If you have family who has served or are currently serving in the army, I bet you could ask them about their emotional battle and they would tell you how tough it was or is. I want to talk to you about what soldiers go through when they get home from fighting. Why are the after effects never actually brought up to a soldier signing up for the army. The war affects the soldier's lives while they are serving and long after.
The veterans from the current wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan are still fighting, just not a physical fight. There personal battles are with them everyday. Think about it for a second. You go from seeing traumatic things happening almost everyday to living a normal civilian life. A soldier puts his or her life on the line daily. They are often forced to view unthinkable images of war. Most soldiers lose a close friend who they have trained and fought beside from day one. Dealing with such things causes emotional distress. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is leading to depression, suicide, and substance abuse. This is a staggering number. The suicide rate in the US army rose by 80% when we announced our war on Iraq.
I feel like we should have our soldier's therapy ready when they come back from war. I think that it should be mandatory that a soldier go through evaluations for PTSD before being released. If the soldier shows emotional distress or signs of PTSD we should give them free treatment. We as people do not understand what they go through. But we need to do everything we can to help them. I know a man, SGT. Jay Powell who served in the army, and he is now in a VA hospital. He would be fine when we were hanging out but when he was alone he would break down. He is getting help now and taking a lot of medicine. These men fight for our country so we should give them all the help they need when they get back. Do you think that we should have a mandatory therapy for soldiers and veterans to help them cope with whats happened in their lives?
I think that mandatory evaluation is necessary. It would help out the soldiers in so many was it most definitely would cut back on suicides for soldiers. Many soldiers do not realize they have PTSD and therefore do nothing to help it and suffer daily. Also some soldiers may have pride issues with going to therapy. If it was mandatory there would be no pride issues because its just a rule.
ReplyDeleteI think they should do a mandatory evaluation. Many soldiers do not realize they have PTSD right away. It would save them from suffering as much. I also agree with Tiffany about the pride issues. The person may not want to go back to their family and explain that they have problems.
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of mandatory service would be a good idea; however, this probably would not go over well with some of the veterans and soldiers. I think some believe that they don't need any help. A mandatory evaluation would be a good idea though to see the mental stability of the these soldiers.
ReplyDelete