This is Not the way to treat soldiers who've already been in theater, and in these occupations of choice, more then once and more then just one theater, and already showing the suffering from the trauma's and stresses of war, seeing, doing and knowing about which brings on the nightmares of PTS from those extreme trauma's of 24/7 war and occupation!
Military keeping traumatized soldiers in combat zones
8/1/2010 Army says it's better to treat soldiers 'in theater,' others say it only helps stretched military
Sgt. Thomas Riordan was sent back to Afghanistan after nearly killing himself when he was on home leave. He'd just fought through a battle that killed eight soldiers and told his psychologist he wanted to remain in the U.S. Instead, he was sent back to combat.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE BOSTICK, Afghanistan — Sgt. Thomas Riordan didn't want to return to Afghanistan after home leave. He had just fought through a battle that killed eight soldiers, and when he arrived home his wife said she was leaving. He almost killed himself that night.
When his psychologist asked what he thought he should do, Riordan said: Stay in Colorado.
Instead, the military brought Riordan back to this base in the eastern Afghan mountains, where mortar rounds sound regularly and soldiers have to wear flack jackets if they step outside their barracks before 8 a.m., even to go to the bathroom.
Increasingly, the Army is trying to treat traumatized soldiers "in theater" — where they're stationed. The idea is that soldiers will heal best if kept with those who understand what they've been through, rather than being dumped into a treatment center back in the States where they'll be surrounded by unfamiliar people and untethered from their work and routine.
However, the policy may serve the military at least as much as the soldiers. Treating soldiers on site makes it easier to send them back into battle — key for a stretched military fighting two wars. It also brings up a host of challenges: Ensuring soldiers get the treatment they need in the middle of war, monitoring those on antidepressants and sleeping pills, and deciding who can be kept in a war zone and who might snap. Continued
All this practice does is increase the chances, greatly, for these soldiers to not only do grave harm to themselves but to all around them as well as greatly increase the triggers that might set them off and the suffering they're already going through. Especially if sending them back into with drugs that are supposedly to help but greatly increase the side effects All drugs carry!
Seeking help among brother and sister military personnel, while still in, and veterans after discharge has always been one of the best treatments since we Vietnam Veterans started doing so and the results of Wars, especially of choice, were Finally recognized for what they do mentally, PTS, to those sent to fight and serve in them and those who live in these theaters. It's also finally spread that knowledge into the civilian populations as to those who've experienced and lived through their own extreme traumatic life events and have suffered in total silence the rest of their lives without even professionals completely understanding what it was or why.
It does show that the long suspected recruitment numbers needed to fight these wars of choice, even with lowering the enlistment requirements and an extremely bad economy, haven't brought the 'hawks', kombat keyboarders of todays technology, into serving in wars they don't mind sending others into, over and over! As well as a Country still unwilling to Sacrifice for those results of the Wars they cheer on then quickly loose interest in, while still sending others into over and over and still thinking the results will read like some sports event or movie, instead of the damage created on many levels and enhancing that damage for decades to come!
On that last, sacrifice and recruitment, this reads the problems faced
Guardsmen deploy in historic numbers
August 2, 2010 Nearly 700 muster, are bound for Afghanistan
Over using the National Guard, well regulated and trained citizen militia, to supplement an extremely overstretched military, not on this soil in helping their communities and states and as a defensive force!
No comments:
Post a Comment