Editorial: The Nation Is Failing Its Mentally Wounded

[Guest allan]

fwd from: Colonel Dan

<http://www.startribune.com/561/story/970231.html>

http://www.startribune.com/561/story/970231.html reprinted below

In military and VA hospitals, there should be no waiting list for

psychiatric beds. The very idea is obscene.

also see: <http://www.startribune.com/562/v-print/story/970222.html>

http://www.startribune.com/562/v-print/story/970222.html

-----Original Message-----

To: Colonel Dan Cedusky

Subject: Editorial: The nation is failing its mentally wounded

Dear Colonel Dan:

This attached editorial is a follow-up to the report of the

totally-unnecessary, and very tragic suicide of ex-Marine Jonathan Schulze,

which was reported in the 1/27/07 issue of the Minneapolis StarTribune. I

would urge you to read and post this editorial.

I have sent messages to my U.S. Senators and to my Congressman, vigorously

protesting this appalling treatment of a returned Iraqi veteran by our

federal government. I have told them that the incompetence and the lack of

accountability is incredible. I have also posted this story on the message

boards of my local VFW and American Legion posts. Yesterday, I traveled to

my home town, to ask the home post to inform its members about this story;

almost unbelievably, the Post Commander was unaware of the story.

I would like to challenge veterans all over the U.S. to join this campaign.

To my fellow veterans, I ask - are you going to join this urgent effort - or

are you going to let your newly-returned "brothers and sisters" down? The

choice is yours to make!

Sincerely,

Stephen L. Langlie

Chisago City, MN

<http://www.startribune.com/561/story/970231.html>

http://www.startribune.com/561/story/970231.html

<http://www.startribune.com/> StarTribune.com

ED013107

Last update: January 30, 2007 - 6:32 PM

Editorial: The nation is failing its mentally wounded

It sends them into emotional danger, then disdains their injuries.

There is something truly grotesque about urging that the United States take

better care of the mentally wounded men and women who come home from Iraq.

Mental wounds are a given of any war, which is why Americans should be

absolutely sure war is necessary before they ever agree to put the lives of

U.S. troops on the line. The extreme anguish that can come from killing

others, risking death and seeing friends die is a wound that relentlessly

keeps on wounding.

When you compound the ordinary mental risks of any war with the confusion of

purpose, repeat deployments and guerrilla nature of the war in Iraq, you

have a situation guaranteed to twist the emotions of many soldiers in ways

so painful and hopeless that some choose death instead, the choice made by

Marine veteran Jonathan Schulze of New Prague, who recently hanged himself.

This is anticipated mental illness, and the honest solution is to quit

sending Americans into the maw of Iraq. As a nation, however, we are

incapable of doing that yet, so we are left with a solemn responsibility for

fixing, as best anyone can, the emotional wounds that veterans present. And

we're failing. Jonathan Schulze is proof of that.

Knowing with certainty what happened with Schulze is impossible, given the

privacy restrictions on the Department of Veterans Affairs and a

bureaucracy's instinctive desire to cover its backside. Perhaps he did not

clearly mention the magical words "feeling suicidal." But no one disputes

this much: Schulze took his life after he was turned away from two VA

hospitals -- in Minneapolis and St. Cloud -- because their psychiatric units

were full.

Imagine what this means. A Marine, trained to suck it up and be manly in his

own eyes and those of his peers, finally is in such overwhelming pain that

he can admit to himself and, most difficult, to others, that he needs

psychiatric help. Having made that extraordinarily difficult decision, he is

told to come back in a few months when the hospital has an opening. That is

akin to telling a heart attack victim to check back when the emergency room

doctor's not busy or a drowning person to wait until a life preserver is

available. In military and VA hospitals, there should be no waiting list for

psychiatric beds. The very idea is obscene.

To make those lists disappear, we need to learn a couple of things. The

first is that mental injuries are real and hurt like hell; they deserve, as

the late Sen. Paul Wellstone knew well, the same attention and care as

life-endangering physical wounds. The second is that the requirements of

military life -- physical and mental strength, discipline and courage -- can

be reconciled with emotional vulnerability and good mental health care,

including recuperation from the wounds many will inevitably suffer while

waging war.

On the second issue, Daniel Zwerdling of National Public Radio reported two

months ago with devastating illumination on just how far the U.S. Army has

to go. Zwerdling's report focused on Fort Carson, Colo., but anecdotal

responses to his story suggest the problems are widespread. Zwerdling told

of soldiers with strong military records who sought mental health assistance

and were, like Schulze, told to come back later, were ridiculed and hazed by

superiors and peers, and in some cases were drummed out of the service for

behaviors that were obvious symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Zwerdling's reporting and Schulze's tragic story make you wonder: What kind

of nation would put men and women in the Iraq hellhole and then treat them

with such disdain when they come home wounded? The answers that come to mind

aren't very nice.

C2007 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

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