Hope for returning veterans

Bill Scheurer, coordinator of the Peace Garden Project and a national council member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, had a great piece published this week on Truthout. His article, "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon: Hope for Returning Veterans," profiled the growing number of cases of the "invisible wounds" of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

Many mainstream media are now discussing the Iraq war as "winding down" (with the recent transfer from U.S. to Iraqi forces of primary responsibility in several Iraqi regions) and the Afghani conflict as a "good war" (due to the presence of the Taliban and Al Qaida forces). Scheurer's article therefore addresses another reason that we need to continue to press for an immediate end to U.S. occupation. Members of our armed forces are not only dying in conflict, but returning home with deep psychological damages that last a lifetime — Schuerer states that some 300,000 veterans may end up living with PTSD, TBI, and related problems from these wars.

He writes:

Extensive information in the popular and scientific press shows that veterans are "falling through the cracks" of our medical system. In a strange new twist of "don't ask, don't tell" military culture, many veterans do not tell physicians about their military service and health care practitioners do not ask.

Therefore, a veteran may have stomach pains, headaches, insomnia, or some other seemingly minor complaint that actually masks a much more serious condition.

These "seemingly minor" issues may lead to depression, severe guilt, and even suicide, Scheurer notes. But his piece is worth reading because it also highlights a hopeful example of how hospitals are now beginning to realize the scale of this problem, and to address it.

July 16 update: Another major article on a similar topic, "PTSD Ignored on Active Duty" was published today on Truthout by regular columnist Maya Schenwar.