From March 14th to 16th 2008, Pacifica Radio provided coverage of the historic Winter Soldier 2008 gathering in Washington, DC.
National broadcast (April 22nd) on the first class action lawsuit brought by Iraq war veterans against the Department of Veterans Affairs. US vets suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are alleging a system-wide breakdown in the way the government treats injured soldiers.
When young American men and women sign up to serve in the US military, our government makes a basic promise to them: that if they are wounded in the line of duty they will get the care they need. Unfortunately, for tens of thousands of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, that's a promise that only exists on paper.
Corporal Phillipe Louis Jean: When I Got Back from Iraq, They Tried to Deport Me
Specialist Joshua Casteel: Abu Ghraib Interrogator Meets With the Pope
Lance Corporal Jeff Key: Gay Marine Comes Out on CNN
Sergeant Todd Bowers: While I Was in Iraq, My Student Loans Were Sent to Collection
Sergeant James Dean: Afghan Vet Shot by Maryland State Troopers
My Husbands 2nd deployment.
That Article about that ladies husband is so sad. My husband just had to go back to Iraq for a 2nd tour. I could see a difference when he came back the 1st time, Mostly with his driving habits he would drive almost like he was hugging the middle of the road b/c he said that is how they are told to drive in Iraq, and whenever he would hear a loud sound he would jump, and the nightmares were pretty bad as well, our son now is 4, so he is taking this deployment very hard.
deployments
I feels so sorry for the spouses and there families, I know exactly what they are going thru, just a different war, I come from the VN era. Back in those days, they didnt reconize PTSD and you didnt dare talk about it. Families pretended all was ok, and hope that it would one day go away. It wont, not without help. at least now we reconize it. My husband was in VN twice, the first time I noticed a different person, we were riding in a taxi and it backfired, wow the next thing I noticed was my husband on the floor board of the car. I was sure this would pass. The second time around the nightmare for all of us began. The nightmares, the sweats the anger, a different outlook on life. The happy go lucky husband with all his big dreams was gone. I knew he was in there somewhere, and wondered would this ever end. Well it doesnt, not without help. It destroys marriages, children dont understand why there daddy doesnt want to go places where there is alot of other ppl. The drinking, getting up at night to see your husband sitting in the dark crying. You start to live in a fantasy world where everyone thinks your life is a happy perfect one, cause you dont want anyone to know your secret. It took years before my husband would even talk about VN and the only thing he ever said was I met the devil in Nam. Now we all understand or at least beginning to understand what they are going thru. My best advice is even if you dont see the signs go for counciling ASAP After all these yrs and a strong belief my husband is coming to grips with his demons, and now we talk about it, and talk to others who had gone thru the same thing. This might be a different war, but they are fighting the same demons. Please dont wait, life is to short. After all these yrs my husband is back, not completly the same, his innocents was lost all those yrs ago, but he is back, as much as he will ever be.