Some Disturbing Realities

Source: Soldiers Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan: The Long-term Costs of Providing Veterans Medical Care and Disability Benefits

The Pentagon has referred for further treatment only 22 percent of the soldiers it found in danger of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). That means nearly eight out of 10 soldiers possibly at risk for the disorder were left to cope on their own.

• As of September 30, 2006, more than 50,500 US soldiers have suffered non-mortal wounds in Iraq, Afghanistan and nearby staging locations – a ratio of 16 wounded servicemen for every fatality. This is by far the highest killed-to-wounded ratio in US history. For example, in the Vietnam and Korean wars there were 2.6 and 2.8 injuries per fatality, respectively. World Wars I and II had fewer than 2 wounded servicemen per death.

• What will veterans’ claims likely allege? According to a recent report:

A number of veterans were exposed to depleted uranium that was used in anti-tank rounds fired by US M1 tanks and US A10 attack aircraft. Many disability claims from the first Gulf War stem from exposure to depleted uranium, which has been implicated in raising the risk of cancers and birth defects. Gulf War veterans also filed disability claims related to exposures to oil well fire pollution, low-levels of chemical warfare agents, experimental anthrax vaccines, and experimental anti-chemical warfare agent pills called pyridostigmine bromide, the anti-malaria pill Lariam, skin diseases, and disorders from living in the hot climate, which are likely to be cited in the current conflict. However, the number of disability claims in the Iraq/Afghan wars is likely to be higher due to the significantly longer length of soldier’s deployments, repeat deployments, and heavier exposure to urban combat.

Following the Gulf War the criteria for receiving benefits were widened by Congress based on evidence of widespread toxic exposures.

The same criteria for healthcare and benefits eligibility still apply to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Forty-four percent of those veterans filed disability claims for a variety of conditions and 87% were approved. The US currently pays about $4 billion annually in disability payments to veterans of Desert Storm/Desert Shield.

• “The war in Iraq has been noteworthy for the types of injuries sustained by the soldiers. Some 20% have suffered brain trauma, spinal injuries or amputations; another 20% have suffered other major injuries such as amputations, blindness, partial blindness or deafness, and serious burns.

However, the largest unmet need is in the area of mental health care. The strain of extended deployments, the stop-loss policy, stressful ground warfare and uncertainty regarding discharge and leave has taken an especially high toll on soldiers. Thirty-six percent of the veterans treated so far -- an unprecedented number -- have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. These include PTSD, acute depression, substance abuse and other conditions.

According to Paul Sullivan, a leading veterans advocate, “The signature wounds from the wars will be (1) traumatic brain injury, (2) post-traumatic stress disorder, (3) amputations and (4) spinal chord injuries, and PTSD will be the most controversial and most expensive””. http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP07-001/$File/rwp_07_001_bilmes.pdf

• Will services be available?

“In the May 2006 edition of Psychiatric News, Frances Murphy M.D., the Under Secretary for Health Policy Coordination at VA, said that mental health and substance abuse care are simply not accessible at some VA facilities. When the services are available, Dr. Murphy asserted that, “waiting lists render that care virtually inaccessible.”

According to NAMI:

Almost a third of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq confront mental health problems. In 2006, the suicide rate in the Army reached its highest level in 26 years.

Approximately 30% of veterans treated in the Veterans health system suffer from depressive symptoms, two to three times the rate of the general population.

Earlier this year, the chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives told NAMI’s annual convention that more Vietnam veterans have now died from suicide than the 55,000 who were killed directly during the war in the 1960s and 70s.

Approximately 40% of homeless veterans have mental illnesses.

Approximately 57% of this group are African American or Hispanic veterans.

Families of soldiers deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq face increasing pressures from repeated and longer tours of duty. Unlike civilian suicide rates, greater numbers of young soldiers are taking their own lives, with broken relationships or marriages considered to be factors.
Source: NAMI