30,000 more troops, 10,000 more will wait for PTSD help

The time acknowledged rate of PTSD is one out of three. This applies to traumatic events, since it is the only way to be claimed by PTSD. It literally means after trauma. Trauma as many of you know is Greek for wound. If President Obama carries through with sending 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan, it is very likely this will result in 10,000 more PTSD wounded, possibly more considering many have been on multiple deployments. The Army study several years ago found redeployments increase the risk of PTSD by 50%.

While it would take a military genius to know if this is the right thing or not, you'd still have to find a way to get them to agree this is the best plan. As the saying goes, "this is above my pay grade" because there is no way possible I would know what the right thing to do is. Truthfully, you'd have to agree even though you have your own opinion, it would be very difficult to prove you had all the answers. So what do we do about it? We keep asking questions to learn more. That's what thoughtful people do. We need to be wondering if the rest of the country is asking any questions at all.

Top on the list should be where the mental health help will come from? The Obama Administration is trying to play catch up to nine years worth of PTSD claims building up while there was not enough being done. As they try to play catch up, more and more are seeking help. This is a good thing because the message is finally getting thru to them. It is also a bad thing because there have not been enough psychologists or psychiatrists and even less trained on PTSD. What is waiting over the horizon and bearing down on every state in this country is a massive tsunami but the warning system has been unplugged.

National Guards and Reservists have been returning in droves to their oblivious communities and no jobs adding to the stress. Families with little understanding of what PTSD are unprepared for the sledgehammer waiting to break their family apart. As most of us know, none of this has to happen it turns out the military and the VA think they are just doing fine, yet they forget the suicide and attempted suicide rate goes up every year, clearly proving they haven't had a clue what to do.

So as this build up is a means to an end, what is the end to the waiting line of veterans doing the work left to wait in line for help?

12/02/09 NYTimes: Obama Adds Troops, but Maps Exit Plan
President Obama announced Tuesday that he would speed 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in coming months, but he vowed to start bringing American forces home in the middle of 2011, saying the United States could not afford and should not have to shoulder an open-ended commitment.http://www.icasualties.org/OEF/index.aspx

There will be many more seeking help among the older veterans and the newer generation once able to get by with what came home with them. Mild PTSD turns ugly when not treated and too many of them will come to terms with what they cannot get over on their own.