Veterans returning from Iraq with problems too serious for local help

[leQ]

a mainly informative article with some good figures, most notably:

"Almost every single Iraq vet who walks into our office has some kind of serious problem, many with mental health problems. So we just have to refer them on," said David DeBolt, director of the Polk County Commission on Veteran Affairs . "We're here to help with basic needs - some rent money, help with the bills, prescriptions, transportation around town."

Of the 208 Iraq war veterans the county commission has seen over the past two years, 59 received help from the county. Many of the rest were sent to federal Veterans Affairs hospitals in Des Moines and Knoxville, or to the Vet Center, an outpatient counseling facility in Des Moines.

and

The two Veterans Affairs hospitals have treated 333 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars since September 2003. The Vet Center saw dozens more. Less than 10 percent sought treatment for severe mental health problems, but doctors and veterans advocates say that figure could triple in years ahead.

"I think we'll see a lot more" with mental problems, said Dr. Steven Hagemoser, a clinical psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Des Moines. "It takes time for them to trickle in. The VA is not the first place they come to. Often, they come to us only after everything else hasn't worked and they're really struggling."

i somehow have the feeling that iraqi vets have more serious problems than vietnam vets had simply because we're using more guard this time, who didn't sign up for all these problems to begin with.

on edit, added link (sorry!) Des Moines Register

[ixion]

1. link?

:shrug:

[saigon68]

10. Like killing their Wives ETC

[whistle]

2. How do these numbers compare to other major American....

...conflicts and war in the past as well as regular military duty? Just curious.

[meganmonkey]

3. A lot more badly wounded are coming back from Iraq-

because of improvements in equipment and on-site medical attention, many are surviving that would have died in previous wars. This is also keeping the fatality rate relatively low. BUt then the VA is completely overloaded...

I'll try to find links....

edit: this one is interesting - compares Iraq casualties to Vietnam

http://slate.msn.com/id/2111432/

[Old Vet]

4. I can almost assure you those # are too LOW..............

I can personally tell you the few VA hosps in upstste NY, theres a waiting list.

[meganmonkey]

5. It's a pretty old article - I wasn't posting it for the numbers

:shrug:

I was just trying to back up what I was saying about why so many survive with major injuries. I don't like to say things without sources.

[HockeyMom]

8. They told my husband last year

that unless he was having a heart attack, put your name on the months long waiting list. Long Island.

[ConcernedCanuk]

6. and just wait until the effects of depleted uranium are beyond denial

.
.
.

but as with agent orange and other military fubars

that could be decades

and more like Timothy McVeigh (sp?) will spawn undetected as the US military takes "care" of it's vets in it's typical uncaring, ineffective, and disgusting fashion . .

(sigh)

[Pystoff]

7. I'll tell you what one major problem is

Long ago the US military determined that a soldier could only withstand 240 hours combat time and still be any good mentally. Alot of these guys have been under the stress of combat situation and constant fear of being killed and gone well beyond 240 hours.

[MissMarple]

9. Is that 10 straight days of combat stress?

In Iraq, it seems that they must be stressed around the clock. Even their sleep or any recreation time less than a couple of weeks would not keep the stress from accumulating.

[Pystoff]

11. Yep 10 days

And I'd imagine alot of those ppl are stressed way longer than 10 days. That 240 hours is lifetime combat stress as well so after 240 hours lifetime you are no longer useful in combat and are a danger to the others around you.

[Sven77]

12. Beyond Treason

from the DVD website >

What causes Gulf War Illness?
(a.k.a. Gulf War Syndrome; Persian Gulf Illness)

Some believe these illnesses are caused by exposure to depleted uranium munitions used on the battlefield. Others believe chemical and biological exposures are the prime suspect. While yet an even larger group argue that experimental vaccines given to our troops, without their knowledge or consent, may have lead to the demise of many of these soldiers.

Is it a combination of overlapping exposures?
Depleted Uranium Exposure
Chemical & Biological Exposure
Experimental Vaccinations
A growing number of scientists and respected experts in their fields have been coming forward to share their research and first-hand knowledge of official betrayal.

As ailing Gulf War Heroes from all 27 coalition countries slowly die of “unknown causes,” they wait for answers from their respective governments… but no satisfying or even credible answers have come forth from the military establishment. Records that span over a decade point to negligence and even culpability on the part of the U.S. Department of Defense and their “disposable army” mentality.

From the first Gulf War the VA has determined that 250,000 troops are now permanently disabled, 15,000 troops are dead and over 425,000 troops are ill and slowly dying from what the Department of Defense still calls a “mystery disease.” How many more will have to die before action is taken?

http://www.beyondtreason.com/