Wave of mental problems follows GIs home

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040511-023548-4111r

Soldiers at Fort Carson report a wave of serious mental problems among troops back from the "war on terrorism," according to interviews with soldiers, their families and a therapist working with them.

The torment seems linked to troubling behavior -- including a suicide, violence and heavy drinking among a number of the 12,000 troops arriving back in Colorado Springs, nestled in the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 60 miles south of Denver.

They say the Army frequently fails to diagnose or properly help suffering soldiers. In some cases -- particularly in elite fighting units -- soldiers hide problems fearing damage to their careers, turning instead to alcohol and sometimes resulting in domestic violence.

"The pattern I'm seeing is that they are not being evaluated very thoroughly," said Kaye Baron, a clinical psychologist in Colorado Springs. Baron treats soldiers in her private practice and helps the Department of Veterans Affairs evaluate the mental health of soldiers leaving the Army.

Baron said the Army is not properly diagnosing or treating soldiers who have mental problems. Instead, some are pushed out of the Army, making them feel worse.

"Why is the military discounting the problems? Why are they disposing of people? Do they not have the resources? Are they in denial? Is it corruption? I'd like to know," Baron said. "My belief is that we should honor these soldiers and acknowledge that these people are going to be affected."

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the article goes on to note the many and various ways these mental problems are happening. (read it and be aware) really scary and very bad for the families, society and the medical profession with repercussions on all the rest of us.

My guess is we are in for much more of this.

War shatters the living. My father woke up screaming in the night for all of his living days with nightmares about what he experienced in WWII. This happened at least once or twice a week. It was very disconcerting as a small child to hear, over and over, the source strength and safety of your family waking up crying in terror.

Thank you for this. It's strange, in a way, to think about what this is doing to another generation of young people. The human brain is hard-wired in such a way that the experiences these people are having will change them for the rest of their lives. This, in turn, will cause changes in all of their family systems.

people whith mental problems volunteer in the first place.

but I can see why some people who've never had a lot of time for flag waving "patriotism" propaganda could take the view that joining the army is kind of a strange thing to choose - for whatever else one learns from their time in service violence and death kinda IS what it's about. That said people join up for many reasons some very altruistic ones (even if I beleive that altruism is on the naive and misguided side) the fact that they're more often than not lied to and betrayed isn't their fault.

Say someone living in a one stop light town in rural America, pumping diesel fuel at a truck stop in high school. With no chances for a scholarship and no bright future on the horizon. Who's mother, that only has an eighth grade education because she grew up on a farm and her day an education was not important for females and were better used working the family farm, works her ass off in a factory just to keep clothes on there back, a roof over their head and food on the table. Because her husband, the bread winner died in an automobile accident and left her with two babies to take care and certainly no trust fund for them. Should I continue, because the story gets better? Thats not fiction by the way!

I just spent the weekend with a lot of friends. Some of them have kids in Iraq. On has a son-in-law who was in the National Guard. He really didn't have any reason to expect that to lead to a year of fighting in Iraq. Both he one in the Army who's just returned says that it's much, much worse than what we're seeing in the news.

and although I say no matter what - I wouldn't be signing up it's hard for me to imagine life with no (or little as makes no difference) welfare safety net or universal medical coverage so I tend to take the "there but for the grace of god" (although I'm an atheist!) stance. I've read interviews with doctors who state that in areas of West Virginia the medical situation is similar to an African nation - seeing the army as a way out of that is reasonable but from what I can tell many come back from a tour leave the army and spend years (or decades) in shit house dead end jobs anyway with little support from the army often suffering alcohol/drug problems and other medical problems, so much for improving one's lot.

I know most don't join up wanting to go kill people but even the dimmest hick from the most backwater town has to realise that's it's the name of the game should war (or even peacekeeping duties) break out.

I did, I served in Beirut in 83, I knew what was expected of me! It was the price that I had to pay for an education and some slim chance to improve my life. Yes, unfortunately some do return to life in a shit house and dead end jobs. Some also become drug and alcahol dependent. However a lot us do take advantage of the benefits. While I am not upwardly mobile, I do enjoy all the basics and some creature comforts. I have a good life unlike my mother, I do not work in some miserable factory job. I have what is considered by many an honorable job and enjoy the respect of people from all walks of life. Trust me, my best friend in high school lives in a shit house with the same dead end job he had when he graduated. I got out of it the only way I could and took advantage of my education and two honorable discharges. It opened up many doors for me,those alone got me to the interview stage. I have never been turned down for any job that I had applied for. I can honestly say that anyone that was in my situation that did what I did and did not take advantage of it made there own bed. It was not easy, I had my ups and downs but I was determined. Thanks for your honest reply, by the way, I am ex-Navy. As much as I wanted an education, I also wanted to see the world, not go camping in some fox hole.