Combat PTSD, the hard fall of the survivor

UPDATE,,,this is exactly why the numbers are what they are. They are about to make this worse by acting as if this training has not done more harm than good!

Air Force leaders continue to express concern over 2012 suicide numbers by Gene Rector Air Force officials continue to express concern over increasing incidents of suicide in 2012. In January, Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz ordered a stand-down day to "focus on resiliency" after 15 suicides were reported that month among active duty, National Guard, Air Force Reserve and civilian workers. However, the significant increase continues according to Chief Master Sgt. James Roy, the Air Force's top noncommissioned officer. read more here

Combat PTSD, the hard fall of the survivor
by Chaplain Kathie

The military has been unknowingly setting up survivors of traumatic events like this for a hard fall. When you read that a "suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed 3 soldiers" we don't really think about what it does to the others witnessing it.

GUL BUDDIN ELHAM / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Wounded U.S. soldiers lie on the ground April 4 at the scene of a suicide attack in Maimanah, Faryab province, which is north of Kabul. A suicide bomber blew himself up, killing at least 10 people and three soldiers.

3 soldiers among 10 killed in Afghan bombing
By Amir Shah and Patrick Quinn
The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday Apr 4, 2012

KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed at least 10 people, including three American soldiers, at a park in a relatively peaceful area of northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, part of an increase in violence at the start of the spring fighting season.

The Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the attack, are targeting Afghan and NATO security forces as they fight to assert their power and undermine U.S. efforts to try to build up the Afghan military, who will take the lead in combat responsibility over the next couple of years.

Shortly before noon, the bomber detonated his explosives at the gate of the park in Maimanah, the capital of Faryab province, police spokesman Lal Mohammad Ahmad Zai said. His target was unclear, but Zai said four of the 10 killed were Afghan police officers.

At least 20 people were wounded, officials said.

In Kabul, NATO said three of its service members were killed in a bombing Wednesday in northern Afghanistan. It provided no other details about the attack or the nationalities of the three. read more here

Now that you have seen the picture and read the story, you need to be aware of the rest of the story you won’t read about.

For the last ten years the military has been telling the men and women sent into combat that they can “train their brains” to become resilient to traumatic events like this, thereby telling them that if they end up with PTSD, it is their fault because they didn’t train right and were weak. Once they hear they can be “mentally tough” that message lives on and destroys those who were not able to just get over it.

Every single one of them has been given the same education in nonsense so that when PTSD hits, they look at the others they were with, seemingly able to move past it and they are ashamed to admit they cannot.

The generally accepted rate of PTSD is 1 out of 3, but some use 1out of 5, exposed to the same traumatic event. After the shock wears off, that means 2 will work it out on their own terms but one will not. That leaves the “1 “wondering what is wrong with them. They internalize that blame after being told it is their fault for not “training their brains” to handle it.

They cover it up instead of addressing it with drugs and alcohol to numb what they don’t want to feel. How can they open up when they think they are weak? How can they feel comfortable to talk to their buddies when all of them lived through the same event but the others are “fine” afterwards?

They can’t. No matter how much they trust the other members of their unit with their lives, they cannot trust them with this deep dark secret that will make others wonder about their courage and mental toughness.

While “1” sees the others as getting over it, they are not aware of the fact that for some, a day will come when the event becomes alive again and they finally understand that they did not get over either.

A suicide bomber got onto a motorcycle and traveled down the same street they drove on then blew himself up. Back home, one day comes when they are driving on the road, hear the roar of a motorcycle engine and it will hit.

They will be taken back to April 4, 2012 when they heard the roar of the motorcycle, saw the bomb blow up and the carnage of 3 soldiers laying dead on the ground with 20 others wounded. They will smell the same thing again. They will feel the heat of the fire on their face. They will hear the screams. That day will happen all over again but they thought they just got over it aside from dreams from time to time.

Another “1” will go on without bad dreams because the memory is living in the back of their mind but a year from now, they will suddenly feel very sad. The anniversary date is not something they are aware of but subconsciously the alarm is sounded warning them of things to come. It is all coming back in full force taking them by surprise.

They won’t talk about it when talking is the first step to healing. No one will tell them that what is happening to them is a human, normal reaction to something totally abnormal to their daily lives back home. No one will tell them that it does not make them weak to feel what they are feeling but they simply feel it at a different level than others. No one will remind them what else happened that day, the things they were not in control over any more than they will remind them of what they managed to do afterwards no matter how much pain they are already in.

No one will help them recover, heal, forgive or forgive themselves. No one will help them restore their families because they were made to believe it was their entire fault. That is what “resiliency” training does. It is one of the biggest reasons they will not seek help.

If the military really wants to stop military suicides, they need to understand that this type of training has been setting up the survivors for a hard fall they are not prepared to fight.