Every so often , we ’ll reissue something from our sister publication , The Week . This is one of those meter .
© Zhang Jun / Xinhua Press / Corbis
Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are returning home with unprecedented strong-arm and genial wound . Here , a Q&A scout .
What challenges do new veterans face?
More than 2.3 million soldier have serve well in Afghanistan and Iraq over the retiring decade , and official fatality and fatal accident numbers — 6,179 dead , 47,000 offend — give out to becharm the extended physical and psychological injuries many of them have suffered .
The Veterans Administration has treat more than 210,000 veterans of those warfare for post - traumatic strain disorder , but acknowledges a much larger epidemic , since the stigma of genial - health problems prevents many of them from search assist . veterinary are also returning to marriages and family strained or ruin by multiple deployments , few employment opportunities , and a country mostly oblivious to the war in which they served , heightening their notion of aloneness and alienation . " It ’s harder come home than leaving — anyone will tell you that , " says Col . Michael Gaal , who wait on in Iraq .
What kinds of wounds have they suffered?
Wounded soldiers are far more likely to number home alive today than in past warfare , thanks to advances in combat medicine , faster voidance , and better physical structure armour . In Vietnam , 2.6 soldiers survived their wound for every battleground death ; in Iraq and Afghanistan , the proportion is 16 to 1 . But that think thousands are returning with catastrophic injury , such as doubled and triple amputations and debilitating spinal cord impairment , and they need special , long - term charge . The enjoyment of ad-lib volatile devices by insurgents has cause a huge increase in traumatic brain injury , widely consider the " theme song injury " of these wars , with at least 218,000 cases diagnose over the past decennium .
What are traumatic brain injuries?
They grade from penetrating forefront combat injury to concussions sustained through picture to massive bomb calorimeter bang . Diagnosis can be hard ; attack waves can cause micro - concussions that damage brain cells even of soldiers who are not counted among the injure . " There are combat lesion you may see , and others that are invisible until symptoms develop , " says clinical psychologist Barbara Van Dahlen . Even mild learning ability injuries can go to a compass of cognitive , behavioral , and emotional problems , including difficulty concentrating , retentivity red ink , and imprint . symptom often overlap with those of PTSD , bring in it punishing to ascertain whether soldier are suffering a psychological job , a brain combat injury , or both .
Are these problems widespread?
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America estimates that nearly one in three recent vets — or more than 700,000 of them — suffers from PTSD , low , or brain injury . blackout , flashbacks , night scourge , and sudden rages are plebeian among veteran ; self-annihilation , inebriation , and drug role have zoom . PTSD has been mention as a factor in many act of vets running amuck , such as this month ’s putting to death of a Mount Rainier National Park fire warden by a 24 - class - onetime Iraq returnee . Since PTSD symptoms can emerge long after service ends , radioactive dust from the disorder is probable to increase . " When you look at the epidemic of PTSD , you see the future , " says Harvard prof Linda Bilmes .
Are vets getting the help they need?
Many are not . " No one was really prepared for the number of badly wounded survivors , " says Dr. Ronald Glasser , the author of a Christian Bible on battlefield medical specialty . bruise veterans have swamped the VA system of rules , leading to a backlog of almost 900,000 disability claims . Vets kvetch of a taxing bureaucratism , lose paperwork , redundant medical test , and inconsistent diagnosing . " You campaign for your country , then amount home and have to campaign against your own rural area for the benefits you were promised , " said Clay Hunt , a Marine sniper who was shot in the wrist in Iraq , and had to waitress 10 months for disability checks . down , divorced , and frequent by the loss of several closelipped friends in struggle , Hunt drink down himself last March .
What will their long-term care cost?
100 of one thousand million of dollar . Studies show that the price of wellness - care and impairment defrayal for veterans of retiring warfare did not peak until decade after the last bullet was fired . The tip class for paying out disability claims to World War I veterans was 1969 , and care costs for Vietnam veterinary surgeon have not yet cap . Because of the high survival charge per unit and the many cases of PTSD and brain injuries , it ’s been estimated that the medical and handicap toll for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans over the next 40 years could contact $ 930 billion .
Are returning vets getting jobs?
Many find that their old problem have disappeared , or that possible employers are sceptical about the note value of their military inspection and repair . Unemployment among late vets is 13.1 percent , compare with the national stratum of 8.5 pct . One in three vets between the ages of 18 and 24 — many of whom had scant Department of Education or work experience when they deployed — is now idle , twice the pace for non - vets of the same eld reach . " The spindle in new veteran soldier unemployment should be a serious backwash - up call for the country , " says Paul Rieckhoff , the executive managing director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America . " The tide of war might be move back , but the surge home is just really begin . "
