Canadian inquest shows military ethos prevents seeking help for PTSD

It is the same thing in the US.

‘Military ethos’ prevents veterans from getting help, ex-soldier testifies at Prince George inquest
PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN
BY MARK NIELSEN
JANUARY 29, 2014

A “military ethos” is preventing Canadian veterans from seeking the help they need for such problems as post-traumatic stress disorder, a coroners inquest into the death of Greg Matters heard Wednesday.

Tim Laidler, who served in Afghanistan in 2008 before leaving the military, said “very thorough” support is available through such organizations as the Veterans Transition Network, a non-profit group that provides counselling services.

“The problem is it’s not within the military ethos and the veterans’ culture to actually access that service, to stand up and ask for help,” Laidler said in giving testimony at the Prince George courthouse via telephone from Vancouver, where he attends the University of B.C.

Matters was a 15-year veteran of the Canadian military who did a tour in Bosnia before receiving an honourable discharge in 2009. It was not until late 2010, however, that he began receiving counselling for PTSD, the inquest has heard.

An RCMP emergency response team shot and killed Matters on his family’s Prince George property on the evening of Sept. 10, 2012, some 40 hours after he ran his brother off the road. Matters’ possible state-of-mind at the time of his death has been a major topic during the inquest.
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