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VA Chief Likens PTSD to "High School Football Injury"
I recently traveled to Madison, WI, to interview Rachel and Josh, two young Iraq War veterans about the health issues they've dealt with, due to poor accountability for both the private contractors who are supposed to be supporting our troops, and for the mental health needs of returning soldiers.
When I interviewed Josh about his difficulties seeking help for his
PTSD, he recounted the whole horrific process with a smile on his face
and a self-effacing laugh. It took me a while to realize that Josh
laughed about his troubles because the seriousness of the situation was
overpowering. Unfortunately, even the VA is starting to turn its back
on the gravity of this problem, even as it escalates to frightening
proportions.
Apparently,
VA Secretary James Peake is not troubled by the fact that one in five
veterans are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder,
or that every day, 18 veterans commit suicide.
In a statement last week, Peake first referred to the growing concern
surrounding the veterans' mental health crisis as “overblown,”
then went on to say, “Many of the brain injuries are serious but
some of them are akin to what anyone who played football in their
youth might have suffered.”
Peake continued to belittle the devastating effects of war-induced
brain injuries and mental disorders by saying, "Just because
someone might need a little counseling when they get back, doesn't
mean they need the PTSD label their whole lives."
Addressing
the stigma of PTSD is one thing; downplaying the prevalence and
devastation of this problem in order to deflect any responsibility of
the VA is another. PTSD is an effect of our troops living through
horrific scenes, burdened with stop-loss and extra tours of duty;
left untreated, it can mark the lives of these young men and women
for years and even decades. The fact that the VA's mental health
services are grossly insufficient
is a problem that the VA needs to address before more veterans slip
through the cracks
. We can come together to support veterans in their mental health
needs by urging the passage of the Veteran Mental Health Act of 2008,
working its way though the House. This bill will expand mental health
services to veterans to address the growing problem of PTSD,
substance abuse and suicide risks of homecoming troops. Join us in
calling on our leaders in Congress to make this happen.
Stay tuned to the Progressive Future website, as we will be launching the aforementioned videos in the near future.
Comments (4)
Thank you for posting this. I'm afraid the VA has not come very far since the Gulf War on this issue. This is why some troops want to stay "active" when coming back from deployment, and not convert over to the VA system. DOD is slightly, but not much, more likely to get care through TRICARE, the DOD healthcare system. Witness the story in the WaPo this weekend about PTSD patients at Ft. Benning being housed next to the firing range.
June 4, 2008 7:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Whether it is a major disability.
It is not "akin to what anyone who played football in their youth might have suffered.”
It is frightening that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, James Peake, is so ignorant as to hold such an opinion.
He has no business continuing in his position.
Nelson
June 4, 2008 10:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
To be clear, though, he likened "some" brain injuries to football brain injuries. This is a reasonable comparison, since the same brain injury is going to have the same effect whether it happens on the battlefield or the playing field. Brain injuries are not the same as mental trauma. So, he did not, as the title of this post suggests, liken PTSD to football injuries, and it requires a certain carelessness of reading to conclude that he did.
What he did do was trivialize PTSD and the wartime experiences that cause them. So let's slam him on what he actually said and did (reprehensible in its own right), rather than misrepresenting his statements.
June 5, 2008 10:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think you are sort of mincing words here. He said that PTSD is similar to what one would experience following a high school football injury. He made this comparison to trivalize the plight of returning veterans who are suffering in order to deflect any responsibility. It is reprehensible. The thing that is reprehensible, and I would point out it takes a certain carelessness to omit from your argument, is that he is disregarding the context of wreckage, violence, death and guilt around the initial TBI. PTSD is largely caused by the traumatic context surrounding the injury, so before you come to Peake's defense and start accusing me of purposely misrepresenting his words, why don't you think through the big picture of what he is saying, what he is not talking about, and his motivations for doing so.
June 18, 2008 7:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
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