Millions went to war in Iraq, Afghanistan, leaving many with lifelong scars

[unhappycamper]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/03/14/185880/millions-went-to-war-in-iraq-afghanistan.html



Corpsman carry a wounded Marine to a Chinook 46, April 7, 2004, as the number of U.S. Marines killed in a five hour, house to house firefight in Ramadi on Tuesday climbed

Millions went to war in Iraq, Afghanistan, leaving many with lifelong scars
By Chris Adams | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2013

WASHINGTON — Ten years after the United States went to war in Iraq, one of the most common numbers associated with the conflict is the tally of Americans killed: nearly 4,500. Add in the twin war in Afghanistan, and the tally goes to more than 6,600.

But for the men and women who served in America’s war on terrorism, the number of people affected is far larger. And for many of those people, the impact of the war will last a lifetime.

“I give presentations all over the country, and audiences are routinely shocked and surprised at the numbers,” said Paul Sullivan, a former senior analyst at the Department of Veterans Affairs who handles veteran outreach for Bergmann & Moore, a Washington-area law firm that specializes in disability issues. “Quite often they will challenge me.”

~snip~

In fact, as of last year nearly 37,000 Americans had been deployed more than five times, among them 10,000 members of guard or Reserve units. Records also show that 400,000 service members have done three or more deployments.

[Victor_c3]

1. When a lot of people find out that I'm a veteran I often get a response "you don't look old enough"

I know I have a baby face, but it often seems that most people don't have a clue that young people have in fact been fighting war(s) for the last decade +. People think of veterans and they think of the old WWII vets they see wearing their hats or guys in approaching their 60s who were in Vietnam. They don't think of the 22 year old kid or 33 year old guy (i.e. me).