Is The Military Neglecting PTSD Troops?

(CBS)  Army Spc. Shawn Saunders was proud of his first two tours in Iraq. But midway through his third tour - he snapped.

"If I hear loud noises, I get, I'm real, real jumpy," Saunders told CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier. "I get paranoid."

"Distraught, lost, confused..." is how Saunders' father characterizes his behavior.

His parents say his breaking point was watching his best friend die while guarding a checkpoint.

"He kept saying, it should have been me, it should have been me," said his mother, Pam Wilson.

Texas medic Taylor Burke took Saunders' turn, and the car blew up.

"When he passed, it was like a part of me that's left me, and I haven't been the same since," Saunders said.

During home leave from Iraq, Shawn talked of suicide.

At Fort Hood, his home base, he asked for help. Instead of treatment, he says he got bureaucracy.

"I was basically just trying to find out what was wrong with me, because I was thinking about hurting myself, thinking about hurting other people," he said.

His dad took action, flying him to a New York veteran's hospital. Doctors there diagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The Army disagreed. Military police arrested him at the hospital, jailed him and kicked him out.

Veterans advocates say it's a military-wide problem, where symptoms of PTSD - from substance-abuse to rage to suicidal depression - are misdiagnosed or blamed on the troops themselves.

These critics point to a 40 percent spike: 22,500 troops who've been expelled since 2003, for personality disorder. The military claims these are psychological problems the troops had before joining, that surfaced from combat.

Another 5,500 were expelled for "misconduct" like drug abuse - up to 20 percent. It's an expedient way to replace an ailing soldier quickly.

Discharging for a personality disorder takes days, and costs the military nothing. A PTSD discharge can take up to nine months, and treatment can last a lifetime - in severe cases, costing up to $2 million each.

---

From Kimberly Dozier's Notebook: The War Over PTSD.
For resources on veterans mental health, click here.

---

The soldiers' record, obtained by CBS News, show the man was first diagnosed with PTSD. But his commander said he "did not see anything really bad," and ordered the diagnosis changed, to "personality disorder." The soldier was immediately discharged, with no medical benefits.

Shawn Saunders is now fighting to get his PTSD recognized.

Dozier asked him: "You've got a lot of stuff to go through to get back to normal life, huh?"

"I'm gonna try," Saunders said.

[momwants2help]

My son was ignored after asking for help from the Navy and eventually began drug use to cope. In time of course, addiction became evident and he was dismissed from the service. The Navy rehab was a joke and after his discharge I paid for a four month rehab program which hopefully will give him his life back. This backrupted me but was worth every penny. However, this never should have happened. I would like to join an organization that fights for the rights of our loved ones for mental health issues to ensure that others never have to go thru what our family has experienced. Anyone out there know a group that is professional in nature and is serious about changing the care for those that risk their lives for our country?

[grammawhamma]

Michelle: thank you for your well wishes. My husband died almost 5 years ago from cancer caused by Agent Orange. He thought he survived the vietnam war only to be killed by it years later. My husband''s PTSD would have worsened by seeing the news daily about Iraq.

Merry Christmas to everyone....and God bless our troops and their families!!

[michellem99-2009]

Gramma, I am a layperson. It is real therefore the vets need the care. Hope yer husband gets the care he needs and yer boy..Happy Holidays.

[grammawhamma]

chris_d3: It is very interesting how you can diagnose this man from your computer chair. PTSD is very real...my husband was a vietnam vet who had it. My son is currently serving in Iraq. He was there only two months when he already told me that he probably will need some form of counseling when he gets home.

God bless our troops and their families.

[michellem99-2009]

Dear StepDad/Mum of Vet.
Put the blame on Bush. He sends them in harms way. He need to get off that asre of his. Give the Veterans Affairs hospitals and the like, money to help these boys and girls in combat who need the help. My Dad raised his paws years ago to serve. My room mate of 24 years is a vet. The VAMCs need money to care for them. It is more than time to step up to the plate in this matter. They earnt it. I was raised to thank our vets. From a young age I knew as a blind child what the vets are. I to this day thank them. I will thank troops too. Miss Dozier she oaught to be made a vet. It appalling they give. all and they come home to ungratefulness. We have homeless vets. This nation is greedy. Chraity starts here.My vet room mate helped me get my computer. Barbara Ann age 53.

[pammywilson]

to : chris_d3

Thanks for your misguided opinion on the young man in the story Army Spc. Shawn Saunders from Ossining, NY.
But please try to remember you did not examine this young man. You just watched a short interview with a news reporter.
The Veterans Administration Hospital in Montross, NY did the examination.
And for the record he has been diagnosed with PTSD and your stating that you think he is suffering from guilt is just a statment of an individual who does not understand how serious this condition is.
It is people like you who confuse the public with your opinions while ignoring the facts.
You sympathise with Texas 468 but refuse to even accept the fact that this young man suffers from PTSD.
You owe him and all of the soldiers who have been diagnosed and those still out there suffering and dying so you can sit home and post comments about soilders having a guilty consciences an serious apology!

No chris_d3, this man is not suffering from a guilty conscience but you should be, for making that statetment.

posted by Stepfather of: Army Spc. Shawn Saunders

[chris_d3]

I think the 2 main reasons the military is neglecting PTSD sufferers are: money--just like someone else said earlier, they don''t want to spend the money, especially if it''s on people that won''t ever be serving (their agenda) again. And the other reason, which I think is even higher on their priority list, is because if they did admit that all these soldiers were stricken with PTSD due to their military experences, those statistics would be recorded and the numbers would be totalled up and then everyone would be see how bad it really is. This is not something you can just take a pill for and get over. PTSD is all-encompassing, it screws up every aspect of your life, for the rest of your life. And once the public is aware of how bad it is, then they''d have a helluva time trying to recruit new soldiers. They have to keep up the good PR scam so they can keep a constant supply of fresh recruits that they can talk into fighting to the death for them.

[chris_d3]

To Texas468,

I''m so sorry your husband is going through this. PTSD affects every aspect of your life. I can definitely empathize with you. Thank God you two have each other. Imagine what it would be like going through it alone.

[chris_d3]

Although I believe PTSD needs to be taken more seriously by the military, I don''t believe the man in this story has PTSD. It sounds like what he''s suffering from is guilt. He says he watched his friend die and he said it should have been him(self). That, along with the other things he''s said, point to a guilty conscience.

[aheadofcrowd]

Psychiatrists admit that they cannot cure PTSD. So why are taxpayer dollars and insurance companies funding these quacks then? As a result of psychiatry''''''''s inability to help those with PTSD, they instead "treat" PTSD with addictive and damaging drugs. Realize that most of the homeless on the street are previous war veterans who went through psychiatric "treatment" and "care."

HTTP://WWW.CCHR.ORG

HTTP://WWW.SSRISTORIES.COM