News Analysis: June 4, 2009
It’s not just our military that is “tired and stressed.” Entire military communities are struggling, requiring our nation’s deepest commitment to help them become whole again. “Families are stretched and stressed. I often refer to them as the most brittle part of the force,” said Sheila Casey, the wife of Army Gen. George Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff. “We can no longer ask them to make the best of it.” Expanding GI Bill benefits to military families helps, but is not the cure for our traumatized military communities and our psychologically damaged troops. PTSD haunts long after the battle ends. The nation shouldn’t have to read any more about untreated PTSD-suffers back from multiple deployments to war treating their pain with further violence. “I just want to people to watch for PTSD cases,” wrote one Iraq war veteran from his jail cell in Pennsylvania. “There are so many of them. If this letter changes one person’s life, I did something good.”
Another suicide at Fort Campbell. It’s been a grim run at the base, with a dozen soldiers having taken their own lives this year alone.
With two wars still pushing deployment strains beyond acceptable levels, a situation that has been perilous for our military’s health for years, demand for deployable troops is well above what numbers are available. This is true for the active duty ranks, the National Guard and, now it is clear, the Special Operations forces.
The possibility keeps growing that a US base in one of the most violent areas of Iraq, Sadr City, will remain open after the June 30 deadline for pulling US combat troops out of Iraqi cities. Look inside Afghanistan’s most dangerous insurgent group. The new US strategy for Afghanistan will cost billions and take many years.
Veterans can help spot, and save, their struggling fellow veterans. One city in Oklahoma has appointed an ambassador to military families to provide a better conduit between local government and the needs of the military community.