ePluribus Media has just published Blaming the Veteran: The Politics of PTSD.

Along with their PTSD Timeline, the folks at ePM hope to shine a light on the plight of veterans returning to us suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]. They're not the only ones working on educating the public on this issue -- Garry Trudeau has been doing his part, too.

Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau

Following up on my last diary on the award-winning comic strip, let's find out how returning character B.D. (a hard-nosed wounded Iraq combat vet and amputee) is dealing with his PTSD...

I'd just about completed my musings on an issue that I'd had with the President's State of the Union speech, when I stumbled across an op-ed piece in the Minnesota Daily which began:

I am a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserves. I enlisted because I support Operation Iraqi Freedom and wanted to do my part to help. I am sick and tired of anti-war liberals who are outspoken against the war, but also claim they support the troops. That is really starting to piss me off.

My diary was to open with the following words:

The President and his party continue to do it. They tell us to Support the Troops, proclaiming that their way of supporting the troops is superior and unimpeachable. But one look at the actions that follow their words exposes a hollow, self-serving, and dangerous type of support. Their empty rhetoric and insipid deeds do little to concretely help our returning veterans and their families - and they do even less to tangibly support those still wearing the uniform in combat.

More excerpts of this soldier's letter, as well as my debate with him below the fold...

We are fighting a hidden war with a hidden enemy.

Our leaders and most media outlets refuse to show the full face of this war. We're barely able to make out the form of our veiled enemy. Or even that of our supposed friends. We see no coffins. We see none of the wounded.  We're shown none of the grief taking place at military bases across the country as loved ones return from combat in various states of disrepair.

Yet, another enemy lurks just beyond our gaze.

It's a brutally personal, deeply buried adversary. You and I may know very little about its existence, but many of our returning combat veterans are intimately acquainted with this interloper. Its name is post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], and currently at least 16,000 OEF and OIF soldiers have been diagnosed with this debilitating brain condition which overloads the nervous system.

A short essay on a vastly overlooked problem below the fold...

According to the Department of Defense (DoD), 11% of those serving in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) are women. Officially, they are restricted to non-combat roles; however, in wars such as that being waged in Iraq, there are no front lines. Danger lurks at every turn.

Find out how they're faring. And learn of their unique experience with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]...

A long, well-researched piece in the January issue of Psychiatric Times takes on the issue of returning veteran post-traumatic stress disorder.

Areas explored:

• A review of PTSD figures - troops are suffering "at a scale not seen since Vietnam."
  
  
• What's the DoD Have to Do With It? - annual preventative healthcare assessment, embedded health teams with combat units, 4-page post-deployment health questionnaire + face-to-face interview with military medical provider, and an new Post-Deployment Health Reassessment [PDHRA] form to be filled out 3-6 months following return home by all service members (Reserves and and National Guard, too).
  
  
• Early Intervention is Key - the lessons of Vietnam.
  
  
• The VA: Caught Off Guard? -  U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) raises questions, Inspecter General calls off review.

A review of the article below the fold...

As some of you might know, Sen. John Kerry began posting over at the Big Orange yesterday. Following a response of 1100+ comments, he posited a brief thank you diary today, invited us to watch him on tomorrow's This Week, and even answered a few comments.

One of the comments he carefully and thoughtfully answered in length was regarding a subject near and dear to my heart: PTSD/returning veteran care issues:

Thank you for your service to our country (4.00 / 18)

I'm worried for our returning soldiers suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder.

With our national budget in disarray, I'm worried that we're not providing the very best treatment for all of our wounded -- both those with physical and psychological scars received in battle.

I have been doing what I can from my humble position to bring more attention to this matter. Please, sir, can you speak out more on this issue?

Thank you!

His reply and PTSD Resources below the fold...

Sister Mary McGehee said she didn't know what to expect when she saw a man clearly upset over her and her fellow Benedictine nuns' protest of the war in Iraq approach them, reach out and grab a sign suggesting peace not war and rip it to shreds.

The man, later identified as Johnny Wood, a U.S. Army veteran who spent 17 months in Iraq as a gunner for the Arkansas 39th Infantry Brigade, later told Cullman police he "just lost it" when he pulled into the Town Square Shopping Center Saturday afternoon and saw the group of women holding signs protesting the war.

The story is heartbreaking in every way.

Another iconic Iraq war figure whose picture was splashed across the world's media in 2004 is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

From Editor & Publisher:

The 2004 photograph by Luis Sinco of the Los Angeles Times showing Miller, face dirty under a helmet, a cigarette dangling from his lips, went around the world and back again, hitting front pages everywhere. Now Miller, of Jonancy, Ky., is a civilian "and is having trouble adjusting to civilian life," CBS News reports.

Lance Cpl. Blake Miller's story below the fold...

[Cross-posted at Daily Kos and My Left Wing]

In November, Senate Amendment #2634 was introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer [D-CA]. An amendment to the Tax Relief Act of 2005, it aimed to allocate an additional $500 million for post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and substance abuse counseling for returning Vets. The American Legion, AMVETS, and Disabled American Veterans backed it. The vets needed it.

Senate Republicans killed it.

[Sen. Boxer] closed her floor argument by quoting an e-mail from the wife of an Iraq War Veteran who committed suicide upon his return. "I got an e-mail from a woman who was married to Captain Michael Jon Pelkey, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder for over a year. He sought help on several occasions but was discouraged by the wait time and the stigma," said Boxer.



Boxer then read directly from the e-mail which said "Michael passed away in our home at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest on November 5, 2004. I feel that my husband is a casualty of this war and to date the Army has not done enough for post-traumatic stress."

This is Stefanie Pelkey's story...

Thank you to ltsply2 over at SoapBlox/Chicago for alerting me to this week's Doonesbury strip.

One of this award-winning strip's returning characters, B.D. (a hard-nosed guy who never needs anyone's help), is an injured Iraq combat vet and amputee.

He's also suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau

(Click here or on image to enlarge)

One of the significant obstacles in successful PTSD treatment is the reluctance of those suffering with it to reach out for help. For a variety of reasons (military indoctrination, avoidance, `toughing it out', fear of appearing weak or `crazy'), many vets suffer alone. The decision to get help is one that is often made gradually. Often with a lot of hesitation. And a lot of agony.

Doonesbury is portraying this with aplomb this week.  

Below the fold, get caught up with B.D.'s reconnoitering of his local Vet Center. And take a look at the list of options (in addition to the VA's Vet Centers) you have if you're suffering with PTSD. Know you're not alone. Know that help is out there waiting for you. Please reach out and take it.

[Cross-posted at MLW and Daily Kos]

The statistics are jaw-dropping.

In October, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported:

• 119,247 Afghanistan/Iraq service members (now off-duty) are receiving health care from the V.A.
  
• 46,000 have musculoskeletal problems.
  
• 37,000 have mental disorders.
  
• 16,000 have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

These are all veterans who within the last four years were considered by the military to be mentally and physically fit enough to fight.

No longer fit enough to fight. And many no longer fit enough to enjoy life. They need our help.

This diary has 3 parts:

• A look at the research I've been doing since September, along with a little info on my ePluribus Media PTSD database collaboration.
  
• Positive steps being taken in Congress and who we might direct our energy to. Links are provided for a number of action items. I hope you'll consider rallying around some of these elected officials.
  
• A list of resources for those who need help.

Please help in whatever way you can...

[Front-paged at ePluribus Media]

By late 2004, PBS had begun reporting on the affects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on soldiers serving in Iraq. Clear figures on Afghanistan/Iraq War PTSD cases are currently unavailable; however, sensible estimates may be arrived at by examining some of the data which presently does exist.

• In July 2004, researchers at Walter Reed Hospital published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting 11-18% of current WoT vets had PTSD.
• In July 2005, the Army surgeon general asserted that a full 30% of US troops surveyed have developed stress-related mental health problems.
• Since 2001, at least 1 million troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Extrapolating from the above information, 110,000 to 180,000 individuals may be at risk for developing PTSD. Additionally, it's been reported that nearly 90 veterans have committed suicide while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan or after returning home.

How does this affect the families, communities, and society these soldiers come back to?

Although incidents of violence at the hands of returning soldiers towards family members and strangers alike are increasing stateside, statistics on these homicides or suicides are not tracked (surprise) by the Pentagon nor the massively under-funded Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). To rectify this, 3 months ago I began collecting news reports of PTSD-related incidents.

What follows is the third update to the Returning Vet PTSD Incidents List...

[Front-paged at My Left Wing, cross-posted at Daily Kos.]

This photo was taken on March 25, 2003.

Snapped by AP and published in newspapers and magazines world-wide a week following the invasion, Army medic Pfc. Joseph Dwyer carries an injured Iraqi boy to safety.

Caught in the crossfire in a fierce battle near the village of Al Faysaliyah, the lines of hero and victim appear to be well-defined, not blurred.

October 7, 2005.
Dwyer arrested after a 3 hour standoff with police in which he discharged 'volley after volley' of gunfire in his apartment.

Dwyer (who'd joined the military 2 days after the September 11th terrorist attacks) returned home to accolades -- and to dealing with his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He had an apparently strong safety net of family, friends, and neighbors. He was well-liked and welcomed home as a hero. Yet, he slid into the horror of PTSD washing over 70,000 of our nation's returning veterans.

Pfc. Joseph Dwyer's family wishes to draw attention to the plight of returning vets dealing with PTSD as a result of the war in Iraq. His story, gravely, is one of far too many.