ptsd Yahoo Article On Distressed Soldiers

[68mustang]

The following article on the military keeping distressed soldiers in combat sites came out on Yahoo. If it is too political just delete. Having known many PTSD sufferers it is sad that this is being done.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_fea_afghan_combat_stress

[Commander Bob]

The following article on the military keeping distressed soldiers in combat sites came out on Yahoo. If it is too political just delete. Having known many PTSD sufferers it is sad that this is being done.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_fea_afghan_combat_stress

Thanks for the post, '68mustang'. That was quite a read.

Note the interesting comments at the bottom of the article...

[john999]

I think the military is desparte for bodies. They don't have a draft to draw in more replacements. After almost ten years of a dirty couple of wars who wants to join up for the combat arms? I remember going through basic in 1969 and not one recruit was a volunter for the infantry or any combat arms. The draftees were the ones with the 11B MOS. How do they get normal 19 year olds to join the combat arms these days? If they join up they must know the next 3 years will be spent in Iraq or Afghanistan.

[Cruinthe]

This is the true legacy of the war, and the true nature of the VA. I suspect part of the reason the VA fights so hard, and so dirty, against those that speak out against VA crime corruption and evil is because VA employees know that within time, they will be as loathed and hated as the average IRS employee.

It is a valid fear, as when most non-veterans hear about what the VA does on a daily basis, they are stunned. News articles like this are needed to turn the tide in our favor. With this sort of truth we can gain public attention, and with that we have some hope of change. The VA is the only group that is desperate to keep the lights out.

[JustPLS]

This is the true legacy of the war, and the true nature of the VA. I suspect part of the reason the VA fights so hard, and so dirty, against those that speak out against VA crime corruption and evil is because VA employees know that within time, they will be as loathed and hated as the average IRS employee.

It is a valid fear, as when most non-veterans hear about what the VA does on a daily basis, they are stunned. News articles like this are needed to turn the tide in our favor. With this sort of truth we can gain public attention, and with that we have some hope of change. The VA is the only group that is desperate to keep the lights out.

I thought this article was about the military keeping these soldiers in the combat zone. I didn't think it had anything to do with the VA. Did I miss something?

[john999]

I read that 25% of those in the combat zone are on some kind of medication like prozac or pain killers. I think one thing is that the military has given waivers to soldiers who should not even be in the military because they need bodies. This did not work during Vietnam and won't work now.

[Testvet]

John the sad part is that some of these people that needed the waivers to get in will face being tossed out 5-10 years down the road even if they don't get in any trouble while in the military once the need for them is over the Army which has granted the most waivers and has the majority of the people with "waivers" on it's rolls will find some way to weed them out when the wars are over and they don't "have" to have the bodies

use and abuse it has been going on for years and years and years I know there was a big fear about training the "gang bangers" in military tactics and having them take them home and put their new talents to use for their gangs and what ever crimes they will commit

I was reading an article a week or so ago about a Brigade commander in Texas that said he would have preferred to keep his troops in Iraq because it was safer for them there, than it would be to take them back to Texas, that now they would have DUI's, accidents and other ways the troops can find to harm themselves while in the states. They used the term "risky behavior" in off duty experiences. That is getting bad when a Commander would prefer to keep their troops in a combat zone than to take them home.

most of the people they are taking on waivers are pretty much in the "combat arms" field I am pretty sure to make sure they get the bodies they need.

Whats the difference between them and McNamara's 100,000? They need bodies so they relax the rules. They did it during Vietnam and they are doing it again, the major difference is back then they didn't have to enlist McNamara's rule allowed people that couldn't get in because of their "criminal records" or lack of education and were not normally considered to be military material during normal times I think it was hard to get people to enlist in combat arms let alone during a war period they have always been giving those MOS's larger enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses just to entice them into those MOS's

I don't think people on some of these meds belong in an area where they have access to weapons, grenades or any other type of explosives KP would be a better place for them just my opinion or in the states getting treatment not on a fire base