Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
by Charles C. Hall, Ed.D

No matter how each of us feels about the Iraq war, there is a serious problem facing the men and women who are now in harm's way. The problem is that one of the most devastating disorders of any conflict inflicts upon those in the midst of it are not being adequately treated. These people deserve/need medical attention early-on to prevent further deterioration and most are not getting that attention. The estimated number of GIs requiring attention is somewhere between ten and twenty percent.

PTSD was diagnosed in Vietnam Vets in the `70s by Dr. Robert Jay Lifton, a Harvard professor and psychiatrist. He states, "... PTSD is brought on by a death encounter, an existentially profound brush with death in which death is a real possibility rather than an abstraction." The gestation period for PTSD has been set by researchers into this disorder at between 3 - 30 years.

The symptoms of PTSD are flashbacks of horribly disturbing images of the real jungles of Vietnam, deserts of Iraq and Afganistan, or wherever that GI has experienced a real life-threatening encounter, loss of comrades, death unbounded, so forth and so on.

The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Veterans Administration (VA) have been down-playing the true extent of this traumatic disorder since 2003. Their approach is "don't treat, don't tell." VA doctors have been ordered not to mention the disorder to patients who are clearly victims. When Principi was head of the VA, he was vigorously attempting to get help for these veterans. He was soon pushed out by Bush administrative neo-cans, and a Republican power-broker, James Nicholson was appointed. Nicholson is a staunch disbeliever in PTSD.

Nicholson ordered the review of 72,000 GIs who have been awarded compensation for PTSD in an effort to disqualify them. Shortly afterward, he aggressively began to roll back support and treatment for PTSD victims. He authorized the review, but Democrats were able to undercut the effort. Then he tried to craft a new definition for PTSD which was much more restrictive than the original. Again his intent was defeated by both the Democrats and the American Psychiatric Assn. (APA), which had been studying and researching PTSD for years.

The strongest advocacy of the service organizations in support of treatment is the Disabled Americans (DAV). The Democrats in Congress have had a difficult time in trying to keep a Republican Congress and the Bush Adm. from starving resources for this problem.

B.G. Burkett calls PTSD sufferers "phony soldiers" and believes PTSD has been a tool of "antiwar liberals." He equated the death of his mother, who probably died in a bed at home or a hospital, with the horrors of a battlefield. He asks, "Do I have PTSD? Whatever happened to resilience as a virtue?" In other words, his narrow, pinched view is "get over it." He understands little and cares less about mental health problems, a loud-mouth Tom Cruise. He often appears on talk shows and meetings with Adm. officials to express his disdain for those diagnosed with PTSD.

In 2004, a soldier who had a full-blown case of PTSD stabbed another soldier 32 times and did not know why. He said at his trial, "I liked Davis." Pvt. Burgoyne was tagged in Kuwait, shortly after leaving Iraq, at a MASH unit as a classic example and was supposed to be sent to Germany and then the U.S. for treatment. The medic who wrote EVNC on his tag asked him if he felt like he could hurt himself or others. He said, "Yeah. Yeah I do." The medic's order was abrogated by a colonel who wanted Burgoyne to return with his unit. The private now sits in prison with a twenty-year sentence, not knowing what really happened.

PTSD is a mind-numbing disorder, comparable to severe and prolonged depression. In many cases it's worse because PTSD sufferers are trained killers who have seen death and destruction up close and personal. Bush and a cadre of neo-cans in DOD and the VA want to make it near impossible for GIs to receive compensation and treatment for PTSD.

Most people have only a nodding acquaintance with mental illness. It is no secret that there are many folks who do not believe mental illness exists. As a clinical psychologist who has first-hand experience with those suffering from it, I can tell you it is real -- and frightening to those so classified.

PTSD can be treated effectively when first diagnosed. The watchword at DOD and VA is "wait and see." In the case of Pvt. Burgoyne, sitting in a Georgia jail, that attitude resulted in the death of one innocent and the incarceration of another soldier.

The "system" was and is, a complete failure of conscience. It's a disgrace and shameful episode in the historical failures of several wars when young men and women are thrust into, and onto, the killing fields of conflicts.

Our government sent them into harm's way, and it should now step up to the plate and care for these young GIs.