what Ellie said when the war in Afghanistan Started. Russia
had already lost all their young men there. It is a war that cannot be won.
Great Britain learned their lesson also. Your mentioning guide dogs is
doable. Golden Retrievers live for love. I think they would do a good job.

reply by elderjane on Mar 13, 2012 12:05 PM ()

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Living with P.t.s. D.