Sgt. Angela Peacock is seen in 2004, after she returned to the United States from duty in Iraq.
U.S. seeing more female homeless veterans
Story Highlights
VA: Percentage of homeless female veterans growing faster than male veterans
Female Iraq war vet blames wartime trauma for her PTSD and near-homelessness
Unemployment among post-9/11 vets has nearly doubled, to 11.3 percent
VA secretary vows to end homelessness among vets in five years
By Thom Patterson
CNN
(CNN) -- When Iraq war veteran Angela Peacock is in the shower, she sometimes closes her eyes and can't help reliving the day in Baghdad in 2003 that pushed her closer to the edge.
While pulling security detail for an Army convoy stuck in gridlocked traffic, Peacock's vehicle came alongside a van full of Iraqi men who "began shouting that they were going to kill us," she said.
One man in the vehicle was particularly threatening. "I can remember his eyes looking at me," she said. "I put my finger on the trigger and aimed my weapon at the guy, and my driver is screaming at me to stop."
"I was really close to shooting at them, but I didn't."
Now back home in Missouri, Peacock, 30, is unemployed -- squatting without a lease in a tiny house in a North St. Louis County neighborhood.
She points to the Baghdad confrontation as a major contributor to her struggles with drug abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. She says she's one step away from living on the street.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/09/25/homeless.veterans/index.html
This is one of the videos I made on female veterans. I have a DVD with five videos on it for female veterans. As always, the videos are free online from my blog here and on my website at
http://www.namguardianangel.com/ but I do ask for a donation if you want a DVD sent to you. If you are having a hard time getting people to understand what PTSD is, or why women have it at higher rates than males do, these videos can help you explain it to them. Suggested donation for this DVD set is $30.00. You can email me at namguardianangel@aol.com or use the paypal button on the sidebar.
Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 10, 2009
Incredible. Now someone looking at a soldier in an intimidating way causes post traumatic stress disorder. Why did this woman join the Army? There was no fire fight, no danger, just someone threatening her. And she had the drop on the guy! And now she's apparently some kind of war casualty. What is this country coming to? If people who look at you in a mean way scare you, don't join the military!
ReplyDeleteKen, that seems like a really odd remark. Ever go and visit a homeless veteran's shelter? Ever talk to any homeless veterans? Their kids? From the remark you made, I bet you must also be the type of person thinking that if a woman gets raped, she must have asked for it.
ReplyDeleteThese men and women were getting blown up on a daily basis in Iraq and now in Afghanistan.
Madre, I am with Ken on this one. I'm not sure if you are a real Chaplain, but I understand your job is to feel for these people, but come on. This person should have never joined an armed service if a person gives her a threatening look. And yes you are right, men and women were getting blown up over there, not look at threateningly. Why was this ever on CNN in the first place? Because it was a woman? Someone looked at me in a threatening manner the other day, should I claim PTSD with the VA? What a joke.
ReplyDeleteFirst, yes I am a real chaplain, but not from the military. I work with veterans and others but especially veterans.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing to consider is where this defense of these women is coming from. I doubt you know my blog or anything about me, so indulge me.
I was beaten by two people. My father, who was a violent alcoholic and hit me once, but my brother almost every night, and by my ex-husband who tried to kill me. Yes, a lot more than just a "look" from someone.
I was in more life threatening situations than you could imagine and never once been in the military. I don't have PTSD but have all the reasons to have it. I am also married to a Vietnam veteran who does have it. He went from having mild PTSD to life on the line full blown PTSD and I had to fight to keep him alive. I've been working with veterans since 1982 because of him, so I know these veterans pretty well. They all have different levels of PTSD and different causes behind it. Maybe that's why I can be a bit more charitable.
She could very well be not telling the whole story behind it. She could be like a lot of the women in the military afraid to even use the latrine in the middle of the night out of fear of being raped, so they stop drinking fluids after lunchtime and dehydrate. She could have a violent past in her life and yes, a threatening look could set it off. There is a lot we don't know but if we only think about what is obvious, we will never understand what lies beneath. Vietnam veterans are a great indication of that. We ignored them for as long as we could but they never gave up on us doing the right thing.
It's ok you don't agree with me either. That is usually the case where I am the "odd man out"