People are often unappreciative or unaware of the sacrifices made by the men and women of the armed forces. These patriots give up so much for so little. They miss important family events such as births, holidays, and other important personal events. They do this so that we can enjoy the freedoms that are taken for granted by so many. “The sacrifices of the few for the many” is a quote that I heard repeatedly during my time in the military. I use it here because it is so fitting to describe my points in the following paragraphs.

     Most people don’t understand what it means to be in the military. Pride, courage, honor, discipline, integrity are some buzz words that are used to describe military service. To wear the uniform is an honor and a privilege that many people don’t get to experience. Some people sign up for money to go to college. Some others sign up to maintain a legacy. There are a lot of people that have military service in their blood. They come from a long line of service members and have a desire to continue the legacy. Still others join because they don’t know what else to do in life. They want a direction and a purpose for their lives. Still others are joining out of a sense of patriotism, or for job security. During the months following September 11, 2001 military recruiting numbers were at an all time high. I was in during that time and have seen many things. I have seen policies come and go, uniforms change, and people move in and out of service. Transitioning to civilian life is difficult. Finding a job is difficult let alone deciding on a career. These are the reasons that people join the military.

      There are plenty of entertaining movies and TV shows that showcase military life. Dramas, comedies, epics, they are all out there, but what about reality? People see the humor and the drama that so many of us find entertaining on television and film. What people don’t see is reality. There hasn’t been a reality show that shows what military life is really like. Sure there is the Military Channel now, but it really doesn’t show anything other than Navy SEAL training or a top ten list of combat vehicles. There is nothing better than the truth. The truth is this: people don’t want to know what really happens in a warzone. Ignorance is bliss and people don’t want to hear about men and women getting shot and killed. People don’t want to see and hear about the men and women that are missing arms and legs as a result of war. People don’t see the names and faces of the men and women who make up our armed forces. People never fully comprehend what the mental and physical impact is on these men and women. The horrors that these men and women see day in and day out that include roadside bombs, rocket attacks, insurgents, gunshots, and/or seeing friends carried off on stretchers. People forget that there are real people fighting for us. Not just a nameless entity out there making headlines.

     Friends, neighbors, husbands, wives, teachers, doctors, lawyers, nurses, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and cousins are the people that leave everything behind and protect our freedoms. With little to no fanfare they ride off into the sunset as heroes. When they come home, it’s a completely different story. Wounded are taking care of wounded. In the article Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration at Army’s Top Medical Facility (Priest, D,. Hull, A. 2007). A grim portrait is painted showing the wounded veterans fighting a bureaucratic nightmare. Deplorable conditions, overworked case managers, and treatment that borders on torture. Some of the veterans are sent back to the states to convalesce and to possibly learn how to walk again after losing one or both legs. Then they are dismissed. Forgotten, lost in a bureaucratic nightmare where it is someone else’s problem. Some are sent back to learn how to cope with mental problems. Some of the mental problems are fear so intense that they can’t function, or depressions so severe that they can’t have shoelaces or belts for fear that they might commit suicide. The people that are assigned to look over them and retain some resemblance of a military routine yell and berate these men and women for being out of uniform, knowing that the only uniform that they have is in tatters after being cut off them on the operating table. This begs for attention from our law and policy makers. They need to be aware of the problems and address them. Stop making new problems and fix the old ones.

     In the article A Soldier’s Officer (Priest, D,. Hull, A. 2007). A story is told about United States Army 1^st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside. She shot herself in the stomach as a result of the stress she was under in Iraq. She just snapped under the pressure. She was described as a soldier’s officer. Looking out for her people, she performed her duties well and was commended several times. She was subjected to long term psychological abuse at the hands of a higher ranking officer. She has waited long months for an end to her ordeal and has been awaiting a possible court martial. This is just one story in a series that begs for attention for our wounded veterans. It sheds a much needed light on the neglect and struggles that our wounded face every day.

     Things have changed over the years. Advancements in science and technology have made military medicine better and more effective. More lives are saved during battlefield triage now than there were 20 and 30 years ago. In contrast, mental health problems in veterans are a rising problem. It took several protests and near riots during the 1970s to get acknowledgement for metal problems in veterans. In 1952 during the Korean Conflict the APA published the first Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Friedman, M, Keane, T, Resick, P. 2007). In it they proposed a diagnosis for people who were previously normal, but who had symptoms resulting from their experiences with extreme stressors such as civilian catastrophe or combat. During the Vietnam War in 1968 the APA released their second DSM and removed that category from diagnostic consideration. In 1969 it was reintroduced due to symptoms observed from combat veterans. It wasn’t until 1980 when the DSM III was published by the APA that PTSD was listed as an official diagnosis. So the progression is this, Fright neurosis (1896) became Battle Fatigue. Battle Fatigue (1922) became Shell Shock. Shell Shock (1969) became PTSD (1980). One thing remains the same. It exists and is not made up and the people suffering from it are not faking. The clinical definition of PTSD is this. A reaction to a single stressful event or a series of stressful situations, that threatened or caused great physical harm or death. With all the advancements in medicine and technology, the name of an affliction that has haunted us since the late 1800s has just been changed. Advancements in treatment and diagnosis were ignored, and veterans suffering from it were dismissed as being fakers or liars. This still happens today. When I was in the service part of the paperwork that we had to fill out was about our deployments. How long until we deployed, or how long we had been back. They were more concerned with people harming themselves to get out of deployments.

      The Washington Post reported in the article Little Relief on Ward 53 (Priest, D, Hull, A. 2007) that the Walter Reed Army Hospital is in disrepair and needs some serious repair work done to it. Stories of veterans convalescing in rooms filled with rats and mold. Entire wings of the hospital that are so infested with rats that they are just ignored. This is the facility that treats the President if he is injured or sick. That screams for attention to me. If that is acceptable then what isn’t? This article goes on to report that there are family members left to fend for themselves due to a breakdown in communication. No records of their loved ones being there, double booking of accommodations, lack of accommodations for visiting family. The hospitals administration was forced to issue statements in an attempt to explain and downplay the article. (Probst, E. 2007). This is the facility that is supposed to be the flagship of military medicine. If it is falling apart, what does that say for the rest of the veteran’s support services?

     In the article The War Inside (Priest, D. Hull, A 2007). The VA’s is backlogged by over 400,000 requests for benefits. They are turning veterans benefit requests down due to internal paperwork errors. They want the veterans to provide documentation that they were actually in combat. Here is a quote from a VA disability advisor “The available evidence is insufficient to confirm that you actually engaged in combat”. These people wait for months and sometimes years to hear if they are going to get benefits or not. They hope and pray and wish and still they wait. There are waiting lists for movie tickets. There are waiting lists for concert tickets. There should not be waiting lists for medical benefits. The VA needs more funds and more help. With more funds they can hire more people. The more employees they have the more veterans they can help.

     People owe it to these men and women to remember and honor them. People owe them more than pretty ceremonies and memorials. People owe them more than one holiday a year that really doesn’t represent the veterans at all. It’s more of an excuse for a sale or a day off from work or school than what is should really represent. People need to show their military members and veterans that people will not forget what they have done for them. Show them that people are appreciative and that people really do care about what they have been through. Americans need to let these men and women know that they will not be forgotten. People need to speak up and demand a change. Demand more resources to the VA. Demand more tax dollars for our veterans. If more people called for change, it would send a message to our elected leaders to acknowledge these men and women. There is a flag that waves at every military base that reads “POW/MIA You are not forgotten”. Can people really say that today?

References

Friedman, Matthew J.; Keane, Terence Martin.; Resick, Patricia A. (2007). Handbook of PTSD : Science and practice. New York. Guilford Publications, Inc.

Priest, D., Hull, A. (2007). Soldiers face neglect, frustration at army’s top medical facility. The Washington Post. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/17/AR2007021701172.html

Priest, D., Hull, A. (2007). A soldier’s officer. The Washington Post. Retrieved February 15, 2009, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/01/AR2007120101782.html

Priest, D., Hull, A. (2007). Little relief on ward 53. The Washington Post. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/17/AR2007061701351.html

Priest, D., Hull, A. (2007). The war inside. The Washington Post. Retrieved February 15, 2009, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/16/AR2007061600866.html

Probst, E. (2007). Wounded warriors face home-front battle with VA. CNN. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/11/15/wounded.marine/index.html?iref=newssearch

Whealin, Julia M.; DeCarvalho, Lorie T.; Vega, Edward M. (2008). Clinician's guide to treating stress after war : Education and coping interventions for veterans. Hoboken, New Jersey. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.