Spring Break
Iraqnophobia Must Be Treated
Terrence Detoy
Issue date: 9/23/05 Section: Commentary
Veterans who develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) never leave the war - it goes home with them. Their experiences fester in their minds. They are overwhelmed by the trauma seeping into their cognitive processes. The stress becomes a part of them. The flashbacks, cold sweat, severe depression, nightmares, panic, spontaneous rage, insomnia, paranoia, the assortment of oppressive pharmaceuticals - all of it is an intrusive yet integral part of who they have become.
"A culture of excellence in quality care, research, training, readiness, safety, service, partnership and Tri-service collaboration founded on the example of Maj. Walter Reed," reads the mission statement of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a military hospital with an extensive psychological ward specializing in PTSD treatment for veterans. Spc. Alexis Soto-Ramirez was flown out of Iraq after serving with the 544th Military Police Company. He was put into lockdown. Friends that were allowed to visit him noticed he was growing increasingly apathetic and unstable. His medication was administered carelessly and is therapy sessions were led by medical students and army personnel determined to convince him the cause of his condition was not his combat experiences in Iraq. The subjugation, the denial, the numbing medication was too much - Ramirez grew worse.
One morning, Ramirez was found dead. He had hanged himself with the belt from his robe. "The Army does not want to get into the mental health game in a real way to really help people. They want to Band-Aid it. They want you out of there as fast as possible, and they don't want to pay for it," said Col. Travis Beeson, who spent time at Walter Reed after his second tour in Iraq with the Army's Special Operations.
There is one way, however, for PTSD sufferers to escape the trauma of Walter Reed: sign a waver relinquishing all future disability payments PTSD would have guaranteed them from the Army.
PTSD is a collective category of intense emotional responses to horrific experiences. A CNN poll in July found that one in five veterans returning from Iraq developed PTSD - an MSNBC poll found one in eight develop the disorder. There is no comprehensive definition or understanding of just what PTSD is, there are only victims and those pieces of information gained through studying their excruciating experiences. Perhaps this is why the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has employed unnecessarily strict standards and complicated procedures for veterans with PTSD to adhere to before receiving benefits and why the Army has gone through great lengths to frighten them from collecting the benefits.
"A culture of excellence in quality care, research, training, readiness, safety, service, partnership and Tri-service collaboration founded on the example of Maj. Walter Reed," reads the mission statement of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a military hospital with an extensive psychological ward specializing in PTSD treatment for veterans. Spc. Alexis Soto-Ramirez was flown out of Iraq after serving with the 544th Military Police Company. He was put into lockdown. Friends that were allowed to visit him noticed he was growing increasingly apathetic and unstable. His medication was administered carelessly and is therapy sessions were led by medical students and army personnel determined to convince him the cause of his condition was not his combat experiences in Iraq. The subjugation, the denial, the numbing medication was too much - Ramirez grew worse.
One morning, Ramirez was found dead. He had hanged himself with the belt from his robe. "The Army does not want to get into the mental health game in a real way to really help people. They want to Band-Aid it. They want you out of there as fast as possible, and they don't want to pay for it," said Col. Travis Beeson, who spent time at Walter Reed after his second tour in Iraq with the Army's Special Operations.
There is one way, however, for PTSD sufferers to escape the trauma of Walter Reed: sign a waver relinquishing all future disability payments PTSD would have guaranteed them from the Army.
PTSD is a collective category of intense emotional responses to horrific experiences. A CNN poll in July found that one in five veterans returning from Iraq developed PTSD - an MSNBC poll found one in eight develop the disorder. There is no comprehensive definition or understanding of just what PTSD is, there are only victims and those pieces of information gained through studying their excruciating experiences. Perhaps this is why the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has employed unnecessarily strict standards and complicated procedures for veterans with PTSD to adhere to before receiving benefits and why the Army has gone through great lengths to frighten them from collecting the benefits.