30% of Ft. Irwin OIF Vets Show Signs of PTSD

From the Barstow, CA Desert Dispatch:

"Approximately 30 percent of Fort Irwin soldiers who have returned from Iraq are experiencing some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, said Lt. Col. Valvincent Reyes, the senior social work officer at Fort Irwin's mental health department.

Reyes said the symptoms for soldiers vary but usually include nightmares, problems sleeping, anger, anxiety, detachment from the outside world and intrusive thoughts or flashbacks. 'Five different belief systems are impacted in war,' he said, citing the ideas of safety, control, a belief in power, self-esteem and trust. 'That's changed once they run into IEDs and mortars.'

Most soldiers, he said, can never prepare for the amount of physical bodily damage done by an improvised explosive device, or IED. The images of destruction stay with the soldiers long after they leave the war zone. Fort Irwin soldiers are no exception."

Read the rest of Adrienne Ziegler's piece here.

Tags:

• ptsd
• stateside
• reintegration
• anger
• flashbacks