Sleepycatz

Continuous Tragedy

Twenty five years ago, growing up in a dying industrial city of the Midwest, I found myself involved with a group of homeless veterans, most of whom had served in Viet Nam. I cannot say that I befriended any of these soldiers - as they didn’t make friends, and barely tolerated one another at times. But they relied upon each other for some understanding, protection, and some level of compassion. In the 80’s these men reminded people of an unsuccessful war which had divided our nation. There was no sunshine for them from Regan’s ‘morning in America’. Many of them had been forced from VA homes and hospitals as federal funding was cut. They panhandled during the day to scrape up enough to medicate themselves at night. Even drunk and doped many of them would jump and roll with amazing agility at the sound of an unfamiliar footstep in the park where we would meet. Late at night they would wake up screaming or sit up and simply stare intently into space. For these men the war never ended. They were still soldiers — fighting the same war; the same battles. They could never come home.

Last month the Pentagon issued a report analyzing the state of mental health among our soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to that report

Based on data in their 2004 study, Hoge and colleagues estimated that, using strict screening criteria, 17 percent of soldiers from brigade combat teams would be at risk for developing clinically significant symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, or anxiety after deployment, and that an even higher percentage (28%) would experience symptoms if broader screening criteria were used (Hoge, Castro, Messer, McGurck, Cotting & Koffman, 2004). The prevalence of PTSD within a year of combat deployment was estimated to range from 10 to 25 percent (Hoge et al., 2004). More recent data from the Post-Deployment Health Re-Assessment (PDHRA), which is administered to service members 90 to 120 days after returning from deployment, indicate that 38 percent of Soldiers and 31 percent of Marines report psychological symptoms. Among members of the National Guard, the figure rises to 49 percent (U.S. Air Force, 2007; U.S. Army, 2007; U.S. Navy, 2007). Psychological concerns are also significantly higher among those with repeated deployments, a rapidly growing cohort. Psychological concerns among family members of deployed and returning Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans, while yet to be fully quantified, are also an issue of concern. Further, hundreds of thousands of U.S. children have experienced the deployment of a parent. Clearly, the challenges are enormous and the consequences of non-performance are significant.

Despite its own findings, the Pentagon and the Veteran’s Administration have been unable, or unwilling, to provide the post-war care these soldiers require. This week veterans’ groups sued the VA in order to get the basic health care that was promised — and owed to these men and women. Veterans themselves were too afraid of reprisals to take action against their own government that umbrella organizations had to initiate action for them. Unfortunately, this illustrates but a tiny sliver of the problem. Those involved in the suit have already left the military service and have been handed to the VA; there are over 100,000 who have not yet completed their service and have seen combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a young man, I opposed the Viet Nam conflict; as a middle aged man, I opposed the invasion of Iraq. They were and remain pointless conflicts based more on hubris then on national security. The men and women who serve(d) in these conflicts served our nation - regarless of how one feels about the conflict or the soldiers - and they require our respect and aid. Long after our soldiers leave Iraq, after the protest banners are thrown into the basement, and after the magnetic ribbons are removed from vehicles, many of the soldiers who served will be suffering the effects of this war. When those days come — and they are coming soon — when thousands of veterans seek medical care, housing, food, or simply hit you up for a buck on the street, then the phrase “support the troops” will have real meaning. It will demand money, compassion, and empathy. We should all begin offering those things today with the knowledge that more will be required of us tomorrow.

This entry was posted by steve on Friday, July 27th, 2007 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Injustices, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.