Post Traumatic War Syndrome

Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is an undeniable consequence of the war in Iraq. Soldiers return from war bearing mental scars that a non-veteran President, Senator or average civilian can not begin to understand.

The Government and Armed Forces make a commitment to soldiers that they will stand behind them upon their return and provide them the care that they deserve. Sadly, they receive very little care and are often discharged or harassed for expressing their feelings on the matter.

NPR reported on November 15, during their broadcast "All Things Considered," that soldiers who are displaying symptoms of PTSD are finding themselves discharged from the military for having "personality disorders" the military claims are not linked to their service time.

The discharges for "personality disorders have increased in recent years by almost 40 percent" and this data suggests, "The military may be abusing this diagnosis because doing so is convenient." Under current military procedure "it takes a commander months to expel soldiers on the grounds that they can not function due to PTSD, and the military has to pay the soldier disability benefits."

On the other hand, if a soldier is diagnosed with a personality disorder, "the base can discharge him or her in less than two weeks without paying any disability." On top of that, there are reports that Fort Carson since 2006 has "punished soldiers who need help."

It is despicable that the same country that has sent its soldiers to war, that has asked them to put their lives on the line, is not willing to pay for the consequences of its decision to go to war.

Regardless of the billions of dollars we spend each year on war, the long term costs will be much higher. The New York Times reported in "The Plight of American Veterans" that findings suggest that "the long term costs of [returning soldiers'] medical care and disability benefits could exceed the amount spent so far in prosecuting the war in Iraq."

There is enough evidence to see the consequences of avoiding providing these soldiers the support they deserve, such as the debacle at the Walter Reed medical center.

Now is certainly not the time to stop supporting our troops. We need to begin to hear experiences surrounding the troops who come home forever changed.

While the Congress and Administration "have poured billions of added dollars into Veteran's programs" it is obviously not enough, or we wouldn't be forcing soldiers who need their government's help out of the military.

If we can approve 40 billion dollars to fund the war for a few months we should be able to spend 40 billion to change entire the lives of hundreds of thousand of veterans just as easily.