OEF OIF Veterans, the first internet generation of war fighters

OEF OIF Veterans, the first internet generation of war fighters
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
February 27, 2013

None of this is new. When Gulf War veterans returned, the internet was in infancy leaving this generation the first to be reported on the most.

Jake Wood had a Q and A about Combat and PTSD.
This question gets asked a lot.

Do you think that PTSD is more prevalent among soldiers of Iraq and Afghanistan compared to previous wars, or do you think it is just more recognized now? If the former, why?

This was the answer most people know.

Interesting question. From what I have read and been educated in by mental health professionals, the rates of PTSD now are not more prevalent than before. Soldiers, no matter how good they are as soldiers, are still human beings. The ancient Greeks and Romans were documenting mental reactions to trauma over 2000 years ago.

The real answer is a simple one. Reports of veterans with PTSD have never been this high but that does not mean veterans of other wars suffered less. This is the first Internet generation of veterans. Simple as that.

The traumas of war have been recorded all the way back to biblical times and even then the exploration of the soul/moral suffering of the war fighters delved into the unseen aftermath of combat. King David wrote about his own suffering in Psalms. Most historical accounts of some of the greatest military leaders touched on this inner turmoil throughout history. The only difference is the ability to communicate has been expanded so that what happens in one part of the world is recorded for all the world to learn from.

Military suicides are not new. Chuck Dean wrote about 150,000 Vietnam Veterans committing suicide. Substance abuse used to numb much the way legal medications numb but do not heal and most lead to other problems like veterans in jail instead of in treatment. Domestic violence that could have been prevented if basic knowledge of what a flashback is and what happens during a nightmare. The list is huge but the truth is, they don't suffer more, we just read about it more now than ever before and interviews like the one Jake Wood did, just didn't happen.