When The Battle Comes Home Part Two

When The Battle Comes Home: A hotline counselor
Posted: May 13, 2010 - 3:46pm
Second of three parts

Sacrifices made by the military in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan already are out of sight for many Americans.

When the military return home, they often retreat even deeper into an invisible void.

Yet, the trauma experienced by repeated tours of combat can have a huge impact on the mental health of many soldiers, sailors and Marines, and not just those who have been in combat, either.

One witness to that trauma is Victor Montgomery, a counselor who has staffed a suicide hotline and heard the pain and anguish of both returned military, their friends and family.

He has heard the "frantic, crisis-induced phone calls."

"Extremely disturbing experiences that cause severe emotional shock confront many competent, healthy, stalwart honorable veterans," Montgomery writes in a book, Healing Suicidal Veterans. (See the interview with Montgomery on the opposite page).
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When The Battle Comes Home