The hidden wounds of war
- 12 years ago
Under fire in Afghanistan. After more than a decade of war close to 2,000 Americans soldiers have been killed. Scores more have been wounded. The wounds are not always visible.
Post traumatic stress disorder has recently come back in focus after an American soldier became the suspect in the slaughter of 17 Afghan villagers.
But while the name for the problem might have changed, there is nothing new about the symptoms.
Major Stanley Copeland is a U.S. Military Chaplain, and was made available to Reuters by the Pentagon.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR STANLEY COPELAND, SAYING:
"I am a combat graduate of the South East Asian war games for wayward youth, sometimes called the Vietnam war and when I came home I was a poster child for PTSD but it had not been diagnosed, it did not exist in 1970. So, I relate to these guys and I think they have much the same sort of issues, -- can't sleep, so then they rely on alcohol to try to get some sleep, intrusive thoughts like suddenly I am back. A large sound sounds off and suddenly the guy startles, and we use to do funny things -- neighbors thought it was funny -- fall on the ground. intrusive thoughts, you find yourself mentally you are not where you are -- you are somewhere else -- you are back seeing your guys."
The labels can cause their own problems.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR STANLEY COPELAND, SAYING:
"Once you have a label people just say, he's crazy, he has PTSD and it becomes a way to blow things off and there is a stigma attached which does keep guys away from being able to admit it."
Soldiers on the frontlines sometimes have to grapple with the most fundamental issues.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR STANLEY COPELAND, SAYING:
"The most serious thing you can ever do is take human life and when that happens later you realize that your were killing your own self, and that really really weighs on a man very badly."
A recent Army study estimated that as many as 20 percent of the more than two million U.S. troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan could suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters
Post traumatic stress disorder has recently come back in focus after an American soldier became the suspect in the slaughter of 17 Afghan villagers.
But while the name for the problem might have changed, there is nothing new about the symptoms.
Major Stanley Copeland is a U.S. Military Chaplain, and was made available to Reuters by the Pentagon.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR STANLEY COPELAND, SAYING:
"I am a combat graduate of the South East Asian war games for wayward youth, sometimes called the Vietnam war and when I came home I was a poster child for PTSD but it had not been diagnosed, it did not exist in 1970. So, I relate to these guys and I think they have much the same sort of issues, -- can't sleep, so then they rely on alcohol to try to get some sleep, intrusive thoughts like suddenly I am back. A large sound sounds off and suddenly the guy startles, and we use to do funny things -- neighbors thought it was funny -- fall on the ground. intrusive thoughts, you find yourself mentally you are not where you are -- you are somewhere else -- you are back seeing your guys."
The labels can cause their own problems.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR STANLEY COPELAND, SAYING:
"Once you have a label people just say, he's crazy, he has PTSD and it becomes a way to blow things off and there is a stigma attached which does keep guys away from being able to admit it."
Soldiers on the frontlines sometimes have to grapple with the most fundamental issues.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR STANLEY COPELAND, SAYING:
"The most serious thing you can ever do is take human life and when that happens later you realize that your were killing your own self, and that really really weighs on a man very badly."
A recent Army study estimated that as many as 20 percent of the more than two million U.S. troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan could suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters