Think of what our military is being asked to do right now. Ongoing combat operations in Iraq entering their fifth. Fighting the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan for the sixth year.
And then think about what we might be asking them to do in the coming months:
What would we do if the military dictatorship fell in an unstable nuclear-armed Pakistan?
What if we begin fighting with Iran?
These facts and scenarios are all frequently discussed. But, far too often, missing from consideration of civilian leaders as well as arm-chair generals is this central question:
What will this do to our troops who are already stretched so thin?
Hundreds of thousands of our servicemembers have already been injured in battle. Not tens of thousands as is often reported -- hundreds of thousands.
Here are the facts.
About 49 percent of Guard and Reserve members who've served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have come home with psychological wounds, while 31 percent of Marines have come back with such wounds and 37 percent of those from the Army. Let me make that figure real for you - that's more than 600,000 people - that's more than all the people that live in Washington, D.C., suffering from psychological wounds.
We have no idea how many have come back with unseen traumatic brain injuries (TBI), wounds that commonly result from roadside bombs. One Department of Defense study showed that about 20 percent of Soldiers who came back to Fort Carson, Colorado, had some form of TBI. That could mean that there are more than 200,000 servicemembers with unseen TBIs. We just released a study on this where Veterans for America went to every demobilization center in the United States and abroad. We're not guessing there's a serious problem, we know there is a series one. Read the report here.
Unfortunately, the military medical system that is supposed to treat these wound continues to fail across-the-board. Every day, our military loses valuable servicemembers because we failed to adequately diagnose and treat their war wounds.
And if we escalate the war in Iraq, if we attack Iran, if we don't get smart about fighting in Afghanistan, we're going to escalate the problem we already can't handle. This is why the prospect of further military engagement terrifies me.
Our military already relies too heavily on the National Guard and Reserves, multiple tours, extended tours, and inadequate dwell time in order to meet the demands of our current wars. With each tour, a servicemember's likelihood of developing a physiological wound increases by 50 percent. Over 1/3 of those who have served since 9/11 have served more than one tour. In essence, we are knowingly compounding the wounds of our warriors.
What will happen to our servicemembers if we have to stretch them further?
What will happen to our country if our leaders abuse our troops to a point that we begin to do irreparable damage to our all-volunteer military?
Here at Veterans for America we're working tirelessly to highlight the effects that our current military policies have on our honorable servicemembers and their families.
We are trying to serve those who served us with the same level of dedication and determination. They deserve nothing less. I would be honored if you would join us in our fight.