More Soldiers Returning From Iraq With PTSD

More Soldiers Returning From Iraq With PTSD
Up To 20 Percent Of Iraq Veterans Have PTSD
By Angela Bettis, Staff Writer
UPDATED: 11:48 am CDT March 26, 2008

MADISON, Wis. -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that as many as 20 percent of veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom are also returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder.
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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jeff Ethington returned home to Madison two days before Christmas after serving two back-to-back tours in Iraq. He's humble, but proud of what his unit accomplished.
"During the time that I was there we opened maybe four hospitals, six schools, and built all these parks all with the help of the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division," said Ethington.
Ethington's unit also trained Iraqi National Police and renovated one of the most dangerous boulevards in Baghdad, WISC-TV reported.
"It used to be known as Purple Heart Boulevard," said Ethington. "You'd get out of your truck and get shot at, you'd get out of your truck and someone would throw a grenade at you."
Ethington said he didn't dwell on the fact that he was in constant mortal danger.
"It was always in the back of my mind," he said.
In the back of his mind for the 29 months he served in Iraq.
After returning home in late December, Ethington re-enrolled in classes at the University of Wisconsin, eager to get back to his degree, back to his friends, back to his life.
"Between my first and second deployment, my brother said I didn't seem the same," said Ethington. "It seemed like I wasn't transitioning well. I thought about getting help then and then I got deployed again."
This time, when he re-entered campus, Ethington himself noticed the change.
"One specific day when school was starting, the crowds are bigger, you're always in the crowds, and you're in class. I just started to feel shaky and panicky, like really, really uncomfortable," he said.
Ethington was experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"PTSD looks the same whether you're someone who was tortured in Africa, or if you're a woman who's been raped, or you're a combat veteran," said Veterans Hospital psychologist Dr. Tracey Smith. "It's the body and mind's way to make sense of these terrible events."
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