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Monday, February 27, 2012

Canada's Afghan war vets struggle to find support

Away from the big bases, Afghan war vets struggle to find support


BY DOUG SCHMIDT, POSTMEDIA NEWS
FEBRUARY 27, 2012

WINDSOR, Ont. — It wasn't until his best friend, Stefan Jankowski, 25, killed himself that calls for help from a young Windsor, Ont., Afghan veteran began to get noticed.

"Right away, I had people knocking on my door, making sure I was still alive," said "Sam Smith," recalling the tragic day last summer.

"I was probably weeks away from what happened to Stefan," said the 23-year-old who, like Jankowski, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, upon his return from Kandahar.

Smith, who was a corporal, asked that his real name not be used, explaining he doesn't want to jeopardize the assistance he's getting from Veterans Affairs Canada.

Traumatic memories, including having a friend die in his arms, left Jankowski addicted to PTSD drugs and plagued by hallucinations and nightmares.

He was discharged after run-ins with the law and going AWOL from CFB Petawawa. Jankowski was on a waiting list for out-of-town help with his mental health issues when he died.

His family says the military had "washed their hands of him" after he returned.
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