Memorials and Memorial Day
Friday, June 18, 2010
Six years of "mental health strategic plan" saved 250 lives a year?
One life saved is wonderful but when you think that 18 a day have taken their own lives, discovering that after six years of "mental health strategic plan" has only produced this, we should all be very, very concerned. The suicide prevention hotline has been up and running a couple of years now yet we still see the numbers of suicides in the military and among the veteran population go up along with more and more veterans calling the hotline. If the military and the VA had it finally right, why then would they ever reach the point where they were calling a "suicide" prevention line instead of a doctor or mental health provider? Anyone bother asking this question? Any reporters out there ever even begin to wonder? How could they just keep saying they have a plan, they have a system, they have a program, when the results are this lousy?
VA Strives to Prevent Veteran Suicides
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 23, 2010 – With more than 6,000 veterans committing suicide every year –- and 98 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan taking their own lives during fiscal 2009 alone -- the Department of Veterans Affairs is redoubling its outreach to veterans and promoting its toll-free suicide-prevention hotline.
National statistics show that veterans constitute about 20 percent of the 30,000 to 32,000 U.S. deaths each year from suicide. Of an average of 18 veterans who commit suicide each day, about five receive care through the VA health-care system. More than 60 percent of those five had diagnosed mental-health conditions.
Dr. Janet E. Kemp, VA’s national suicide prevention coordinator, is committed to improving those statistics. She’s heading up an aggressive outreach program to address problems that lead to suicide, and to ensure veterans as well as their loved ones know where to turn for help.
Speaking with reporters yesterday, Kemp cited mounting evidence that veterans in the 18- to 29-year-old age group who use VA health-care services are less likely to commit suicide than those who don’t.
Based on statistical comparisons between the two groups, she estimated that 250 fewer veterans enrolled in the VA system take their own lives each year. She credited VA’s screening and assessment processes designed to identify high-risk patients and provide intervention, as needed.
Yet, during fiscal 2009, 707 members of the general veteran population died at their own hands, and another 10,665 made unsuccessful suicide attempts. In addition to the 98 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who committed suicide – 94 men and four women – there were 1,868 who made non-fatal attempts on their lives. Of these, 1,621 were men and 247 were women, reflecting trends in the general U.S. population.
“Just one death is one too many,” said Dr. Antonette Zeiss, deputy chief for mental health services at VA’s central office. “The bottom line is, the efforts we put into enhancing overall mental health services have correlated with the reduction of suicide,” especially among males who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Alarmed by an increase in suicides among this population between 2003 and 2004, VA adopted a comprehensive mental health strategic plan in 2004 that has helped to bring the numbers down.
click link for more
Arlington National Cemetery "affect service personnel who are dying right now and in years to come."
"You can't harm Dad, and you can't harm Mom," he said, his voice cracking. "But the way this was handled is going to affect service personnel who are dying right now and in years to come. They deserve some honor and respect." said Mike McLaughlin after seeing a picture of his father's stone at Arlington in a creek. There is no way possible to describe how appalling it is to allow a place like Arlington National Cemetery to become what it has.
Arlington was a place to honor the men and women who gave their lives in service to this country, fighting her battles and doing what few others dare to do. It is not supposed to be political, or race based, or sex based. It is not supposed to be divided by religion. It was to be a place to honor and this has left many in this country wondering exactly how they thought allowing this to happen honored anyone. The fallen have been laid to rest, with dignified services in military tradition. They were honored with the playing of Taps and the firing of the rifles. But after the honor, they were nothing more than just some stones in the ground to some of the people in charge.
What this did to the living coupled with the scandal at Walter Reed a few years back, was to dishonor those serving today and the millions of veterans in this country. What promises have we kept to them? Will there ever be a time in this country when things like this are treated like criminal actions? Will there ever be a time when there is no one left even attempting to disregard the life laid down for this nation's sake? Will there ever be a time when we can look into the eyes of the wounded and tell them everything will be ok in their future and actually deliver on it?
Homeless veterans? Veterans and active military committing suicide instead of being helped to heal from combat? Redeploying troops over and over and over again no matter how much damage this does to them and their families? Deploying National Guards and Reservists over and over again no matter what this does to them especially when they have to depend on their income from jobs they cannot do while deployed? Is any of this delivering the message we value them, appreciate them or honor them?
When we as a nation should be doing everything humanly possible for them knowing their sacrifices don't end when they come home, to allow any of this to go on brings shame upon all of us.
also on this subject,,,,
The more I think about this, the more hopeless I feel. Considering this is the last act a nation can do to honor the men and women who surrendered their lives for this country, there are no words to describe such a disgrace. They were asked to give all yet this is the only thing they asked of us when they or their families decided they should be laid to rest at Arlington. How could we let this happen? Who was watching the careless-disrespectful people in charge when they managed to do this? Who will be held accountable? Anyone?
Young men and women are wounded everyday in Iraq and Afghanistan. Do we really want them to wonder what would have happened to their body if they died instead of surviving? Veterans watch in horror as this story exposes more and more of the disgrace and leaves them to wonder if their friends graves have been involved. Worse, they wonder what if it had been them.
We can find a lot of excuses for what we fail to do for their sake but for this, no excuse should ever be tolerated.
Arlington was a place to honor the men and women who gave their lives in service to this country, fighting her battles and doing what few others dare to do. It is not supposed to be political, or race based, or sex based. It is not supposed to be divided by religion. It was to be a place to honor and this has left many in this country wondering exactly how they thought allowing this to happen honored anyone. The fallen have been laid to rest, with dignified services in military tradition. They were honored with the playing of Taps and the firing of the rifles. But after the honor, they were nothing more than just some stones in the ground to some of the people in charge.
What this did to the living coupled with the scandal at Walter Reed a few years back, was to dishonor those serving today and the millions of veterans in this country. What promises have we kept to them? Will there ever be a time in this country when things like this are treated like criminal actions? Will there ever be a time when there is no one left even attempting to disregard the life laid down for this nation's sake? Will there ever be a time when we can look into the eyes of the wounded and tell them everything will be ok in their future and actually deliver on it?
Homeless veterans? Veterans and active military committing suicide instead of being helped to heal from combat? Redeploying troops over and over and over again no matter how much damage this does to them and their families? Deploying National Guards and Reservists over and over again no matter what this does to them especially when they have to depend on their income from jobs they cannot do while deployed? Is any of this delivering the message we value them, appreciate them or honor them?
When we as a nation should be doing everything humanly possible for them knowing their sacrifices don't end when they come home, to allow any of this to go on brings shame upon all of us.
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan -- to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations." President Lincoln
Photo of veteran's tombstone in Arlington Cemetery creek startles son
By Christian Davenport
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 18, 2010
It was around lunchtime Thursday when Mike McLaughlin settled into a chair in his family room and opened the newspaper. There, on the front page, was a photograph of a burial marker lying in a stream at Arlington National Cemetery and an article that led to a sudden realization.
"This is my father's tombstone," he called out to his wife.
Then he became, as he said, "unglued." How could his father -- who dropped out of college to serve in World War I, rejoined the Navy the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor at the age of 44 and then served again during the Korean War -- be so dishonored?
Upset, he called the cemetery, which had been trying to figure out whom the headstone belonged to after The Washington Post alerted officials there Wednesday morning that several mud-caked markers were lining a stream at one of the country's most venerated burial grounds.
A few hours later, a top Arlington official called McLaughlin back to apologize for his father's tombstone being discarded in such a way and assure him that it will be disposed of properly.
In an interview from his home in the Shenandoah Valley, McLaughlin, a 74-year-old Arlington County native, said he was "appalled.""You can't harm Dad, and you can't harm Mom," he said, his voice cracking. "But the way this was handled is going to affect service personnel who are dying right now and in years to come. They deserve some honor and respect."
read more here
Photo of veteran tombstone in Arlington Cemetery creek startles son
also on this subject,,,,
Chaos at Arlington Cemetery: Mismarked graves, dumping of urns
By Michael E. Ruane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 11, 2010
Army investigators at Arlington National Cemetery have found more than 100 unmarked graves, scores of grave sites with headstones that are not recorded on cemetery maps, and at least four burial urns that had been unearthed and dumped in an area where excess grave dirt is kept.
The investigators found that these and other blunders were the result of a "dysfunctional" and chaotic management system at the cemetery, which was poisoned by bitterness among top supervisors and hobbled by antiquated record-keeping.
As a result, John McHugh, secretary of the Army, on Thursday announced a series of sweeping reforms at the nation's most hallowed cemetery; a scathing reprimand for the outgoing superintendent, John C. Metzler Jr.; and the appointment of a new director to oversee cemetery operations and continue the investigation.
click link for more
The more I think about this, the more hopeless I feel. Considering this is the last act a nation can do to honor the men and women who surrendered their lives for this country, there are no words to describe such a disgrace. They were asked to give all yet this is the only thing they asked of us when they or their families decided they should be laid to rest at Arlington. How could we let this happen? Who was watching the careless-disrespectful people in charge when they managed to do this? Who will be held accountable? Anyone?
Young men and women are wounded everyday in Iraq and Afghanistan. Do we really want them to wonder what would have happened to their body if they died instead of surviving? Veterans watch in horror as this story exposes more and more of the disgrace and leaves them to wonder if their friends graves have been involved. Worse, they wonder what if it had been them.
We can find a lot of excuses for what we fail to do for their sake but for this, no excuse should ever be tolerated.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Local Group Seeing More Female Veterans In Need
When I made the trip to Washington DC for Memorial Day weekend ride to the Wall with the Nam Knights, I visited Walter Reed as soon as I got off the plane. Time was limited for this trip, as well as finances, so I used my points and flew into Washington to meet my husband there. I prearranged a tour of Walter Reed so that I could visit the men and women wounded doing what we ask of them.
Honestly, I needed this visit. It has become increasingly difficult to do this work. I've been getting burnt out more often and struggling to find reasons to keep going. I thought meeting them would give me some inspiration to carry on since that is what they do everyday no matter what they face. I was not disappointed.
Totally exhausted, I was greeted by the VIP Ambassador, Rosa Benella. She explained that many of the patients would be heading out of the facility for weekend passes but there were several of them willing to be visited by a stranger like me. One by one, my energy went into overdrive just by shaking their hands and spending a few moments talking to them. Young men and a woman my daughter's age, severely wounded but managed to have such an inspirational outlook for their futures, thinking about any hardship on me seemed pretty petty.
The young woman I met lost a leg due to an RPG. As I listened to what happened to her, with her Mom standing there near tears, she told me how blessed she was that it did not hit her higher. She was an MP. This young woman faces the rest of her life without a leg but does not face it without hope. She has no regrets for doing what she felt compelled to do. Serving her country was worth any price she had to pay.
If you ever feel sorry for yourself, you need to know these men and women and then, then you will understand what the human spirit is capable of. For us to allow any of them to end up homeless, end up without jobs, or become so hopeless they think about ending their lives, it not only becomes a disgrace upon this nation, it is a loss for all of us.
Honestly, I needed this visit. It has become increasingly difficult to do this work. I've been getting burnt out more often and struggling to find reasons to keep going. I thought meeting them would give me some inspiration to carry on since that is what they do everyday no matter what they face. I was not disappointed.
Totally exhausted, I was greeted by the VIP Ambassador, Rosa Benella. She explained that many of the patients would be heading out of the facility for weekend passes but there were several of them willing to be visited by a stranger like me. One by one, my energy went into overdrive just by shaking their hands and spending a few moments talking to them. Young men and a woman my daughter's age, severely wounded but managed to have such an inspirational outlook for their futures, thinking about any hardship on me seemed pretty petty.
The young woman I met lost a leg due to an RPG. As I listened to what happened to her, with her Mom standing there near tears, she told me how blessed she was that it did not hit her higher. She was an MP. This young woman faces the rest of her life without a leg but does not face it without hope. She has no regrets for doing what she felt compelled to do. Serving her country was worth any price she had to pay.
If you ever feel sorry for yourself, you need to know these men and women and then, then you will understand what the human spirit is capable of. For us to allow any of them to end up homeless, end up without jobs, or become so hopeless they think about ending their lives, it not only becomes a disgrace upon this nation, it is a loss for all of us.
Local Group Seeing More Female Veterans In Need
Veterans Village Of San Diego's Stand Down Event Begins July 16; Clothing Drive Starts Friday
POSTED: 5:04 pm PDT June 16, 2010
SAN DIEGO -- As a local group gears up for an annual event which helps homeless veterans, 10News learned the group is seeing a rise in female veterans in need of assistance.
Darcy Pavich, a counselor at Veterans Village of San Diego, is sorting clothes for an upcoming three-day event known as Stand Down -- an event that is in its 23rd year.
Pavich said, "They're [women] driving through combat zones. They're being attacked with IEDs just like the men."
read more here
http://www.10news.com/news/23927074/detail.html
VFW Brass wants to stop suicides of soldiers
VFW brass addressing vets' issues
BY RICK FULTON
Times Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 11:07 PM EDT
Among the many aspects of military and military family support provided by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is that of finding ways to reduce the suicide rate among soldiers.
National VFW Commander-in-Chief, Thomas Tradewell, attending this week's convention of the Pennsylvania Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Cumberland Township, told the Times that suicide among military personnel has been determined to be highest among redeployed soldiers ... those being sent back to Iraq or Afghanistan for a second or third tour of duty.
Pennsylvania Commander VFW Commander Frank Mills said, "For the longest time, we lost a lot of members (veterans) to suicide."
"At one time," he said Wednesday, "there were more (military) suicides in one month than the number of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the same month."
The VFW, he said, "began pressing the VA (federal Department of Veterans Affairs) to find out more about post-traumatic stress and crises prevention."
read more here
http://www.gettysburgtimes.com/articles/2010/06/16/news/2674434.txt
also
Army Releases May Suicide Data
Jun 15, 2010
By George Wright
OCPA Media Relations
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 15, 2010) — The Army released suicide data today for the month of May. Among active-duty soldiers, there were nine potential suicides, and all remain under investigation. For April, the Army reported 10 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, four have been confirmed as suicides, and six remain under investigation.
During May 2010, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 12 potential suicides: two have been confirmed and 10 remain under investigation. For April, among that same group, there were seven total suicides. Of those, two were confirmed as suicides and five are pending determination of the manner of death.
"The summer season traditionally represents the Army's peak transition timeframe as soldiers, families and Department of the Army civilians relocate between commands and installations," said Col. Chris Philbrick, Director, Army Suicide Prevention Task Force. "This turbulent period often compounds the amount of stress faced by our Army and members of the Army family. Everyone needs to know that despite an increase of anxiety or pressure, help is readily available, especially during these transition periods."
read more here
Army Releases May Suicide Data
BY RICK FULTON
Times Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 11:07 PM EDT
Among the many aspects of military and military family support provided by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is that of finding ways to reduce the suicide rate among soldiers.
National VFW Commander-in-Chief, Thomas Tradewell, attending this week's convention of the Pennsylvania Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Cumberland Township, told the Times that suicide among military personnel has been determined to be highest among redeployed soldiers ... those being sent back to Iraq or Afghanistan for a second or third tour of duty.
Pennsylvania Commander VFW Commander Frank Mills said, "For the longest time, we lost a lot of members (veterans) to suicide."
"At one time," he said Wednesday, "there were more (military) suicides in one month than the number of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the same month."
The VFW, he said, "began pressing the VA (federal Department of Veterans Affairs) to find out more about post-traumatic stress and crises prevention."
read more here
http://www.gettysburgtimes.com/articles/2010/06/16/news/2674434.txt
also
Army Releases May Suicide Data
Jun 15, 2010
By George Wright
OCPA Media Relations
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 15, 2010) — The Army released suicide data today for the month of May. Among active-duty soldiers, there were nine potential suicides, and all remain under investigation. For April, the Army reported 10 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, four have been confirmed as suicides, and six remain under investigation.
During May 2010, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 12 potential suicides: two have been confirmed and 10 remain under investigation. For April, among that same group, there were seven total suicides. Of those, two were confirmed as suicides and five are pending determination of the manner of death.
"The summer season traditionally represents the Army's peak transition timeframe as soldiers, families and Department of the Army civilians relocate between commands and installations," said Col. Chris Philbrick, Director, Army Suicide Prevention Task Force. "This turbulent period often compounds the amount of stress faced by our Army and members of the Army family. Everyone needs to know that despite an increase of anxiety or pressure, help is readily available, especially during these transition periods."
read more here
Army Releases May Suicide Data
Suicide Rivals The Battlefield In Toll On U.S. Military
Stephen Colley, was on suicide watch, he was tested, he said he was suicidal, but still somehow, something along the way was dropped and Stephen Colley is no longer alive. This happens all too often when they don't receive the help they need to heal. They can say they have this program and that program, but if these programs don't work, they do little good. They can say they understand PTSD but to discover how little they really understand, all we have to do is read reports like this and then it becomes clear. The numbers of suicides and attempted suicides go up for a reason.
Suicide Rivals The Battlefield In Toll On U.S. Military
by Jamie TarabayJae C. Hon/AP
Marines wait outside a building to take psychological tests in September 2009. The military assesses troops in search of clues that might help predict mental health issues.
June 17, 2010
Nearly as many American troops at home and abroad have committed suicide this year as have been killed in combat in Afghanistan. Alarmed at the growing rate of soldiers taking their own lives, the Army has begun investigating its mental health and suicide prevention programs.
But the tougher challenge is changing a culture that is very much about "manning up" when things get difficult.
This is the first in an occasional series of stories on the problem of suicides in the military.
Stephen Colley, 22, killed himself in May 2007, six months after returning from a tour in Iraq.
The Case Of Stephen Colley
Military veteran Edward Colley served in the Air Force and the Army. Three of his children also served in the military, and his son-in-law was awarded a Purple Heart after being wounded in Iraq.
Colley, 53, and his wife, who live in Los Angeles, also have three other kids, but the tradition of military service is on hold. "Mom prohibits the younger ones from joining the military now," he says. "You might understand the prohibition in our house."
The mother's ban was imposed after their son Stephen killed himself in May 2007, six months after returning from a tour in Iraq. Stephen, 22, had suffered depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and his young marriage was in trouble.
Stephen was participating in an Army-run mental health assessment program. His father's main complaint against the Army is what it missed in screening his son. "The day after he told the folks in that reassessment that he was planning on committing suicide, he did," Ed Colley says, pausing. "Yeah, wow."
It was Stephen's second mental health assessment. The first, right after he came back from Iraq, seemed pretty normal.
He was on a superhighway towards suicide and there were many off ramps, many opportunities for something different to have happened.
But during his time in Taji, in central Iraq, the helicopter mechanic spent 24 hours under suicide watch. That information never made it to his new commander in Fort Hood, Texas.
read more here
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127860466
Murdered Marine's Family About To File Lawsuit
Murdered Marine's Family About To File Lawsuit
Reporting
Alex DeMetrick
BALTIMORE (WJZ)
While an ex-Marine shot to death in a Baltimore alley is laid to rest, a lawyer is getting to work on behalf of his family. He's filing suit against the Baltimore police department.
CBS
While an ex-Marine shot to death in a Baltimore alley is laid to rest, a lawyer is getting to work on behalf of his family. He's filing suit against the Baltimore police department. Alex DeMetrick has details.
This lawsuit is going to focus on who allowed a Baltimore police officer, now charged with first degree murder, to carry a gun off-duty.
Services for 32-year-old Tyrone Brown centered on his life.
"I just thank God for his life. I know it was cut short, but we'll get through this," said a friend.
A Marine veteran with two tours in Iraq, Brown was shot to death in a Mt. Vernon alley by an off-duty Baltimore police officer.
go here for more
http://wjz.com/local/marine.off.duty.2.1756269.html
Reporting
Alex DeMetrick
BALTIMORE (WJZ)
While an ex-Marine shot to death in a Baltimore alley is laid to rest, a lawyer is getting to work on behalf of his family. He's filing suit against the Baltimore police department.
CBS
While an ex-Marine shot to death in a Baltimore alley is laid to rest, a lawyer is getting to work on behalf of his family. He's filing suit against the Baltimore police department. Alex DeMetrick has details.
This lawsuit is going to focus on who allowed a Baltimore police officer, now charged with first degree murder, to carry a gun off-duty.
Services for 32-year-old Tyrone Brown centered on his life.
"I just thank God for his life. I know it was cut short, but we'll get through this," said a friend.
A Marine veteran with two tours in Iraq, Brown was shot to death in a Mt. Vernon alley by an off-duty Baltimore police officer.
go here for more
http://wjz.com/local/marine.off.duty.2.1756269.html
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Welcome Home A Hero Program greets the troops
Time Taken To Thank The Volunteers At DFW Airport
Reporting
Robbie Owens
Every day, soldiers passing through Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are extended a taste of Texas hospitality -- they are, after all, our heroes.
Now, the program organized to welcome those soldiers got a well deserved 'tip of the hat' for their hard work.
Tuesday morning, at DFW Airport's Terminal D, returning troops will soon deplane and it's a busy, boisterous scene. One person points out, "These troops are coming in from Afghanistan and Iraq."
Seven days a week, for the past six years, volunteers with the 'Welcome Home A Hero Program' have always been standing by. "Welcome home... 'preciate your service," said Vietnam veteran and volunteer Mark Hannah told the servicemen and women.
The volunteers offer smiles, handshakes, slaps on the back and sincere appreciation. "Welcome home. Welcome home sergeant, 'preciate it. We didn't get a lot of welcome homes, so we try to take care of our others," said Hannah.
Vietnam veteran volunteers are honored with spots at the head of the welcome line.
read more here
http://cbs11tv.com/local/Welcome.Home.A.2.1753348.html
Reporting
Robbie Owens
Every day, soldiers passing through Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are extended a taste of Texas hospitality -- they are, after all, our heroes.
Now, the program organized to welcome those soldiers got a well deserved 'tip of the hat' for their hard work.
Tuesday morning, at DFW Airport's Terminal D, returning troops will soon deplane and it's a busy, boisterous scene. One person points out, "These troops are coming in from Afghanistan and Iraq."
Seven days a week, for the past six years, volunteers with the 'Welcome Home A Hero Program' have always been standing by. "Welcome home... 'preciate your service," said Vietnam veteran and volunteer Mark Hannah told the servicemen and women.
The volunteers offer smiles, handshakes, slaps on the back and sincere appreciation. "Welcome home. Welcome home sergeant, 'preciate it. We didn't get a lot of welcome homes, so we try to take care of our others," said Hannah.
Vietnam veteran volunteers are honored with spots at the head of the welcome line.
read more here
http://cbs11tv.com/local/Welcome.Home.A.2.1753348.html
Be un-intimidated by PTSD
Be un-intimidated by PTSD
by
Chaplain Kathie
There has been an approach by the military to train servicemen and women to become "resilient." When you look at the meaning of the word, this was an easy leap for them to make considering the prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but when you understand the basis of making this choice of wording, it's part of the problem.
Resilient
Main Entry: re·sil·ient
Pronunciation: \-yənt\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin resilient-, resiliens, present participle of resilire to jump back, recoil, from re- + salire to leap — more at sally
Date: 1674
: characterized or marked by resilience: as a : capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture b : tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change
In other words, "get over it" and this is one of the biggest reasons the rates have increased of suicides and attempted suicides. When you consider the fact these people are far from your average citizen, brave enough to face anything they are sent to do, courageous enough to not only carry out their orders, but then "stuff" whatever they face while others are in danger. Usually they will not allow themselves to feel any kind of distress until their company is out of danger. More often than not, they will not show any symptoms until long after they have returned home. Between the emotional/psychological assault and the time it is truly felt, it can take many months or years, depending on the severity, to begin to take over their lives and begin to destroy their futures. Keep in mind that PTSD gets worse as time goes by and just living lives with all the pressures, trails and problems, adds to the stress they are under.
They are already resilient each time they stand up and walk away from being shot at. Every time they watch a friend die or attend a Memorial service, they are resilient because they return to duty, doing whatever is asked of them. When they are already dealing with sleep deprivation robbing them of rest, they also face nightmares when they do manage to fall asleep. Yet no matter what they have going on inside of them, they get up and carry on doing what they need to do until they are sent back home, duty done, danger over, mission accomplished.
Their bravery should never have been questioned.
The military up until recent years, has been punishing men and women for having been affected by the traumatic events in combat. This has been going on in this country since the beginning and we have evidence of this from Civil War records.
The Irritable Heart
Increased Risk of Physical and Psychological Effects of Trauma in Civil War Vets
From K. Kris HirstA total of 43 percent of the men had mental health problems throughout their lives, some of which are today recognized as related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).To quantify trauma experienced by Civil War soldiers, researchers used a variable derived from percent of company lost to represent relative exposure to trauma. Researchers found that in military companies with a larger percentage of soldiers killed, the veterans were 51 percent more likely to have cardiac, gastrointestinal and nervous disease.The Youngest Soldiers were Hardest Hit
The study found that the youngest soldiers (ages 9-17 at enlistment) were 93% more likely than the oldest (ages 31 or older) to experience both mental and physical disease. The younger soldiers were also more likely to show signs of cardiovascular disease alone and in conjunction with gastrointestinal conditions, and were more likely to die early. Former POWs had an increased risk of combined mental and physical problems as well as early death.
One problem the researchers grappled with was comparing diseases as they were recorded during the latter half of the 19th century to today's recognized diseases. Post-traumatic stress syndrome was not recognized by doctors--although they did recognize that veterans exhibited an extreme level of 'nervous disease' that they labeled 'irritable heart' syndrome.
As you can see, when we talk about PTSD today, it was, as it is now, afflicting the warriors. They just didn't know exactly what it was but they were very close considering the term they used to explain it "irritable heart syndrome."
It is a human wounding set off by "normal" people facing "abnormal" events in their lives. Some walk away stunned but recover without it afflicting the emotional part of their mind to the point where it lingers and takes over. Others however face it becoming a part of them and taking over the way they feel, think and relate to others.
We should really stop using the term "resilient" since it has been such an issue with how that word is heard by the ears of people trained to listen very carefully to others words used during training them how to use weapons and face death. To them it means that they are supposed to train their brains to prevent PTSD. If they end up with PTSD, they then blame themselves for not training properly. Yes, this is a real problem and while soldiers feel this way, it is the Marines bothered by this the most.
They end up intimidated because they feel. Feeling grief and loss are not bad things any more than feeling love, joy, passion and compassion are, yet when they end up with all that comes with PTSD, they must overcome admitting they need help because they link needing help to being weak. They never allow themselves to contemplate one simple fact. They carried out their mission, did their duty, watched the backs of their brothers and faced the enemy with all they had even though they were dealing with pain engrained in their soul. The stigma they carry is based on false assumptions simply because they are not looking at the totality of their deployment.
So let the term change in addressing healing these men and women. Stop using "resilient" because it is doing more harm than good. Use the term "un-intimidate" since it reflects what is already a part of them, the ability to carry on without being intimidated by what they faced. No matter how strong the enemy was, they faced them. No matter what was happening, they did what they needed to do. No matter how many physical challenges they endured, they carried on un-intimidated by constant hardships.
Intimidate
Main Entry: in·tim·i·date
Pronunciation: \in-ˈti-mə-ˌdāt\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): in·tim·i·dat·ed; in·tim·i·dat·ing
Etymology: Medieval Latin intimidatus, past participle of intimidare, from Latin in- + timidus timid
Date: 1646
: to make timid or fearful : frighten; especially : to compel or deter by or as if by threats
Being un-intimidated was there when they decided they would risk their lives to serve in the military in the first place.
Now they have a need to recover from it. The human enemy did not intimidate them and this enemy caused by combat traumas should not intimidate them but they have not been provided with the knowledge of what PTSD actually is, what it does any more than they know why they ended up with it but their buddies didn't. They don't understand it came with their ability to feel more deeply than others, with a level of compassion beyond what others are able to feel, thus creating a condition where they are also able to feel emotional pain more deeply. Once provided with this knowledge, they then understand they can heal after having PTSD no longer intimidates them.
When they are more afraid to live than die and attempt suicide, this is caused by the intimidation of fearing they are doomed to being under this assault for the rest of their lives, we need to change how we address them. When they are more willing to be thought of as a "drunk" or drug addict than they are willing to be treated for PTSD, then we should learn how to talk to them so they fully understand what it is and give them the tools/weapons to fight it off. They can defeat this enemy within them and be as un-intimidated to heal as they were to face the human enemy they were sent to defeat.
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