Bob Herbert: Stress Beyond Belief

[babylonsister]

Stress Beyond Belief

By BOB HERBERT
Published: November 6, 2009


The authorities will deal with Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who is accused of bringing the nightmare of mass murder into the sanctuary of a military base on American soil. But the rest of us need to look very closely at the stress beyond belief that is being endured by so many other men and women in the armed forces — men and women who are serving gallantly and with dignity, who have not taken out their frustrations on one another, and who deserve better from the broader society.

Simply stated, we cannot continue sending service members into combat for three tours, four tours, five tours and more without paying a horrendous price in terms of the psychological well-being of the troops and their families, and the overall readiness of the armed forces to protect the nation.

The breakdowns are already occurring and will only get worse as the months and years pass and we remain engaged in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. None of this is the military’s fault. There have not been nearly enough people willing to serve in the all-volunteer armed forces to properly staff two wars that have already gone on for the better part of a decade.

I spent some time on the West Coast recently interviewing doctors and researchers studying the enormous problem of troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq with some form of mental health disorder, most commonly depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, or P.T.S.D. The caseloads are off the charts, and very often the P.T.S.D. or depression (or both) are accompanied by substance abuse, problems with anger management, domestic violence and family breakdown.

These are not weak men and women we are talking about. This is the toll that the horror of combat, especially repeated doses of it, takes on people — even those who are young, physically fit and mentally sound.

“These invisible wounds of war are profound and relatively common,” said Dr. Charles Marmar, a psychiatrist and one of the nation’s leading experts on stress-related disorders. “Pound for pound, they may be more disabling than physical wounds. People often don’t seek treatment for P.T.S.D. or depression or psychosis, and they are very disabling without proper treatment.”

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/07/opinion/07herbert.html?hp

[BrklynLiberal]

1. "This is the toll that the horror of combat". PLS Pres Obama..get us out of there...

[murray hill farm]

2. To continue...

There will have to be a draft. The voluntary military cannot continue as it is. It cannot!!! On the positive side, a draft would put a quick end to endless wars.

[southernyankeebelle]

3. My dad was retired from the military after 22 yrs of service. He was

wounded in WWII. A machine gun fire right up his leg. He never talked much about the bad things that happened but he talked about funny things that happened. I do know it effected him because he always slept with a baseball bat next to his bed. When you had to wake him up you got at the end of the bed and call out to him and most of the time he get up. Sometimes we had to wiggle his toe. You just had to be careful not to make any sudden moves because he could react. You know I honestly don't know how WWII vets reacted because I do see a difference from WWII and VN and Iraq. God I love our soldiers. They deserve the best of everything and more. People just don't really know what they go through and what their families go through.

[Hestia]

4. If you read about WWII vets, 30% of them didn't fire their weapons at any given time

When the higher ups saw this, they changed basic training to actual training of firing weapons, war games, etc. Also, with WWII weapons, vets didn't fire as many bullets (or whatever you call them). PTSD was called Shell Shocked back then. Viet Nam vets fired I forget how many more bullets at people. The number is astounding.

[indepat]

5. Such small prices in human misery and treasure to pay to purportedly keep us safe from terra albeit

all the while absolutely every other facet of our society and economy are going to hell in a hand-basket at nano-speed. :P

[bertman]

6. Rec. The sad thing is that our military and especially those who serve in combat, are such

a small percentage of our population that few Americans are affected directly by this tragedy.

A draft might change that, but it would be far better if President Obama would take the bold step of standing up to the MICC and saying "Enough is enough. Bring them home now." But that's not going to happen.