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ptsd From War Zones To Jail: Veteran Reintegration Problems
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allan
Subject: [VeteranIssues] From War Zones to Jail: Veteran Reintegration ProblemsDate: Jun 4, 2011 10:29 AM
http://www.cjcj.org/files/From_war.pdf
Long article, study
The article’s Abstract states:
When individuals return home from war they are not the same individuals who left for
war. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been on-going since October 2001, and nearly two
million service members have been deployed to these wars – many have been deployed multiple
times. When military personnel return from war, and are discharged from military service, they
are issued the label of veteran. Initially, this term has little meaning or significance to
individuals recently released from military service. As they begin their process of reintegrating
back into the civilian culture the term veteran begins to develop meaning for many veterans.
That meaning is influenced by factors such as interpersonal relationships, education, and
employment/unemployment experiences. Depending upon the level of influence that the Military
Total Institution has had on the veteran, which includes the veteran’s combat experiences, many
veterans find themselves confronted with mental health issues, particularly posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), which is an artifact of her or his combat experiences. A significant number of
veterans with PTSD symptoms have turned to alcohol as a form of self-medication. Many
veterans with PTSD say that alcohol reduces nightmares and difficulties initiating and
maintaining sleep (DIMS). In many instances the experiences of war, PTSD, alcohol, combined
with lethargic civilian attitudes of the problems veterans confront provides the ingredients of a
recipe designed to accelerate the probability of increased veteran incarceration. This article
addresses the aforementioned issues by analyzing the data collected during a study of 162 Iraq
and Afghanistan veterans during a 15-month period, and spanning across 16 states. The data
strongly suggest that veterans with PTSD and alcohol use/dependency issues related to combat
increase the probability of veteran criminal justice entanglements.
A few para’s extracted
Nine to 60 months after demobilization many veterans began to go through changes.
They notice - often for the first time - growing apathy, alienation, depression, mistrust,
cynicism, and expectation of betrayal, as well as difficulty in concentrating, insomnia,
restlessness, nightmares, up rootedness, and impatience with almost any situation or
relationship
nearly all participants who went to the VA for mental health issues expressed dismay
and disgust at the services and treatment they received.
the Institute of Medicine noted:
In going around the country, the committee gathered qualitative data. It heard the
same problems repeated on the West Coast and the East Coast, in the North and
South, by health care providers, by active duty service men and women, and by
veterans: there are not enough mental health providers to meet the demand, case
managers and providers are overwhelmed, wait times are too long for
appointments and between appointments for those in need of mental health and
other services, confidentiality and stigma associated with seeking care for mental
illness is a significant concern of active duty service members, job training and
loss of jobs due to multiple deployments are issues, the ability to diagnose and
treat traumatic brain injuries is a problem, and medical care for National Guard
and reserve forces is an issue as they transition between active duty and civilian
life (Institute of Medicine, 2010: xiii
__._,_.___"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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