Fierce love of combat PTSD in veterans

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 19, 2014

U.S. flight medic, Sgt. Billy Raines from CCO., 1-214 AVN Medevac task force Destiny, treats a wounded Afghan Army soldier NBC News

Page by Jonathon M. Seidl - The Fear I Have Never Lost: Meet the Brave U.S. Army Medics in Afghanistan. U.S. Army flight medic SGT Jaime Adame, top, cares for seriously wounded Marine. The Blaze

Flight medic Sgt. Cole Reece checks the vital signs of a wounded Afghan boy before transporting him to the hospital at Kandahar Air Field on Oct. 10, 2010. Huffington Post

Pfc. Kevin Macari, who lost his leg to a landmine explosion in the Arghandab District of Kandahar, Afghanistan, looks at a photo of his fiancée while being evacuated in a U.S. Army medevac helicopter, Sept. 28, 2010. Macari asked photojournalist Louie Palu to hold his hand during the helicopter ride. “It was a hard day,” said Palu. NBC

Iraq, Qubah, soldiers shielding wounded comrade from debris U.S. soldiers shield a wounded comrade Qubah, Iraq, March 24, 2007 -- U.S. soldiers shield a wounded comrade from debris kicked up by a rescue helicopter descending on Qubah. Fighting between U.S. forces and insurgents erupted in the village at dawn, when U.S. troops stormed the city and began house-to-house searches for guerilla fighters. Two U.S. troops were wounded in the clashes. Sixteen suspected insurgents were killed.

Part of this coordination is dependent on the location of the field hospital, these teams transport via vehicles or airlift or both. Equestrian Outreach Veterans Day

According to King James Bible online there are 53 times "fierce" appears in the Bible. The word is used to describe anger and wrath. Merriam Webster defines fierce as, ": very violent : eager to fight or kill : having or showing a lot of strong emotion : very strong or intense" and it is the last definition used we seem to have a hard time of understanding when it comes to our military of today and veterans after their combat has ended.

It is a fierce love that causes them to put their lives on the line for the sake of someone else. When we forget that, it is impossible to remind them of the one thing that will heal them.

Forget what the DOD said about resilience. They never really understood what the term meant in the first place. Resilience is something every single member of the military had from the start. It was in them when they joined while knowing signing up could cost them their lives. It was already in them the day they deployed. Part of them that allowed them to push past all the pain they were carrying inside of their bodies because their buddies were in danger. Driving them on until they returned and the same resilience that allowed them to bury that pain for days, weeks, months and often years. It was not something the DOD could train them to have because it was already there.

When the DOD told them they could train to be "resilient" and "mentally tough" to them it meant if they or anyone else ended up with PTSD, they were weak and it was their fault. Who the hell wants to admit they need help after getting that message? They were already tough and battle tested.

Many Medal of Honor heroes have talked openly about their own issues with PTSD and even attempted suicide. Dakota Meyer tried to kill himself because he didn't want to become a burden to this family. When extraordinary heroes earn the Medal of Honor, it was not hate that compelled them to put other lives ahead of their own. It was the love they had within them for others.

Pfc. Kyle Hockenberry, of 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Infantry Regiment, 1st Heavy Combat Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, who was injured in an improvised explosive device attack near Haji Ramuddin, is treated by flight medic Cpl. Amanda Mosher while being transported by medevac helicopter to the Role 3 hospital at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan on June 15, 2011. Laura Rauch/Stars and Stripes

It is that same unselfish fierce depth of their love that causes them to feel so much pain but no one explained that to them. No one told them that it was because they were so strong, they fell so hard.

They need to remember why they joined, why they fought and who they really fought for because in the end, they did if for each other.