War victims go deeper than scars

War victims go deeper than scars
Sarnia Observer - Ontario, Canada

War victims go deeper than scars

There are a lot of people who think you have to lose an arm or a leg to be a victim of war.

But as a Sarnia mom pointed out to politicians in Ottawa this week, there are a lot more than just visible scars associated with armed conflict.

The truth is that thousands of Canadian soldiers are coming home from the world's hot spots with mental problems that have been largely ignored by our government.

Ann LeClair hopes to get help for these brave young men and women. She arrived in the nation's capital Tuesday to testify before MPs on the Commons defence committee studying the scope of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on Canada's soldiers.

LeClair knows of what she speaks. Her 24-year-old son, Cpl. Travis Schouten, returned from Afghanistan in the fall of 2006 sleepless, agitated and suicidal. He started drinking heavily, became easily frustrated and angry.

The gunner based at CFB Petawawa suffered nightmares, depression and wanted to be left alone.

At one point, he attempted to kill himself.

His mother has been battling the military for help ever since.

Simply put, her argument is that not enough aid is available to help soldiers adjust to normal life after a tour of duty in the hell that is a combat zone.

If Cpl. Schouten's case was isolated, it might be easy for the federal government to ignore. But it's not. Figures from Veterans Affairs show the PTSD caseload is now 10,881 veterans or Canadian Forces members with psychiatric conditions Numbers include veterans from previous conflicts, but have been climbing quickly since Canada got involved in Afghanistan six years ago.

That's a lot of people. Far too many, we think, to ignore.