Military Cross Afghanistan Veteran Says PTSD Veterans Left to Struggle

Suffolk Military Cross winner’s anger at MoD over treatment of PTSD war veterans
UK East Anglian
Colin Adwent
April 2016

Combat no longer involves the Iraq and Afghanistan veteran putting himself in mortal danger.

It now reflects the 41-year-old’s daily struggle with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The ex-Royal Irish Regiment Colour Sergeant, who lives in the Woodbridge area with his wife and five-year-old son, served his country for almost 20 years. He was awarded the Military Cross for risking his own life to protect comrades in Iraq.

But he feels he, and many others like him, are being treated shamefully by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Mr Coult is scathing in his condemnation over the help those with PTSD receive.

Mentally fragile, they return to civilian life haunted by flashbacks, frayed nerves and financial pressures.

For a few it is too much and they take their own lives. Others end up homeless or in prison. Relationships break down. Drugs or alcohol become a source of self-medicating comfort.

Mr Coult believes the MoD casts off many veterans too cheaply by giving them a few thousand pounds as an interim payment, with a proviso their cases will be reviewed in two years.
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