Army: Many treated for PTSD, returned to war
CBS
(AP) SAN DIEGO - It is still not known if the soldier accused of killing 17 Afghans was ever diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder — but even if he had been, that alone would not have prevented him from being sent back to war.
The Army diagnosed 76,176 soldiers with PTSD between 2000 and 2011. Of those 65,236 soldiers were diagnosed at some stage of their deployment.
Many returned to the battlefield after mental health providers determined their treatment worked and their symptoms had gone into remission, Army officials and mental health professionals who treat troops say. The Army does not track the exact number in combat diagnosed with PTSD nor those who are in combat and taking medicine for PTSD.
The case of Sgt. Robert Bales has sparked debate about whether the Army failed in detecting a soldier's mental instability or pushed him too far. The Army is reviewing all its mental health programs and its screening process in light of the March 11 shooting spree in two slumbering Afghan villages that killed families, including nine children.
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For some Americans, Bales is the epitome of a soldier inflicted by war's psychological wounds, pushed by the Army beyond his limits.
Bales' attorney says he does not know if his client suffered from PTSD but his initial statements appear to be building a possible defense around the argument that the horrific crime was the result of a 10-year military veteran sent back to a war zone for a fourth time after being traumatized.
Mental health professionals say it's reasonable to consider PTSD but it was likely not the sole factor that sent the 38-year-old father from Washington state over the edge. Still, there is much that is not known about the psychological wounds of war and how they can manifest themselves, and even less is known about the impact of multiple deployments.
Military officials say they have to rely on their mental health experts to decide whether someone is mentally fit to go back into war, and they cannot make a blanket policy of not redeploying troops diagnosed with PTSD. The provider makes a recommendation, but the ultimate decision to deploy a soldier rests with the unit commander.
Army Secretary John McHugh told Congress this week that "we have in the military writ large over 50,000 folks in uniform who have had at least four deployments." Some have served double-digit deployments, where they witnessed traumatic events.
"People do not understand that you can be treated for PTSD," said Dr. Heidi Kraft, who cared for Marines in Iraq in 2004 as a Navy combat psychologist. "It's a matter of turning a traumatic memory into just that — a memory rather than something that haunts you.
"You can't say the person hasn't live through trauma, but symptoms can go completely into remission, where a person is very functional and in fact emerges from treatment better or more resilient. There is the misconception out there that if you have this diagnosis, you will always be disabled, and that's just not true."
Experts: Alleged Afghanistan shooter may have PTSD
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G.I.'s plea: Give troops with PTSD more help
It also depends on the severity of the PTSD, which can last anywhere from months to years.
Some troops treated for PTSD yearn to return to the battlefield where they feel more comfortable surrounded by their fellow troops and on a mission than in the unsettling quiet of their home life, mental health professionals say.
But Bales' attorney said that was not the case with his client.
John Henry Browne of Seattle said Bales had suffered injuries during his deployments, including a serious foot injury and head trauma and did not want to go on a fourth tour.
Military officials insist that Bales had been properly screened and declared fit for combat.
Army officials say soldiers sent to war may be checked up to five times, including before being deployed, during combat, once they return home and six months and a year later. The Army screens soldiers for depression and PTSD, asking questions to find out about any social stressors, sleep disruption and other problems. Those who are detected as having problems go on to a second phase of screening.
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What the volunteer military is recognizing is small military engagements work for an all volunteer force but when he comes to major engagements for a decade or more you need a draft to offset the major health and psychological effects of it's personnel in uniform.
You can't continue to break people by sending them on multiple deployments year end and year out. You declare war you need to initate a draft with that declaration because without it you get these incidents.
It's easily to blame an individual for his personal actions but when the man has multiple physical and mental trauma and you continue to send him back into a war zone...well we know what happens.
Start holding the people responsible for allowing it and not the individual who's cries for help go unheeded.
First, those of you who have not served, shut up. You have no business discussing something that you cannot possibly understand.
Now, for the rest. If you have served, as I have, then we all can understand where things break down in military. All four branches are under-funded, under-staffed and under-manned. We have commanders who do not spend actual time in country and on the ground. They are now able to command and control troop movements from the comfort of a "war room" in Washington D.C. The "grunts" of the military are then expected to carry out orders given by people who have absolutely no idea what it's like on the ground. These "grunts" are still human, still have a brain, intelligence, a conscience and are exposed to horrors that most people don't even want to know about let alone imagine.
While this may not excuse what this man did to those civilians in Afghanistan, it could go a long to understanding why he did it and with that understanding we can maybe prevent something like this from happening again. It troubles me to no end when I hear people say "Well, Sgt. Doe has been deployed 7 times into a war zone and he's ok, why isn't Sgt. Jones alright after only 2 deployments?" This trivializes and demeans both of those men, what they have done and their mental health. As we have all heard and been told, no two people are alike. The problem is that the military wants everyone to fit into one uniform archetype. They don't want to have to worry about differences in personality, upbringing, health, intelligence, etc. However, the reality of the situation is that people are different and when those differences interrupt the flow of the military, the military immediately wants them quashed. The military doesn't want to have deal with the fact that when people are exposed to the horrors of war, their psyche gets scarred. People are able to take this type of thing for only so long before they break. Even the most seasoned, battle hardened Navy Seal, Army Ranger, Marine Raider or Air Force Pathfinder/Combat Controller has a breaking point.
All that is happening is that the commanders who are responsible for these men are now trying to cover their ***** by scapegoating this man and others like him who are suffering from the ravages of war. Again, I am not excusing what this man did, all that I'm saying is there is more to the story than what is being told in the news.
Cry me a river.
These ASPD-afflicted, brainwashed, propagandized, drugged up death worshiping cowards volunteered to go where they were neither wanted, or needed, for nothing other than the benefit of war profiteers.
Just like Bush, who now blames his treasons and crimes against humanity on "bad intel", these GI-Joe wannabes go out and indulge their sickest fantasies on people in no position to resist, then, like the cowards they actually are, want to hide behind excuses like "PTSD" in order to avoid responsibility for their acts.
So apparently this clown was able to commit slaughter in two villages before his personal demon was sated.
So where were the other US soldiers who are, by laws both international and domestic, required to provide security and protect the citizens of the country we occupy from the illegal acts of our own soldiers?
This reminds me of the Rodney King incident, there were twelve cops watching four of their own commit a crime, and did nothing to stop the perps. Why were the other eight not also charged with at least dereliction of duty?
The same question is in order for the other soldiers stationed at the perp's post, but as usual, the question I have posed will never be addressed.
LOL!
So how many have you and Obama sent into harms way since 2009?
I'll bet you were one of those low lives that spit on our soldiers returning from Viet Nam, calling them baby killers!..."
Those who killed babies were justifiably called so, but unlike baggers, I don't stoop so low as to spit on people, besides, any such baby killers wouldn't be worthy of receiving my spit anyway.
At any rate, I have no sympathy for those suckers who blindly follow orders that any sentient being would recognize as clearly illegal.
"...You're not much the patriot, are you?"
Sure I am, but I am also intelligent enough to know when we are wrong, and man enough to stand against it.
"...Bush didn't commit crimes or treason, that is a load of Liberal propaganda nonsense!"
He sent troops into harm's way on the basis of lies, and has since admitted as much. That is on-the-books treason, look it up, Klem.
"...In reference to Rodney King, that low life piece of garbage got exactly what he deserved and a jury confirmed that."
A jury found OJ not guilty, I bet you accepted that one also, right?
"...The video that was shot didn't include King's resisting and fighting with officers."
Videos cannot include what didn't happen, duh.
"...I strongly supported the officers in that incident!!!"
You would.
How many have you and Obama sent into harms way since 2009?
I'll bet you were one of those low lives that spit on our soldiers returning from Viet Nam, calling them baby killers!..."
Those who killed babies were justifiably called so, but unlike baggers, I don't stoop so low as to spit on people, besides, any such baby killers wouldn't be worthy of receiving my spit anyway.
At any rate, I have no sympathy for those suckers who blindly follow orders that any sentient being would recognize as clearly illegal.
"...You're not much the patriot, are you?"
Sure I am, but I am also intelligent enough to know when we are wrong, and man enough to stand against it.
"...Bush didn't commit crimes or treason, that is a load of Liberal propaganda nonsense!"
He sent troops into harm's way on the basis of lies, and has since admitted as much. That is on-the-books treason, look it up, Klem.
"...In reference to Rodney King, that low life piece of garbage got exactly what he deserved and a jury confirmed that."
A jury found OJ not guilty, I bet you accepted that one also, right?
"...The video that was shot didn't include King's resisting and fighting with officers."
Videos cannot include what didn't happen, duh.
"...I strongly supported the officers in that incident!!!"
You would.
As the war machine keeps turning...
These ASPD-afflicted, brainwashed, propagandized, drugged up death worshiping cowards volunteered to go where they were neither wanted, or needed, for nothing other than the benefit of war profiteers.
Just like Bush, who now blames his treasons and crimes against humanity on "bad intel", these GI-Joe wannabes go out and indulge their sickest fantasies on people in no position to resist, then, like the cowards they actually are, want to hide behind excuses like "PTSD" in order to avoid responsibility for their acts.
So apparently this clown was able to commit slaughter in two villages before his personal demon was sated.
So where were the other US soldiers who are, by laws both international and domestic, required to provide security and protect the citizens of the country we occupy from the illegal acts of our own soldiers?
This reminds me of the Rodney King incident, there were twelve cops watching four of their own commit a crime, and did nothing to stop the perps. Why were the other eight not also charged with at least dereliction of duty?
The same question is in order for the other soldiers stationed at the perp's post, but as usual, the question I have posed will never be addressed.
The media; who played over and over the few minutes of the tape; should have been held responsible for the riots that ensued.
When you go to court, you swear to "tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth"
Nobody can make a reasonable judgement on anybody until they know the "whole truth"..
Problem is, that when you get to court, you are only allowed to testify to the part of the truth the lawyers want juries to hear.