West Virginia talks to congress about citizen soldiers and PTSD

WV doctor testifies to Congress about PTSD
By Scott Finn
Listen Now (3:37 )
July 24, 2008
The war in Iraq has raged for five years – the war in Afghanistan even longer. And more than ever before, the battles are being fought, not just by full-time, active duty military, but by the National Guard and Reserves.



On Thursday, a researcher from West Virginia University testified to Congress about the impact on these citizen-soldiers. They have high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, especially in rural areas. But almost half of the veterans who need help aren’t getting it.



Dr. Joseph Scotti told the Senate Veterans Affairs committee about a survey of hundreds of West Virginia guard members, sponsored by the state Legislature.



He discovered that members of the National Guard experienced the horrors of war just as much as full-time soldiers, sailors and marines.



"In West Virginia, the members of the National Guard and Reserve had experienced as much combat exposure as active duty personnel, Scott says. "So they were right up there on the front lines, experiencing as much in terms of witnessing death and experiencing danger."



Despite that, they receive less preparation and less support when they return.



"These are our citizen soldiers," he says. "With a short notice, they are put through an intensive training and sent to a war zone. And then, with almost equally short notice, brought home and given a couple of days to decompress, and sent right back to their families and jobs. We know from the past, like the Vietnam War, that doesn’t work very well."



In the survey, veterans answered questions about their mental state, and Scotti and other researchers scored them. More than one-third had post-traumatic stress disorder, and almost half scored high on either PTSD or depression.
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