Echoes of Vietnam

This is interesting. Within this article is an observation about differences in Vietnam veterans' experiences compared with World War II veterans upon their return home.

"The coming home process of the Vietnam soldier failed to account for the mind's need to assimilate this experience in a slow-paced manner. After twelve to thirteen months of combat duty, the military flew soldiers back to the States in a matter of hours and, again, as isolated individuals rather than as teams. This is in stark contrast to the weeks or sometimes months that World War II veterans spent on ships returning to the U.S., while sharing time with other soldiers close to them.

"In forty-eight hours the Vietnam combat soldier could go from a unit assault in which he killed four North Vietnamese soldiers with an M-16 to sitting on the front steps of his parents' house in the U.S. While in Southeast Asia, soldiers would dream of that day. But when it arrived they weren't prepared...."

[The article goes on to discuss that the American public turned against the Vietnam war, and rather than receiving ticker-tape parades, the soldiers were spat upon. In addition to the traumatic return to civilian life unprepared, Vietnam Vets became the villains. This may yet happen in the Middle East, but that's not the real point of this observation.]

It appears that through an unintended side effect of technology, World War II (and earlier) veterans had some of the exact same transitional support our returning soldiers now need. Weeks and months of transition time within the supportive context of other soldiers ... established teams with shared experiences and shared needs.

Yet now, as the article suggests, transportational technology and "efficiency" has completely erased this meager support system. Little wonder that we are seeing increasing numbers of reported cases (6400 according to the VA, but that number is disputed), and the expectation that the cases will skyrocket as troops are rotated out of the theater.

From: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Summary - The Anxieties Site