How Long Will We Pay for Iraq?
While I was in DC, I talked to a Vietnam veteran who was trying to get people to listen to his warnings about what we all need to be prepared for with the returning Iraq War veterans. He said that his one year tour of duty in Vietnam messed him up for a couple of years after he came home, and he became homeless for a period of time in the 1970s. The blood, the life-and-death decisions, the tension, the sleep deprivation, the pressure, the explosions, the horror of war are overwhelming to one's mind.
This war with many of the same issues as Vietnam, an insurgency using any means necessary to defend their home against outside aggressors, is certain to screw up many of our soldiers. The difference is that we no longer have one-year tours. We have 15 month tours and the stop loss program can send people back into the theater repeatedly. Has anyone planned for the cost of mental health, housing, and health care for the these soldiers? My friend in DC worried that we were creating "monsters" who will not be able to function in society. Every car backfiring or hostile driver, or family conflict is a potential explosive situation. Already, we have had veterans murdering their spouses and veterans crawling into drain pipes to die. How many will become homeless because of the extended tours of duty? How many will need lifelong mental health counselling because of the stop loss? I fear that this war and its consequences will make the aftermath of Vietnam look like a cake walk.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
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