PTSD……Really?

Post Traumatic Stress Syndrom (PTSD) – like any government benefit involving money- is being abused.  I recommend anyone interested in the subject to first read the book “Stolen Valor” by B. J. Burkett.  The author was an army lieutenant who returned from Vietnam to attend a reputable university only to find he had difficulty finding a job once it was known he was a “drug-crazed, homicidal maniac” that, of course, all of us Vietnam vets are……..according to the media.  Burkett uncovers some astounding, I mean ASTOUNDING, facts about PTSD.  It should be in the library of every veteran.  I’m writing on this subject because, like the author, I’m disturbed by what I’m seeing in the media for the veterans of our recent “adventures”.  By the way, I also recommend the movie “Wag the Dog” regarding our recent “adventures” as well as my forthcoming essays on how we SHOULD have fought our last two wars.  I wonder if the percentage of veterans who saw actual combat is the same as those from Vietnam.  I say this because, as it was in Vietnam, PTSD has become somewaht politicized due to the media’s “if it bleeds it leads” hunger for a military sob story.  I think it is the only type of coverage the media is capable of.  Where are the stories of soldiers and Marines who braved enemy fire and killed our enemies?  Those are way too few and far between as well as delayed by years since the actual event.  While many “old-school veterans” laud todays servicemen for being “better trained, better equipped, smarter, etc., etc.” my observation as a military retiree is that, yes, they are better equipped.  But better trained and smarter?  There are two sides to that coin.  Rule number one in looking at the military is that is first and foremost a numbers game.  The military needs more service members during war than peace and, as a result, the military lowers standards for enlistment to meet those numbers.  On the other side of the coin, with the “all -volunteer” military (another topic of debate) the claim is that only those interested in a military career sign up.  That is true to some degree – almost 100% true in the infantry.  But the fact of the matter is that the infantry is only a small percentage of the army much less the military as a whole.  The remaining military specialities, historically AND today to a considerable degree despite the type of wars being fought, do not leave the wire to seek out and destroy the enemy.  In fact, if Congress continues having its’ way even the INFANTRY will continue to be hamstrung in doing so (another topic for discussion).  I can’t count how many times I’ve run across servicemen who are ALL Marine recon or “Special Forces” in their past military service.  I’ve overheard in airports, restaurants, movie lines. grocery stores and libraries guys telling civilians that they were elite soldiers when the closest they got to the real Recon Marine or Green Beret was seeing them pass by or seeing them in the PX.  I’ve heard it a LOT from enlisted intel soldiers here at Ft. Huachuca, AZ who, at best, were attached to an SF unit to support them from their cozy tactical operations center inside the wire.  I taught these troops prior to their deployment.  I received only ONE email from one of my students who took my advice and got out of the ops center and got his boots muddy to get the “ground truth”.   Since the last few decades of youth have been raised on the debunked, drug-induced theories of Dr. Timothy O’Leary and the secular, moral relevancy of the ’60s Leftists the moral fabric of our youth has weakened.  This has been reflected in a congress that has mandated the military reflect society in numbers, promotions, training and discipline.  This has had a catastrophic effect on the military.  There are many books on the subject.  One immediately comes to mind: “Weak Link” – how the feminist movement has lowered standards and military readiness.  But that is just one of many that have been banned by the military and ignored by the media.  It is just within the last decade or so that it has become known as “Political Correctness” or PC.  It is due to that and the growing sense of government obligation to take care of us that has made PTSD just another political tool of the nanny state.  In my opinion, parents not paying attention to raising their children – or prevented from doing so by a “Big Brother” public school system who values “esteem” over strength of character, and moral weakness rather than combat stress are the causes for the increase in suicides and claims for PTSD.  The “progressive” assault on the nuclear family is responsible for the majority of the mental weakness attributed to alleged combat stress.  For those few who truly internalize the horrors of war, and I know one personally, I’ve seen the life-changing benefit of counseling.  It literally saved his life but he almost put it off too long.  I encourage those combat veterans who keep the screaming, the rage and the sense of guilt and injustice inside to get help NOW!  I did and wish I had done it 20 years ago.