Many of the troops in Iraq fought in urban settings, unlike what we (I) fought in the Nam.
PTSD is a strong influence on returning troops and there are no jungles in the US. Re-acclimatisation is very hard under the best of circumstances.
On the other hand, the returnees are not met with name calling, feces throwing protesters reviling them and politicians rejecting them because they served.
Rasmussen’s poll reports:
28% Say Today’s Veterans Face More Challenges Than Vietnam Returnees
Twenty-eight percent (28%) of adults nationwide believe that veterans of today’s conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan face more challenges when they return home than veterans of the Vietnam War.
However, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that another 24% believe veterans of today’s conflicts face fewer challenges when they arrive home compared to those who served in Vietnam.
The plurality (42%) believes the challenges veterans from both eras have faced are about the same.
Twenty-eight percent (28%) of adults nationwide believe that veterans of today’s conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan face more challenges when they return home than veterans of the Vietnam War.
However, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that another 24% believe veterans of today’s conflicts face fewer challenges when they arrive home compared to those who served in Vietnam.
The plurality (42%) believes the challenges veterans from both eras have faced are about the same.
Twenty-seven percent (27%) of those who have served in the military say today’s veterans have it worse, while nearly the same number (28%) say they face fewer challenges than those who fought in Vietnam. [snip]
There is no clear answer to this. What do you think?
Filed under: Culture, Media, Politicians | Tagged: Loons, Moonbats, Political Correctness
I am deeply suspicious of all this PTSD overreaction. Yes, modern war is very barbaric. The weapon effects are extremely gruesome (massive roadside bombs/mines) and this can really get into your brain after a while. So can multiple returns to the battle area.
On the other hand, today it seems each troop has a cell phone and a laptop so family members are only a few keystrokes away. It also seems many have a good amount of creature comforts when not actually outside the wire.
In my case (Vietnam) we had rockets, mortars, mines, booby traps and bullets to contend with also. Our communication with home was the post office with about 4-5 days for a letter to go one way, if we were lucky. I was gone for almost a year. My father was in the South Pacific (Army) for three (3) years – No R&R, no trips back to the states, no emails, no facebook, just plain old snail mail of that era. Evidence of PTSD? None. I did see plenty of evidence of malaria, and foot fungal infections though.
Different eras, different people, different wars? Who knows. But I am still a bit suspicious of all the psycho-mumble that is being tossed about.
PTSD hits in different ways. Depends on the person, the action, duration, lots of bits and pieces.
Just because you didn’t see any evidence of stress in your father doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. (I’m assuming you didn’t know him prior to the war)
I’ve seen the difference in people I know, with whom I served in the Nam. One being the Woodchuck. Passing acquaintances before, closer afterward. I replaced a sergeant he lost (1/5 SF) toward the end of my tour. Weird to be 10,000 miles away and have that happen. He stayed on for a second tour; I can tell you he is a very changed person from the person I knew in 1960.
I’ll bet it affected you too unless you spent 13 months in a Conex box. You don’t sound like you did.
There are a bunch of after action heros who want to get a bowl of the gravy; ones who saw the underside of the clouds light up from a 155 round landing 35 klicks away from the Saigon rooftop bar. There are REMF’s everywhere.
As I said, there aren’t any jungles here, lots of urban terrain.
So do we believe the guy before or after he eats the bullet?