Soldier Takes Huge Risk to Get PTSD Help

Jeff Hanks is a 30-year-old Army specialist on a mission.

In 2008, Hanks served a six-month tour in Iraq, reports CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian. His first taste of war was taking a haunting toll.

"People need to understand that this is a problem, a widespread problem," Hanks said.

One graphic image - a marketplace bomb - hit too close to home.

"There was a little girl. It was hard to tell she was a little girl," Hanks said. "She was badly hurt. I try to talk about this but I always get upset. She was about the same age as my daughter and I saw her in pain and it's always stuck with me … I just tried to deal with it, you know."

Earlier this year, he was deployed again, this time to Afghanistan. He returned home in September often angry and panicked, a stranger to his wife and two young girls.

"She didn't want to be around me," Hanks said of his wife.

Hanks said he asked for help last month. Instead, he claims, a superior officer at Fort Campbell ordered him back to Afghanistan, just days before he was set to get a mental health exam. So, he walked away, going absent without leave, or AWOL in military jargon.

"I felt like I had no other choice," Hanks said.

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At home in North Carolina, Hanks got evaluations from three civilian therapists who all recommended he get tested for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, with one doctor stating his "current functioning is clearly severely impaired."

On Veterans Day Thursday, he headed back to Fort Campbell to turn himself in, feeling nervous and scared.

Hanks then walked across the street, into a waiting car and an uncertain fate.

A spokesperson at Fort Campbell said Hanks would be treated the same as any other solider who chooses to go AWOL. Hanks told CBS News Thursday night he will now get the mental health care he so desperately wanted. It begins on Monday.

[reddog1122]

first of all i will say this the 101 st airborne is and always will be a great unit,however the comment about the national guard is bs the last time i looked my uniform says US ARMY just like yours,and yes i am in the infantry just like you

[USMC-Mom]

When they ask for help give them that help. Jeez! This really makes me mad! The military is treated worse than most people realize.

[kilowat1946]

here a list of congress members who have served in the military
http://*******.com/yve3r

[documemts]

The deal with PTSD is that every day that you've got it is another day you're moving farther away from getting over it. Waiting for US mil. to get out of the way and help is suicide. You have to help yourself. Get on line and check out all available means that YOU can do to help YOURSELF.

[devildogmom]

My kid is an active duty Marine. He has served 2 tours in Iraq, and during his first tour became very depressed and anxious. Somewhere he got the impression (duh) that the Marine Corps did not believe in mental health. Fortunately, while there he was seen by a Navy doctor who got him on medication to help with the nightmares, sleeplessness, anxiety, etc. I'm sorry this guy didn't get the help he needed too.

[jeastman1944]

Therapies have been found to be effective in reducing PTSD. That's not the problem. No government or military entity has done what is needed for the soldiers who come out of the emotional and physical meat grinder that is modern war. There is a lot of talk, powerful and patriotic websites, but the military has only 35% of the mental health care professionals needed to bring the modern therapies like EMDR and Cognitive Behavior Therapy to those soldiers and veterans that need it and that shortage will exist for the foreseeable future. Both government and military must explore innovative delivery methods of effective programs to reach the vast majority who can never be seen or are so fearful of the stigma, they will never attempt to find help no matter what the military and websites say they are doing to reduce the stigma. WebEMDR.com is a website that delivers a program online for PTSD that is confidential, affordable, and can be accessed on a home computer. I would suggest the military and government look at it.

[deitrick05]

I know this guy and served with him. He had very limited exposure to combat and is using it to gain publicity in hopes of a less severe punishment by the Army. It is sad that he would do this and disgrace not only the brave men he served with, but also the men who died during that deployment. Going AWOL will hopefully haunt him more than the fake PTSD he claims and one day he will have to explain this to his kids. Hanks never heard the screams of wounded soldiers because he didn?t really do anything but sit in a gunner seat. Hanks is just another soldier who really didn?t do much and thinks he is hero. Way to go Hanks for making the 101st airborne which is known for its ability to go above and beyond their duty look like the National Guard. If you honor anyone this weekend please don?t honor this deserter.

[armysouse2]

At what point is he calling himself a hero? Not once throughout this whole incident has that word come out of his mouth. Again, you represent and set the example as to why there were 127 suicides in the past year. Say whatever you want but the sun rises and set on him in his daughter's eye's, which will never change.

[armysouse2]

Make that 127 suicides per day. Do the research you prick.

[rodwally]

There's a obvious "Catch 22" here. If a soldier wants to get away from the hell of war, then he's clearly sane and should continue to serve.

[sodapoprags]

That doesn't make any sense at all. Cite one source that states that a standard symptom of PTSD is an increased urge to fight. When determining if a soldier--or anyone for that matter--has a mental issue, you should obviously use psychology, not poor judgment based on a naive sense of irony.

[mahdeealoo]

Another female here.

I've seen PTSD first hand and studied it while obtaining a degree in psychology. The US Army is not giving this severe disability nearly enough attention, as this article clearly demonstrates. Not all humans respond the same way to stressful situations, hence, PTSD. Also, the treatment is not the same in every case for this disorder. The treatment has to be carefully implemented for success. What I believe is that the government needs to man a much larger team to deal with this situation effectively with highly skilled and trained professionals. A hug and a "here you go" does not work. Some of these valorous men and women need years of treatment to reduce the effects of sometimes just one incident that was a trigger for this breakdown of the human spirit. The government sends them willingly to give their lives or any sense of normalcy when they return from the battlefield, why not help them recover from all aspects of their wounds and not just the physical ones?

My hat is off to this soldier had the cahones to go get help and I surely hope he gets it. To live a life of constant agitation, fear, day terrors, sensory hallucinations, self loathing, sleeplessness, nightmares, depression, anger, and any other symptoms of this devastating disorder one may be plagued with is nothing to turn a cold shoulder to. These men and women all need help. Good, sound, help.

And the governments the world over need to get it into their thick skulls that war is futile and so amazingly damaging in so many aspects to both sides. Many of us dream of a planet where there is no hatred or wars that result from the very things we want to quell.

[documemts]

This person knows what she's talking about. Tell 'em!

[bigmalmd]

So,chatmandu,what does that make you,a negative five?BTW,U.S.Army retired nco here.

[chatmandu7451]

Another "Zero", those of us that where in the military know what that means.

[Puffin49]

I suspect that I am the first female to comment on this story. Most of the comments I have read are immature and insensitive. War is war, and no matter which gender you are, you WILL be emotionally, mentally and physically affected by war. Any person who cares at all about human life can't help but be deeply affected. We have 70,000 soldiers with PTSD (many more unreported, likely because males are raised to "suck it up, display mental toughness and not show emotion, nor talk about it.") PTSD renders countless lives dysfunctional...soldiers in despair, turning to alcohol, drugs and isolation -- no longer able to relate to non-soldiers, to relate to family. Jeff Hanks is a brave soul to put his health and his family (his life away from war) first. With all due respect to all soldiers and veterans, when we get to the end of our lives, all we have left is our soul (maybe) and our family. Everything else means nothing. I commend Jeff Hanks for seeking help. The US Military should never "punish" a soldier who is not "mentally fit" to return to war, and going AWOL is sometimes a soldier's only choice. War IS a fact of our world, but it is NOT a natural experience. Before you pass judgment on any combat soldier, talk to him and see first-hand the sadness of his despair and dysfunction.