exploritory essay on combat veterans
DESCRIPTION
Exploritory essay regarding combat veteransTRANSCRIPT
George Harris (830353266) Harris 1ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
COMBAT VETERANS: ARE THEY RECEIVING THE CARE
THEY NEED TO PROPERLY REINTEGRATE INTO SOCIETY?
Introduction
Following the historic attacks on the United States in September of
2001, the United States Government began deploying forces to
Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The goal of
this operation was to effectively remove the threat of the Taliban from
the country of Afghanistan and to bring those responsible for the attacks
to justice. Four weeks following the attacks, Central Command
(CENTCOM) assumed operational control and began the mobilization
of our forces to support this operation. By 2002, forces working in
support of OEF had grown to include forces from 68 countries; 27 of
which maintain representatives at the CENTCOM headquarters.
On March 19, 2003, the United States in conjunction with the
United Kingdom began military operations in Iraq with the goal to
George Harris (830353266) Harris 2ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
disarm any weapons of mass destruction this county may have had and
well as to remove the oppressive regime in power. Unlike Operation
Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) had a more complex
set of objectives. GlobalSecurity.org outlines them as being 1) remove
Saddam Hussein from power, 2) isolate and eliminate Iraq’s weapons of
mass destruction, 3) seek out and remove terrorists from the country, 4)
collect intelligence relevant to terrorist networks, 5) collect intelligence
relevant to the illicit production of weapons of mass destruction
globally, 6) end sanctions and provide humanitarian aid to the local
population, 7) secure Iraq’s oil field resources and 8) to help the Iraqi
people create conditions for a transition to a representative self-
government.
With these two campaigns being conducted simultaneously, in
addition to normal national support provided by our military forces, we
have seen an unprecedented number of service members redeploying
with conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and
George Harris (830353266) Harris 3ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). The US Department of Veterans Affairs
National Center for PTSD describes the condition as follows;
“Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can
occur following the experience or witnessing of a traumatic event. A
traumatic event is a life-threatening event such as military combat,
natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or
sexual assault in adult or childhood.” Traumatic Brain Injury is defined
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “…a blow or jolt
to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function
of the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI. The
severity of a TBI may range from “mild,” i.e., a brief change in mental
status or consciousness to “severe,” i.e., an extended period of
unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury”. Statistically, this condition
is more deadly than PTSD due to the fact that 50,000 die as a result. As
a soldier, having close friends and subordinates which I have trained
and, who have served in the aforementioned campaigns, these topics are
George Harris (830353266) Harris 4ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
something that my generation of servicemen and women are not
prepared to deal with. We entered the military during a time of “peace
keeping” operations and working “standard” jobs; With the war on
terror being one that will likely not end any time soon, there is a good
possibility that I will see family members deploy in support of OIF/OEF.
But what should they expect when they return from proudly serving their
country; who will return home?
In this essay I will exam the question of whether our service men
and women are receiving the care their need when returning home from
combat environments. I will look at some of the available programs and
treatment options available. I will also present information regarding the
apparent lack of treatment options and programs.. The purpose of this
essay is to provide you with the available fact on this topic to help you
formulate an answer to the question; are combat veterans receiving the
care they need to properly reintegrate into society?
George Harris (830353266) Harris 5ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
Evidence in support of Veterans receiving adequate treatment
Since the return our men and women from the Vietnam conflict,
the American people along with health care organizations nationwide
have become more aware of PTSD. With current operations going on its
9th year, what are the resources that are currently available to our
veterans returning home after 1, if not more, tours of service in hostile
environments? The US Department of Veterans Affairs, whose primary
missions is serve the needs of the men, woman and family members of
the US military, has dedicated resources in the form of the National
Center for PTSD. The National Center for PTSD has been enacted to
advance the clinical care and social welfare of America’s Veterans
through research, education and training in the science, diagnosis and
treatment of PTSD and stress-related disorders. As part of their
services, the National Center has released an information sheet which
has very helpful information on some frequently asked questions
regarding PTSD, and a broad overview of what a person and/or family
George Harris (830353266) Harris 6ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
member can expect if they think them or their loved one is a victim of
PTSD. As part of their treatment programs, the VA provides cognitive
behavioral therapy, group therapy, prescription solutions, and family
therapy. There may, however, be months or years between the time a
service member returns from a combat situation until they are enrolled in
the VA service system. What programs or assessments are available for
them during that period of time?
Upon a service members return to their base of origin, they are
required by Department of Defense policy to undergo a barrage of
evaluations to assess their mental and physical wellbeing. As part of
this, they must participate in a comprehensive psychiatric screening
which has been designed to help determine if they are suffering from
either PTSD or TBI. With TBI, many of these service members would
have been assessed by the medical assets in their theaters of operation
due to their receiving some sort of physical trauma during their
deployment. Being part of their permanent medical record, these
George Harris (830353266) Harris 7ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
personnel may already be required to undergo rehabilitation as part of
their redeployment and/or separation from military service, depending
on the severity of their head injury.
In addition to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, there are
also civilian organizations such as the Disabled Veterans of America,
American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars which provide an
outlet for our servicemen, servicewomen and their families, along with
treatment options and resources.
Evidence that Veterans are not receiving adequate treatment
A large number of government officials, public health organizations and
citizens believe that although the men and women of the US military
have risked everything in support of their countries objectives, their
country has failed to provide the treatment they desperately require for
their PTSD. “Between 2002 and 2008, nearly 50,000 veterans from the
Iraq and Afghanistan wars received diagnoses of post-traumatic stress
disorder. But fewer than 10 percent of those completed the
George Harris (830353266) Harris 8ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
recommended treatment of 10 to 12 weekly sessions within four months;
the number only grew to fewer than 30 percent over a year”. For some,
this treatment plan is unreal; having to spend 10 – 12 sessions per week,
for some, limit their ability to hold down employment and provide for
themselves and their families.
In addition to this apparent inconvenience, there are several
categories of veterans who are less likely to receive the care they need.
Those include males below the age of 25, those living in rural areas and
those who received their diagnoses from primary-care facilities and
would need to have their treatment transferred to a mental health facility.
According to a Business Week article titled “PTSD Treatment Still
Lacking for Veterans: Young, male and rural most likely to face
obstacles, research shows”, most veterans who participated in a mental
health study with the San Francisco Veterans Medical Center did
attending at least one mental health appointments. However, problems
George Harris (830353266) Harris 9ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
which included systemic problems and personal issues caused many of
them not to return for follow up appointments.
In a transcript from a Congressional meeting on the mental health
needs of our veterans, which was a discussion on funding, the VA’s
mental health strategic plan and the Uniform Mental Health Services
Handbook, there are alarming statements that show our governments
apparent lack of recourses and programming for our mentally ill
veterans. At this point in April of 2009, almost 10 years after current
operations began, Dr. Michael Shepherd of the US Department of
Veterans Affairs testified that not until 2004 did the Veterans Health
Administration develop its 5 year mental health strategic plan. Dr.
Shepherd made the following statement regarding the VA’s PTSD
programs as of his testimony before the subcommittee; “Additionally,
we are concerned that while a section of the Handbook addresses access
to specific evidence-based psychotherapies for PTSD, it appears that VA
does not have in place a national system to reliably track provision and
George Harris (830353266) Harris 10ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
utilization of these therapies. A national system would allow for a
population-based assessment of treatment outcomes with implications
for treatment of other veterans presenting for PTSD-related care. While
VA has relevant process measures in place to monitor program
implementation, we believe that VA should develop more outcome
measures where feasible to allow for dynamic refinement of program
requirements in order to meet changes in mental health needs and to
optimize treatment efficacy.”
Given the information that is provided above, it is clear that while
there are programs in place to help our servicemen and women battle
their post combat mental issues, the systems and procedures are not in
place to ensure that we are effectively treating and maintaining a
uniform level of care across the board. Coupled with the fact the PTSD
has been a publicized issue since the return of our Vietnam veterans, it
would only seem logical that our government, specifically the agency
George Harris (830353266) Harris 11ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
charged with the care and well being of our veterans, would have put
these systems and program in place decades ago.
Conclusion
In order to present an essay that I felt fairly represented both sides
of this debate; I chose to begin my research by looking at the definitions
of both PTSD and TBI. From those helpful resources, I was able to find
information on the existing programs available to our veterans and even
some programs to their families. After gathering all of this information,
there was one question that kept surfacing for me; why are we fighting
this war?
As you can see from the information provided in this essay, there
are arguments for both sides of the question. Some would argue that the
programs are in place to help our service members battle their mental
issues; from the US Department of Veterans Affairs to the private
organizations. While others would argue that the programs that are in
place are ineffective and “too little-too late”. Regardless of which side
George Harris (830353266) Harris 12ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010
you stand on with this question, the big picture remains clear; mental
health care for our veterans must be an ever evolving and progressive
entity. As the way in which wars are fought and won changes, so do the
challenges and repercussions for our veterans.
Harris 13
WORKS CITED
1. National Centers for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (Unknonwn). WHAT IS PTSD? - A HANDOUT FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR PTSD BY JESSICA HAMBLEN, PHD. Published by the US Department of Veterans Affairs; Washington, DC.
2. "What is Traumatic Brian Injury?" Http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/tbi/TBI.htm. National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, n.p. Web. 18 Mar. 2009
3. “Operation Enduring Freedom – Operations” http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/enduring-freedom-ops.htm, GlobalSecurity.org, n.p., 2 Sep. 2008.
4. “Operation Iraqi Freedom” http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraqi_freedom.htm, GlobalSeucrity.org, n.p., 27 Apr. 2005
5. “Coping with a Traumatic Event” http://www.cdc.gov/masstrauma/factsheets/public/coping.pdf, National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, n.p., n.d.
6. Business Week Article : Author, Dotinga, Randy,( Feb. 10, 2010). PTSD Treatment Still Lacking for Veterans: Young, male and rural most likely to face obstacles, research shows, Business Week, http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/635984.html
7. Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. (2009). Charting the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' progress on meeting the mental health needs of our veterans [electronic resource] : discussion of funding, mental health strategic plan, and the uniform mental health services handbook. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
George Harris (830353266) Harris 14ENGL 2030OL3INST: Nicole Piasecki17 FEB 2010