Self-medication Leads To Crime And Violence In The War Zone

For U.S. Troops at War, Liquor Is Spur to Crime - New York Times

"Despite the military’s ban on all alcoholic beverages — and strict Islamic prohibitions against drinking and drug use — liquor is cheap and ever easier to find for soldiers looking to self-medicate the effects of combat stress, depression or the frustrations of extended deployments, said military defense lawyers, commanders and doctors who treat soldiers’ emotional problems."

Alcohol and drug abuse are important indicators of PTSD. This article clearly demonstrates that the problem of trauma is appearing in the war zone, and not only upon the soldiers' return home. The article goes on...

"Seventy-three of those 240 cases involve some of the most serious crimes committed, including murder, rape, armed robbery and assault. Sex crimes accounted for 12 of the convictions. The 240 cases involved a roughly equal number of drug and alcohol offenses, although alcohol-related crimes have increased each year since 2004."

What kind of crimes?

One Army specialist "shot up some contractor’s rental car ... (then) hopped in a Humvee, drove around and shot up some more things. He shot into a housing area and at soldiers guarding the base entrance.

"Six months later, at an Army base near Baghdad, after a night of drinking an illegal stash of whiskey and gin, (another specialist) of the Third Brigade, Third Infantry Division, pulled his 9mm service pistol on another soldier and shot him dead.

"And in March 2006, in perhaps the most gruesome crime committed by American troops in Iraq, a group of 101st Airborne Division soldiers stationed in Mahmudiya raped a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killed her and her family after drinking several cans of locally made whiskey supplied by Iraqi Army soldiers, military prosecutors said."

The article then looks at the military's response to this "issue of grave concern"...

"In the military, seeking help for psychological problems, including alcohol and drug abuse, is considered a taboo, especially among officers competing for promotions. Several officers interviewed for this article said the Pentagon was not doing enough to reduce that stigma.

"Though the Pentagon has spent millions of dollars on several initiatives to reverse the trend, including a new Web site that deglamorizes drinking, financing to combat alcohol abuse has fallen over time, a Pentagon spokesman said. Spending on programs to reduce alcohol abuse, smoking and obesity dropped to $7.74 million in the current fiscal year from $12.6 million in fiscal year 2005 — a 39 percent decline."

In the 1980s and 1990s, the previous general acceptance of alcohol and drug abuse among the troops changed. It became socially unacceptable for a soldier to have more than a couple of drinks at the bar. However...

"At a time when the military is fighting two major ground wars, the often serious consequences of heavy drinking has emerged with increasing clarity as more troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other mental health problems, military officials and mental health experts said."

Charles P O'Brien, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who served as a Navy doctor during the Vietnam War hits the nail squarely.

“I think the real story here is in the suicide and stress, and the drinking is just a symptom of it." There is a high incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder among Iraq veterans, he said, adding that “there’s been a lot of suicide in the active-duty servicemen.”

"More than 90 percent of sex crimes prosecuted by the military involve alcohol abuse, defense lawyers and military doctors said. Roughly half of the marines charged with crimes in Iraq exhibit clear signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, a Marine defense lawyer said.

“They turn to alcohol and drugs for an escape,” he said.

And by the way, the Veteran's Administration considers drug use and alcoholism separate diagnoses from PTSD. Claims for therapeutic assistance are denied frequently on the basis that the soldier has drug abuse or alcohol problems .... not PTSD.