Even Top Generals Suffer From Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

Army Gen. Carter Ham is the highest-ranking U.S. officer to admit seeking help for posttraumatic stress syndrome. Dilkoff/Getty

Army Gen. Carter Ham, Commander Of Libya Operations, Sought Help For Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome -- New York Daily News

Army Gen. Carter Ham, the plain-spoken commander of U.S. and allied operations against Libya, battled past his own personal demons to take on one of toughest jobs in the military.

Ham in 2005 became the highest-ranking U.S. officer to admit seeking help for posttraumatic stress syndrome - setting an example for troops who often deny a problem.

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My Comment: My father was a Soviet soldier who served on the Russian front in World War 2 for 4 years .... he had PTSS that was difficult for us (when we were young) to understand or appreciate what he must have gone through .... and of course he was never treated for it. It was only later that I learned what it was that my father was experiencing .... an experience that I will not wish on anyone.

Kudos to Army Gen. Carter Ham for disclosing (and admitting) seeking help for his PTSS .... it is an example that will probably be his legacy long after he has retired from the service.

Today's Wars Are Producing Physically Healthy But Psychologically Damaged Veterans

Coming Home In Pieces -- Need To Know on PBS

Today's wars have minted a new generation of physically healthy, psychologically damaged veterans.

The following is adapted from “Lethal Warriors: When the New Band of Brothers Came Home,” a book about soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), specifically those of the 506th Infantry Regiment, who unleashed a series of brutal crimes on Colorado Springs after returning from a tour in Iraq. That regiment, which since World War II had been called the Band of Brothers, was renamed the Lethal Warriors after their second tour in Iraq, and true to their name, they brought the violence home with them.

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My Comment: My father was a World War 2 vet, and he carried the war with him until he died a few years ago. Wars throughout history have produced physically fit but psychologically damaged soldiers .... the current wars are not different. What is different .... is that unlike my father's generation .... the current generation is more up to date and aware of the psychological turmoil that soldiers go through, and why treatments should be devised to take care of them when they leave the service. My only hope is that it will make a difference.

New U.S. Medical Center To Treat War Brain Injuries

Shocks from improvised bombs cause brain injuries, the invisible wound of the wars Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Department

Center To Treat Troops With Brain Injuries Opens In Bethesda -- Washington Post

Staff Sgt. Robert Carras was pushing a shopping cart through a Wal-Mart when, he said, he felt something creeping up behind him. He looked over his shoulder, ready to face down familiar threats: gunmen, insurgents, improvised explosive devices.

He took a deep breath. "You're in Wal-Mart," he told himself. "Not Iraq."

That was three years ago. Carras, who received a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder in 2008, has since struggled to treat what he calls his "invisible wounds" -- painful vestiges of his tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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More News On The National Intrepid Center Of Excellence

UCLA researchers, US military collaborate to open center for traumatic brain injury -- Eurekalert
Military opens new brain injury center -- AP
Pentagon orders system to track soldiers for brain injuries -- NextGov
Congress, White House AWOL at Intrepid -- NextGov
Intrepid Center Will Be Hub of Brain Treatment -- Faxts

Cutting-Edge Virtual Reality Systems To Fight PTSD Being Rolled Out At New Maryland Facility

Virtual Reality for Returning Troops The U.S. Military has long used VR as a training tool for troops preparing for combat. Now a new VR system will help those troops returning from the battlefield cope with and overcome mental disorders like PTSD and psychological illnesses brought on by traumatic brain injuries.

From Popular Science:

Nearly half the soldiers returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are diagnosed with some kind of psychological condition, like post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by specific battlefield experiences or traumatic brain injuries sustained during combat. To treat these mental battle scars, the new National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) will introduce state-of-the-art virtual reality technology that will help gently reintroduce soldiers to their experiences.

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My Comment: The sentence that caught my attention was the first one ....

Nearly half the soldiers returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are diagnosed with some kind of psychological condition, like post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by specific battlefield experiences or traumatic brain injuries sustained during combat.

A sobering statistic .... nearly half the soldiers suffering with some kind of psychological condition.

One in 10 Iraq War Vets Face PTSD

Photo: PTSD -- and its ill effects -- can linger long after combat ends. Credit: Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times

About 1 In 10 Iraq Veterans Develops A Serious Case Of PTSD, Researchers Say -- L.A. Times

It’s well known that combat takes a toll on the mental health of soldiers -- for instance, studies of people who served in the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have found that those who experienced combat were two to three times more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than their counterparts who remained out of harm’s way. But studies have been less consistent in determining how many soldiers develop PTSD and other mental health disorders after deployment.

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More News On Returning Iraqi Vets Suffering With PTSD

Depression, PTSD plague many Iraq vets -- CNN
Post-Combat Stress Disrupting Daily Lives of Returning Vets -- Blommberg Businessweek
For many soldiers, mental trauma lingers at home -- Time Magazine
PTSD And Depression Common In Returning Combat Soldiers -- NPR
One in 10 veterans returns from combat in Iraq reporting serious mental health issues -- Scientific American
One in 10 Iraq War Vets Face Mental Health Problems -- Discovery News

U.S. Troop Level Stress Higher Than Britain's

U.S. Troops Suffer More Stress Than Britons, Study Says -- New York Times

British troops who have fought in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer far lower rates of post-traumatic stress than Americans do, according to the most rigorous psychiatric study of Britain’s military so far.

While estimated rates of the condition in troops returning to the United States range from 10 to 15 percent, the new study found a rate of just 4 percent among Britons — even though they and the Americans have seen equal amounts of combat in recent years.

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My Comment: It appears that heavy use of our reservists is one of the main reasons for this discrepancy .... as well as having long deployments.

What is my take .... I concur with this assessment. Being in a hot zone for a year or more will stress anyone .... regardless of how mentally tough soldiers may be for any deployment.

Post Traumatic Strss Disorder And Pets

Former Army Staff Sgt. Will "Ace" Acevedo hugs Xena, a Jack Russell mix he adopted. "She's done wonders for me," says Avedo, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. "Instead of you focusing on yourself and your battle wounds, you focus on the dog." MADALINE URICK / Courtesy of Pets2Vets

War Vets, Shelter Dogs Heal Together In Program -- MSNBC/AP

Soldiers with PTSD find comfort, inspiration in needy pooches.

WASHINGTON - Dave Sharpe was troubled by thoughts he could not share after he returned from a tour in Iraq. "I found myself waking up in the middle of the night, punching holes in walls, kicking and beating the refrigerator door," he said.

Then one day, the former Air Force senior airman went with a friend to a local pit bull rescue and took home a puppy, Cheyenne. Next time he found himself kicking something, "I saw this puppy, cocking her head, looking up at me, like, what are you doing?"

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My Comment: Pets give unconditional love to their masters .... the best therapy for anyone.

Is The U.S. Military Reaching A Breaking Point?

GEORGIA COMMISSIONING - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates congratulates eight new second lieutenants after commissioning them at the University of Georgia's North campus Chapel in Athens, Ga., Dec. 18, 2009. DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison

From The Strategy Page:

December 20, 2009: The U.S. Department of Defense recently did another survey of its military personnel, to determine how many suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and to what extent. They found that, in four years, the number of those who had attempted suicide in the past year had doubled (from one percent to two percent). Those who had PTSD symptoms went from seven to eleven percent. In the army it went from 9 to 13 percent, and in the marines from 8 to 15 percent.

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My Comment: This is a continuation of a previous post .... Pentagon Plays Catch-Up As Toll Of Repeat Combat Duty Rises ....read it all.

The Cost Of Rapid Deployments On Our Troops Is Starting To Show

TEN PROMISES - U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, re-enlists 10 soldiers stationed on Forward Operating Base Frontenac in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Dec. 17, 2009. The soldiers are assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division's 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Pentagon Plays Catch-Up As Toll Of Repeat Combat Duty Rises -- Christian Science Monitor

A Department of Veterans Affairs study reports a three-fold increase in depression and post-traumatic stress after repeat combat duty, raising questions about the Pentagon’s ability to keep soldiers with combat-related psychological problems away from the front.

Emotional pain, depression, and angst among US soldiers seeing multiple deployments in war zones are much more common than the Pentagon has reported, a new Department of Veterans Affairs survey says

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My Comment: What I find amazing is that even with all of these complications and problems .... soldiers are still re-enlisting in great numbers.

But multiple deployments to war zones for extended periods of time does have an impact, and care and observation must be a priority for everyone to insure that these psychological issues do not become major issues to those who are most susceptible to it.

Mental Stress Training Is Planned For U.S. Soldiers

At a recent training session in Philadelphia, Sgt. First Class James Cole and other soldiers participated in role-playing and learned mental fitness techniques intended to help them in combat. D. Myles Cullen/U.S. Army

From The New York Times:

PHILADELPHIA — The Army plans to require that all 1.1 million of its soldiers take intensive training in emotional resiliency, military officials say.

The training, the first of its kind in the military, is meant to improve performance in combat and head off the mental health problems, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, that plague about one-fifth of troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Active-duty soldiers, reservists and members of the National Guard will receive the training, which will also be available to their family members and to civilian employees.

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My Comment: If this can help in lowering the numbers for post-traumatic stress disorder .... I am all for it.