War’s Stresses Take Toll on Military’s Chaplains

War’s Stresses Take Toll on Military’s Chaplains - NYTimes.com:

It is not only the combat soldier who can experience the effects of war. Those who minister to them are also at risk. This article focuses both on the effects of personal trauma as well as the toll of chaplains who do their best to be of service.

"Just as it has claimed so many other members of the military, the war in Iraq has taken a toll on chaplains. Although they do not engage in combat, chaplains face the perils of war as they move around Iraq to visit troops. None have been killed, but some, like Chaplain Brunk, have been wounded. Many report post-traumatic stress disorder and other stress problems."

After being injured by a bomb blast, Chaplain Brunk was returned to service several times. Even after losing 3 days of memory and passing out during a meeting, it took a Vietnam vet to recognize the signs of PTSD and get him returned stateside, where he how ministers to soldiers at Ft. Hood in Killeen, TX.

Reports of stress disorder leap in military

Reports of stress disorder leap in military - CNN.com:

Army statistics provided by a source that could not be identified because she was not authorized to do so show that incidents of PTSD jumped 47% between 2006 and 2007. Some of the increase is attributed to "better awareness and improved record-keeping." Most of the new cases are found in the ranks of the Army.

Also in this article is an interesting observation by one soldier that shows another disturbing potential trend: diagnosing brain injury as PTSD because it is less expensive to compensate.

"A study published in January indicated that troops who suffered concussions were far more likely to experience PTSD.
advertisement

"One soldier who suffers frequent nightmares because of PTSD suspected the military preferred to diagnose the disorder rather than brain injury to save money.

"'The military doesn't want to diagnose people with brain injury,' Sgt. Ryan Kahlor told CNN in January. 'So what they'll do is play it off as PTSD as the sole injury for everyone, because PTSD and traumatic brain injury have very similar symptoms. The disability [compensation] is a lot higher for traumatic brain injury.'"

Memorial Day 2008

My draft number was 37. I had already made the trip to Dallas for the mandated physical exams and tests, and with that low number, it was very clear that I would be in basic training within the next few months. It was a very scary time for me. I thought about Canada a lot, but just knew that was out of the question.

What would it be like to be drafted? As a thin, weakling of a teenager with really bad eyesight, would I even survive boot camp?

Then, Richard Nixon ended the draft and, I truly believe, saved my life.

Memorial Day Holidays are always odd for me. For the most part, I don't know what to feel. The sacrifices of tens of thousands of men - and now women - in wars fought for righteous as well as questionable reasons are really very dear. But it is not only those who die that need to be remembered.

My work as executive director of Ravens Grove Foundation for Healing and the Returning Warriors program it sponsors has made it clear to me first hand that the ravages of war are visited on more than those who die. Vietnam veterans, as well as many survivors of World War II, continue to suffer physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wounds. This is not academic. This is as real as it gets.

Many soldiers returning from the Middle East are raw. They have not yet recognized how deeply wounded they are. Estimates range between 30% to 50% of these warriors face the unrelenting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or fierce depression. The latest studies suggest that the number of suicides among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan will eventually exceed the number actually killed in battle. And this does not take into account those fighting in other "little wars" around the globe.

It is not only the veteran who suffers. Families are broken or destroyed, as well. Wives awaken in the night being beaten by their husbands in the grip of a flashback fueled nightmare, or watch helplessly as they rummage through closets and drawers looking for clues about who they used to be. Children hide from once loving parents, not comprehending what is happening, what they might have done. Employers see once productive workers return with problems so serious they can no longer even come to work some days.

These stories are certainly not true of all veterans. This I know. But it is true for far, far too many.

We cannot comprehend the horror of this kind of warfare from our office desks and living room sofas. We see images; we hear the stories; yet we cannot really begin to imagine. The only ones who can are brothers in arms. If you are one of them, you know. If not, you cannot understand and no amount of explaining can ever truly awaken your comprehension. You remain outside no matter how much you care or how much you try.

Many who attend the Returning Warriors retreats have been carrying their scars for more than 40 years since Vietnam. Some have become fairly successful in managing their wounds and do fairly well, according to our cultural standards. Others walk alone the dark shadows at the fringe of society. working at odd jobs or even seeking handouts - constant, uncomfortable cornerside reminders that the American Dream has many holes and a small net, even for those who sacrificed everything but their lives.

So, for me, Memorial Day is about more than remembering those who have given their lives. It's also about honoring the "walking dead and wounded" among us, their families, and their communities as well.

In a very real sense, Memorial Day includes us all. Let us remember. Let us be grateful. Let us DO something to help.

For Women Warriors, Deep Wounds, Little Care

Op-Ed Contributor - For Women Warriors, Deep Wounds, Little Care - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com:

Some quotes from this excellent article:

"Last month, when the RAND Corporation released the biggest non-military survey of the mental health of troops since 2001, it unwittingly reflected this lack of research. The survey found that women suffer from higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression than men do, but it neglected to look into why this might be, and asked no questions about abuse from fellow soldiers."

"As the more than 191,500 women who have served in the Middle East since 2001 return home, they will increasingly flood the Veterans Affairs system. To ask those who need help for post-traumatic stress disorder to turn to a typical Veterans Affairs hospital, built in the 1950s and designed to treat men, is untenable. Women who have been raped or sexually assaulted often cannot face therapy groups or medical facilities full of men."

"Women are the fastest-growing group of veterans, and by 2020 they are projected to account for 20 percent of all veterans under the age of 45. Not all of these women will have suffered sexual assault, but many will have medical or psychological needs that conventional department hospitals cannot meet."

Being sexually assaulted by one's fellow soldiers is very much like abuse within the family. Nearly every soldier in every branch reports that the armed forces becomes their "family" and other soldiers become their "brothers." In that way, military sexual abuse is very much like incest abuse. The feelings of betrayal, shame, and outrage are virtually identical.

The Returning Warriors retreat program is also very capable of addressing the trauma of female survivors of such abuse.

Agency embraces Native medicine for troubled vets

Nation & World | Agency embraces Native medicine for troubled vets | Seattle Times Newspaper

The number of clinics and programs offering Native American treatment of PTSD in the west and southwest is growing to include medicine healers as well as traditional healing practices. Such practices are the core of the Returning Warriors Retreat program.

We know from direct experience that spirit-based rituals and ceremonies are central to addressing the problems of PTSD, going well beyond "taking therapies."

Obama Demanding Investigation over VA Email

Daily Kos: Obama Demanding Investigation over VA Email

From the "If you can't handle it, then don't let it exist" department:

"This move by Obama comes after VoteVets.org and CREW produced an email on Thursday from a VA official--Norma Perez--in which she advised a number of VA employees, including psychologists, social workers, and a psychiatrist that, due to an increased number of 'compensation seeking veterans,' the staff should 'refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out' and they should 'R/O [rule out] PTSD' and consider a diagnosis of 'Adjustment Disorder' instead.

The story has now been picked up by the AP, the Washington Post, CBS News, the New York Daily News, MSNBC, CNN, the Politico, and the Military Times."

Suicide Toll May Exceed Combat Deaths

Bloomberg.com: Science

This is a thought-provoking article. Too often we focus on the cost in lives separately between combat and post-trauma suicide. But the outcome is the same.

At the Foundation, we continue to see veterans from Vietnam experiencing symptoms. The one who come to us have generally learned coping mechanisms that have worked more or less. How many did not learn to cope and have died in the past 40+ years?

We will likely never know the true cost of war.