Iraq -> PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
LEIGH POMEROY
In the English composition class I teach at Minnesota State University, Mankato, I have 25 students. Five are veterans, all under the age of 30. Three have served in Iraq. One is suffering from PTSD — post-traumatic stress disorder. At least only one admits it.
He's a good kid, bright, doing well in the class. But he says he can't sleep. He's constantly tired. He knows things aren't right. Fortunately, he's recently sought help from the VA. And just as fortunately, the VA has come through, even though my student had to travel almost 80 miles to get the help he needed.
He says that five members of his battalion have committed suicide since they returned from Iraq. (A battalion is usually four companies or 660 soldiers.) That's equivalent to a rate of 757.6 per 100,000. The average rate of suicide in the U.S. is 10.6 per 100,000. In other words, returning Iraq war veterans commit suicide at a rate over 70 times greater than the U.S. average.
Is there a problem here?
Those are unfair statistics, you say. The sample of one battalion is too small. Besides, with company turnovers within the battalion, you may be talking about twice that number of soldiers. Okay, twice then. That means the suicide rate is 35 times greater than the average.
We still have a problem.
My student also says that many marriages have broken up. And then there's spousal abuse and homicide.
As you might guess, information on this subject is hard to find. The DOD is naturally less than enthusiastic about publicizing these kinds of statistics. And the mainstream media, aside from reporting on the spate of suicides of U.S. service personnel in Iraq following the initial offensive in 2003, has been mum since then.
And this is just in the U.S. It was recently reported that four Japanese soldiers have committed suicide since returning from Iraq. And then, who knows what's happening among the Iraqis?
Time and resources permitting, we'll explore the effects of the Iraq War on U.S. service personnel and their families in the future. And, if possible, we'll also look into what's happening in Iraq to the families — and especially the children — there.
For more on this subject, see:
In the English composition class I teach at Minnesota State University, Mankato, I have 25 students. Five are veterans, all under the age of 30. Three have served in Iraq. One is suffering from PTSD — post-traumatic stress disorder. At least only one admits it.
He's a good kid, bright, doing well in the class. But he says he can't sleep. He's constantly tired. He knows things aren't right. Fortunately, he's recently sought help from the VA. And just as fortunately, the VA has come through, even though my student had to travel almost 80 miles to get the help he needed.
He says that five members of his battalion have committed suicide since they returned from Iraq. (A battalion is usually four companies or 660 soldiers.) That's equivalent to a rate of 757.6 per 100,000. The average rate of suicide in the U.S. is 10.6 per 100,000. In other words, returning Iraq war veterans commit suicide at a rate over 70 times greater than the U.S. average.
Is there a problem here?
Those are unfair statistics, you say. The sample of one battalion is too small. Besides, with company turnovers within the battalion, you may be talking about twice that number of soldiers. Okay, twice then. That means the suicide rate is 35 times greater than the average.
We still have a problem.
My student also says that many marriages have broken up. And then there's spousal abuse and homicide.
As you might guess, information on this subject is hard to find. The DOD is naturally less than enthusiastic about publicizing these kinds of statistics. And the mainstream media, aside from reporting on the spate of suicides of U.S. service personnel in Iraq following the initial offensive in 2003, has been mum since then.
And this is just in the U.S. It was recently reported that four Japanese soldiers have committed suicide since returning from Iraq. And then, who knows what's happening among the Iraqis?
Time and resources permitting, we'll explore the effects of the Iraq War on U.S. service personnel and their families in the future. And, if possible, we'll also look into what's happening in Iraq to the families — and especially the children — there.
For more on this subject, see:
- "Hidden Combat Wounds: Extensive, Deadly, Costly" from Psychiatric Times
- "Iraq veterans' unspoken epidemic" from the BBC
- "Mother says Army, Veterans Administration failed her son, who committed suicide" from the Las Vegas Review-Journal
- "Blaming the Veteran: The Politics of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" from ePluribus Media
- PTSD Support Groups, Links, and Publications from the Iraq War Veterans Organization
- Blog: "PTSD Combat : Winning the War Within"
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