Toll of Iraq too much to bear

VIEWPOINTS
Posted Monday October 8, 2007
VIEWPOINT
Toll of Iraq too much to bear
By Tom Lickona



In a front-page story this summer, The Washington Post put a human face on the suffering caused by the Iraq war: "On the military plane that crossed the ocean at night, the wounded lay in stretchers stacked three high. Pfc. Joshua Calloway was at the top of one stack, handcuffed to his stretcher."

Private Calloway had been in the ninth month of a year's tour with the 101st Airborne Division. Fifty soldiers in his brigade had died; two had committed suicide. Then one afternoon, he watched his sergeant, who had been like a big brother to him, step on a bomb in the road and be blown to bits. When Calloway was ordered to help collect the body parts, he cracked. A week later, he was sent home, one of up to 40 soldiers evacuated from Iraq every month because of mental problems.

American soldiers returning from Iraq with combat-stress disorder outnumber amputees 43 to one. Many of these soldiers will be dealing with their post-traumatic stress disorders for years.

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Screaming as loudly as you can, "support the troops" will not bring any peace to their minds. It will not if you stand in the way of them getting the help they need to recover from being a soldier. Think about it. Think about what they see. Think about what they do. Then think about the aftermath of all of it.

This is not a matter of supporting Bush and his decisions, or being against them. This is a matter of life and death for those who serve under him. Set aside for a second if you agree with him. Then allow your brain to open enough to penetrate your heart. This is not about bravery, courage, patriotism. These exist in every single one of them. While almost half are coming home with psychological wounds, it is a wonder more are not. The redeployments have increased the risk of developing PTSD by 50% for each tour. This is why the rate of one out of three no longer applies.

Take an emergency responder. Often they have to go to the scene of a horrific car accident. Sometimes there are body parts. This may happen once in a lifetime for them, but think of them having to go through it everyday for up to fifteen months.

Take a fireman. Often they are not able to rescue all the people from buildings burning. Sometimes they have to see bodies burnt beyond recognition. Sometimes there are children they know were burnt alive. Now think of having to go through that on a daily basis.

Take a police officer. Sometimes they are involved in gun battles and sometimes innocent people get in the cross fire. Now think of having to deal with that on a daily basis. Sure, we think about the training they get to be able to pull the trigger but do we think of what training they get to be able to deal with the blood coming out of the bodies as the bullets go in?

All of these "jobs" have problems with PTSD.

Our soldiers, just humans, are not able to go home and be comforted by their families at the end of the day. They are not able to go home, kick off their shoes and watch some comedy. They do not even have the luxury of getting a shower and hopping into a clean bed. They sleep on the floor sometimes. They sleep in tents. They sleep when they can and where they can, but it is never a deep, peaceful rest. They are always alert, even in their dreams, waiting for the next attack, the next battle when their lives will be on the line again and they have to face the decision to pull the trigger again or not.

If they are lucky enough to survive attacks without being physically wounded, they are given the task of taking care of those who perished. These are not intact bodies. Often they are blown into pieces. They are covered with blood. They are broken. They are burnt. They were friends. There is an emotional connection beyond a human connection. There is a bond that ties them together. They are family.

Our soldiers do their duty and put in everything they have regardless of if they believe in the mission or not, they believe in each other. They know each decision they make, is not just a decision for their own lives, but for the lives of all around them. This is stress on steroids. In these dark days, there are no thoughts of Washington, the president or congress, responsible for them being there. There are only thoughts of those around them and if there is time, of their families back home because the family they are with, faces death daily.

This is what we put them through.

When their minds get wounded so deeply they cannot recover on their own, where are we? Why are we always looking the other way? If you agree with Bush, then you have a duty to the troops he sent into combat without the plans to take care of their wounds. If you don't agree with Bush you also have the same responsibility. This is not about sides. This is not about politics. This is about justifying the claims we honor those who serve.

When the Army released the information that these redeployments increased the risk of developing PTSD, where were we? Why weren't we screaming at the top of our lungs to stop this practice?

When the Army again released another study about rest time, where were we as men like Jim Webb were fighting to make the changes necessary to take care of the men and women who were willing to serve?

Where are we when they need us? What are we really doing for them? Do we think we are doing all we can because we fight to keep them there or fight to have them come home? What are we asking them to come home to? Are we a nation ready to take care of their wounds? How many of us even attempt to try to understand what we have put them through?

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington