Gen. George W. Casey Jr. seems to have a problem when it comes to PTSD

Gen. George W. Casey Jr. seems to have a problem when it comes to PTSD.


This is a quote from him. I read it yesterday but didn't post about it because I needed time to think about what this was actually saying.

"There's a common misconception," he said. "A lot of people think everyone that goes to combat gets post-traumatic stress syndrome." Not true, said Casey. All soldiers are stressed, but most succeed in difficult circumstances and it makes them stronger.

"Makes them stronger?" Does this mean he thinks if they end up wounded by PTSD they are suddenly weak? Does he have a clue what PTSD is or what causes it or what it actually does to the wounded? Does he think if someone has a bullet hole they are weak? If they loose a limb they are weak?

I don't know who he has been talking to or what he's been reading but it's clear Casey doesn't know many PTSD veterans.

They are not wounded after they come home and are safe. They are wounded in combat, when their lives are in danger and the lives of their friends. Yet what do they do after being wounded? Do they suddenly say they want to go home because they are not strong enough to finish the fight they are engaged in, the same fight causing the wound? No. They finish the fight because they are needed. Does he know what kind of strength that takes to do that?

They finish their tours after most of the time they stuff the pain, they push on past the nightmares and flashbacks because they are needed. It is not until they and their friends are out of danger before they allow themselves to acknowledge the pain inside of them. Does Casey understand this?

The redeployments have been happening as they are coming to understanding the gravity of the wound inside of them, yet they still go back. Does he know what kind of strength that takes?

Stronger? I have never met such fine men and women in my life than the veterans of combat carrying this wound inside of them. Their strength, commitment, integrity and courage is a testament to their character. They cared more about the people they served with than they did for themselves! If Casey understood them, he'd know that. They didn't walk away with just their own pain but the pain they felt from everyone around them. The fallen, they carried with them. The physically wounded, they carried with them. The weight of the world came crashing down on them but they held up and stood strong putting the mission and those they served with above all else. They were not weakened by this wound but showed over and over again exactly how strong they were because they did it all after being wounded.

PTSD does not mean a veteran is weak and it's time people in leadership positions understood this. PTSD comes from being a sensitive person able to feel deeply. That same place where compassion lives offers the courage to act on that compassion. It is what allows a simple human to rush out to save someone else. It is that same compassion that allows them to run into where everyone else is running away from. We see it in police officers running to save lives. We see it in firefighters rushing into burning buildings. Above all, we see it in the men and women willing to lay down their lives for the sake of this nation they serve. The men and women wounded by PTSD are not weaker simply because their hearts are stronger and feel more than others.

If Casey wants to see true strength and courage, let him see a PTSD veteran get up every morning after another night of nightmares so real it takes them time to understand they are in their own home. Let him see them overcome people with no understanding of "who" they are inside and still find the courage to look them in the eye and say, "I have PTSD" when all other generations of combat veterans also had it but were too afraid to speak of it. Let him see the strength of the veterans from Vietnam so courageous to overcome their own pain for the sake of others that they devote the rest of their lives helping them.

General Casey has a lot to learn but his ignorance of what PTSD is at this point when we knew what it was in 1978 is truly appalling. Men like him are under the truly idiotic thought that people can "prepare" or "strengthen" their brains to prevent PTSD. They can't understand that while it does change how the brain works, it has nothing to do with the brain itself. It comes from an outside force and it is a wound striking the soul. They will never, ever, be able to take care of the wounded until they understand it. After all these years you would think they would be a lot closer to accomplishing that but they have their priorities and this is not one of them for far too many.

Casey: Army wants to give more time at home
May 7, 2009 - 8:01 PM
BILL REED
THE GAZETTE
Soldiers' families can look forward to their warriors being home for longer periods between deployments, maybe, hopefully, in a few more years.

Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. visited Fort Carson on Thursday.

He met with soldiers' spouses to hear their concerns, and said his top priority is to give troops more time at home to bring balance back to the force. His goal is nine-month deployments sandwiched between two years at home.

But there's no hope to achieve that, he said, until the troop drawdown in Iraq begins in 12 to 18 months, and even then only if the situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan don't demand more troops than are already accounted for.

Casey didn't mince words. He said the Army is out of balance, deployments are too long and too often, and that seven years of war have taken a toll on soldiers and families.

On the plus side of the ledger, Army recruiting numbers have been strong, said several Army sources, helped along by a rotten economy. Coupled with fewer troops in Iraq, this should spell relief unless world events dictate otherwise. click link for more