60,000+ Iraq Vets Diagnosed with PTSD
www.scoop.co.nz
Perhaps most startling, however, was testimony by Cross stating that of the 300,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars treated at VA
hospitals, more than half were diagnosed with a serious mental condition, 68,000 of which were cases of PTSD.
His testimony marks the first time a Bush administration official has provided detailed information about the psychological impact of the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars on combat veterans. Cross testified that five years after the invasion of Iraq, the VA has still not completed a study on the link
between suicides and PTSD among combat veterans. However, he said such a study is currently in the works and may be published soon.
Paul Sullivan, the executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, Paul Sullivan, said more than 5,000 veterans commit suicide per year.
Dr. Arthur Blank, a renowned expert on PTSD who has worked closely with the VA, testified that about 30 percent of Iraqi war veterans are likely
suffering from PTSD due to multiple deployments and the VA is not doing enough to care for them.
"I think it's because of multiple deployments, which means one is exposed to trauma over and over again," Blank testified.
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