Delayed stress was common in soldiers returning from war and suffering from what has been known for more than 20 years as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.
Multiple deployments, though, has brought stress to the surface quicker in today’s soldier.
As the chief of Behavioral Health at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Lt. Col. Ben Phillips sees the mental effects of war every single day.
Philips said the effects are more profound because of multiple rotations to the war zone and because the force is all volunteer.
“The third time a soldier deploys to combat may be worse than the second time, or the first,” Phillips said. “The recurrent deployments are taking their toll.”
Michael Gallaway, a Weatherford native and Vietnam veteran, spoke to soldiers with Medical Company C, 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, on May 9 about his experiences during and after the war.
“Knowing what I know and what I went through, there is no price too small to pay to help just a little,” he said. “These guys out here are making a difference.”
Gallaway, who now works on a ranch helping troubled children, shared his story, which centered on his tour of duty as a K-9 security policeman with the Air Force’s 483rd Combat Support Group, and his subsequent battle with PTSD after he returned Vietnam.
Those stories fell on receptive ears, as he encouraged the soldiers who’ve served in war to get the help they need.
“I’m hoping that ... the guys and the ladies I was talking to will find out that there’s help out there, and that there’s nothing that you have gone through that you can’t get help for,” Gallaway said after his conversation with the soldiers.
While the stories of war change with each conflict, the trauma suffered by returning soldiers is the same.
Symptoms include a heightened awareness or agitation, interrupted sleep, nightmares and anger.
Some soldiers, Phillips said, may resort to drug or alcohol abuse to deal with the problem.
Col. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, M.D. MPH, director, Proponency of Behavioral Health, U.S. Army Medical Command, has been practicing psychiatry for more than 20 years.
During her career, Ritchie has seen a great number of changes in the way the Army deals with soldiers suffering from mental disorders like PTSD, and much of that is continually being implemented by the Army.
For one, soldiers begin reintegrating about two weeks before they leave the war zone.
When soldiers return, they undergo mental health screening, known as a post deployment health reassessment, to determine if there are symptoms of PTSD.
Phillips said it is not uncommon for soldiers to deny the symptoms.
“They are ready to go on leave,” he said.
And sometimes, those symptoms may not immediately surface, not until the soldier is trying to decompress.
That’s why the Army generally will wait from 90 to 180 days to conduct the post deployment health reassessment.
This involves the soldier being referred by his or her unit for the screening where they will speak one-on-one with a health care provider.
Phillips speculated that between 10 and 20 percent of the soldiers who deploy to a war zone will return with symptoms of PTSD.
While the Army is employing a host of innovative programs to help soldiers, one of the most innovative has not even been tried yet.
This summer, the Army will offer an intensive two-week outpatient program known as Combat Stress Boot Camp.
The Department of Veteran Affairs is also doing its part.
Ritchie said National Guard and Army reserve soldiers are particularly sought out by VA representatives.
“There is a major effort to recruit them and sign them and have them sign up for VA care,” she said. “From my perspective, the VA is working very closely with us to offer services to soldiers.”
To learn more about PTSD log on to http://www.ncptsd.va.gov.
Sgt. Nicole Kojetin from 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs contributed to this article.
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