A Tragedy: The After-Effects Faced by War Veterans

 

        A soldier enters the military with the idea that he or she is doing something positive for our country, that is true, but it’s not quite that simple. The soldier feels the excitement and honor of knowing that they are making a difference, but all that changes once they see and feel the full impact of combat. Soldiers go through life changing experiences, and when they are finally able to go home, they think that everything is going to go back to normal. Some are all right, but others aren't so lucky. Many go home and reunite with their families, they get a job, and move on with their lives, others struggle to make the transition back to the civilian lifestyle. Many soldiers who return home suffer from mild traumatic brain injury, while, in other cases, they will be forced to endure the pains caused by PTSD, or, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

 

        A major problem facing our society today is homelessness, and it is extremely common in veterans only recently returning home from war. There is an average of 300,000 homeless veterans on the streets today, and 1.4 million are at risk. In 2011 the US Department of Housing and Urban development conducted a study, estimating that on one night alone, there were 67,495 homeless veterans countrywide. How could someone who worked so hard to protect our country be forced onto the streets in disgrace? What makes their situation even worse is that, even after serving our country for so long, a veteran can spend an average of six years on the streets. 67% of veterans who risked their lives for 3 years or more are forced into homelessness.

 

        During World Wars I & II, soldiers would return home with what people were calling “Shell Shock. Their symptoms included nightmares, confusion, tremors, etc. The term “Shell Shock” was conceived by the soldiers to describe the symptoms they were experiencing. This term is no longer commonly used, instead we call this Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD can severely affect veterans, in an interview with Michael DeGraeve, an Iraq veteran, he says, “I was diagnosed with PTSD and an alcohol disorder. I found it hard to adjust to civilian life...but I think the hardest thing was the detachment from regular people. It caused a lot of pain to people I cared about.” Many service members who have experienced war suffer with PTSD, and it makes their lives all the more difficult. It isn’t easy to hold a job when noises like loud bangs “bring you back to the day you were deployed.”

 

        An estimated 460,000 veterans suffer from PTSD and more than one in six soldiers who served in the last few wars are at risk. The US Department of Defense states that between 2001 and 2014 about 230,000 soldiers suffer from Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). There are a variety of symptoms affiliated with TBI, some of those symptoms primarily related with and found in PTSD, are symptoms such as visual disturbances, motor disorders, dizziness, mood changes, seizures, and cognitive difficulties. Some researchers believe that mild TBI may increase vulnerability to some psychological disorders. TBI could account for the high rate of these disorders and even be the cause of some suicide among veterans.  These statistics prove that veterans are affected by what they experience, whether it is physically, mentally, or both!

 

 

        Information that has come from the Pentagon states that there have been 172 recorded suicides by troops in the war zones, that’s before they can even return home! Also, in 2006, the Army’s suicide rate rose to 17.3 per every 100,000 troops, the highest rate in 26 years! What’s even worse is that, even after surviving battles, veterans still will choose to take their own lives due to obstacles they feel cannot be dealt with and problems like PTSD and TBI. Research by the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder indicates that traumatic events like combat generally increases a person's suicide risk. “Veterans were at a much higher risk for suicide than non veterans,” states a report from a small team of investigators led by Mark Kaplan, Dr.P.H. The Congressional Research Service also released a report saying that “the true incidence of suicide among veterans is not known, but based on numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's, the VA (Veterans Affairs) estimates that 18 veterans a day, or 6,500 a year take their own lives.”  

 

 

        Although the true number is not known, it is still unacceptable for veterans to have to feel that taking their own lives would be easier than living them. Why should people who worked to save our country of oppression have to be living out on the streets? There are way too many service members out there suffering. Thankfully, there are people who are willing to stand up for what’s right and stop their agony. Organizations like Healing Heroes, Operation Sacred Trust, Soldiers Angels, and Wounded Warrior are there to help out the service members being forced to live out on the streets, and who are having to live with burdens like PTSD.

        So whether it’s fighting off the effects of PTSD, or working hard to keep their homes, veterans returning home have it rough. They don’t understand why their sacrifice went unnoticed. Through it all, even with little help from the military, with little help from the country they served, they still would do it all over again. Veteran Michael Degraeve states “I served for the men and women who served this country before me. Who died for our freedom. It was and still is an honor to fight for this country and I dont regret a single moment! We live in the greatest country in the world and I take pride in my service!” So, if they would still do it all over again, why do we let them suffer? Why do these courageous and brave people have to live through more and more struggles because nobody will help them? Thankfully, there is a solution to this epidemic of PTSD, suicide, and service members thrown out on to the streets. People everywhere are starting to notice, shelters are being built, the VA (Veterans Administration), even as it is a separate entity from the military, will lend a hand to any veteran in need. All these veterans need is help to get back on their feet and resume the life they once led, and what America needs to realize is that they can’t do it alone!

 

Works Cited

 

 

     Alexander, Caroline. "The Invisible War on the Brain." National Geographic Feb. 2015: 30-53. Web.

 

     "AP's 'Q & A' on Issue of Veterans and Suicide." Editor & Publisher 8 May 2008. General OneFile. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.

 

 

      Carney Jordain”One in Six Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans Might Have PTSD.” Nationjournal.com 12 Nov, 2014. GeneralOneFile web.9 Mar. 2015.

 

 

       “PTSD:National Center for PTSD.”How Common is PTSD?-.N.p.,10 Nov. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.

 

        "Risk for Suicide Among Veterans in the Community." American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. N.p., 2015. Web. 08 Apr. 2015.

·      Shapiro Yisrael. "Holding down the fort: keeping veterans off the streets one soldier at a time." The Chicago Reporter May-June 2012: 6+. General OneFile. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.