More Soldiers Return From War With PTSD

More Soldiers Return From War With PTSD

Reporter: Matt Felder

Soldiers Return From War With PTSD

(April 3, 2008) -- With the Iraq war entering it's sixth year, the Army is seeing thousands of troops return home, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

According the Army about a third of soldiers returning home experience symptoms of the disorder.

One of the main problems with post-traumatic stress is that it's not as visible as more physical type injuries. It doesn't follow any trends on whom it may affect, but if left untreated can lead to various troubles affecting more than just the soldier.

Since the start of the Iraq war, the U.S. has come to grips with one major consequence, a high number of soldiers returning suffering from post traumatic stress.

"It's significant in just that that's a large number when you think of all the soldiers who are deployed,” said Army psychologist Lt. Col. Kathleen Lester. “So it certainly represents an area of concern."

The army says about a third of Iraq vets are diagnosed.

Unlike previous wars, there are no front lines in Iraq; the war zone is all around. More than 80 percent of people serving there have witnessed or been a part of a traumatic event. That has created a new generation of veterans, some of them wounded in ways seen and unseen.

“PTSD can be much more subtle so that in an average conversation with someone you might not be alert that they have PTSD," Lt. Col. Lester said.
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