The biggest problem the Army and service members face is the stigma that is associated with a PTSD diagnosis. If we can beat this we will get those who need help the help they need. In being true to my preaching I have decided to speak with a counselor even if it just for a wellness check and to ensure that there is something I am not seeing. Do the same.....
"A study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry in October found that soldiers were two to four times more willing to report PTSD, depression, and suicidal thoughts if they were allowed to answer a survey anonymously, rather than put their names on a routine post-deployment screening form."

Idea to take the 'D' out of PTSD being studied

By Lindsay Wise

Houston Chronicle

Published: January 16, 2012

 

The president of the American Psychiatric Association says he is "very open" to a request from the Army to come up with an alternative name for post-traumatic stress disorder so that troops returning from combat will feel less stigmatized and more encouraged to seek treatment.
Dr. John Oldham, who serves as senior vice president and chief of staff at the Houston-based Menninger Clinic, said he is looking into the possibility of updating the association's diagnostic manual with a new subcategory for PTSD. The subcategory could be "combat post-traumatic stress injury," or a similar term, he said.
"It would link it clearly to the impact and the injury of the combat situation and the deployment experience, rather than what people somewhat inaccurately but often assume, which is that you got it because you weren't strong enough," Oldham said.
The potential change was prompted by a request from Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, who wrote to Oldham last year, suggesting APA drop the world "disorder" from PTSD.
"Calling it a disorder contributes to the stigma and makes it so some folks -- not all, but some folks -- don't get the help they need," Chiarelli said.
The general doesn't like to use the word disorder. "It's not a dirty word, but I think it's misused here," he said. "I don't think that the post-traumatic stress that soldiers experience is a disorder. It's not something that happens just to weak people or people that are somehow inclined to be affected by horrible things that they see or are required to do. I think it causes an actual injury to the brain and how the brain works."
Early discussions
After receiving Chiarelli's letter, Oldham wrote back to say he appreciated his concern, but dropping the word disorder might not be the best way to go. He said he was eager to work with Chiarelli to see what APA could do.
The general invited Oldham to the Pentagon to discuss the situation. They met for about an hour and a half on Dec. 9. Oldham agreed to bring the general's suggestion to the APA work group tasked with reviewing PTSD for the next version of the association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the classification book used by psychiatrists in America. APA is finalizing the fifth edition of the manual, due in May 2013.
Oldham cautioned the discussion is very preliminary but speculated that a new subcategory like "combat post-traumatic stress injury" might work.
Although Chiarelli still would prefer to lose "disorder" entirely, he said a new subcategory would be a start. "I'm frustrated with how long this is taking to be honest," he said.
The general pointed out that PTSD has had many names over the years, from shell shock to battle fatigue. "It's been called all kinds of different things and somehow we decided to go with PTSD and I think that's just wrong," he said.
Chiarelli's campaign to change the name of PTSD is part of the Army's effort to reduce alarming suicide rates among soldiers. Statistics released last month identified 260 potential suicides in 2011. Of that total, 154 were active-duty soldiers, 73 were National Guard troops and 33 were reservists.
Silence over stigma
Stigma is a major problem. A study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry in October found that soldiers were two to four times more willing to report PTSD, depression, and suicidal thoughts if they were allowed to answer a survey anonymously, rather than put their names on a routine post-deployment screening form.
Of the soldiers who screened positive for PTSD or depression, 20 percent said they weren't comfortable answering honestly on the routine form. The study concluded that the Army's screening process misses most soldiers with significant mental health problems.
Dr. Harry Croft, a psychiatrist in San Antonio, said the findings jibe with what he hears from veterans he treats for PTSD.
"Even though the rules, as I understand them, say you don't get kicked out if you get diagnosed with PTSD, depression or any other issues, a lot of veterans say, 'I knew damn well if I answered the questions right my chance to get promoted was gone,' " Croft said.
Croft has mixed feelings about changing the name of PTSD. He understands the concern about stigmatizing troops but thinks whether the condition is called PTSD or something else will have little effect on the suicide rate.
"Rather than concentrate on what we call it, we need to concentrate more on how to help warriors coming back from the combat zone, because I don't think the name we give it will have much of an impact on the 18 suicides a day and all the other problems that we see," Croft said. "That's putting a Band-Aid on a much bigger wound."
Chiarelli says his main concern is getting soldiers into treatment, so if calling post-traumatic stress a disorder keeps them from seeking help, then the wording needs to change, the sooner the better.
"You can have the very, very best treatments in the world, but if you can't get people take advantage of them, they don't do any good," he said.

Refections on hating Christmas

This is a piece shared by my great friend Raub Nash whom I served with in "Deuce Four" 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry in Mosul, Iraq.
He makes a great point when he speaks about reflecting "I see it as a cathartic view into how people need, and should, reflect on everything that happens to them that they did not control." I encourage people to think back about some times when you served write it down and send it to me. Respond and tell us what you think;

Reflections on hating Christmas

By Raub Nash

Last year in Graduate School I was inundated with the idea of reflection and how it is the key to successful development. For 30 years I pretty much took every day for what it was worth and I rarely looked back on what I did or, more importantly, what events happened to me that I could not control. As I prepared to take over my new job as a leader developer at West Point, I felt as though I should at least try out what I would be preaching – it was scary.

A lot of things have happened in my short career, as I no doubt know is the same for all Soldiers in this time of a two-front war. What scared me was how little I knew how these events have changed me –both for good and bad.

As we come out of the traditional Christmas leave period, I was forced into a realization that, I hope, will make future Decembers better for me and those I spend the time with. For the longest time, or since about 2004, I have never really been in the uplifting mood that a father and husband should be in around this time. The old me would say that it was because I was raised on little extravagance, especially with respect to Christmas and gifts in general. After one evening of some rather disturbing and violent actions on my part – no one was hurt, just a sliding glass door, a scotch glass, cooler, and a shirt – I had to look in the mirror and try to understand why and where that person came from.

I was forced to think about several things on the journey to the realization of what caused my actions and what consistently causes my less than uplifting spirit over this time every year. The first event that came to mind was December 21^st, 2004. It was a pristine day in Mosul, Iraq. Clear skies and mild temperatures made it quite bearable. I was a young 2^ndLieutenant Platoon Leader in 1/24 IN. We had been in Mosul for only about 2 months. I finally had some sort of routine, without which I am a mess, and normalcy was setting in – normalcy does not mean complacency. Our platoon had already had our share of the“baptism-by-fire” incidents and we were operating as a cohesive unit for the first time. A routine patrol day started out with the usual events; drive up to our platoon area, search houses/garages/offices, chase some people that ran from our patrol and drive back.

By the time we returned to the FOB it was time for lunch. So, we dropped our gear and headed on the long walk to our chow hall. Before we headed out, our commander and a few other officers asked my Platoon Sergeant and me to go with them to get lunch. We declined so we could help close up our vehicles and let our Soldiers get to chow before us. The routine was almost always the same: clear your weapon and wash your hands outside, get a tray and choose main or short order line, get some salad and dessert in the middle of the chow hall, sit down to eat and talk about whatever, and finally clean up and leave. This day however would deviate drastically from the routine.

About the time I sat down, I noticed that I was the first one in our group of 4 that would sit together. I took a quick look around and quickly saw the other 3 heading over. I followed this with obligatory wave of the hand to let them see where I sat and for them to join me. No sooner did my Platoon Sergeant sit down in front of me than a flash of light and a loud boom shocked our world. I did what I think, especially regarding the fact that normalcy also included the occasional mortar attack, most everyone did – I jumped up, looked for those by me and we ran to a bunker just outside the door. I won’t write anymore about what happened next. It is an image and an event that I still want to keep buried somewhat. The result of the event was that I had my first experience with the loss of a comrade. My commander, CPT Bill Jacobsen, and our NBC NCO, SSG Robert Johnson, were killed while they ate lunch on the safety of their own FOB. They were not the only ones that died that day, but they were the ones I knew.

8 days later, our Platoon responded to an event that would also change me. A suicide car bomber drove a dump truck full of explosives precariously close to an outpost and detonated the device. PFC Oscar Sanchez was killed in the blast, but what most people don’t know is that he probably saved his entire platoon mates lives. If that truck made it another 100 feet or so, the entire building would have most certainly collapsed. This event I recall not because of the incident in itself, but of my actions during this. I was forced several times to place my Platoon Sergeant and the squad with him in danger. When I say forced, I really mean it. I did not like the orders I was getting, but a leader understands that sometimes orders must be followed and that people can get hurt following them. What scares me about this incident is how happy it made me to see things get destroyed while in this firefight. It was eerie how I could feel great joy as we engaged suspected – yes, suspected – targets with heavy machine guns and strafes from F-16s and, the now retired, F-14. I don’t know why I felt as though I did, but I suspect it was because I was in the young stages of burying my emotional destruction that came from the chow hall bombing.

Fast forward to December 20^th, 2007. I am a young Company Commander in the 101^st and we were finishing up an operation that my Soldiers dubbed “Operation Shitty Christmas”. This was one of those times that, much like the outpost bombing, I really did not agree or understand the intent of what we were trying to accomplish. But, the orders were legal, ethical, and moral and I was given ample time to object and add my spin on the operation – so, we executed it. After about 5 days in the middle of nowhere during an unusual cold spell, we trudged away at the invisible goal trying to find a non-existent enemy. This day was just like the others – except that we had finished our mission and were moving back to our base. One of my platoons was tasked with following a route clearance team on an untraveled route to open it for further use by our sister company. I chose to move with my main effort, getting all of our equipment safely back to our company patrol base, and I chose not go with my boss’ main effort. Well, these choices never end up good.

When I first showed up to Fort Campbell and found out which company I would be afforded the opportunity to command, I was given the green light to go and start poking around. The first person I met was SPC Leon. He was youthful looking but had an air of experience that just emanated from him. I was immediately drawn to Wesley. I can remember always looking for him at formations, during PT, and while out at training. As I got to know the Soldiers in the company, I quickly found out that Wesley was a consummate warrior. I knew I liked this kid and I knew that I could always count on him. He was in the patrol that went with the route clearance team, probably located in the order of march where my vehicle should have been, when his vehicle was hit with an IED. This event took both of his legs and cut me to the core. I was already not very good with empathy, and this event made me separate myself from my feelings more than ever which resulted in the desire to never get close to another Soldier. Terrible decision on my part. Even though Wesley hasn’t slowed down accomplishing more than most people, it doesn’t take away the deep feeling that it should have been my vehicle, an MRAP and not a HMMWV, that got hit.

Three pretty major events in my life that happened close to Christmas. No wonder I am a scrooge. This story is much more to me than a revelation of why I hate the Christmas season. I see it as a cathartic view into how people need, and should, reflect on everything that happens to them that they did not control. I wish that more people would partake in this venture and critically look at their actions and reactions to these types of events. I know now why I feel the way I do and this fact will allow me to accomplish my ultimate goal – being a great dad. There is no greater joy for me than to see my sons smile and see them do new things. It would be shame if my failure to change my attitude based on events I had no control over affected my children in a way that would have them dread the Christmas season as I do. I will let you know how I do next year.

Jesus Loves an Ethical Warrior

This is a piece I did as an undergraduate at Saint Martin's University about the conundrum that exists between religion and military training and the tolerance of all religions we should all have and exhibit. I know this may draw criticism but remember this forum is open to anybody and all work will be uncensored. I hope you respond to it but please be nice, families read this also.

There should be a definite line between a person’s personal belief in a higher power and what the military believes a person should believe in right? Should there be a specific religion used in military training to teach young officers and leaders in matters regarding ethical decisions and internal conflicts that are no doubt associated with war? I don’t believe there should be, but this is happening and has been happening for more than 20 years. I have served in the both the Marine Corps and the United States Army for 21 ½ years and during this time have attended numerous schools of leadership. These leadership schools used religious quotes and biblical examples to raise discussions in ethical behavior as it applies to leading Soldiers in combat. Until I read an article titled “Air Force yanks nuke ethics course.” By Markeshia Ricks did I really begin to reflect back on these days in class and I realized that there had been many times religion had made its way into the course curriculum. So how is it that certain religious texts or fundamentals make it into the everyday lives of service members and what is being done about it? These are the key questions I hope to answer in this paper.

            Soldiers deployed in combat struggle with many internal conflicts and these conflicts center on religion. I remember vividly praying before going out on combat patrols that “our faith (Christian) would prove to stronger than our enemies (Islam) and our fight for justice and what was right would help us kill them.”  In 2009 an email circulated through the Air Force command and staff officers at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada inviting them to attend a Bible study class in which the topic of discussion referred to Jews as “whiners”. Not that this could get any worse but the email was sent from a staff Captain at the behest of the base Chaplain. In another instance 5,000 service members stationed at RAF Lakenheath, the largest Air Force base in England received a presentation titled “Purpose Driven Airmen” which incorporated the teachings of mega church leader Rick Warren and creationism as a means of suicide prevention (Leopold, 2011). This training was sent out from a commander’s official email. The problem with doing this is that any email from an “official” government account implies that the service branch condones the training or information. Many commanders in the zealous to promote spiritual fitness as much as they promote physical fitness unintentionally push one religion (usually their own) over others when getting information out to the troops. It is vital that commanders remain neutral when speaking about religious activities being put on by the base or unit chaplain, as well as allow the Soldier’s the opportunity to attend services even though they may conflict with patrols or operations. This was one of the hardest things I had to do as a First Sergeant in Afghanistan. I had 166 Soldiers in four platoons; each of these platoons would be responsible for patrolling every day for about eight hours. The patrols took place in a 24 hour, but no matter what time a platoon went it was imperative that each Soldier had the opportunity to attend a religious service they wanted to. He time for fellowship and worship is a very important activity in the day or week of a combat Soldier, because it allows them the opportunity to release stress and decompress after some trying times in the field.

            Understanding that the possibility of American Soldiers turning the war in Afghanistan and Iraq into a war of “bad Muslims” and the righteous “Christians of America’ and whose God is stronger definitely holds its possibilities. So how is the military trying to change this perception? In his policy memorandum dated September 1, but sent Tuesday to all major commands, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz said, "Leaders ... must balance Constitutional protections for an individuals free exercise of religion or other personal beliefs and its prohibition against governmental establishment of religion." (Leopold, 2011) So how did the Air Force respond to the fact that religion had made its way into a training curriculum for Nuclear Missile Officer’s “The Air Force suspended the mandatory Nuclear Ethics and Nuclear Warfare training immediately following the publication of Truthout's report. David Smith, a spokesman for the Air Education and Training Command told Truthout last month the ethics training "has been taken out of the curriculum and is being reviewed." And in an even more knee jerk reaction it “pulled all of its training materials "that address morals, ethics, core values and related character development issues" pending a "comprehensive review," Smith told the Air Force Times. That decision was made after a Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) instructor, who read Truthout's report, sent the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), a civil rights organization, copies of ROTC leadership training materials, which also contained Christian-themed citations from the Bible. The PowerPoint slides in that presentation the unnamed instructor sent MRFF are used in all colleges and universities that have an ROTC program. (Leopold, 2011)

            This is not to say that religion has no place in war I am sure everyone has heard the adage” there is no atheist in war” in a movie or a book. What does the church say a just war is? In the Just War in the Catechism of the Catholic Church it is described that All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war. Despite this admonition of the Church, it sometimes becomes necessary to use force to obtain the end of justice. This is the right, and the duty, of those who have responsibilities for others, such as civil leaders and police forces. While individuals may renounce all violence those who must preserve justice may not do so, though it should be the last resort, "once all peace efforts have failed." [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 79, 4] As with all moral acts the use of force to obtain justice must comply with three conditions to be morally good. First, the act must be good in itself. The use of force to obtain justice is morally licit in itself. Second, it must be done with a good intention, which as noted earlier must be to correct vice, to restore justice or to restrain evil, and not to inflict evil for its own sake. Thirdly, it must be appropriate in the circumstances. An act which may otherwise be good and well-motivated can be sinful by reason of imprudent judgment and execution.” (What is Just War?, 2011)

            I am a Soldier and my obligation is to fight for those who can’t fight against injustice, I may have to use violence to right a wrong, and I may have to kill. But this must be done in a manner which is ethical and moral. The determination of whether war is right or wrong is not ours to make, only those actions we choose take while engaged in combat are.

Works Cited

Leopold, J. (2011, September 14). Top Air Force Official Issues Religious Neutrality Policy in Wake of Truthout's "Jesus Loves Nukes" Exposé. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from Truthout: http://www.truth-out.org/aftermath-jesus-loves-nukes-scandal/1316010154

Ricks, M. (2011, 09 01). Air Force Yanks nuke Ethics Course. Air Force Times , p. 45.

What is Just War? (2011, September 1). Retrieved September 23, 2011, from Global Catholic Network: http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/just_war.htm