Veteran for Peace published in AZ Republic

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Arizona Republic
Link:http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/eastvalleyopinions/articles/1111tr-wells1111Z10.html

Their stories tell us why Iraq war veterans need our support

By Dave Wells
Published Saturday, November 11, 2006 in East Valley Opinions of the
Arizona Republic as "Their stories tell us why veterans need our
support."

"The extreme and terrible nature of war touches something essential
about being human. For those who survive, the victors and the
defeated, the battle lives in their memories and nightmares…. It
survives as hundreds of searing private memories, memories of loss and
triumph, shame and pride, struggles each veteran must fight each day
of his life."

–Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down: a story of modern warfare

With the election behind us, our re-elected and newly elected
representatives need to put partisanship aside and support our Iraq
war veterans.

We can wave flags and march in Veteran's Day parades, but we are
failing our obligation to our soldiers after they're discharged, as I
learned from talking with two local marines and a marine mom about
their experiences. They asked to remain anonymous, so I've used
pseudonyms.All struggled with returning back to civilian life, but
what made their stories most disturbing was the repeated feeling of
abandonment by the armed forces they had so proudly served.

Jack, who served two tours in Iraq, told me when he returned they give
him a brief lecture on behaving yourself such as "not beating your
wife" and a five-minute discharge interview with a psychologist, then
they sent him on his way. For those suffering mentally, honesty only
delays your discharge, and in many cases the worst problems take
months to appear. No one called to check up on him, even when
depression overtook him eight months later. The only time he hears
from the military is when they try to convince him to go back to Iraq.
"It's like they don't give a ," exclaimed Jack.

When Neil got activated after 9/11, he was sent to Afghanistan, and
then later on to Iraq for one and a half years. Neil, who is in his
thirties, took a large pay cut to serve, and was forced to sell his
home because he could no longer afford the mortgage payments. Due to
six kidney stones from salt tablets given to him in Iraq, he's lost
three jobs and is presently unemployed.

Neil told me how nothing can prepare you for the incredibly nastiness
of war. Every time they drove, they were shot at. Once, as they
approached a petrified seven-year old boy, the boy wet his pants and
then exploded. Under these circumstances you have adrenaline rushes
Jack told me, which though horrifying, create an addictive hormonal
high that leads many veterans to try and replicate it through drugs or
placing themselves in danger.

Such a chaotic, violent environment also leads to depression and
anger. Vicky always had a close relationship with her daughter Ashley
until she returned from Iraq. Two months back, Ashley couldn't sleep
and then she became increasingly moody and angry. Now Ashley shuts
Vicky out. Ashley never drank before, but now drinks heavily.

Neil's temper was getting out of control. He was afraid he "might snap
on someone." But he said he received the brush-off at the V.A.
hospital. After a nurse told him it was the end of her shift and to
come back, Neil walked the grounds in disbelief.

Unfortunately, such shabby treatment has typified Neil's experiences
at the V.A. Hospital. For his kidney stones they offer narcotics and
tell him to wait, even when it took him 10 weeks to pass a stone. He
skips the drugs so he can try and hold a job, but when the jagged salt
stone passes, it "cuts you in half," and then he can't work due to the
pain and having blood in his urine, causing him to recently lose his
job as a manager. He gets no financial compensation, just pain and
aggravation.

Jack explained he felt out of place when he came back. Ironically,
despite the danger he "felt more comfortable in Iraq" where he sensed
his "life had more meaning," even though he fully recognizes now that
the mission was launched under false pretenses and has been
horrendously mismanaged. As a Marine Captain he returned a second time
out of "an obligation to my men."

Now it's urgent that we support them.

Dave Wells of Tempe serves on the board of Deep Democracy which
sponsors Vets4Vets (http://www.Vets4Vets.us), a Tucson-based
nationwide peer support group for veterans of the Iraq War. Contact
him at [e-mail].

Sources:
Interviews with two Iraq war veterans, "Neil" and "Jack" and "Vicky,"
a mother of marine "Ashley"

Bowden quote at beginning taken from "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
and Mortality Among U.S. Army Veterans 30 Years After Military Service
"Joseph A. Boscarino PhD, MPH
From Division of Health and Science Policy, The New York Academy of
Medicine, New York, NY
Received 3 February 2005; accepted 3 March 2005. Available online 15
August 2005.

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