Vets deserve more than a slap in face
THEDETROIT NEWS

In August 1943, while touring Army field hospitals in Sicily, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. famously slapped two privates who had been admitted for what was then called "shell shock."

The general was reprimanded and lost command of the Seventh Army. In today's Army, the symptoms associated with the stress of combat aren't called shell shock, but they are every bit as severe.

The Army estimates that as many as 20 percent to 30 percent of its combat troops in Iraq report symptoms such as sleep disorders and post-combat anxiety.

Some 10 percent to 15 percent eventually will develop the more serious symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. They are supposed to get prompt, thorough and compassionate medical treatment.

Instead, recent news reports suggest these vets are getting the cold shoulder - or worse. In some cases, they're being discharged under what are called "other than honorable conditions," which preclude them from getting help at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities for the trauma they incurred in the service of their country.

Last week, staff members from the offices of U.S. Sens. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., visited Fort Carson, Colo., to investigate the treatment of soldiers who have returned from Iraq. The investigation was prompted by reports last month on National Public Radio and CBS News.

Soldiers told the news organizations they can't get help when they ask, and sometimes are ostracized for asking. Former soldiers said they had been discharged for "personality disorders" or "misconduct, " often leaving them ineligible for VA care and other GI benefits.

Veterans advocates say problems manifest themselves in sleep disorders, anxiety, anger and other symptoms.

Soldiers often "self-medicate" with illegal drugs or alcohol and become disciplinary problems.

Some are given the choice between courts martial or "other-than-honorable" discharges.

They are sent home without treatment options.

Sorry for the drug problems and nervous disorder, buddy. Thanks for your service.

"It is tremendously problematic that Fort Carson officials take it upon themselves to make medical determinations without input from mental health professionals, " the three senators said in a letter to the Pentagon.

"As you know, PTSD can often be a devastating and life-altering condition that causes significant anguish for service members and their families."

Senators Bond, Obama and Boxer deserve great credit for bringing this matter before Congress. In the same way that soldiers who suffer physical trauma in Iraq deserve the best possible medical care, so do those who suffer psychological trauma from the war's horrors.

Anything less is a slap in the face.