The Veterans Affairs Department is currently reviewing approximately one-third
of the cases of veterans who are receiving disability benefits for
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After conducting an internal study, the
VA believes that they were too lenient in deciding which soldiers were eligible
for PTSD benefits. Last year, the VA spent $4.3 billion on PTSD disability
payments and the VA hopes to reduce these payments by revoking PTSD benefits for
many veterans. This will be the final insult to soldiers who were asked to fight
a war in Iraq on false premises.
Owing to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of veterans receiving
compensation for PTSD has increased by almost 80 percent in the last five years.
By comparison, the number of veterans receiving compensation for all other types
of disabilities only increased by 12 percent. Under the guidelines of the
current review, soldiers who cannot prove that a specific incident, known as a
"stressor," was sufficient to cause PTSD, their benefits will be revoked. Given
the nature of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's not surprising that many
returning soldiers are suffering from mental illness.
In the July 2004 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine Colonel Charles W.
Hoge, M.D., the chief of psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Institute, published a
preliminary study of the effects of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan on military
personnel. The study concluded that close to 20 percent of soldiers who served
in Iraq, and approximately 12 percent of those who served in Afghanistan
returned home suffering from PTSD. The study found that there is a clear
correlation between combat experience and the prevalence of PTSD. The study
determined that, "Rates of PTSD were significantly higher after combat duty in
Iraq."
Approximately 86 percent of soldiers in Iraq were involved in combat, as were 31
percent in Afghanistan. On average, soldiers engaged in two firefights for each
tour of duty.
The study indicated that 95 percent of soldiers had been shot at. And 56 percent
of soldiers had killed an enemy combatant. An estimated 28 percent were directly
responsible for the death of a civilian. Equally grim, 94 percent had seen or
handled corpses or bodily remains. Additionally, 68 percent witnessed fellow
soldiers being killed or seriously wounded.
Although the number of soldiers suffering from PTSD is high, Dr. Hoge's study
found that a majority of veterans are not seeking treatment. Only 40 percent of
returning soldiers acknowledged that they need mental health care, and only 26
percent were actually receiving care. As such, the number of veterans approved
for PTSD compensation by the VA is relatively small. Yet the VA believes that
too many soldiers were approved for PTSD disability compensation and is now
seeking to deny soldiers this benefit.
The lack of pre-war intelligence also likely contributed to a rise in PTSD
disability claims. Studies of the Vietnam War have indicated that when soldiers
can't anticipate the nature and intensity of warfare that they ultimately
encounter they are psychologically unprepared, leading to PTSD in many
instances. During the early phase of the war in Iraq, many soldiers were almost
certainly unprepared for what they encountered.
The Bush administration initially indicated that the war would be quick and
easy. Vice President Cheney, only a few days after the invasion of Iraq,
infamously stated that soldiers ".will, in fact, be greeted as liberators."
Ahmed Chalabi, a close advisor to the Bush administration prior to and
immediately following the invasion said, "American troops will be greeted with
flowers and candy" by the Iraqi people, and the administration repeated this
many times. President Bush flew onto a U.S. aircraft carrier in May 2003 and,
while standing beneath a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished," announced
that major combat operations had ended.
It's easy to understand why the VA has seen an increase in soldiers seeking
benefits due to post-traumatic stress disorder. What's difficult to comprehend
is why the very agency responsible for meeting the needs of our veterans is now
turning its back on them. Perhaps it's attributable to money. The Bush
administration may be seeking to reduce compensation to soldiers for PTSD so
that more money can be diverted to the on-going war in Iraq.
Or, perhaps this is simply a public relations issue. The effort to revoke PTSD
benefits may be an attempt to assert that the war has not been that devastating.
What is certain is that the very people asked to sacrifice their lives, if
necessary, for the nation are now being punished for doing so.
______________________________
Gene C. Gerard taught American history at a small college in suburban Dallas, and is a contributing author to the forthcoming book “Americans at War,” to be published by Greenwood Press. His previous articles have appeared in Political Affairs Magazine, Dissident Voice, The Free Press, OrbStandard, Intervention Magazine, The Modern Tribune, and The Palestine Chronicle
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