Stan's rough draft op-ed

When you think about wounded soldiers in combat, you probable think of physical injury or maiming. This subject really hit home this last week with the tragic massacre down at FT. Hood, Texas. There were nine wars and almost 130 violent conflicts across the world last year. That makes for a lot of veterans. What I want to talk about is the lingering effects that combat have on our young men and women in today’s armed forces and why not much is being done to fix this inexcusable injustice. These service men and women place their lives in danger for us and our country and we should give them the best medical care available when they return. Many are returning home with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or better known as PTSD. What is PTSD? In layman’s terms, it is shell shock or battle fatigue. Can it be cured? The answer is yes. With the right medication, counseling, and time, it can be brought under control. The problem right now is that it’s not. Soldiers are being sent back into combat without receiving treatment for it. Who is to blame for this? Is it the soldier that is afraid to ask for help? The leadership that is more concerned for getting the mission accomplished? The doctors who are caring more about their obligation to their uniform than to the white coat that they wear? Or is the blame on our government who doesn’t believe that there is a problem or that they just don’t want to address it. The answer is all of the blame. They all share a portion of blame. Out of a force of over 500,000, the Army has just 409 physiatrists in uniform. That’s just crazy. I understand that that doesn’t take into account physicians assistants and counselors but still unacceptable. We have over 140,000 troops in Iraq alone. How many of those 409 are over in theatre? Then there are the other side effects of untreated PTSD. Drug and alcohol abuse, depression, suicide, and the list goes on and on. Recent report show that over 95 percent of uniform code of military justice (UCMJ) cases in Iraq and Afghanistan where related to either alcohol or drugs. With the availability of heroin in Afghanistan, many are turning to that. Know we have highly trained junkies with PTSD returning home. Very scary I think. Suicide in the armed forces is skyrocketing. The army is on track this year to have over a 300 percent increase over last year. That’s totally unacceptable. It should be zero percent. There are other issues. I just wanted to throw some of this stuff out there for you to ponder. Do I have an answer to this injustice? No, but I do know we need to figure out how or we are going to have an epidemic that’s going to cost this country more than just money.