Chuck - had to comment on this wonderful post. My late husband was a veteran of WWII and the Korean conflict. He lived to be 73 but still was troubled by a buddy being killed right next to him on a destroyer. He often dreamt about it and had trouble speaking of it. These were wars that did not cause conflict in the states and the returning soldiers were treated as heroes. Not like Vietnam or Iraq where there was such turmoil here over our participation. It has to be so much more difficult for men and women today who know how so many feel about the fighting etc. Thank you so much for your caring and feelings about PTSD. You never know who you might be helping.

It is always good to hear from you Chuck. Your work is important and it is good that you share your thoughts with us. It is a compliment to us just to have you take the time to write to us.

I don't have any more clever words to say about all of this. We wanted peace but got war, again and again and now and in the future.

As a side note, my daughter works as a college's academic advisor. She recently called me in tears after meeting with student who had been taking some classes while on military furlough. The student was dropping out because she had been reactivated. The student was being separated from her four month old baby.

I believe the evidence about the psychological toll of such separation is pretty clear. The trauma here pales in comparison to what Chuck has described but it is an example of the way that the violence of war ripples out into society.

...and for what?

Chuck: It is good to hear from you. How is your book going?
I'd like your opinion about something: I've been asked by a VA staff psychologist if I am willing to do art therapy with returning vets. I have doubts about it, not least because it is on a volunteer basis when I need to find paying work. But I also worry that vets regard that sort of activity as condescending, infantalizing. As if all their nightmares can be put to rest by drawing and painting. It even occurred to me that it might cause additional stress for those who do not have a natural talent in that direction, although I teach by demonstration and encouragement rather than critique.
What has your experience been, either personally or by observation, with this sort of therapy. Is it helpful or can it cause more harm?

It's a tragedy I predicted as well. And we're only seeing the first waves. Huge mistake to place so many in such a position.

Good to see you, Chuck! I'm hardly around anymore. I have a blog here:

http://wisdom4nothing.blogspot.com/

(and a couple more traceable through the grace note on the sidebar there)

Peace be with you. :-)

Best wishes, Chuck. I dedicated a piece of flash fiction to you and your work in a blog of mine a while back. Did you see it?

On treatment: back in November there was some hope that PTSD could be treated by high dose corticosteroids applied strategically. Does anyone know what became of this?

My father had chronic heart disease and it was disconcerting how advice changed over the years. Nonetheless, significant medical progress occurred.
So I urge all of you out there to hang in there and keep checking for progress.

Kudos from a fellow corpsman, 2nd Mar Div, 1875-1977.

It is required that there be dangerous people abroad so that we will be motivated to fund our armies. It is required that there be dangerous people at home so we will be motivated to fund our police. It is required that we sacrifice a portion of our youth so that we might have heroes. It is required that we respect our armies and police forces so that we will be motivated to fund them. Yet it is required that we disrespect enough of our returning veterans that we might have enough dangerous people to motivate funding our police.

Fortunately, we are not required to individually disrespect veterans, and I for one do not, not at all. The vast government bureaucracies will do the disrespecting for us. This is another reason why we maintain governments, other than as a way of maintaining armies and police.

Peace and freedom are the enemies of the state, everywhere. Praise be to our armies and police. They maintain our peace and freedom. They maintain our state. There is a contradiction here, too.

Chuck-
How goes it?

On active duty at the present, but plan to harass you sometime soon...
I saw some of your buddies over at the SEIU roughed up some Saint Louie local the other night. It reminded me of your "don't taze me bro" defense a couple years back.
Watching all these "radical" Americans at these town hall meetings has reminded me of you.

down range,

LT