Veterans talk through post-combat life (PTSD)

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Veterans talk through post-combat life


Veterans talk through post-combat life
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, October 29, 2007


YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — On a recent cloudy Tuesday at noon, six veterans sat around a metal table and shared a few pizzas.

Two of them wore chaplain’s crosses, but that wasn’t too important.

The only meaningful marking on their uniforms was one they all shared — a combat patch.

A military training exercise meant relatively low numbers at that week’s OIF/OEF Soldiers in Arms Support Group, but the participation was no less spirited than if a battalion showed up.

They accept anyone who wants to talk about a deployment, whether they have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or just have a need to share memories with people who “get it.”

~snip~

One sergeant talked about a two-tour combat medic he found in a barracks room during the past weekend. The medic was on the floor with a fifth of tequila, an emptied bottle of painkillers and his medical kit lying against his body.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=49857