Veteran Iraq sniper targets new enemy

I am glad this veteran came forward for several reasons. Above all, he sought treatment to heal. Other than that, he was a sniper. I know a couple of them and they got help too. These guys are about as trained and tough as they come so when others notice even they need help, it makes it easier for them to come to terms with their own needs.

PTSD in-patient treatment changes life of Denver veteran
FOX31 Denver
by Jeremy Hubbard
January 28, 2013

He was there as a truckload of soldiers from his unit were blown up by an improvised explosive device, and the trauma of that – and other horrors he witnessed in Iraq – have haunted him for years.

But now Army veteran Curtis Bean is getting intensive help for his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. And it’s been a life changing experience.

In Iraq, Bean was a sniper, one of those guys constantly staring through a scope with an eye out for the enemy. Little did he know, when he got home from war, he’d have a few different enemies to look out for.

“I was drinking heavily. There were times I was drinking so heavily I wouldn’t remember what I did,” Bean said.

He was trying to deal with his PTSD, a condition up to 80 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan face. He encountered some horrifying things during his two tours in Iraq, including an IED blast that killed four men from his unit.

“Not dealing with it is not the right answer,” Bean said.
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