National focus, funds needed for vets’ PTSD

Another mass shooting on American soil immediately ignites calls for serious guncontrol reforms on a national scale. But the culprit in the unprovoked attack that killed 12 innocent people enjoying a night of country music at a Thousand Oaks, Calif., bar likely goes beyond the shooter. Yes, authorities have identified Ian David Long, a 28-year-old Marine combat veteran who served in Afghanistan, as the person responsible for these multiple murders before taking his own life. But what drove him to commit this heinous crime? Friends who often accompanied him to that very bar couldn’t believe he was capable of such a violent, cold-blooded act. Another acquaintance described Long as a sweet guy who was pursuing his college degree on the GI Bill. Back in April, officers in Thousand Oaks responded to a disturbance at the home where Long lived. According to authorities, Long was somewhat irate and irrational. A mental-health specialist felt he might be suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, but he wasn’t detained for observation. Was Long suffering from PTSD? That may never be known. But if he were, he’d be just one of countless other Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans who returned home with those same demons. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that PTSD afflicts as many as 10 percent of Gulf War (Desert Storm) veterans, and 11 percent of Afghanistan war veterans. And though no cure for PTSD exists, with medication and therapy, the symptoms — including depression and alcohol and drug dependency — can be managed, allowing most veterans to lead a normal life. But the VA can only help those who want to be helped. Veterans returning home from overseas deployments want to get back to their families and a normal life. They don’t want to undergo a “debriefing” period where they can be examined by military doctors who can detect psychological stresses that lurk below the surface. So veterans mask the pain of their ordeal and try to enter civilian life the best they can. Sadly, not all these hurting veterans can succeed in this “self-diagnosis” and determination to will their pain away. When the problem surfaces, it sometimes speeds into a nightmare for family, friends and, of course, the veterans. The VA knows this. The Pentagon knows this. And so does Congress. But because it would cost untold billions to keep veterans sequestered for a “cool-down” period after returning home from overseas assignments, these federal entities adhere to the status quo. We don’t condone Long’s horrific crime. He killed 12 innocent people. But it’s time that federal lawmakers dig deeper into the issues surrounding veterans and the inner turmoil they confront in their return home. Just like a public infrastructure bill will be a good thing for rebuilding our roads, bridges and schools, so will an outlay of new resources to rebuild the health and welfare of our veterans. So as we remember the sacrifices of all our veterans today, the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, we as a society must redouble our efforts to ensure those soldiers who went through hell on earth get the care they desperately need.