The Chicago Tribune reports an increase in the number of post traumatic stress disorder injuries suffered by military personnel in Iraq, coinciding with the "surge" in troop strength. This is doubly tragic for our brave vets — they suffer terrible injuries, and then we mistreat them by failing to provide proper diagnosis and treatment in our medical facilities. Predictions are that there will be a huge increase in the number of applications for veterans disability benefits in the next few years. Here are excerpts from the article:
Nearly 14,000 U.S. service
members who had previously served in Iraq and Afghanistan were newly
diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder last year, according to
statistics released today by Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker.The detailed figures for the four military services shows about a 46
percent increase in the number of troops diagnosed with PTSD in 2007–a
spike that coincided with the most violent year of the Iraq war.
Overall, nearly 40,000 have been diagnosed with the illness since 2003,
though it is likely many more haven’t sought help out of fear of being
stigmatized."I think we can say as a nation that our mental health facilities
and access to mental health providers is not adequate to the need right
now," Schoomaker said. "So part of the problem that we as a military
are suffering is a shared national problem."Last month, the RAND Corporation published a study that showed
nearly 300,000 U.S. veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were
suffering major depression or symptoms of post traumatic stress.The RAND study found that only about half of those suffering PTSD or
depression seek help. The Pentagon has estimated that about 15 to 20
percent of returning troops suffer from symptoms of post traumatic
stress.
PTSD is a serious effect of war and I think veterans need more medical support. Thanks for posting this, I didn’t know that there has actually been an increase in the number of cases.
Alex
Veterans Disability Lawyers