Saluting Our Stressed Soldiers

The U.S. is full of people who call themselves "American Patriots." Those who display the flag on national holidays and place bumper stickers on their cars announcing how "Proud to be an American" they are. But where are these same Americans when it comes to our soldiers, not just fighting our senseless wars for us, but who return to America after having fought so hard and endured so much stress. These same Proud to be Americans are pushing for budget cuts that would directly reduce services to returning Veterans of War, fearing "entitlement" programs which might raise their taxes. Of course, the costs of the wars, which is a major factor in our budget deficit, along with the waste of the defense department on overpriced, fiscally irresponsible defense contracts is never considered. All is fair in "war" so let's not cut back on defense spending or make the DOD accountable, instead, let's just forget about the veterans once they are no longer active fighting soldiers representing us "Proud Americans" on the battle fields. Once they are home, they are safe, so they should be able to pick up where they left off.

I just read a very disturbing article about a young man named, Clay Hunt. He was about to enroll at Texas A & M, but decided to first go fight for his country in Afghanistan as a Marine. After returning from his first tour, where he watched his two best friends killed right next to him, he re-enlisted for another tour. Once again, he witnessed his two new best buddies be killed in his presence. Returning as a hero and, I believe, a medal for bravery, Clay was sent across the U.S. to speak of war and promote the Marines. He then offered his services in instilling hope to other returning veterans. Later, he volunteered to go to earthquake ravaged Haiti, to help re-build the country. Last week, Clay Hunt committed suicide as a result of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder he was suffering from ever since his return from the wars.

PTSD - "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" - most Proud Americans have no idea what this disorder is all about. Many think it is just a new label for being "battle weary," and that soldiers were trained to be "tough enough" to ignore the psychological effects of war and should be able to "move on" and not allow it to affect them. As if they had a choice. PTSD does not discriminate in affecting the toughest to the weakest of our soldiers. It is an insidious disorder that creeps up upon the soldier, usually after he is removed from the actual theater of war. When a soldier is focused solely on surviving every moment of every day, he no longer has the luxury of allowing himself to feel anything. Thus, all horrific experiences the soldier witnesses or endures are repressed, in order to allow him to stay on high adrenaline alert. All of a soldier's resources are directed towads fighting the next battle. It is only when the soldier is removed from functioning constantly in survival mode, that the effects of war begin to rise from the depths of the soldier's soul.

And just what does this PTSD look like and feel like? A soldier, nor a civilian in the midst of a war, does not just automatically transition from having been constantly hyper-vigilant, operating on a chronic cortisol depleting survival mode, and constantly viewing death and destruction, to his old, normal life simply because he is now on his home turf. The soldier has been forever changed by these horrific experiences, but he has no way to process them as they come to the surface in the form of nightmares and flashbacks. Once the adrenaline no longer needs to flow, the soldier finds himself in a state of total numbness and emotional depletedness. As science can attest, much of this is cortisol depletion after maintaining a "fight or flight" response for an extended amount of time. Without consciously recognizing his own state, "survival" became the soldier's only identity and he no longer knows who he is once removed from that arena. Every sound seems louder than it actually is. Every human encounter is attached with fear and a sense of demanding expectations from others. After a while, the soldier avoids contact with others, as his sense of self seems somehow lost and he feels weak in not being able to get that self, who he use to be, back again.

 However, most soldiers don't really know what is happening to them or why, then try to fight the disorder through will power while they become more and more depressed. They do not realize that there is no "going back" to the person they were before they entered the war. Their psyches and mental health have been shattered by being overly stressed, while their military combat skills have only grown stronger. The natural consequence of this state is that many soldiers return to combat in an effort to reclaim the only self they know. Without professional help and less stressors, PTSD spirals down into total helplessness and hopelessness. The pain of acute, chronic depression overwhelms the soldier. The financial difficulties, administrative quagmires, immediate family adjustments, and lack of available psychological care only tend to exacerbate the PTSD sufferer's depression. He is immediately faced with a new set of stressors that he finds he can no longer respond to in the manner he fought the wars. Plus, those who live outside our large cities have little access to help or services. Instead of increasing these services and benefits to our returning veterans of war, we are cutting back on them. Perhaps we should not be quite so Proud as Americans afterall in the way we salute our veterans upon their return.