320K Brain Injuries & 300K Mental Problems: US Troops Suffer From Wars In Iraq & Afghanistan

320K Brain Injuries & 300K Mental Problems: US Troops Suffer From Wars In Iraq & Afghanistan

www.rawstory.com

Based On Pentagon data showing over 1.6 million military personnel have deployed to the conflicts since the war in Afghanistan began in late 2001.

About 19% or some 320,000 reported that they experienced a possible traumatic brain injury while deployed. In wars where blasts from roadside bombs are prevalent, the injuries can range from mild concussions to severe head wounds.

RAND Corporation: www.rand.org...

Army studies: www.armymedicine.army.mil...

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on (4/18/08) by AllSeeingI]

Add the cost of hospitalizing these wounded heros for life to the BUSH/CHENEY Tab.

As technology gets better, less of our soldiers die; more live horribly scarred. Wounds which were unsurvivable in Vietnam and WW2 are now livable with fast helicopter extraction, body armor, and modern medical advances.

www.rawstory.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I am guessing that this number is conservative. I expect many more than this as time goes by.

Huffington Post - Nearly 1 In 5 Troops Has Mental Problems After War Service

Makes me wonder why soldiers get diagnosed with mental problems,
when the ADMINISTRATORS are the ones who are 'mental' for allowing
this war insanity to continue...

Wow. That's ridiculous. And I'm surprised the report was released by the Pentagon. 630,000 of 1,600,000... conservative as well.

Thanks for posting! Flagged.

Originally posted by ixnay
Wow. That's ridiculous. And I'm surprised the report was released by the Pentagon. 630,000 of 1,600,000... conservative as well.

Thanks for posting! Flagged.

It is interesting, especially all the talk about veterans with psychological problems not being allowed to own guns. Makes you think doesn't it.

what UTTER TWADDLE the story`s " statistics " are meaningless scare mongering garbage

for example :

can range from mild concussions

so any one who bangs his head is now " brain damaged " -what a load of codswallop , while TECHNICALLY true - concussion is brain damage

but to stat EVERY head injury as " brain damage " is disingenuous

as for " mental health problems " - get a grip - its a sign of the times that anyone exposed to ANYTHING even remotely stressfull is allowed to claim or diagnosed with depression , PTSD etc etc

soldiers should EXPECT to see the elephant - those who act suprised when they are actually called upon to serve in combat theartres are idiots

the old adage ` war is hell ` seems to have been forgotten

if the criteria used today were applied to WWII troops every man jack would be diagnosed with mental illnesses

but the entire generation of soldiers [ WWII veterans ] were IMHO made of far sterner stuff - and generally just got on with it with little of the moderen whinning

Unfortunately, these numbers are not surprising. War is hell, and we should be doing all that we can to minimize the number of conflicts that we become involved in. Whether you are on the "winning" side or not, the damages go far beyond the physical.

And to one of the above posters, it is not a matter of WW2 vets being made of "sterner stuff". One in four homeless people in this country are veterans, including many WW2 vets. I feel that the issues of mental health in general were grossly understated in the period immediately following WW2 (and, to be fair, I also believe that mental health issues are grossly OVERstated in the last decade or so), which lead to varying degrees of public awareness of the issues/statistics.

Here are some stats that some of you may find interesting:

23% of homeless population are veterans
33% of male homeless population are veterans
47% Vietnam Era
17% post Vietnam
15% pre Vietnam
67% served three or more years
33% stationed in war zone
25% have used VA Homeless Services
85% completed high school/GED compared to 56% of non-veterans
89% received Honorable Discharge
79% reside in central cities
16% reside in suburban areas
5% reside in rural areas
76% experience alcohol, drug, or mental health problems
46% white males compared to 34% non-veterans
46% age 45 or older compared to 20% non-veterans
Service needs:
45% help finding job
37% finding housing

Source

Just remember, in King Chimpy's words, "It was all worth it!"

This is yet another area that the idiots-in-chief never mention in their rosecolored glasses speches.