Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Combat Stress Injury & TBI: Figley Institute's Picks of the Week (2012-6)

When I heard the news that a soldier had killed 16 civilians in Afghanistan, my first reaction was deep sadness.  I felt sad for those who suffered and died. I felt sad for those who loved those who were killed, and all those in Afghanistan who mourned and were angry.  I felt sad for the military personnel who were in the war zone.  I felt sad for our country. I felt sad for the soldier who committed this horrible act.

Just days before hearing the news, I facilitated a daylong conference at St. Thomas University entitled "Listening with Love: The Coming Home Experience for Veterans and Military Families".  This conference included two panels of personnel from various military branches who had served in the "war on terror".  They shared their experiences, and were open to questions. I felt grateful for their sharing, which educated the audience about the realities of war and reinforced with real life examples my teaching points.  I hoped my presentation was meaningful for them, and those veterans, chaplains, students, faculty, and professionals who attended.

My role at the conference was to educate about the stressors of war, their psychosocial/spiritual impact, and the means by which military personnel could receive assistance post-deployment. I focused on Combat Stress Injury and PTSD, and shared ways in which the marital relationship might be impaired and repaired.

When I heard the news I thought about wear and tear injury such as the sleep deprivation that goes with the war zone (an average of four hours a night), and the unrelenting 145 degree heat. I thought about grief injury, the loss of those whom they cared about who were killed in the war zone.  I thought about the traumatic situations in which trained soldiers might feel terrorized, horrified, or helpless.  I wondered what the conference participants and panelists were thinking when they heard the news of the rampage.  I hoped that my presentation was helpful as they tried to sort out what might have triggered the soldier's killing spree.

My second reaction was "I wonder how many times the accused soldier had been deployed".  I suspected that the wounds of war were a big factor when the soldier opened fire on sleeping Afghans. I had been thinking that repeated deployments and possibly PTSD would explain.  I felt angry when I thought that the lives lost were possibly due to the strains of war that could break the best of us, and the system-wide lack of resources for addressing psychosocial/spiritual wounds that can result.

This morning my sadness deepened when I heard on the news that the alleged killer had suffered a head injury.  I immediately thought "could it be Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?  Tears flowed as I imagined multiple deployments complicated by TBI, and possibly a triggering event which pushed this man over the edge of reason.  I decided I must do something. As an educator, my deepest desire is that readers understand the effects of war on our military, and do their part to learn so that those who serve receive the best we as Americans have to offer them in terms of compassion and support.

Recommended reading: Combat Stress Injury; Families Under Fire; Counseling Military Couples;

Dedicated to Lt. Col. (Dr.) David E. Cabrera and all others who serve our country through military service; and to whose who love and care about them.

1 comment:

Pat Rauch said...

Master Sgt. Bales
Justice must go out to you in the form of amnesty. I understand you and wish you the best for you wife and two children.
As a fellow TBI’er I know that you must operate differently. One on mine is acquired the other the result of a vicious attack that left me dizzy and disorientated for months.
Your foot well I too have a damaged foot from a bus incident. I even paid for experimental treatment to alleviate the pain and it did to some degree. I still need a pillow under my foot to sleep the mattress is too hard. Shoes I am doomed to ugly cushioned shoes and still in a warm environment my foot will swell then become very painful.
I live in an area where I must take a bus everywhere I go. I must carry about 30 pounds of groceries in a backpack at least two to three times a week. This makes my foot really feel good and sore. You with a part missing I don’t know how you did it a real hero to keep going.
9/11 leaves New Yorkers in constant fear. Near misses are always happening. It is only that we have a mayor and a police commissioner who keeps a vigilant on the Muslims that we are safe. I live in a high rise no easy escape albeit a fortress but they can be breached. Military choppers and fighter jets rattle the nerves, the floors, and the furniture.
I pray that you are treated for your injuries properly and amnesty is granted. You lost part of your brain, foot, and mind all the people of our country. What you did was just being overwhelmed with the backpack, no pain relief for the foot and the constant battle made you drink who wouldn’t. Amnesty is your only justice brave hero. The Afghan people have had ten years to defend themselves not better time than now. God Bless and Spare Your Life