WALTER REED AND BEYOND The War Inside

[Pirate Smile]

Source: Washington Post

WALTER REED AND BEYOND
The War Inside
Troops Are Returning From the Battlefield With Psychological Wounds, But the Mental-Health System That Serves Them Makes Healing Difficult

By Dana Priest and Anne Hull
Sunday, June 17, 2007; Page A01

Army Spec. Jeans Cruz helped capture Saddam Hussein. When he came home to the Bronx, important people called him a war hero and promised to help him start a new life. The mayor of New York, officials of his parents' home town in Puerto Rico, the borough president and other local dignitaries honored him with plaques and silk parade sashes. They handed him their business cards and urged him to phone.

But a "black shadow" had followed Cruz home from Iraq, he confided to an Army counselor. He was hounded by recurring images of how war really was for him: not the triumphant scene of Hussein in handcuffs, but visions of dead Iraqi children.

In public, the former Army scout stood tall for the cameras and marched in the parades. In private, he slashed his forearms to provoke the pain and adrenaline of combat. He heard voices and smelled stale blood. Soon the offers of help evaporated and he found himself estranged and alone, struggling with financial collapse and a darkening depression.

At a low point, he went to the local Department of Veterans Affairs medical center for help. One VA psychologist diagnosed Cruz with post-traumatic stress disorder. His condition was labeled "severe and chronic." In a letter supporting his request for PTSD-related disability pay, the psychologist wrote that Cruz was "in need of major help" and that he had provided "more than enough evidence" to back up his PTSD claim. His combat experiences, the letter said, "have been well documented."




Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/16/AR2007061600866.html?hpid=topnews

[saigon68]

1. He is Used Up and now "Thrown Away"

The lessons of Viet-Nam are being repeated in Iraq-Nam

[Heidi]

2. Kicked

and recommended.

[unhappycamper]

3. Drip. Drip. Drip.

Unfortunately, it's the lives of our Brothers and Sisters that are dripping away.

They were sent to invade and occupy a country for oil. :mad:

[qwlauren35]

4. What a painful article...

The urge to bury my head back in the sand returns once more.

I have still not figured out ANYTHING that I personally can do about this mess, and it bugs the crap out of me.