Canadian Afghan vet put into recovery by father speaks of battle with PTSD

Afghan vet put into recovery by father speaks of battle with PTSD, alcohol
By Chris Cobb
Ottawa Citizen
September 4, 2012

‘In Afghanistan I was never so scared but never felt so alive. When I got home, I was still scared but didn’t know why.’

OTTAWA — Like many of his army pals, Master Cpl. Jonathan Woolvett has been through hell. Two tours of Afghanistan as a front line infantryman left him an emotionally debilitated, suicidal alcoholic. His story attracted widespread national attention and an outpouring of support in May when the Citizen reported that Jonathan’s father Greg had ‘kidnapped’ his son from CFB Petawawa in a desperate effort to get him into treatment. A week earlier Jonathan had made his second suicide attempt. Greg, who accused Petawawa medical hierarchy of ignoring or dismissing the plight of many mentally damaged soldiers, drove his 30-year-old son to a rehab facility in Windsor where he stayed for 90 days.

After initially threatening to court martial Jonathan for going AWOL and then refusing to refill his medication prescription unless he returned to base, his superiors at Petawawa changed their attitude — at least publicly. The military paid for his stay at the treatment facility and agreed to his request for a transfer to CFB Borden near his hometown of Barrie.

Now in the first weeks of recovery, Jonathan is receiving regular psychiatric and medical care, easing his way back into the military workforce and hoping to revive a career that began 10 years ago and, on paper at least, has 10 more to go. Jonathan spoke to the Citizen about being caught in the surreal chaos of war and the demons he brought back from Afghanistan — demons that drove him to drink, wrecked his marriage and almost cost him his life.
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