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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Troops suffer from non-support
Wednesday 21 February @ 17:09:08 |
 By CHANTE WOLF
Cheryl Fields, the widow of John Fields, a Vietnam combat Marine who died on Jan. 15 from his exposure to Agent Orange, told me about her husband's transformation after Vietnam: "John went to Vietnam believing in God, country and the American way. When he came home, he believed in none of it. That is when he was rejected by the very clergy, friends and family who said it was OK to go and fight in Vietnam in the first place … PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation. It is what makes us human, and John worked hard most the rest of his life to get people to understand that about war veterans. He started rap and AA groups in the 1980s so there was a place the vets could gather, talk, get angry, cry, grieve and heal their emotional and spiritual wounds from the war that raged inside them. But then all of that changed as the VA has now started to move away from the rap groups and into … psych ward[s], administering medications instead of letting the vets talk and heal from the spiritual aspect of their trauma."
 And there are going to be many more returning vets looking for ways to heal. According to a recent Associated Press article, Feb. 19, 2007, "The St. Cloud VA Medical Center has spent the past few years making sure it is prepared for an influx of troops returning from war with mental health issues. The U.S. Army said in January an estimated 17 percent of troops are coming back from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder, severe anxiety or depression."
The percentages are probably much, much higher; if they counted the actual numbers, they would then have to admit that the cost is too high for them to pay and treat veterans.
The article continues, "The VA's treatment of mental illness is under scrutiny after the January suicide of Jonathan Schulze, a former U.S. Marine from New Prague. His parents have said he told St. Cloud VA staff he was suicidal. He was not admitted for treatment, and St. Cloud VA officials have not commented on the matter." Joan Vincent, a VA spokeswoman said that "since the conflicts began, the St. Cloud VA has seen 1,380 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. About 29 percent have received some sort of mental health care. Eleven veterans received care in the VA's locked inpatient ward. The VA continues to emphasize outpatient care. Since 1996, the number of inpatient psychiatric beds at the St. Cloud VA has dropped from 198 to 15."
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