Chickenhawks are the US Army's worst enemy.

[BaliBabyDoc]

The VA has been struggling for decades to deal with mental illness and substance abuse in Vietnam veterans. We've got better (and more expensive) drugs these days, but the system still needs good clinicians to do the job.

CNN

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A survey of troops returning from the Iraq war found 30 percent had developed mental health problems three to four months after coming home, the Army's surgeon general said Thursday.

The problems include anxiety, depression, nightmares, anger and an inability to concentrate, according to Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley and other military medical officials.

It's relatively easy to deal with most of these issues (medication, counseling, etc) . . . assuming the resources are available . . . HELLO . . . Republicans in Congress.:disgust:

A smaller group, usually with more severe cases of these symptoms, is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Now these guys are a different issue. It is extremely difficult to treat PTSD.

Only about 4 percent or 5 percent of troops coming home from combat actually have PTSD, but many others face problems adjusting, Kiley said.

If that's 4-5% of ALL troops . . . that's a lot of people.

In Iraq the military has about 200 mental health experts, grouped in what the Army calls "combat stress control teams." These teams are at many posts around the country and talk with troops after battles, try to prevent suicides and diagnose troops who should be evacuated from the country because of mental health problems.

"They are worth their weight in gold," Kiley said of the teams.

Well said . . . it's a shame some people really don't care.

Anybody that gives a poo should visit the VA website (avoid the propoganda pages) or any other concern dealing with veterans issues.

 

[Moonbeam]

The sad fact is that even the most mentally healthy people ,by ordinary standards, hate themselves. If they can fail to see their own motivation not to know this it becomes obvious why all matters of mental health are not taken with much seriousness. To probe deeply into the troubles of others is to crack the door to the self. We have all been through worse than a concentration camp and all suffer PTSD and Stockholm syndrome.

We survive via a breathing tube.

This truth will be avoided even as it causes us to go extinct.

 

[Tab]

In Iraq the military has about 200 mental health experts, grouped in what the Army calls "combat stress control teams."

200? Doesn't that seem like a very low amount? How many troops are in Iraq/Afganistan?

 

[RightIsWrong]

Originally posted by: Tab

In Iraq the military has about 200 mental health experts, grouped in what the Army calls "combat stress control teams."

200? Doesn't that seem like a very low amount? How many troops are in Iraq/Afganistan?

Well over 150k.

 

[Todd33]

2 to every 1,500? Nice.

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

I really hate Bush policy and dare I say . . . I'm pretty close to despising the people "cheerleading" for war. But let's be honest, people serving 6, 9, 12, or 15 months in the desert . . . away from their families . . . deserve everything we can offer.

I have a strong suspicion, that "some" are planning to declare victory and leave.

 

[RightIsWrong]

All the talk lately is that there will be reductions starting in the spring/summer of next year. Hmmm.....what year will that be? Oh yeah, 2006!

Whew...good thing that those troops will be home in time to vote for their favorite Republican Congressman or Senator so that they can keep getting all of the benefits rightly owed to them. Support the troops...vote Republican. :disgust:

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

Oh it gets better . . . in the AP version here's an interesting tidbit . . .

Military medical offcials, however, cautioned against people reading their data as suggesting the war had driven so many soldiers over the edge. Instead, they characterized the anxiety and stress as normal reactions to combat, seeing dead and mutilated bodies, and feeling helpless to stop a violent situation.

Uhh, isn't that war?

 

[cwjerome]

Originally posted by: RightIsWrong
All the talk lately is that there will be reductions starting in the spring/summer of next year. Hmmm.....what year will that be? Oh yeah, 2006!

Whew...good thing that those troops will be home in time to vote for their favorite Republican Congressman or Senator so that they can keep getting all of the benefits rightly owed to them. Support the troops...vote Republican. :disgust:

Isn't it funny how we have a volunteer military and a strong majority are conservative... wow.

Maybe most don't give 2 sh*ts about your sanctimonious faux-support.

 

[Moonbeam]

Only yesterday these men were children playing about their Mother's knees in love with the grass and the sky. Today they are our there to kill and to die. They have undergone training to help them kill as automatons without thought or feeling. Then they come home where roses grow. "Oh God, what have I done, what have I become? On whom can I vent my rage? But I must not be strong so I'll stuff these feelings down and walk about like a zombie."