1 in 4 Iraq vets ailing on return

LadyEagle · Oct 19, 2005

1 in 4 Iraq vets ailing on return
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

More than one in four U.S. troops have come home from the Iraq war with health problems that require medical or mental health treatment, according to the Pentagon's first detailed screening of servicemembers leaving a war zone.

Almost 1,700 servicemembers returning from the war this year said they harbored thoughts of hurting themselves or that they would be better off dead. More than 250 said they had such thoughts "a lot." Nearly 20,000 reported nightmares or unwanted war recollections; more than 3,700 said they had concerns that they might "hurt or lose control" with someone else.

These survey results, which have not been publicly released, were provided to USA TODAY by the Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. They offer a window on the war and how the ongoing insurgency has added to the strain on troops.

Overall, since the war began, about 28% of Iraq veterans — about 50,000 servicemembers this year alone — returned with problems ranging from lingering battle wounds to toothaches, from suicidal thoughts to strained marriages. The figure dwarfs the Pentagon's official Iraq casualty count: 1,971 U.S. troops dead and 15,220 wounded as of Tuesday.
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USA Today

KenH · Oct 19, 2005

I wonder what the figure was for those serving in World War II.

El_Guero · Oct 19, 2005

It was bad for them as well.

carpro · Oct 22, 2005

This is no real surprise. Frankly I'm a little surprised it's not worse.

Waging war is a tough demanding endeavor. Those faught amongst a civilian population where your enemy is hard to identify are particularly hard on one's psyche.

I pray for them all.

Brother Ian · Oct 22, 2005

Serving your country has always come with a high price tag. Its another reason why we should take care of our service men and women.

Ben W · Oct 23, 2005

Anyone that sees sights on a battlefield is going to have to deal with it somehow. People deal with this stuff in different ways. I am not sure that there is a one size fits all answer for how to deal with this.

My suggestion is that ex veterens should attempt to belong to a group of ex veterens. In Australia it is called the RSL, Returned Services League. You give your life for your comrades in battle, sometimes it is those same comrades that can help you out when you are struggling back home.

Rocko9 · Oct 23, 2005

Even when are soldiers have come home at last our country still needs to suport them .

1 in 4 Iraq vets ailing on return

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