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VFA in the Media
After the Battle, Fighting the Bottle at Home
Lizette Alvarez, the New York Times
Most nights when Anthony Klecker, a former marine, finally slept, he found himself back on the battlefields of Iraq. He would awake in a panic, and struggle futilely to return to sleep.
Days were scarcely better. Car alarms shattered his nerves. Flashbacks came unexpectedly, at the whiff of certain cleaning chemicals. Bar fights seemed unavoidable; he nearly attacked a man for not washing his hands in the bathroom.
Desperate for sleep and relief, Mr. Klecker, 30, drank heavily. One morning, his parents found him in the driveway slumped over the wheel of his car, the door wide open, wipers scraping back and forth. Another time, they found him curled in a fetal position in his closet.
Yet only after his drunken driving caused the death of a 16-year-old cheerleader did Mr. Klecker acknowledge the depth of his problem: His eight months at war had profoundly damaged his psyche.
“I was trying to be the tough marine I was trained to be — not to talk about problems, not to cry,” said Mr. Klecker, who has since been diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. “I imprisoned myself in my own mind.”
Mr. Klecker’s case is part of a growing body of evidence that alcohol abuse is rising among veterans of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, many of them trying to deaden the repercussions of war and disorientation of home. While the numbers remain relatively small, experts say and studies indicate that the problem is particularly prevalent among those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, as it was after Vietnam. Studies indicate that illegal drug use, much less common than heavy drinking in the military, is up slightly, too.
Unfit for duty
IN ANOTHER alarming indication of how dangerously stretched the U.S. military has become by simultaneously fighting two wars, Pentagon records reveal that thousands of soldiers have been sent into combat despite having been classified as medically unfit before deployment. The statistics show that more than 43,000 troops found medically “nondeployable” by doctors nonetheless were deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan.
Unfit for combat?
U.S. soldiers should not be deployed unless they are physically and mentally fit
U.S. Military: Combat-unready
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Here’s a surefire sign that our government doesn’t really care about what sort of war we’re fighting, just as long as we’re fighting: According to USA Today:
“More than 43,000 U.S. troops listed as medically unfit for combat in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 were sent anyway.” Why? Well, Bobby Muller, president of Veterans For America, says it’s “a consequence of the consistent churning of our troops,” adding, “They are repeatedly exposed to high-intensity combat with insufficient time at home to rest and heal before redeploying.”
Good to know it’s not just felons and the functionally illiterate we’re sending into war zones, not to mention the security contractors we’re throwing money at to do the jobs for which the Army doesn’t have enough troops.
U.S. deploys more than 43,000 unfit for combat
Gregg Zoroya, USA Today
WASHINGTON — More than 43,000 U.S. troops listed as medically unfit for combat in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 were sent anyway, Pentagon records show.
This reliance on troops found medically “non-deployable” is another sign of stress placed on a military that has sent 1.6 million servicemembers to the war zones, soldier advocacy groups say.
“It is a consequence of the consistent churning of our troops,” said Bobby Muller, president of Veterans For America. “They are repeatedly exposed to high-intensity combat with insufficient time at home to rest and heal before redeploying.”
