Iraq Affecting Mental Health of Troops

[tocqueville]

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer
33 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - A survey of troops returning from the Iraq war found 30 percent had developed mental health problems three to four months after coming home, the Army's surgeon general said Thursday.

The problems include anxiety, depression, nightmares, anger and an inability to concentrate, according to Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley and other military medical officials. A smaller group, usually with more severe cases of these symptoms, is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

The 30 percent figure is in contrast to the 3 percent to 5 percent diagnosed with a significant mental health issue immediately after they leave the theater, according to Col. Elspeth Ritchie, a military psychiatrist on Kiley's staff. A study of troops who were still in the combat zone in 2004 found 13 percent experienced significant mental health problems

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050728/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us_military_health

[DanCa]

1. You know I wish these war mongers in congress wouldve

thought all of this thru before sending our people over seas to get shot at. War is not a video game damn it.

[jeff30997]

3. I agree.War is not a video game,it's blood and guts but...

Those bastards in power don't give a shit.They will never see the consequences of their acts.And those poor soldiers will suffer from the rest of their life ! :banghead:

[DanCa]

7. "First in peace , last in war,"

Whose moto was that? I dont care whose in office. We should never ever engage in wars of choice. We have the right to defend ourselves of course but we should really take a lesson from the prime directive and not interefer with other cultures.

[jeff30997]

10. Mmmm...Great analogy DanCa.

BTW I like Star Trek too and the prime directive is a great policy.:)

[lynettebro440]

2. Not to mention

that the 4th or 5th tour of duty they are currently being subjected to will probably raise that amount to 50% before all is said and done.

[jeff30997]

5. 4th or 5th tour of duty ?!?

In Vietnam most of the soldiers made one,sometime two and a lot of them came back all messed-up ! Bush and his gangsters are worst than LBJ and Nixon combined damn it !

[FreedomAngel82]

9. Whenever they are back for good it will be bad

I just hope we're ready for this. I read last year on ABC's website an article about two different soliders who were back from Iraq. One guy would burst out of nowhere and have arguments with his wife. The next guy would be laying in bed sleeping at night and he'd start shaking out of nowhere. His wife said he'd be dreaming of a bomb going off near by. There was also a story of a guy who was in Texas who had come back from Iraq and he was in a middle school trying to rape a girl (sixth or seventh grade)!!! There was another guy who was in Iraq at least two duties and they came to tell him he had to go back and this guy literally went insane. He tore off his clothes and ran around naked in the street and tried to kill himself. They put him in a mental home. I didn't hear anything else. Wait until they find out about all Bush has done....

[jeff30997]

11. "Wait until they find out about all Bush has done"

Oh man.They will get mad as hell...Damn.Talk about a tragedy...

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Wars, especially illegal, immoral wars, have a nasty way of doing that.

I much prefer "Shell Shock" to "mental disorders" or PTSD. More discriptive and less "nice" sounding.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. I guess the poor sods disagree with the General's "Killing is fun" BS.

[FreedomAngel82]

8. I have just one word to say to that

DUH!

[sunyasi]

12. check it out

Paul Craig Roberts nails it today:

Bush administration neocons such as Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, Libby, along with their cheerleaders at Fox "News", the Weekly Standard, Wall Street Journal editorial page, National Review, and the New York Times' Judith Miller will go down in history as the architects and enablers of the greatest strategic blunder in American history. The neocon dream of conquering the Middle East for Israel and destroying Islam as a force is now in history's trash heap of failed adventures along with such miscalculations as Hitler's march into Russia and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

see www.counterpunch.com

[pocket]

13. "Mental Health of Troops" is an oxymoron

kind of like "military intelligence"