Combat’s positive effects examined

[CommunityEditor]

WARDAK, Afghanistan — Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Frikken says three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan have robbed him of precious time with his family, but have also changed him — in some ways for the better.

A sense of personal strength, appreciation for life and love of family have all been enhanced, says Frikken, 39, who directs artillery fire for 10th Mountain Division troops fighting here. “I will never be the same person I was before my combat experiences,” he says.

What happen to soldiers like Frikken has led Army leaders to develop a resiliency program that urged GIs to look inward and discover how combat may have made them emotionally stronger.

Research appears to show that many people can emerge from traumatic experiences with greater self-confidence, a keener sense of compassion and appreciation for life, says Brig. Gen. Rhonda Cornum, director of the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program. Cornum and other experts call this concept post-traumatic growth.

Although the military focuses attention on troops who develop mental health conditions in combat, Cornum says, the majority of war veterans do not suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other problems.

“We never ask if anybody had some positive outcomes. We only ask about this laundry list of illnesses,” says Cornum, referring to a battery of health questions soldiers face when they leave the combat zone.

She often alludes to her experiences as a prisoner during the Persian Gulf War. Cornum was an Army captain and flight surgeon in 1991 aboard a Black Hawk helicopter shot down over Iraq. Five of seven soldiers died. Cornum suffered two broken arms and a gunshot wound to the shoulder, was captured with two others and held for eight days.

Her goal is to include a self-assessment on traumatic growth with a health questionnaire given to soldiers three to six months after they return from combat. She would also like to include in preparations before and after GIs are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan short video segments of servicemembers describing how their personal lives changed for the better after surviving combat.

The new tools could be put into effect within a year, Cornum says.

Richard Tedeschi, an expert in post-traumatic growth at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, is collaborating on the project with the Army. Even though he calls the initiative “uncharted territory,” Tedeschi says research indicates that soldiers have found value in their combat experiences. If informed about potential for post-traumatic growth beginning in basic training, he says, soldiers might not automatically assume “that the combat experience produces PTSD and you’re kind of doomed.”

During remarks at the American Enterprise Institute recently in Washington, Tedeschi said some servicemembers found the changes in their lives so profound after combat, they expressed gratitude for having gone through it — even if it cost them permanent physical damage.

“They’d felt they’d changed as people in ways they otherwise wouldn’t have,” Tedeschi says. “At the same as this trauma separates them from other people, it also allows them to maybe see themselves as more human than they ever were before, have a closer connection with what it means to be a human being.”

Frikken is married with three children, and goes out on missions from Forward Operating Base Airborne here. He says that nearly 33 cumulative months of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan “have made me realize to live every day as if it were my last. I take nothing for granted.”

The experience forces survivors to “try to figure out ‘Who am I now? ... What’s my life supposed to be about?’” Tedeschi says. “We certainly would like to find ways of helping people move in this direction, because it’s a way of mitigating the affects of this trauma.”

Tedeschi acknowledges that his concepts are controversial.

Howard Tennen, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Connecticut, says that although post-traumatic growth may occur in some people, it is difficult to measure. He says available evidence does not yet support the idea that promoting a sense a growth will lead to positive outcomes.

Cornum says she finds the concept convincing.

“We never want something bad to happen,” she says. “But if there’s an opportunity to learn something from some adverse circumstance, we certainly want to take advantage of it.”


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...search_101909/

Reinventing the wheel. It has been long known in the Medical Community that people with PTSD have a higher success rate of performing military duties if they are given the opportunity to return to duty, than their counterparts who may not have experienced combat. Unfortunately, problems often occur once an individual returns to civilian life after military service.

Point is, these exciting revelations have already been addressed throughout history. It's just that we have not learned from history and applied these lessons to our Modern Military

[penguinman000]

Originally Posted by Reinventingthewheel

Reinventing the wheel. It has been long known in the Medical Community that people with PTSD have a higher success rate of performing military duties if they are given the opportunity to return to duty, than their counterparts who may not have experienced combat. Unfortunately, problems often occur once an individual returns to civilian life after military service.

Point is, these exciting revelations have already been addressed throughout history. It's just that we have not learned from history and applied these lessons to our Modern Military

Nonesense. Patently false and untrue. Study after study has found numerous damaging effects of PTSD, from emotional damage to phyical changes in the brain. PTSD is a disease. Disease is not good.

Furthermore, you state that "problems often occur once and individual returns to civillian life after military service". If an individual is having problems readjusting to life after combat/military there are likely mental health/physical health issues that need addressed. Stating that a service member is ok because they are able to perform their military duties does not address issues in their personal life. If you wait for problems to show up at work that usually means that everything else has come crashing down in their world by that point.

I would suggest you read Shay's book Achilles in Vietnam as a primer on the returning warrior and PTSD.

And I know what I speak of. I have 3 tours in Iraq.
Ramadi 04-05 with 2/5.
Ramadi/Karmah 07 with 2/5.
All over Iraq 08-09 with NMCB-27.

[DAG48]

Originally Posted by penguinman000

Nonesense. Patently false and untrue. Study after study has found numerous damaging effects of PTSD, from emotional damage to phyical changes in the brain. PTSD is a disease. Disease is not good.

Furthermore, you state that "problems often occur once and individual returns to civillian life after military service". If an individual is having problems readjusting to life after combat/military there are likely mental health/physical health issues that need addressed. Stating that a service member is ok because they are able to perform their military duties does not address issues in their personal life. If you wait for problems to show up at work that usually means that everything else has come crashing down in their world by that point.

I would suggest you read Shay's book Achilles in Vietnam as a primer on the returning warrior and PTSD.

And I know what I speak of. I have 3 tours in Iraq.
Ramadi 04-05 with 2/5.
Ramadi/Karmah 07 with 2/5.
All over Iraq 08-09 with NMCB-27.

I don't see anything false in post #2, or where it was stated there were no damaging effects of PTSD while a member remained on active duty. It has been stated to me, by VA Psychiatric folks I trust, that a majority of (not all) Combat Vets with PTSD perform their military duties better once they are returned to duty, and they also say this is noted in the Diagnostic medical manual used by the U.S. Medical Community. Problems can and often pop up after they leave military service however.

I have often stated the Israeli Military has a very good Combat Stress program in place. They use a triage system for troops in the field to determine who needs immediate aid, and who just needs a break, before returning them to combat or sending them for more treatment. Of course the Israelis have a need to be this efficient as they are bombarded by rockets and gunfire on a daily basis.

Furthermore, a U.S. Army (I believe) Colonel testified before congress recently stating our Current Command really has no clue as how to address Battlefield Stress, which he stated has been well documented from the times of the Romans to the Present.

PTSD manifests itself in different ways in individuals. Some are able to cope without a lot of support, others cannot. Truth is everyone who experiences combat is changed for life. If only we can get the Military and VA to admit this and treat everyone for the after effects of Combat Service.

Therefore, I can say from my experience in living with PTSD, and from the experience of what others shared with me, that Reinventingthewheel was stating these "newly released" studies (see original thread) are only stating what others have stated before, from the Roman Empire to Present, and that the real problem is our Military and VA are not recognizing Combat Stress in individuals and acting on it in a positive & proactive manner as soon as possible to minimize it's affects on the Military and Veterans.

There is no need to fight amongst ourselves and assume some are more deserving than others. In the end, we are all in the same boat and need to join together and fight to get the stigmata of Combat Stress Related Disorders, (one being PTSD) lifted, and recognize war for what it is...., a crappy deal for all concerned.

I thank you for your service to our country and for your sacrifice.

P.S. I posted as Reinventingthewheel, not to disguise myself, but to put the message up front, and get the point across, that in contrast to history it seems we are reinventing the wheel in regards to how to deal with Combat Stress and PTSD.

[penguinman000]

It appears I communicated my point poorly. Let me try again.

First off you seem to be confusing combat stress with PTSD. Combat stress are the effects that you see while actively engaged in combat operations. Studies have shown that most folks have a limit of about 6 or 7 months in a combat enviornment before a decline in their ability to perform shows. All folks have a breaking point, and no one is immune from continous combat operations. Some break sooner others later but the mean is 6-7 months.
PTSD is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. By definition one cannot suffer from PTSD until after combat operations are ceased, ie leaving theater. The current method of screening for PTSD (the post deployment health assessment) is a joke. You have a questionaire that asks if people have exaggerated startle responses, if they were ever in fear for their life, if they saw any dead up to 30 days before they cease combat operations. Silly assed questions to ask anyone that actually engages in combat operations. Of course the answers to all those questions is yes. Based off that questionaire all of my Marines were exhibiting symptoms of PTSD. The data for PTSD coming out of Iraq is inaccurate due to the questions being asked and when they are asking them. A bunch of egg heads who have no idea of the folks they are trying to help and politicians trying to score points came up with this method. As a result garbage in = garbage out.

Second-You stated something along the lines of those suffering from PTSD perform their military duties better. This is a case of missing the forrest for the tress. If the only measure you use is performance at work you are missing serious issues in the making. Work performance is the last thing to suffer.

Your point about the Israeli military I refer back to the difference between combat stress and PTSD. Both diseases are not the same and treatment for them differs. There is some bleed over as those who suffer from combat stress are more prone to PTSD issues.

In addition PTSD has not been honestly addressed. I heard an Army big wig talking the other day about preventing PTSD. You cannot prevent PTSD. You can limit the succeptablity of individuals to it by proper command and medical support but you can't prevent it. Even the Spartans recognized PTSD symptoms, a society where men were bred to be warriors from the age of 8. The Odessey and the Illiad are full of tales of PTSD, surviving war and fitting in when you go back home, 2 of the oldest pieces of literature. PTSD cannot be prevented and to state that we can prevent is to set ourselves up for failure by setting unachievable goals. The simple fact is war is an ugly dirty business, men die, are maimed and not all of those deaths or maiming are phsyical.

We are also not talking about the resources needed to properly address this issue. Most of the medical literature talks about it taking 4-5 years for symptoms of PTSD to resolve to the point of being able to function without issue in society. There simply are not enough mental health professionals available to fill this need and the will to provide these kind of finances is lacking to say the least.

I'll write more later, I'm going to head to bed.

[DAG48]

I appreciate it whenever someone wants to call me on something and correct me. A lot of us posting on here are from different wars, and have different opinions. PTSD is something I have lived with for nearly two decades now. I have been in treatment for nearly 15 years, so I have some very good educated opinions formed about the subject. Please note I said opinions, I'm not a doctor, I'm an educated patient.

With that in mind:

1. Combat Stress, in the context of this Thread (Post #1) is more or less a catch all phrase for all disorders that may arise from Combat, including PTSD, at least this is how I use it.

2. PTSD begins with one or multiple Stressor(s). It's effects may not manifest themselves for years, or could be almost immediate. It is called POST Traumatic Stress Disorder because of the diagnostic requirement of having the Symptoms follow the Stress Event.

3. PTSD affects everyone differently.

4. PTSD (and Combat Stress) is not being properly addressed by those Currently in Command, hell they even admit it:

http://www.pebforum.com/va-news-feed...html#post32034

5. I have no Idea what the "current military assessments" are for folks returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, save what I read about, and what my Nephew tells me. It appears they vary from unit to unit. I tend to encourage folks to be evaluated. I also try to draw attention to all Problems resulting from Combat Operations whenever I can. Especially when it includes problems in dealing with Combat Stress (including PTSD).

Why? Because the stigma needs to be lifted, and people need to be recognized for what they have to endure and hopefully overcome due to their Military Service.

6. The Israelis treat Combat Stress (including PTSD) just like they triage other battlefield casualties, they evaluate them on what their needs are, from a short rest, to full blown treatment with removal from military duties. It's a little like what we used to do in WWI and WWII. It seems today's Military has forgot lessons learned from these wars in regards to Combat Stress (including PTSD).

7. Psychologists and Psychiatrists I trust, have stated some (not all) with Combat Stress problems including PTSD, have demonstrated a higher than average ability to perform Combat duties than their counterparts without these problems. Remember the phrase; been there, done that? We are talking about experience, and the ability to survive or push ones self to their limits, and beyond to complete the mission. This is also documented in the Diagnostic Manual used by the Psychiatric Community, and was also well known in WWI and WWII. It is also known by the Israeli Military, and why they triage their Combat Stressed (Including PTSD) Troops, to determine how soon they can get back on the job, or whether they need to be removed from military duties all together.

Finally, I hate the fact that the U.S. Military Leadership wants to continue to bury it's head in the sand and come up with these lame "studies" of what has already been established as fact (or even contradict them in many cases), then treat those with Combat Stress (including PTSD) as a liability instead of using triage to get them back into action or into treatment as the Israeli Military does. I pray they will see the light, look to a program that actually works and use it, and treat our Troops with dignity, honor, and respect for what we have endured. We deserve no less.