SBAND Seminar Materials 2013 Free Ethics: Echoes of War The Combat Veteran | Page 11

"People
 aren’t
 designed
 to
 be
 exposed
 to
 the
 horrors
 of
 combat
 repeatedly.

 And
 it
 wears
 on
  them,"
 General
 George
 Casey,
 then-­?Army
 Chief
 of
 Staff,
 stated
 in
 a
 2008
 press
 conference.36
  General
 Casey
 was
 announcing
 the
 results
 of
 a
 recent
 Army
 study,
 which
 found
 that
 levels
  of
 PTSD
 climb
 significantly
 with
 repeated
 combat
 deployments.37

  Evidence
 indicates
 that
 combat
 operations
 in
 Iraq
 are
 very
 intense.

 According
 to
 a
  2004
 study
 conducted
 by
 the
 Walter
 Reed
 Army
 Institute
 of
 Research,
 which
 surveyed
  combat
 infantrymen
 just
 back
 from
 Iraq:
  -­?
 94
 percent
 reported
 receiving
 small-­?arms
 fire;
  -­?
 86
 percent
 reported
 knowing
 someone
 who
 was
 injured
 or
 killed;
  -­?
 68
 percent
 reported
 seeing
 dead
 or
 seriously
 injured
 Americans;
  -­?
 51
 percent
 reported
 handling
 or
 uncovering
 human
 remains;
  -­?
 77
 percent
 reported
 shooting
 or
 directing
 fire
 at
 the
 enemy;
  -­?
 48
 percent
 reported
 being
 responsible
 for
 the
 death
 of
 enemy
 combatants;
  -­?
 28
 percent
 reported
 being
 responsible
 for
 the
 death
 of
 a
 noncombatant.38

  Note
 that
 the
 above-­?study
 was
 conducted
 in
 2004,
 early
 in
 the
 war
 and
 the
 troops
 surveyed
  in
 that
 study
 had
 only
 completed
 one
 combat
 tour.

 Many
 of
 those
 same
 troops
 have
 now
  likely
 served
 two,
 three,
 four
 or
 more
 tours
 and
 the
 statistics
 cited
 above
 would
 certainly
  be
 much
 higher
 today.
  Unfortunately,
 the
 Veterans’
 Administration
 (VA)
 was
 not
 initially
 provided
  sufficient
 additional
 funding
 to
 handle
 the
 large
 influx
 of
 Iraq
 and
 Afghan
 vets
 seeking
  PTSD
 treatment.

 Several
 highly
 publicized
 scandals,
 one
 of
 which
 involved
 a
 Minnesota
  Marine
 who
 killed
 himself
 after
 reportedly
 being
 turned
 away
 from
 a
 VA
 hospital,
 have
  forced
 the
 government
 to
 significantly
 increase
 resources
 toward
 necessary
 psychological
  care.39

 Today,
 care
 for
 our
 psychologically
 injured
 veterans
 is
 improving.

Greg
 Zoroya,
 Findings
 of
 Army
 Health
 Study,
 Fifth
 of
 Soldiers
 at
 PTSD
 Risk,
 USA
 TODAY,
 Mar.
 6,
 2008,
  http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-­?03-­?06-­?soldier-­?stress_N.htm?csp=34.
  37
 Id.
 (citing
 Mental
 Health
 Advisory
 Team
 (MHAT)
 V,
 supra
 note
 3).
  38
 Charles
 W.
 Hoge
 et
 al.,
 Combat
 Duty
 in
 Iraq
 and
 Afghanistan,
 Mental
 Health
 Problems,
 and
 Barriers
 to
 Care,
 351
  NEW
 ENG.
 J.
 MED.
 13,
 18
 (2004).
  39
 Kevin
 Giles,
 This
 Marine’s
 Death
 Came
 After
 He
 Served
 in
 Iraq:

 When
 Jonathan
 Schulze
 Came
 Home
 From
 Iraq,
  He
 Tried
 to
 Live
 a
 Normal
 Life,
 But
 the
 War
 Kept
 That
 From
 Happening,
 MINNEAPOLIS
 STAR
 TRIB.,
 Jan.
 26,
 2007;
  Charles
 M.
 Sennott,
 Told
 to
 Wait,
 A
 Marine
 Dies:
 VA
 Care
 in
 Spotlight
 after
 Iraq
 War
 Veteran’s
 Suicide,
 BOSTON
  GLOBE,
 Feb.
 11,
 2007;
 Dan
 Ephron
 &
 Sarah
 Childress,
 How
 the
 U.S.
 Is
 Failing
 Its
 War
 Veterans,
 NEWSWEEK,
 Mar.
 5,
  2007.

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