The Pentagon has, for years now, been sending troops with untreated PTSD back into the US occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
More than “43,000 service members -- 2/3 of them in the Army or Army Reserve -- were classified as nondeployable for medical reasons three months before they deployed” to Iraq. (Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center analysis, Denver Post in August 2008)
“Data contained in the Army’s fifth Mental Health Advisory Team report indicate that, according to an anonymous survey of US troops taken last fall, about 12 percent of combat troops in Iraq and 17 percent of those in Afghanistan are taking prescription antidepressants or sleeping pills to help them cope.” (Mark Thompson, TIME magazine)
A stunning report revealed that “Nearly 20 percent of military service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan - 300,000 in all - report symptoms of (PTSD) post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression, yet only slightly more than half have sought treatment.” (RAND Corporation, April 2008)
Reflecting on the horrific shooting tragedy at Fort Hood, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that the Pentagon needs to redouble its efforts to relieve stress caused by repeated deployments in war zones; stress that is further exacerbated by limited time at home in between deployments.
The condition described by Mullen and Gates is what veteran health experts often refer to as PTSD. Soldiers returning home are routinely involved in shootings, suicide and other forms of self-destructive violent behavior as a direct result of their experiences in Iraq.
