Wave of violence may be due to combat PTSD

If you are sitting there judging the veterans in this report then you should start by wondering what makes them so different from you that they would willingly risk their lives for the sake of this country. Did they serve in a foreign land like Iraq and Afghanistan? Yes, but they didn't decide to serve either nation. They served this one. Just like when they went to Vietnam, it was not about serving Vietnam, but this nation they went for.

They are less than 10% of the population of this nation. Even less are combat veterans but somehow we managed to ignore most of what combat does to a person. We ignored too much for far too long. Today there is only 1% of the population serving in the military. We can't take care of them either.

So if you want to judge consider these men and women went from being willing to die for strangers to committing crimes against family and strangers alike. There is a reason for it.

Some do commit crimes. They need to be brought to justice but that must include taking a look at what they were like before combat and taking into consideration if there are other issues behind the crime like PTSD or TBI. The victims deserve justice but they also deserve answers. An honest trial and outcome demands all things be considered.

When they are wounded and suffering it is our job to help them heal before they commit crimes, before they commit suicide and before their families are destroyed. If you still want to judge, then wonder what you have done to be part of any solution instead of ignoring them.

Wave of violence may be due to combat PTSD

Kern County has seen a recent wave of young war veterans accused of serious crimes. Many of our returning troops are silently suffering from flashbacks of things they saw or did during the war.

Iraq war veteran Torrance Kendricks is accused of trying to kill his mother by choking her, slamming her head on the cement and running her over with a car. A police report states that he is 'possibly suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.'

Iraq war veteran Marcus Trevino is accused of driving drunk, after having two previous DUI arrests, causing a fiery crash on Mt. Vernon Avenue that killed a woman in another car. Trevino’s mother previously said her son suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

War veteran Timothy Atkins is accused of shooting Air Force Staff Sergeant Brian Carragher to death Saturday in California City. Atkins returned from Iraq just weeks ago, police said.

"A normal person, they can take quite a bit on their shoulders before they snap. We don't have that luxury. That's gone for us," Iraq combat veteran and PTSD sufferer J.R. Browning said. He saw combat during the start of the Iraq war in 2003. He said for combat vets, violence was the norm, making it hard to adapt back to normal life.
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Wave of violence may be due to combat PTSD