UK Study shows their "citizen" soldiers suffer more too

For anyone in the United States still in denial of what we're facing, read this.

"Troops who do not get help for mental illnesses often face problems including homelessness, social exclusion, mental health problems, drug and alcohol abuse and fall into crime.


It typically takes 14 years for veterans to seek help once they have left the Armed Forces."

We are already seeing the percentages and none of them are good. A third of the Marines, 40% of the soldiers and 50% of the National Guards/Reservists have PTSD. We've seen the numbers go up on attempted suicides, suicides, homelessness, divorce and yes, crimes. The biggest thing we are not told about is that most of these combat veterans could be saved from suffering from all of this if they were helped when their PTSD was mild. Most of it could have been reversed before it claimed every other aspect of their lives. For the 14 years they are not seeking help, they are not healing. Life piles onto the pain they already carry and it all gets worse.

TA soldiers at greater risk of mental health problems and alcohol abuse on their return to the UK
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Transition: Territorial Army soldiers returning from Afghanistan are more likely to suffer mental health problems than full-time troops because of the struggle to readjust to civilian life

British Army reserves returning from Afghanistan are more likely to suffer mental health problems than full-time troops because they struggle more to readjust to civilian life.

Many Territorial Army soldiers found the transition from military life to be 'challenging' - putting them at greater risk of developing serious psychological problems linked to the battlefield.

Reservists were more likely to feel people at home did not understand what they had been through overseas, less likely to feel supported by the military and have more difficulty resuming normal social activities, according to the latest research.

Those left feeling unsupported after leaving their regiments were most vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression or alcohol abuse.

'The main message from this study is that those who wish to help reservists cope with the psychological impact of deployment need to not only focus on what happens during a tour of duty, but to consider what occurs after they return home.'

Military charities have repeatedly warned that the UK is facing a 'ticking timebomb' of ex-servicemen who are suffering potentially life-changing mental disorders following intense conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.


read more here

We have politicians right here in this country trying to cut back on the funding needed to help them heal but above that, they are trying to stand in the way of them being able to live, pay their bills and take care of their families. PTSD is one more part of war they need to be armed to fight. They get what the weapons they need in combat but not the weapons they need to heal from it.

The numbers we're seeing today are just the beginning of all of this and no one is ready to help them fight this battle.