3 Years On, Combat PTSD Comes Out of the Closet

Yesterday's 3rd anniversary of the Iraq invasion found an interesting situation brewing: returning veterans coping with post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] are no longer being hidden away from our view. The media is beginning ever-so-slightly to lift the veil on this nerve disorder affecting at least 16,000+ of our troops who've served in Afghanistan and/or Iraq.

Since we have so very little else to celebrate as another year moves forward with no end in sight to war and its victims, I'm going to focus on the good reporting on this issue that is finally, finally seeing the light of day. And I celebrate the fact that rather than using this anniversary to glamorize and glorify the war, the media seem to have finally decided to use it to introduce this ballooning problem at last to the public.

Click on 'Article Link' below tags for links to yesterday's coverage...

A Partial List of Yesterday's Combat PTSD Coverage

• Meehan: Help our heroes once they return home, MetroWest Daily News [Framingham, MA]
  
• National Guard sheds its "weekend warrior" image and works to adjust to its changing mission, The Times Union [Albany, NY]
  
• Veterans' group provides friendship to returning soldiers, Courier-Post [Cherry Hill, NJ]
  
• The ties that bind -- Marines' fellowship forged in battle, The North County Times [Escondido, CA]
  
• Building a new reality, Los Angeles Daily News
  
• Profile: David Roby, The Cincinnati Enquirer
  
• The Iraq effect, The Observer [UK]
  
• Some troops headed back to Iraq are mentally ill, San Diego Union Tribune
  
• The trauma of war Experts fear cases of veterans with PTSD could skyrocket, The Kalamazoo Gazette
  
• Quelling War's Aftershocks, Chicago Tribune
  
• Wounded Lives, The Oregonian
  
• They're so very brave, New York Daily News op-ed
  
• Our sacrifices - Working through the trauma, Santa Fe NewMexican
  
• Our sacrifices - The Journey home and readjustment, Santa Fe NewMexican
  

There were many more reports that didn't find their way onto this list. Some were in local papers without online editions; others I haven't turned up, yet. If you know of any that I've missed, please drop them into comments; I'll be happy to add them.



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