Scandal of Suicides, Soldiers-on-Meds and PTSD Explodes

An issue I have been writing about for years has finally hit center stage in the media in the past week with a TIME cover and numerous TV and newspaper reports. I am referring, of course, to the disturbing rate of PTSD among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, the surging suicide epidemic and new revelations about the high number of soldiers on meds, principally anti-depressants, fully 12% according to an oft-cited new survey.

Of course, all of this is tied to multiple deployments in Iraq -- and the whole war there itself, naturally.

Rather than go over this all again (see past diaries), let me instead just report on what my friend -- and fellow Huff Post blogger -- Paul Rieckhoff said on CBS News this morning.

Rieckhoff, as you may know, is executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Here are some of his quotes from a chat with CBS Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith this morning.

--"This high rate of the use of anti-depressants and sleeping pills is really just a symptom of a deeper problem. We're sending folks back over and over again in a tremendously stressful environment, and it's taking its toll. The anti-depressants and sleeping pills are one way that the military and the individuals are trying to meet that threat."

-- "What we need to look at is how to reduce the overall stress. And that starts with reducing the deployments. They only get about a year home, if that, doing a 12-to-16 month tour. We know that about half-a-million folks have been to Iraq more than once. So, they're going back over and over again. That's why we're seeing the (high) suicide rate in the Army. One-hundred-fifteen folks in the Army committed suicide last year. That's the highest rate since 1980. So, we've gotta look at those other factors that are causing the stress, in addition to the violence, in addition to the family stress and all of that other stuff that piles up on the troops."

" Simple supply and demand. We continue to increase the demand on our troops, but we haven't increased the overall number of troops dramatically. There was an Army Ranger who was recently killed on his eighth tour.

"Folks coming home are at risk -- about one-in-five are gonna come home with post-traumatic stress disorder, severe depression. There was a big study from the Rand Institute a few weeks ago that confirmed those numbers.

"And we need more support services, both when they're in the military and, especially, when they come home.

"It's hard to get to a doctor when you're in a war zone. With the recent surge, we increased the number of troops by about 30,000, but we didn't increase the number of mental health care workers. We've got to increase the number of folks in the field; we've got to get them to a doctor more often. It's really hard to get your prescription checked when you've gotta go across the country or across your sector in a very dangerous environment, with the roadside bombs. It's a very dangerous recipe."

-- "They've got to have follow-up. The V.A. (Veterans Administration) has a long wait time right now. Hundreds of thousands of claims are backed up. The average wait time is about 183 days to process a claim. We've got to do a better job at the V.A., when they come home, as well, because that's when most folks are gonna show that they have a mental health problem and seek out the treatment."

-- "We're continuing to send folks over and over again. This is one way for the Army to keep people in the fight. We know recruiting numbers are stressed, retention numbers are stressed, and this is one way for ... the Pentagon to keep people on the front lines. But there is a long-term cost to the military and for the individuals.

"This week, in the House and Senate, we'll be fighting for a new G.I. Bill. That's a critical way to take care of these folks when they come home as well, and we've got to pay up and take care of our veterans when they come home."

Greg Mitchell's new book, which contains severals chapters on vet suicides, is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq. He is editor of Editor & Publisher.

Comments

[soonerdru]

Again, watch these politicians carefully. Recently a 'thinktank' tried to float out a trial balloon article on PTSD which offered the idea that there was no way to truly know when the solider had contracted PTSD. The idea being that maybe it really occurred in childhood and therefore the military was not responsible for treatment. As the cases explode after the war they may try to argue this point to deflect responsibility. I read the Time article and found it interesting that while the troop levels increased during the surge the amount of on-site counselors did not.

[DonKrieger]

I would like to hear an expert comment on what steps must be taken to rule out that John McCain suffers from PTSD. Surely is at risk for it from his imprisonment and torture in Vietnam. And I am particularly concerned about statements by those who know him well: "He's not the same John McCain as he was." I am also alarmed that he flip flopped on torture and now approves of it.

I suggest this not out of political motivation but rather out of a genuine concern. I feel that the possibility that he suffers from this ailment must be ruled out to the extent possible.

Don Krieger

[Liberoservative]

I posted this on Tony Newman's blog and will post it here as well....

As an Active Duty Healthcare worker, I have seen this firsthand.... one of my troops came home after serving as a corpsman with the Marines when they were cleaning out Anwar province... he had to be separated from his family... his Chief taking him into his own house to let him decompress from what he did and saw while he was in Iraq. He is being treated for PTSD... and it is very real.... The ReThugs want all of you to think that it is "all in their heads"... well, it is... it is INSIDE them... the horrors that they saw and the hopelessness that they felt.. it IS ALL IN THEIR HEADS... and it doesn't just go away when they come home.......

Please stop this unfounded war... please vote Democratic this year.... we need to let the sovereign nation of Iraq pick their own form of government.... we don't do democracy at the end of a gun...

I will add this, though... the DoD has a huge medical system as does the DVA (dept of veteran's affairs).. we co-exist and we are only now learning to work together... if we merged these health systems... the "Purple Suit" medical system... we would cut costs by reducing duplication and increase services.... Also, this is another path to Universal Healthcare... but that is just a pipedream of mine

[SWilkin676]

Not to make excuses for them, but it appears that recruitment standards have dropped dramatically. I know of somone who was recently accepted into the Army. He's ADHD with anger issues, raised by an alcoholic mother and didn't graduate high school. The kid has no business being sent into Iraq.

[XME]

I don't think it's making excuses for them, it's criticizing our government for allowing people who should never be in the military in simply because we're in a war that isn't winnable and keeps killing more soldiers. People with mental/emotional issues and cons don't belong in the military. It's hard enough for stable people to deal with the aftermath of war.