Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. troops has mental problems after war service

Not surprising at all. It is really demoralizing when you face constant threat of death everyday, and see your buddies being killed and civilians die for the sake of hubris.

And it ain't over with yet. Until Hillary or Barack get into office, it'll continue until the troops get withdrawn.

If it's up to the John McCain we could be fighting for another 100 years and this number will grow exponencially.

But then who really cares? When only 11% of the elegible population ever serves, these numbers can't get that big anyway.

Not surprising at all. But still only half that of the general population.

This is not surprising. I'm sure that if admitting to being depressed or having any psychological problem due to a person's military service had been more acceptable at any other time in history, men who had fought in any war would have reported similar effects.

"1 in 5 U.S. troops has mental problems after war service"

I'll bet the Left's soldiers and water-carriers in the media have comparable or even higher numbers.

The US armed forces keeping meeting and even exceeding recruitment goals... <strong> Moderator: The word "Left" has no relevance here. Please lift the level of your posts.</strong>

you wud have thunk the excited states of america wud have remembered all the problems the vietnam vets came home with but then again i guess too few yanks remember the mistakes of that war & simply havent learned from their past, its truly sad how some administrations have no respect for their armed forces & use them simply for their own agendas & dont give a damn of the consequences

"1 in 5 U.S. troops has mental problems after war service"

And three out of three had mental problems when they sent them off to war

@GW: I hear exactly what you're saying. A few years ago, I had a boss (a good man) who was a Vietman vet. He was all gung-ho for going into Iraq. My opinion was that if the U.S. went in, it would be quagmire to make Vietnam look like a garden party. He disagreed. Guess who was right?

The U.S. military has never had a great record of getting treatment for returning soldiers who were traumatized by their experiences. I can't say that I know what things are like now, but I'm not hopeful. These men and women who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan deserve the best treatment the U.S. has to offer. I can only hope they get it.

"If it's up to the John McCain we could be fighting for another 100 years"

Mr. McCain never said he wanted 100 years of war. That was a lie started by barack and hillary. Heh, Some people only hears (or rather are told what to hear) what they want to.

RR

This monograph summarizes key findings and recommendations from a larger RAND document entitled Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery (Tanielian and Jaycox [Eds.], Santa Monica, Calif.: MG-720-CCF, 2008), a comprehensive study RAND conducted of the post-deployment health-related needs associated with the three conditions among OEF/OIF veterans; the health care system in place to meet those needs; gaps in the care system; and the costs of filling those gaps and providing quality health care to all those in need.

Yours for 20 bucks. http://rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG720.1/

Odd that the re-enlistment rates are high as they are, no?

Afghanistan is a just war Iraq was not

Given those statistics they continue to meet their recruitment golds. That they ignore soldiers with existing mental problems in order to fill the ranks can not be ruled out. The US is perhaps training the next generation of potential serial killers and mass murderers in its armies. The most recent incident of the airman who went nuts killing that taxi driver in Japan is a case in point. These crimes are not random occurrence in the sense that the perpetrator must have had a prior diagnosable condition, which was perhaps duly ignored by recruiters.

It is a monumental con job perpetrated on the poor who make up the bulk of America's army. Victims of crime perpetrated by current or even past US soldiers should be able to sue the military, if it has been found that their service had something to do with their state of mind at the time.

I remember an interesting thing that happened the other day. A person working at a cash register told a customer that they were going into the military. I can't exactly remember which one... anyways the response wasn't what it used be a few years back. Instead of saying "Good for you, go fight for your country" they responded with a sort of confused look on their face as if to say "poor guy" but instead saying something along the lines of "hopefully you won't die within the next couple of weeks."

I don't think the new generations, or new blood, are mentally stable to handle the war. I never thought that I was, so I didn't join the military. And especially after seeing my brother come home. Never saw him as the same family member afterwards. He did his job and the military loved him for it. But he now "works hard" to provide for his family.

Serial Killers and Mass Murderers could also be seen as Heros and Kings in another person's eyes. To quote someone smarter than me, "It's the winners of the wars who write our text books."

It is a monumental con job perpetrated on the poor who make up the bulk of America's army.

Nice try but no soap, doc.

Despite their youth, the marines seemed to tower over their peers outside the military in maturity and guts.

[...]

Like many of the young men in Bravo Company, Corporal Ritchie said he had joined the Marines because he yearned for an adventure greater than his small town could offer.

"The guys who stayed, they're all living with their parents, making $7 an hour," Corporal Ritchie said. "I'm not going to be one of those people who gets old and says, 'I wish I had done this. I wish I had done that.' Every once in a while, you've got to do something hard, do something you're not comfortable with. A person needs a gut check."

Tower. Yes.

The key is making sure that the government provides assistant to these vets, which is something they are currently failing on. Hopefully the attention will help put more focus on programs to help the soldiers.

In any case, the military offers those without the desire to go to college a chance at a career. Plus, it offers those with no money a chance to have their college paid for. Except for the dying part it is a win win situation for many.

1 in 5 have mental problems after returning.... 5 in 5 have mental problems for ever going in the first place.

Not to worry, though, they can always return to a populace that doesn't give a rat's a$$, and shoddy medical treatment that they have to pay and arm and a leg (sometimes literally!) for.

Again, not at all surprising given that they were sent off to die based on a pack of lies for a worthless cause, then cast aside when they get home.

"Mr. McCain never said he wanted 100 years of war. That was a lie started by barack and hillary. Heh, Some people only hears (or rather are told what to hear) what they want to.

RR"

Wrong, ROmeo. The ill-tempered McCain DID say they'd be there for 100 years (if need be), but he meant as a military presence, not necessarily in combat. Easily misconstrued, I'll give you that, but you're wrong to say he never said that.

1 in 5? That would be 20 percent.

In Canada, a full 31 percent of soldiers have mental issues.

And since the Canadian medical system is mysteriously considered superior to America's I guess we need to ask why America sends far more into far more ferocious battle and yet has lower rates for mental problems. Is it the recruits America gets, or is it the overall population drawn from?

"Mental illness afflicts 31% of troops: study But only 13% seek help, MD says"

http://dev.www.uregina.ca/traumatic/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=114&Itemid=71

I was pretty shocked at some of what I came across:

Like this story:

Schouten didn't show up for work for a few days and was charged for impaired driving.

He was given medications with serious side-effects and, in June, attempted suicide.

Friends who stayed with him until his family got there were his salvation.

LeClair said she went on the base, wanting to set up a program for her son and asking for a psychiatric assessment.

In front of her, one officer told Schouten, 'You need to suck it up.'

http://www.lfpress.com/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=227405&s=health

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080418/wl_mcclatchy/2913186

This war that McCain said he'd be more than willing to stay in Iraq for another 100 years if it took that for victory. That is the same Iraq that is so elequantly discussed in the above link.

If the Army was making all their quotas why is the US sending troops back for their third and fourth tours in Iraq?

Oh yeah this is the same war that the poorest portion of the population will handle. The same portion that encompasses those who received moral waivers to be able to enlist. Those who were looking for 3 square meals and a cot a day. Yeah, this is the kind of illness that they need to return back to their lives of scraping together a livelihood.

There have been incidents where vets have disappeared after having sudden mental events. Both were found after crawling in to a small space to die.

The problem is that PTSD is a failed explanation for the mental problems. From the posts above you can see that it depends on a political diagnosis that trauma causes these events.

It is more likely that these mental problems are being caused by a little known problem with physiology, Subliminal Distraction.

"http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080418/wl_mcclatchy/2913186

This war that McCain said he'd be more than willing to stay in Iraq for another 100 years if it took that for victory."

Read the link but no direct quote from Mr. McCain advoctaing troops staying and fighting in Iraq for the next 100 years.

Heh, liberals only hear what they are told to hear.

RR

I read the link. It doesn't mention John McCain at all. No there's not a single mention of John McCain. But what it does say, that the george bush Memorial War in Iraq is a failed effort and has been for a very long time. John McCain said the imfamous 100 year statement a couple of months ago.

But John McCain will continue to campaign that he'll stay in Iraq as long as it takes to ensure victory in Iraq.

smitty - It was your liberal bud, adaydream in post No. 2, that made the wild-eyed assertion that Mr. McCain wants 100 years of war in Iraq. You'd best better correct him.

You are right in that Mr. McCain said he advocates a presence - not necessarily combat - in Iraq. adaydream's never served in the U.S. military, so he's not expected to know that we still have troops stationed in germany and throughout europe, Japan, Korea and Bosnia. We have a naval fleet that includes aircraft carriers that police the tight spots.

Mr. McCain doesn't want 100 years of war. Never said that. It's barack and hillary who lied and claim he said that. And like a good liberal, adaydream lapped up that vomit; no questions asked.

RR

I heard John McCain's speach. He is more than willing to stay in Iraq till there is "Victory".

Hillary and Obama may exagerate, but never lie. Now george bush. There's a bold faced liar. dick cheney he's another liar who runs around singing the victory songs also.

The report I gave you the link for says that Iraq is a "Can't Win" situation.

Is this thread about U.S. troops returning from war zones with mental health problems? Or is it about the next President of the United States, John McCain?

She said officials have been working to add thousands more mental health professionals to help the uniformed psychiatrists, psychologists and others struggling to meet the wartime demands of troops and their families. Across the services, officials are trying to hire over 1,000 additional staff. Also, companies providing health care by contract to the Pentagon have added over 3,000 in the past year, and the U.S. Public Health Service has provided some 200, she said. Veterans Affairs has added some 3,800 professionals in the past couple of years, officials there said.

And who said the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars would only benefit the Halliburtons and Blackwaters of the world?

Business is business.

"Or is it about the next President of the United States, John McCain?"

Nah, that's the nutters that are a) paranoid by the fact the next US president will be either half african, or a woman or b) hearing facts about the sufferance of their troops caused by pointless and self-defeating home-made wars that they'd rather talk about the repbublican fal guy - MC cain.

And besides - after what people must see in what's left of Iraq or Afghanistan even - who can blame them for losing it?

The shape of things to come (from a Jan 2003 article):

As the U.S. contemplates another war on Iraq in the coming weeks, most Americans expect relatively few casualties among the U.S. troops – just like the first Gulf War.

The Gulf War was remarkable, as U.S. conflicts go, for the strikingly low number of U.S. dead and wounded – 148 killed and 467 wounded.

But the truth is nearly two of every five of the approximately 540,000 Gulf War vets are on disability as a result of illnesses they believe they sustained during that conflict.....

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30664

Some disability claims are for chemical weapon related health problems, since Saddam actually did have chemical weapons during the first Gulf War.

I would expect this time around claims for mental-health related problems will only go up. Those few who've served have done multiple deployments to war zones. In between, they've returned to a society where their fellow citizens are largely indifferent to a conflict they've not been asked to sacrifice for and, frankly, don't want to hear about. All that sacrifice and the folks back home changed the channel long ago....

It's still lower than the 24% this site was reporting recently for mental illness among Japanese civilians. Amazing, PTSD troops are saner than the average Taro and Sakura here! Japan: The World's Largest Open Air Mental Institution! Sheeesh!

...The Rand study underscores one of the lessons of modern counterinsurgency conflicts: Such wars may kill fewer troops than traditional fighting but can leave deeper psychological scars.

Screening techniques for stress disorders are vastly improved from previous wars, making comparisons with Vietnam, Korea or World War II difficult. But a chief difference is that in Iraq and Afghanistan all service members, not just combat infantry, are exposed to roadside bombs and civilian deaths. That distinction subjects a much wider swath of military personnel to the stresses of war.

"We call it '360-365' combat," said Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense. "What that means is veterans are completely surrounded by combat for one year. Nearly all of our soldiers are under fire, or being subjected to mortar rounds or roadside bombs, or witnessing the deaths of civilians or fellow soldiers."

Military officials praised the Rand study, saying that its findings were consistent with their own studies, and said it would reinforce efforts to try to improve mental health care. Veterans Affairs officials, while questioning the study's methodology, said their department had intensified efforts to find discharged service members suffering from mental disorders.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stress18apr18,0,6748314.story

Oh this article is definately about soldiers with PTSD. Some posters also have to be reminded that there is one candidate who would keep the troops in this place for, as he said for another 100 years if it took that long to achieve victory.

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. troops has mental problems after war service

More than 4 in five U.S. tropps do not have mental problems after war service.

This is a George Soros-funded "study" to head the U.S. into socialist health coverage which has proven not to work in Canada, Great Britain and other advanced, modern countries.

Why won't the marxists give it up?

Military officials praised the Rand study,

Why aren't they named?

redacted,

You're doing wonders for cross-border friendship.

I don't think there is any significant difference between Canadian troops and US troops. This article cites a 1-in-5 rate for "major depression or post-traumatic stress". The Canadian statistic is for "mental issues".

A 2007 study showed the same percentage (31%) for returning US troops:

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTON27935120070312

Surprisingly this rate of mental illness is lower than the rate observed in the rapid supporters of the failed iraq invasion that post so often in obscure ways and with mutable aliases on JT.

I would guess that you could 1 in 5 of the whole population has a type of mental illness depending on the defintion. but since this is an anti american site i am not surprised by this article.

Don't forget the 171 murders committed in the USA by returned vets(this figure nearly 6 months old). The best effective treatment is one-on-one specialist council ling, for possibly up to the lifetime of the patient. Drugs won't effectively cure(although most will self-medicate with crack, heroin, crystal meth etc), The cost being in the hundreds of thousands per soldier. If you think it is OK to have these crazy killing machines wondering around, do your research and look at how their illness will manifest in society. Glad I don't live in the good ol US!