Is The Military Neglecting PTSD Troops?
Veterans' Advocates Say Ignoring Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Is A Military-Wide Problem
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PTSD Ignored By Military Brass
Soldiers diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder can cost the U.S. military millions each. So top brass are finding other ways to deal with the illness. Kimberly Dozier reports.
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Helping Troops Deal With PTSD
Harry Smith talks with Dr. Glen Wurglitz, part of a team being deployed to Iraq to assist U.S. troops deal with mental health issues, including post-traumaic stress disorder.
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Army Spc. Shawn Saunders got an early diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But then the military disagreed. (CBS)
"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.
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.From Kimberly Dozier's Notebook: The War Over PTSD.
For resources on veterans mental health, click here.
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.
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From Kimberly Dozier's Notebook: The War Over PTSD.



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See all 57 CommentsI''ve got a son who did a tour in Iraq a year or so ago. He saw and experienced some bad stuff and had a hard time with it at first. He seems ok now, but who''s to say that this won''t come back to visit.
It''s so sad the pricks seem to just use and abuse without any thought of the human beings behind their little toy soldier games. You would think that if there was any good that came out of the korean and vietnam wars, it would have been the lessen that you shouldn''t get into wars unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. So far they haven''t learned their lessen and there doesn''t seem to be anyone in office fighting for safeguards against this from ever happening again. I guess we''re suckers for punishment.
I am a 100% disabled Vietnam vet who applied for and received compensation for two years before receiving a letter from the government telling me that they had made a mistake in giving me that rating and that they were discontinuing all of my benefits, effective in sixty days from the date of that correspondence. In addition to having PTSD and being committed to the Waco Health Care facility twice, I have suffered: prostrate cancer, cancer of the larynx, type two diabetes, acute peripherals neuropathy and radical prostrate removal.
In a letter to Congressman Chet Edwards and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchins dated March 13, 2007 the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Texas Veterans Health Care System%u2019s residence of the PTSD Residential Rehabilitation Program reported that %u201Cthere are presently 26 veterans in the program. Of the 26, 19 are Vietnam Veterans, 5 are Desert Shield/Desert Storm and 2 are Operation Iraqi Freedom. 8 Vietnam veterans and 3 Desert Shield/Desert Storm are homeless. Others in the program have lost jobs, careers, wives, families, and their hope and happiness from the ravages of this disorder.%u201D
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."
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I am a 100% disabled Vietnam vet who applied for and received compensation for two years before receiving a letter from the government telling me that they had made a mistake in giving me that rating and that they were discontinuing all of my benefits, effective in sixty days from the date of that correspondence. In addition to having PTSD and being committed to the Waco Health Care facility twice, I have suffered: prostrate cancer, cancer of the larynx, type two diabetes, acute peripherals neuropathy and radical prostrate removal.
In a letter to Congressman Chet Edwards and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchins dated March 13, 2007 the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Texas Veterans Health Care System%u2019s residence of the PTSD Residential Rehabilitation Program reported that %u201Cthere are presently 26 veterans in the program. Of the 26, 19 are Vietnam Veterans, 5 are Desert Shield/Desert Storm and 2 are Operation Iraqi Freedom. 8 Vietnam veterans and 3 Desert Shield/Desert Storm are homeless. Others in the program have lost jobs, careers, wives, families, and their hope and happiness from the ravages of this disorder.%u201D
I am a 100% disabled Vietnam vet who applied for and received compensation for two years before receiving a letter from the government telling me that they had made a mistake in giving me that rating and that they were discontinuing all of my benefits, effective in sixty days from the date of that correspondence. In addition to having PTSD and being committed to the Waco Health Care facility twice, I have suffered: prostrate cancer, cancer of the larynx, type two diabetes, acute peripherals neuropathy and radical prostrate removal.
In a letter to Congressman Chet Edwards and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchins dated March 13, 2007 the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Texas Veterans Health Care System%u2019s residence of the PTSD Residential Rehabilitation Program reported that %u201Cthere are presently 26 veterans in the program. Of the 26, 19 are Vietnam Veterans, 5 are Desert Shield/Desert Storm and 2 are Operation Iraqi Freedom. 8 Vietnam veterans and 3 Desert Shield/Desert Storm are homeless. Others in the program have lost jobs, careers, wives, families, and their hope and happiness from the ravages of this disorder.%u201D
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Respectfully yours,
His mother.... Pamela Alston-Wilson
To pay attention to the needs of our soldiers after they have been used up would escalate the financial costs of Bush''''s illegal war of agression, and they just don''''t want that! So, to whatever extent they can get away with it, they pretend there is no problem.
Anyone thinking about "serving their country" through military service should think about this this BEFORE signing up!
Posted by GladImNotOJ at 10:18 PM : Dec 20, 2007
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The *extent* that they are denying it goes as far as to discharge them for bad behavior using the loose *personality disorder* label ... something they had before going to Iraq but nobody ever noticed .. yeaaahhh riiiiight.
You are taking that out of context. PTSD is not a mental disorder, it is a normal reaction to severe and unrelenting stress. So you can''t "cure" it. In fact, it is probably wrong to call it a disorder. Soldiers who have PTS symptoms are not insane, but they do need help and support and can benefit from professional help. And veterans should have access to that help.
Truthfully, if a soldier has been through a combat theater and does NOT suffer from some PTS symptoms--then that may indicate something seriously wrong.
-IMPEACH BUSH
Support the troops? I would love to see the bumper-sticker patriots line up in outrage over how they''re being treated when they come home and need care.
Respectfully yours,
His mother.... Pamela Alston-Wilson"
Posted by pammywilson
Mrs. Alston and Shawn, thank you for sharing your story to raise awareness of this stunning problem. I can''t get over the injustice - it''s outrageous!
You guys just hang in there - we''re all going to do our part and make sure a Democrat takes office next November and ALL the troops get the care they deserve! Democrats support the troops!
"Support the troops? I would love to see the bumper-sticker patriots line up in outrage over how they''''re being treated when they come home and need care."
I absolutely agree.
Supporting our troops should not stop after they come home.
It''s time the Government - Republicans and Democrats - and the Armed Services realized this.
Ask the vets of WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and the middle east, it has been an institutionalized military policy and a neocon/nazi/fascist mantra to "support the troops", until they get killed, wounded, or emotionally damaged, then throw them away, like used condoms.
This articles belongs in the "opinion" section, as it certainly is not news.
Posted by TiredoftheBS
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Screew impeachment - it is time to try these guys for Treason and everyone that supported/funded or played any part of the travisty that these guys played in.
Convict Bush/Cheney for Treason!
President George W. Bush will more than likely be known as one of the worst presidents, if not THE worst, U.S. president, ever.
The present Bush administration is the most unfriendly and toward active service members and veterans, at least in modern history.
President Bush is the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. armed forces, and the bad treatment of active duty service members and our veterans is happening on HIS watch...
The U.S. Army is draconian and punitive in the handling of disability claims by our men and women service members.
The Veterans Administration is part of that ugly picture too, in the way that VA claims have been bogging down, with many veterans being denied disability claims.
U.S. Senator Patty Murray recently had her legislation pass that would put a stop to all of this, but it remains to be seen if Bush will sign it. By signing that legislation, he would be admitting that his administration is FUBAR %u2013 (fouled up beyond any recognition), and in need of correction.
Mean spirited, despicable, scandalous, corrupt, are just a few words to describe the mess.
Yes, it is time for the U.S. Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) to grow a spine and start legal action against the administration. They can start with George W. Bush and %u201CShotgun ***%u201D Cheney, and the others who have been participating in this shameful treatment of U.S. Citizens, soldiers and veterans...
People ask me if the military is a good way to start life, I just tell them that it is a good place to learn to cuss and pray.
How about military personnel being offered the same health care federal employees can get. Oh, you say that would cost too much. ...Support the troops is a just a mantra - nothing else.
I hold no ill feeling to the war protesters against Vietnam. I agree with most of what you say. However if you go back and look at the facts, Jane fonda was directly responsible for American soldiers death and beatings. In my opinion she was not protestong against the war on the merits of the war but to benifit her personaly. To me fonda, bush and chaney are all the same. They kill Americans.
I hear you.
I doubt that the majority don''t even know what PTSD is. The sleepless night, the sweats, the jumping out of the skin at the least noise, the look of fear in your wife''s eye in the middle of the night, the crying (but not in front of anyone), the sounds, the smells that bring back memories 30 years later. I also bet that the majority don''t even care. They never have so why should they start now.
My prayers are with your son. Tears stream down my face every time I see or hear of these brave kids.
This fiasco was started with not enough men or money. It has dragged on 5 years longer than expected and cost, at last count, $450 BILLION more than expected.
To try and find enough money to keep creating death and destruction shrub has cut vital domestic programs PLUS cut military spending. Spending that is NOT directly spent for weapons and battle.
Look, Iraq was never expected to have 25,000 wounded soldiers. The easiest wounded soldier to drop are the mentally wounded. They don''t have visible wounds, so it is easy to say, well they are REALLY hurt, they are just faking it.
AND this war is particularly prone to PTSA because of constant threat of being killed. Men who see buddies blown apart or children or pregnant women going into mental shock. Some can cope and others can''t.
It is another CRIME on the Bush admin record for his poor treatment of the men he so highly praises. Of course having SHIRKED active duty during Vietnam, he has NO IDEA of what it means to be fired at.
He was too busy doing drugs and drinking, playing at being a "flyboy". So much more fun than actually being one, ya know!
You''re right. It''s just easier to put it on bush/chaney because of their arragance.
You are a great lady and both you and your husband have my prayers as does every combat vet.
I am sorry for the use of the word "majority". It just seems that way to me sometimes. There are so many that say they support the troops but nothing ever gets done. I think that the majority maybe care and feel pitty but never enough to demand change and get things changed. The ones like Texas468 that deal with it every hour of every day are the ones that realy care. For the rest they feel bad at the stories and such but not bad enough to call or write these "on the take goverment people" and demand change.
I served on a ship off shore. At times our ship came under fire and men lost their lives, but the VA doesn''t consider us eligible for PTSD because were not in a combat area, "boots on the ground".
I have Prostate Cancer, a disease related to exposure to Agent Orange. We took on water to distill for drinking, cooking, and bathing. In that water, was storm water runoff with AO in it. Blue Water Navy Veterans are 10 times more likely to come down with AO related diseases than the solders that served with boots on the ground.
After passing the AO act in 1992, they payed all Vietnam vets who suffered from the diseases related to AO. In 2002, when the Iraq War was in the planning stages, the VA realized that it would be short funded. It started looking for ways to cut cost. One of the ways it found was to deny any vet who did not put boots on the ground, for any claim related to AO. After paying 1000%u2019s of BWN Vets for exposure, they took away their disability pay.
In 2007, The Blue Water Navy Vets won a Court Decision in the "Haas" case that said they were to get the same benefits as other Vietnam Vets that were exposed. The VA appealed that decision and is trying to rewrite the rules. They want to rescind M21-1 in the Federal Register so if they loose in appeal, they can still deny Blue Water Navy Vets.
( Any Country that put its veterans as secound class citezens is DOOMED to lose their soverinty )
Although I agree with this I would like to add something.
Niccolo Machiavelli was misrepresentated and condemned by Pope Clement VIII because of his writing "The Prince". The main theme of this short book was that all means may be resorted to for the establishment and preservation of authority. (The end justifies the means) The worst and most treacherous acts of the ruler are justified by the wickedness and treachery of the governed. However this was not Machiavelli''s real philosophy. To read his real philosophy read "Discourses on Livy"
He was great however.
Respectfully yours,
His mother.... Pamela Alston-Wilson
On Veteran''s Day, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul today addressed a crowd of over 5,000 enthusiastic veterans and supporters in Philadelphia. The Veteran''s Day weekend rally took place at Independence Mall. Thousands of veterans and their friends and families heard country music superstar Rockie Lynne open the event for the Texas congressman. John Holland, the founder of a leading advocacy organization for troops, veterans, and POW/MIAs, delivered an enthusiastic endorsement of Congressman Paul, before the congressman addressed the crowd. The rally coincided with the launch of the Veterans for Paul Coalition, a group composed entirely of American war veterans. "Dr. Paul''s support among veterans is extremely high," said Paul campaign spokesman Joe Seehusen. "These great patriots who have fought for our country know that only Dr. Paul''s foreign policy of peace and secure borders can guarantee true national security, and they want him fighting for our country''s freedom." Congressman Paul was himself a Captain in the Air Force who served as a flight surgeon during the "totally unnecessary and illegal" Vietnam war. He receives more campaign contributions from former and active military and military affiliates than any other 2008 presidential candidate. youtube.com/watch?v=KzlqKoON3EM
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