Anybody watching 60 Minutes?

[American liberal]

The interview with the kid who stabbed 3 men to death in combat is breaking my heart. He's come back a changed man, yet the Army won't admit that his emotional and psychological problems are combat related. THAT'S RIDICULOUS!!!

Every symptom the young man describes sound like textbook PTSD. There's tons of evidence out there about the effects--as early as Korea and Vietnam! It turns my stomach how the military treats its own. How could anyone NOT be changed and screwed up for getting paid to take human life. It's barbaric!

[southlandshari]

1. I tuned in just in time to catch this segment!

Absolutely gut-wrenching - and maddening. I posted in another forum looking for a discussion thread on the program. I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw this.

Anyone else see tonight's lead story?

[SharonAnn]

2. Yes, and the young man who's paralyzed (like Christopher Reed)

isn't counted as a casualty?

The man who lost his leg isn't counted as a casualty?

[American liberal]

8. The eyes of the young man will haunt me...

He had to kill people for a living and now he's experiencing emotional and psychological trauma as a direct result of following orders...and the military won't admit culpability (sp). He has such deeply brown eyes that reflect experiences of unspeakable horrors. He, and the young quadraplegic, and 15,000 more like him, will never be the same again. I sure wouldn't want that resting on MY conscious.

[knowbody0]

13. my blue eyed friend came home on leave from iraq

with brown eyes and a stutter. he goes back in three days

[Jeanette in FL]

15. Those eye will haunt me too.

Because I will remember the eyes of the people I know who came back from Vietnam with those same eyes. My heart. And these guys will be release into our society with no recognition from OUR Government trying to cope until one day it becomes too hard to do. Then they will snap. Does Timothy McVeigh ring a bell with any one???

[DireStrike]

3. Here's the kicker: DOD report on "non combat casualties:"

15,000!

[American liberal]

4. casualites meaning DEATH? or injuries? either way

that's attrocious!

[southlandshari]

5. Casualties = wounded or injured (in govt stats)

I always thought "casualties" meant deaths, but guess I was wrong.

[DireStrike]

6. Yes.

A casualty is anyone removed from combat for medical reasons.

[recovering democrat]

7. Related PTSD study

When you get a chance, this yahoo article gives additional information on this subject.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/2004...

From (Shonomish County) HeraldNet article on Soldiers Mental Traumas Surfacing, Nov. 15, 2004, (sorry I don't have a link) in part...

A study by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research found 15.6 percent of Marines and 17.1 percent of soldiers surveyed after they returned from Iraq suffered from major depression, generalized anxiety or post traumatic stress disorder - a debilitating, sometimes lifelong change in the brain's chemistry that can include flashbacks, sleep disorders, panic attacks, violent outbursts, acute anxiety and emotional numbness.

Army and Veterans Affairs mental health experts say there is reason to believe the war's ultimate psychological fallout will worsen. The Army survey of 6,200 soldiers and Marines included only troops willing to report their problems. The study did not look at reservists, who tend to suffer higher rates of psychological injury than career Marines and soldiers. And the soldiers in the study served in the early months of the war, when tours were shorter and before the Iraqi insurgency took shape.

"The bad news is that the study underestimated the prevalence of what we are going to see down the road," said Dr. Matthew Friedman, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Dartmouth Medical School who is executive director of the VA's National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

on edit: Sorry, I am not good at links especially new at DU. I have tried typing it in directly because DU entry didn't include the entire entry from the site, but maybe this correction will help. If not, it was a Yahoo news carried on Nov. 15 titled Psychological Trauma seen in US Solders returning from Iraq.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041114/ts_alt_afp/us_iraq_health&cid=1506&ncid=1473

[American liberal]

10. bad link. can you try again?

[recovering democrat]

12. try it again

I did an edit to the link at the bottom and it seems to be working now.

[delete_bush]

16. 15% of the 300,000 who have seen service in Iraq

would be around 45,000 and counting. Some of these guys will soon be standing on a street corner near you begging for spare change, and the typical repuke response is going to be "get a job, loser".

[still_one]

9. screw cbs and 60 minutes also

they had the opportunity to talk about the yellow cake lie, but instead screwed up by talking about the * national guard service, and used forged papers without checking their sources

In addition, the president of viacom which owns cbs supported *

[southlandshari]

11. Hope your arm isn't too sore

from chucking the baby out with the bathwater.

Come on, man. This isn't a thread for damning network news and the imperialistic corporations that rule all television outlets these days. I'd agree with you on most issues there.

I'd like to discuss the content of this particular show - which was strong and important. Again, I'm not arguing your overall points RE: CBS or 60 Minutes. But I'm not ready to completely tune out, and neither are many other DUers.

[nostalgicaboutmyfutr]

14. Make sure you undersatnd casualty numbers...

during the election it was mentioned that we lost ~1100 men (dead) ~8000 wounded COMBAT casualties....and 15000 evacuated casualties (supposed NON-COMBAT Casualties)


why do they never talk about the 15K evacuated???? because if enough heard those kinds of numbers we wouldn't have a war...

[Cleita]

17. I saw it. It made me sick.

:-(

[GetTheRightVote]

18. It is amazing that we are still at war with all this happening

Just sick and very, very sad. Our soldiers get abused too.

[Wonk]

19. Quicktime video & mp3 here for those who missed it

34 MB quicktime

3 MB mp3 for dialup users

[Swamp Rat]

21. Thanks

[malmapus]

20. Yeah sucks, on my DD214 I got stamped with "Personality Disorder"

Even got in trouble for seeking help while I was in the service, they thought I was faking my condition lol. I really feel for those guys, because I'm 10 years down the road from where they are and I still am dealing with alot of shit.

But yeah, I was flipping and think I caught part of it where this guy in a black shirt was talking about the anger, not talking to his folks and everything else, I just related too much, had to flip the channel fast. If I see anything about vets talking about what they've seen or even documentaries about places I've been I get taken back really quick. So I can't watch stuff like that. But yeah I couldn't talk to my family for over a year without things getting heated. Mood swings, getting angry easily, restless nights, still have a lot of it that I'm dealing with these days.