Shall I Answer the Call of Uncle Sam? One of the greatest achievements is to complete high school and enroll and graduate college. The likelihood of earning and retaining a career are much higher if a student completes college and receives a master's. On the other hand, enlisting in the military and serving for one’s country is a noble career. Veterans returning from service wishing to return to school receive money from the government from the GI Bill. However, there are many more cons to enlisting in the military straight out of high school rather than continuing with school all the way through college. Finishing college with a master's rather than enlisting in the army straight out of high school is the better decision because it will allow …show more content…
During Moore’s research, he found that,“The number of active duty suicides in 2012 surpassed not only the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan[,] but also the number who died in transportation accidents in 2012” (Facts). Suicide linked to PTSD kills more people than car accidents and KIA’s in Afghanistan. One could argue that PTSD is a very fatal epidemic. When more veterans are killing themselves at a higher rate than their fellow service men and women overseas, there must be a problem or lack of enough care for said veterans. Moore also found that,“The Department of Veterans Affairs spent more than $5 billion on mental-health services in 2011” (Facts). How can there be more suicides by veterans than KIA’s with over five billion dollars being spent on said aid. Either the tax dollars are not being spent effectively or it is not enough funding to properly treat veteran …show more content…
PTSD providers are aware of the need to routinely screen and...are knowledgeable about alcohol and drug (especially 12-Step) treatment (PTSD). Relationships are important to humans. Humans are by nature social creatures and need relationships in order to function normally. When a veteran begins to abuse alcohol or drugs, the people in their life will want to help. But as the veteran continues to abuse, their relationships will begin to wither away. Without any relationships, they may wane closer to the line of suicide. With these statistics and issues, it almost seems worse to survive war and return to civilian life than to die in war. This is also concerning for someone who wants to enlist out of high school or enlist at
PTSD has been intensely studied to benefit those who have been diagnosed, to get better treatments. There have been many successful cases, where the individual has conquered it. Marcus Luttrell’s symptoms have dramatically gotten better because he is a strong individual with a healthy family to support him. However, there are many people that have been dealing with this burden for years and may never get better. These men and women, who cannot find relief from PTSD, turn to self-harming; military suicides have been on the rise in the recent years and are continuing to increase. This cannot be ignored. The Veteran Administration needs to step up the treatment and recovery programs before this number begins to get out of control.
A Vietnam War veteran experienced many gruesome and horrifying events during their time of serving the army. Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking “PTSD is defined as a re-experience of a traumatic event, for example, flashbacks. Anything can trigger a flashback a click, a movement, anything associated with the past event” (Cruz). Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking. A soldier was told to forget what they saw and basically move on from it, but it only made it worse. Having everything “bottled up” makes it even harder to treat PTSD. U.S. soldiers had to live with the disorder on their own without any help. “The veterans experience combat related nightmares, anxiety, anger, depression, alcohol and/or drug dependency, all are symptoms of PTSD” (Begg). The symptoms occurred over long periods of time when that person has been in certain situations that he or she was not ready to be in. Some of these situations including the Vietnam veterans not feeling like their unit was together or united. “Soldiers were sent into replace other soldiers, which caused the other members of the group to make fun or haze them. The unit never developed as much loyalty to each other as they should have” (Paulson and Krippner). “Many of...
While soldiers are away from home, many things might change that they aren’t there for, for example, family problems and disasters. In addition, veterans might come home to a whole different world than when they left, and this already makes their lives more challenging to go with these changes. In addition, soldiers might also come back with physical injuries, like a lost limb, or loss of hearing. As a result, this makes everyday tasks much harder than they actually are. Veterans also might be mentally scarred from war. For example, a mental disorder called post traumatic stress disorder, makes life for the veteran and family much
Nearly 60 to 80 percent of Vietnam combat vets seeking treatment for PTSD, abused the use of drugs and/or alcohol. The study also revealed that more than 90 percent of those individuals, were diagnosed with alcohol dependency. With a recent interview with a helicopter pilot, Keane began to explain his experiences in Vietnam. Veteran Keane says that with the loss of a fellow soldier, they would drown the loss by drinking to make it appear like they weren’t bothered by it. Keane says. “The more that vets are exposed to war and develop psychological problems from war, such as PTSD, the more likely they are to develop alcoholism” (Danitz). The ability to cope with the physiological effects of PTSD is reduced severely when alcohol is
“Ultimately, diagnosis of a substance use disorder or PTSD relies on clinical assessment using DSM criteria. Screening instruments exist that can help uncover or point the way toward a potential diagnosis. For alcohol use disorders, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the AUDIT-Consumption (AUDIT-C) have been widely validated as self-report screening measures. A single-item screening measure was recently validated for drug use disorders consisting of the single question, “How many times in the past year have you used an illegal drug or used a prescription medication for nonmedical reasons?” A response of 1 time or more yields a positive screen.” -Returning Veterans With Addictions. (2011, July 11). Psychiatric Times. Retrieved Februa...
It’s estimated that 1.64 million US troops have been deployed to Iraq since 2001. And while most of the soldiers return to civilian live without incident, it’s estimated that one-third of these veterans will struggle with Post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression. Another aspect affecting our troops is alcoholism. Due to the unfathomable horrors witnessed by our veterans, many turn to alcohol to cope.
The United States of America possess a major complication, which is the high amount of suicides in the military. Most people are unaware of the risks from being in the military until it is too late to assist them. Serving in the military can cause PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), which then leads to complications with family situations, financial issues, and depression. Without proper therapy, many soldiers are at high risk of committing suicide. According to researchers, suicide is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. military, with rates ranging between 9 to 15 deaths per 100,000 service members (Bryan, et al. 1). Typically, Caucasian male service members are more at risk of suicides than any females (****). This affects multiple civilians that have family or friends who are serving in the military. Furthermore, this matter is important because not only are they civilians who commit suicides, but they are the leaders who stepped up to protect and defend our country. America needs to aid its troops for the sake of the nation’s defense. In order to reduce the amount of suicides during and after being deployed from the military, the military must require soldiers to know of ways to help themselves and others in need of assistance. A few ways to aid soldiers are suicide hotlines, counseling
Among American civilians, whites have historically and significantly led the way in the rates of suicides. Although leveling off after the 1990’s, the rate of white suicides has still been almost twice as much as minority groups. It has also been shown that males commit suicide significantly more than females.
A survey of OEF/OIF Veterans identified major rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, alcohol-related problems, social and family problems, and suicidal behavior. However the most alarming statistic is not about deployment rates or rates of diagnoses, the most alarming fact is that fewer than 10% of those diagnosed with PTSD or depression have received the recommended the mental health treatment upon re-integration into society. The dropout rate at the Veterans Association (VA) PTSD clinics is distressingly high as well when looking into VA records it was found that 68% of OEF/OIF Veterans dropped out of their prescribed counseling and programs prior to completion (Garcia et al., 2014). Because most of these men were deployed mul...
... to this population that are specific to this group. The result has been an alarming rise in suicide, caused by a multitude of factors but which can be explained by Durkheim’s framework for suicide: fatalism, anomie, and egoism, all of which leave these vulnerable troops and veterans at high risk for harming themselves. As Durkheim described, these troops are vulnerable to engaging in egoistic suicide because of their feelings of detachment from people and society as a whole; fatalistic suicide because of their vast experiences witnessing death and injury; and anomic suicide because of a sense that the structure of society has become chaotic based on what they have experienced in the theater of combat as well is coming home to a world filled with unemployment, personal and financial stress, and a lack of resources necessary to address the problems of the military.
When a young man or women graduates from high school, a major life changing decision about their future is needed. What Now? Go to college, Join the Armed Services, enter the Work Force, or go to a Technical school to learn a trade. My speech today will be to persuade you ladies and gentlemen in the audience that their best option is to continue their education for the next four years and get a college degree. My focus will be the pros and cons of higher education or joining the Military. We are all aware from conversations
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common health problem in individuals who encounter a severe trauma or life threatening event. It can occur from war, natural disaster, rape, and many other life-threatening events. However, how do health care professionals know how to diagnose and treat someone with PTSD? It is difficult to diagnose someone with PTSD, but once diagnosed, nurses are extremely involved in the care of these individuals. Post-traumatic stress disorder is especially common in military veterans who experienced a traumatic event in combat. It is important for nurses and other health care members to recognize and understand how to treat a military member with PTSD.
...h prescription drugs to cope with the intensity of PTSD, but there is one entity that truly has trumped PTSD when anybody else couldn't cause a dent. Anthony Swofford put his war stories in front of him whether than behind him. He challenged himself to get a degree and publish his experience for the world to read. Now Swoffford is everything but a victim to his enemy. Other American soldiers are haunted by the negative psychological effects resulting in the harsh symptoms of PTSD. In result, Doctors continue to spend large quantities of the governments money to find a cure, but maybe if instead they were to stop analyzing results and focus on the facts, the results in dealing with PTSD may change. Perhaps informing the ill with these facts will allow them to find their own way, just as Swofford did. Otherwise these entities will remain unknown and unanalyzed.
Veteran suicides have been increasing tremendously over the last several years. Certain events have to occur for this to happen, and with veterans returning from the battlefield, some veterans have many issues to overcome. According to Shane III (2014), from 2009-2011, the number of young veterans committing suicides has increased (para. 1). In the same article, veterans who are older, saw a decrease in the suicide rate, while their fellow veterans, who are under the age of 30, have been experiencing a 44 percent increase, which is approximately two veterans per day after they have been discharged for a few years (para. 3). According to Shane (para.7), out of the twenty two deaths per day, about five are patients have been seen in the VA
The military does not force any veterans to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. For those who do seek treatment, dropping out of treatment is a troubling issue. It shows the lack of importance being placed on mental health. There is also a lack of effort being put into supplementing soldier’s time. The time it takes to deal with PTSD is considerable and they simply need time to devote themselves to alternative areas of self-improvement such as education or advancing their careers. Taking the time to handle the stress and overcome anxiety is neither rewarding in the short run, not an opportunity cost worth pursuing, from the soldier’s