Camp Pendleton 80% PTSD at Wounded Warrior Battalion

"Eighty percent of our residents have some degree of PTSD," Lawhorne said, referring to the disorder that requires counseling and group therapy in mild cases and more intensive psychiatric treatment and medications in its more severe form. "At the same time, we're seeing a lot more TBI cases."

MILITARY: Treating the troops
Wounded Warrior Battalion focuses on injured Marines and sailors
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer Friday, June 20, 2008 5:13 PM PDT



CAMP PENDLETON ---- Nearly three years and 14 surgeries after the right side of his body was torn apart by shrapnel in a roadside bombing in Iraq, Marine Sgt. Sean Webster is working to save his military career.

After he was injured, he had visions of becoming a drill instructor; now, he'd be grateful for a job training fellow Marines in some less-intensive discipline.

"My goal is to stay in the Marine Corps on limited duty," the 23-year-old Virginia native said during a Wednesday interview at the base. "What I'd really like to do is stay as a staff member here."

The "here" for Webster is the Wounded Warrior Battalion West, a unit established in part because of criticisms regarding care for troops.

The battalion's mission is simple: Do all it can to help coordinate treatment for injured Marines and sailors.

Nearly 12 months after it was formally launched, the battalion's civilian and military members are working directly with or tracking more than 600 current and former troops, including 41 now living in the barracks.

The battalion and a comparable one at Camp Lejeune on the East Coast were established to provide a central point of contact for troops injured on and off the battlefield. Troops assigned to it are mostly those needing outpatient services, not the more severely wounded who are treated at comprehensive medical facilities.

"We have two main goals," said Cheryl Lawhorne, a civilian liaison officer who works to make sure troops and families are receiving the services they need. "Get them back to full ability or get them through the medical board and get them every benefit they're entitled to. We track everybody who comes through here for as long as it takes."
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http://www.nctimes.com/articles/
2008/06/20/military/z2bc7c6e36fc93b698825746c0071037d.txt
As bad as this sounds, it's actually a good thing. I know it doesn't seem that way. Because they are finally addressing PTSD and TBI, the signature wounds of Iraq and Afghanistan, they are saving lives and futures. PTSD stops getting worse when they get treated. Think of that. When Vietnam veterans came back with PTSD, no one was taking care of them and they suffered needlessly for years. These new veterans have a lot more hope now that the military has, for the most part, stopped ignoring it and blaming the troops.

If they still want to serve, then they need everything provided to help them stay in. For some, the military is part of their identity. They should be allowed to stay in and contribute to the military in whatever function they can with the wounds they carry. PTSD does not come in a "one size fits all" and there are different levels of the wound. Depending on how soon they get treatment, many can lead very productive lives even with PTSD. If they are treated with dignity, provided with the therapy they need based on them as an individual, they can stay part of the military family. For some talk therapy and medication work, others find group therapy more helpful, virtual reality works for others. Whatever works, do it.