Iraqi youth face lasting scars of war Conflict's psychological impact on children is immense, experts say
Iraq’s conflict is exacting an immense and largely unnoticed psychological toll on children and youth that will have long-term consequences, said social workers, psychiatrists, teachers and aid workers in interviews across Baghdad and in neighboring Jordan.
link to more info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/1940319...
America's neglected casualties A wounded Iraq vet's toughest battle is getting medical benefits from the Army
Staff Sgt. DeWayne Mayer was racing through Kirkuk, Iraq, in an Oregon National Guard Humvee on Oct. 2, 2005, when it hit a roadside bomb, knocking him unconscious and peppering his leg with shrapnel. Weeks later, Mayer came home with a Purple Heart and a brain injury that went undiagnosed for 16 months. But nothing during his year in Iraq prepared him for his biggest fight -- to get and retain medical benefits from the U.S. Army.
link to more info: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oreg...
Medical hotline getting 1,000 calls a month Soldiers and others with health care concerns made more than 3,000 calls in the first three months of a special hotline set up to address the needs of wounded troops and family members.
link to more info: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/...
Veterans struggle at old jobs Hundreds of National Guard and military reserve members who have returned after fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are having a tough time making the mental leap from the battlefield back to the workplace. Many are in a quiet struggle. They are unable to concentrate, are irritable with co-workers or make mistakes at jobs they once did with ease, according to Veterans Affairs officials and mental health experts. In more serious situations, the vets replay the hell of combat. Some drink heavily and use illegal drugs. Others suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or severe brain injuries.
link to more info: http://www.courierpostonline.com/ap...
Returning vets could become part of ominous national trend SUICIDE: Health officials expect surge in need for care as tours end.
As bad as the suicide rate in Alaska already is, the situation could grow even worse once thousands of new veterans return home from combat duty in Iraq. That's the warning local public health officials are culling from a new study that finds male veterans twice as likely to die by suicide as men with no military service -- and even more so if they're physically or mentally impaired. Such news is particularly worrisome now, veteran advocates say, with hostilities in Iraq having left 52,000 U.S. troops either wounded or hospitalized for ailments ranging from insect-borne boils to severe depression.
link to more info: http://www.adn.com/front/story/9076...
Reflections of a Vietnam War Widow: It Doesn't End When They Come Home The Department of Defense recently announced that it was hiring additional mental health professionals to deal with the stream of traumatized vets returning from the occupation of Iraq. A widow of an earlier war warns that the effort may be too little and too late.
link to more info: http://www.pdhealth.mil/nlAttachmen...
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