8/19/2019 Don't forget the modern veteran

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Remembrance Day is a time when we take a moment to remember the fact that war

isn’t all the explosions and excitement video-games make it out to be. We do a

great job remembering all the deaths but we often forget the living. We have many

brave men and woman who love their country so much but don’t come back in one

piece. !hroughout their careers soldiers are told to deal with pain and not complain.

Whether it is a physical injury or a mental illness soldiers often feel the samepressure to push through the pain.

"ne of the mental illnesses most associated with military service is post-traumatic

stress disorder #aka $!%D& but there are a range of other more common mental

illnesses which might a'ect %ervice and ex-%ervice personnel. !hese include

depression anxiety panic attacks alcohol or drug misuse feeling isolated

nightmares (ashbacks insomnia anger or aggression. $eople with these types of

mental illness also seek out high-risk activities and many have work or relationship

problems. )any have suicidal thoughts and too many either attempt or commit

suicide.

)ental illness in the *anadian military was recogni+ed as early as World War ,,. t

that time it was called shell shock./ !he soldiers su'ering from shell shock were

sometimes considered cowards. fter World War ,, most psychiatrists thought that

it wasn’t their job to help soldiers integrate back into society. !hat was a job for

their families and local community. fter the war some soldiers got treatment for

mental illness caused by their service but many su'ered from chronic conditions

that did not respond well to treatment. )any lost their pensions for admitting to a

mental illness. !he general population did not accept that soldiers could have

mental illness. 0or these reasons many soldiers never admitted they were sick and

never got any help.

 !here has been over 12 years since the start of World War ,,. %urely we’ve gotten

better at supporting soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder and other battle-

related mental illnesses. %adly that’s not the case. !he modern military has

become more engaged in helping and supporting the mentally ill. 3nfortunately the

armed forces have lost more personnel to suicide than those killed in combat in

fghanistan. ,f we understand this illness why are these numbers so shockingly

high4 Do we need more programs4 Do we need programs to be better advertised4

"r could it be that veterans are not con5dent that the services can help4

"ne of the most prominent 5gures on )ental ,llness for soldiers is Romeo Dallaire.6e has often spoken publicly with his struggles with $!%D following his mission to

Rwanda. 6e repeatedly warned of the imminent genocide but the 3nited 7ations

didn’t listen. 3ltimately at least 899999 died over :99 days in Rwanda. Dallaire

was medically released from the *anadian military in ;999. 6e has long been an

advocate for *anada’s veterans critici+ing people who complain about the costs of

the military. 6e said

8/19/2019 Don't forget the modern veteran

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they cost too much4/ )r. Dallaire has a valid point. *anada spent at least >;;.?

billion on its military forces in ;9:9-::. @et many soldiers had to wait 1 months for

help and some don’t even receive the help they need at all.

,Am an army cadet. ,n B years , want to go to the Royal )ilitary *ollege and then ,

want to join the *anadian rmed 0orces. What great things do , have in store in mycareer4 !ravel adventure challenge and probably some kind of mental illness. %o

why would , want a career that just about guarantees me to become sick4 ,t seems

cra+y doesn’t it4 Crave men and women love *anada so much that they risk their

lives and their mental health. *anada is an honorable country and we take great

care of theses brave men and woman throughout their careers. ,f they have to pay

the ultimate sacri5ce we do an excellent job supporting their families with the

highway of heroes and Remembrance Day celebrations but mental health issues

seem to fall into a gray area in between. Cy no means are they forgotten but they

don’t always get the help they deserve or need. s we have more con(icts we

forget to remember the living in exchange for honouring the dead.