Does anyone feel like PTSD has become a little too political about what you have done?

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 13:03:51 -0500

Even though PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) can happen from anything. I often hear of other soldiers saying that unless you have been in combat you cannot have PTSD. As a 14T I can tell you that this is possible even though PATRIOT rarely sees combat. I also know of a soldier who wakes up thinking she thinks she missed formation over 20 years ago. What are your opinions.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 17 at 2016 1:04 PM

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 13:04:41 -0500

I apologize about the typo.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 17 at 2016 1:29 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 13:29:18 -0500

Is the question has PTSD become to politicized? Or is the question is PTSD only caused by those who've been in combat?

Response by Cpl Chad Perry made Feb 17 at 2016 2:01 PM

Cpl Chad Perry — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 14:01:04 -0500

You don't have to be in combat to get PTSD. My brother in law was also a marine. He was a bullet catcher. In 94 both of our units were training in 29 palms, and during a live fire exercise one of his friends, who was a DRAGON gunner got confused about what color star cluster was his signal to stand up and fire his missile. He stood up in his hole too soon and an M60 took his head off. My brother in law still has nightmares and hallucinations about it to this day. Training accidents can be just as bad.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Feb 17 at 2016 2:07 PM

LTC John Shaw — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 14:07:00 -0500

We have personnel who have gone through much more stressful events than many. I can see how an operator, marine or infantry who truly conducted Urban ops will resent others that had less stressful roles. However each person is different and stress tolerance is different, so many people will have symptoms even with out actual F2F combat

Response by SGT Steven Eugene Kuhn MBA made Feb 17 at 2016 4:57 PM

SGT Steven Eugene Kuhn MBA — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 16:57:19 -0500

I feel PTSD is to widely diagnosed and that it is often misdiagnosed, and is often more of a survivor guilt, or feeling inadequate for not going down range.
I have a buddy who never saw combat, friends of his died on a range accident a year after he ETS'ed and he is a mess, it happened over 20 years ago. He talks about it every day, wears memorial shirts, the army t-shirts and pins, hats all the time.
I highly believe that we program somethings into our heads as a way to cover up the feelings of inadequacy some feel for not going down range. It is hard to believe that more PTSD is diagnosed by non-combat vets as there is in combat vets. That leads me to underscore my belief that it is truly a way of trying to subconsciously justifying the feelings of inadequacy...which is needless.
There are these types of feeling for those who went downrange and did not shoot a round, then those who shot but did not get shot at, then those who did it all bit did not get wounded, then those who got wounded but never actually fought and so on. There are 1000s of combinations where we as military personnel feel inadequate when it comes to "being there, doing that".
I mean no disrespect to anyone, people react to different things in different ways but this victim, entitlement attitude our country forces down out necks from childhood on now is sickening and debilitating to our nation.
I know a woman who gets raped is probably screwed up for life but is that PTSD? Where did the acronym come from? When was it first diagnosed and why then did it simply be blanket used for all trauma?
I was diagnose with PTSD n 93 after ODS and was not told, so I just thought I was screwed up, I only found out when I actually read my files in 2011 and it made me feel like I had an answer to my situation, but is it an answer?
Not usually, it is sometimes a label, a label that some wear as a personality. Understandably becasue when you get out of the military, you will never have that again and for many, the military experience is the most exciting but also most defining time of their life, and using the label PTSD connects one forever to those days of meaning of mission...

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Feb 17 at 2016 5:35 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 17:35:57 -0500

Some veterans really piss me off about their judgmental opinions that are never wrong.

Response by Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth made Feb 17 at 2016 6:16 PM

Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 18:16:10 -0500

I absolutely abhor those who state PTSD is only for those in combat. ABSOULUTLEY not true. I had a friend that was killed in an accidental gun incident by his brother. He was killed and his brother that shot him, still after 30 plus years, has reoccurring nightmares, sweats, and various triggers. Yes combat is a horrible wretched thing and it is definitely provides its higher than average number of PTSD cases but it isn't just combat...there are too may situations that could give a person PTSD.

Response by MSG John Melville made Feb 17 at 2016 6:47 PM

MSG John Melville — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 18:47:06 -0500

I did not deploy to the sand. I retired from the army in January 2001 and was a retiree recall from 2003-2005 at the Casualty and Memorial Affairs Operations Center in Alexandria, VA. I completed over 250 WIA notifications, saw the dead and pieces thereof, and saw field gear with pieces of human remains on them. So, the VA said that I did not qualify for PTSD, though I had nightmares. The stress was so bad in casualty operations that we had a counselor from the Pentagon Stress Management Team and a chaplain assigned to us. So, PTSD is what it is and don't let anyone tell you what it can't be.

Response by COL Mike Humphrey made Feb 17 at 2016 7:05 PM

COL Mike Humphrey — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 19:05:43 -0500

You do not have to be in combat to have PTSD. People can have PTSD from being involved or witnessing a traumatic event.

Response by CPT Mark Gonzalez made Feb 17 at 2016 7:11 PM

CPT Mark Gonzalez — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 19:11:52 -0500

Normal injuries are already categorized as service connected, deployment or combat related, pre-existing etc. Apply the same logic to PTSD and it isn't controversial as anyone can get PTSD, but but the classification may matter to some.

Response by SPC(P) Jay Heenan made Feb 17 at 2016 8:21 PM

SPC(P) Jay Heenan — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 20:21:30 -0500

Here is my two cents. You are correct, PTSD (which is now called PTS), can happen to anyone who experiences a traumatic event. That traumatic event can be completely different from one person to the next, which is why some people abuse that claim with the VA. As an example, I know I guy who "deployed" to Africa (Djibouti) and claimed PTS on his VA claim. I guess maybe he actually has it, but stories like this is why some question others. I am not sure if waking up thinking one missed formation is the type of traumatic event that the VA would consider on a PTS claim.

Response by CPT Tamara Brewer made Feb 18 at 2016 5:08 AM

CPT Tamara Brewer — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 05:08:31 -0500

I have to say when I returned from Iraq, I never expected to have PTS. I was an HHC CO and a psychology major!
I was on a FOB north of Baghdad that took some IDF. No problems with this. I did venture out to help relieve a PL on mission since I was transpo and got caught in a crossfire with bullets flying by my head while on foot and a large explosion that I wasn't in the blast radius for.
I was also sexually harassed by a superior for a year of my deployment. After redeployment I thought it would stop but it didn't so I went to IG but after leave the proof I had was too old and the new harassment wasn't grievous enough.
All that to say, a report was not put up and so when the docs put PTSD on my record. My unit and the state didn't know why I had PTS.
I have physical issues that make me disabled, but if that were not the case, I would not let PTS keep me from working.
I've started and stopped and started my own business http://www.artnbrew.com since 2013. I do it when I can and keep doing my art and helping veterans with logos for their businesses to make them successful.
I think that PATRIOTS need to back off each other. Stop judging each other by your own experience. My Soldiers had/ have no clue unless they read this that I even went through those two horrible situations. Patriots are real people not the super heroes we expect them to be in combat. You each are elite in my eyes so treat each other as that. My two cents...plus a quarter.

artnbrew2

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 18 at 2016 11:12 AM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 11:12:05 -0500

PTSD does not have to be from combat nor even from military service. Any traumatic event can be a cause.

Response by SFC George Smith made Oct 29 at 2016 8:53 PM

SFC George Smith — Sat, 29 Oct 2016 20:53:29 -0400

NO ... It needs More Exposure... Its what id Killing 22 Vets a Day...