Military Violence & PTSD - Not A New Phenomona

[TornadoTN]

I just got a chance to read the latest issue of Rolling Stone, as it seems it's one of the last of print media that actually tries to do some real investigative journalism and research. I got it earlier in the week, so it was well before the Fort Hood tragedy.

In it, is this excellent piece about what our soldiers are coming home to and the system that is overworked, understaffed, and pressured to clear soldiers as quickly as possible. You really need to read this article.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/30794989/the_fort_carson_murder_spree/

11 killings have been attributed to veterans returning from the Iraq/Afghanistan wars on Fort Carson alone. Police feel that there are probably others that they are still unaware. Soldiers are coming home in shock, with PTSD and other combat related mental illnesses and unable to cope. They are fed through the system and made to feel like they aren't "man" enough to suck it up and move on, back to the wars or out of the Army, without any real way to get the help they need. They aren't getting the treatment that they deserve and the treatment that they desperately need.

In the wake of the Fort Hood shootings, where the perpetrator was on the other side of the combat vs. treatment equation, it's very interesting to wonder if this system may have contributed to the final actions of Major Hasan.

Further, this is just further proof that we, as a nation, were led into a war that was not only illegal and immoral, but one where we were poorly prepared for it in every aspect aside from blowing things up. Our leaders at the time, as has been demonstrated in so many ways since then, paid no attention to the very people that were executing their war. They very people that they claimed so vehemently that they "supported".

Now, our President is once again left holding the bag that his predecessor left for him. This is one area that we cannot let continue to slide by without making sweeping, drastic changes to the treatment of our veterans and at the very least, take a good, hard look at why we are still fighting these wars. We are supposed to honor our veterans and rightfully so, but honor them by doing the right thing - give them the treatment that they need and change the culture of the military treatment system.

[Brigid]

1. Veterans with PTSD:

The only thing any war has ever really produced.

[Junkdrawer]

2. And their "right" to buy guns is about to get additional protections...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6945548&mesg_id=6945548

[sendero]

3. This guy never served in combat..

.... what fucking PTSD?

[TornadoTN]

4. Not him specifically, but he was around this daily

Being around soldiers with this and seeing what it was doing to them surely would have made an impact on the man.

Again, not trying to justify his actions at all - just trying to find some of the factors that might have played a role. But mainly, this article proves that we aren't taking care of our veterans.

[Karenina]

7. Some learn from others' mistakes

Some learn from their own mistakes
and some never learn at all...

[win_in_06]

5. Unless PTSD stands for "Pre-Combat Stress Disorder", I fail to see the relevance.

[TornadoTN]

6. Again - this article is mainly about how we aren't taking care of our veterans

Plus, I point out that the guy was on the other side of the combat/treatment equation and posit the question of whether this could have played into his mindset at all.