define- "rampant" please.

__________________

"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

The key word was "increasingly."

Home from the war, many veterans battle substance abuse - International Herald Tribune

__________________

Why do you focus all your anger on President Bush? Saddam Hussein did play a small part in the destruction of his own country. He was responsible for a war with Iran that killed over a million people. He invaded Kuwait and committed a large number of war crimes against the population there. Remember, all he had to do was comply with his agreement under the cease fire. What was the world supposed to do?

I think you should consider the number of people who will live because Saddam is dead instead of the volunteers who died getting rid of him.

RJ

Yes, I am sure

Having been through the VA on countless occasions I can attest to the fine treatment I have received. Everything they could help me with, they did. And for the stuff that they couldn't, they made sure to direct me to where I could.

__________________
I am a liberal, a classical liberal. Classical liberalism is liberalism, but the current collectivists have captured that designation in the United States. In Europe they are glad enough to call themselves socialists. But no one in America wants to be called socialist and admit what they are.

Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self-Reliance, Perseverance

Bullshit. I am a strong advocate for guys who need help to go get it. Like I have stated earlier, I have been on the receiving end of some of that treatment.

As for peer pressure, I am also calling bullshit. Members of line units don't fuck around when it comes to that sort of shit. You need help, go get it. No one will think less of you. When my unit returned from the war no one was looked down upon for getting help. Shit, they even forced certain people to go get help.

Basically, you don't know what the hell you are talking about because you have never been in a situation like this to see what happens and how it is handled.

__________________
I am a liberal, a classical liberal. Classical liberalism is liberalism, but the current collectivists have captured that designation in the United States. In Europe they are glad enough to call themselves socialists. But no one in America wants to be called socialist and admit what they are.

Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self-Reliance, Perseverance

I'm glad to hear it. My experience with the VA as an outside provider was significantly different.

__________________

may his family find peace and may people on both sides of the isle stop using their sacrifice to garner votes and or push agenda's

the problem with this and the point most dont get.....most guys dont get seen....this is a warrior society and culture....any weakness any sign of problems not only effects you in your job but it effects your standing as a leader with your men, and or your peers. And with the continual back and forth to the sandbox these guys go from trip to trip and dont want to let down their buddies thus dont want to see a doctor


i got some PTSD from a helicopter crash...never told anyone never went and saw anyone but inside a helicopter and inside my body i was about to lose my fucking mind didnt want to be there would almost hypervenilate and at the end started this ritual with a grip tool and i would hum this tune outloud for an entire flight and didnt know it...................

I never went and got seen........my men really just thought it was me being a smartass...........and now when i fly on take off and landings in my civilian life and flights and during turbulence i am white knuckled..............


Most of these kids do come back with something from over there wrong with them, and all of them turn to something...heck i drink whisky now never did that before and dont have any super ticks or problems with the fighting just flying..........but they do , and then they choose not to go get seen for it is the warrior culture . I am not defending the army and i am not defending Bush i am just saying most dudes dont want to show they are a pussy in front of the guys thus dont show anything in the screenings or answer the questions dishonestly thus never getting seen for real and never seek the medical treatment they need...........

your statement is so full of partisan bullshit it shows your true colors sammy

in the end this issue as in all military issues you bring up are based on your party politics and if it was a democrat in office we wouldnt see these threads and we wouldnt see any angst coming from you.......

you dishonor the soldiers who defend your country , they unlike you stepped up to defend this nation, they didnt pick or choose the wars they want to fight based on their party affiliation. they went to war and died for their brothers and sisters in arms and died for something they believed in. you should let them have that and stop dishonoring them with your partisan bush bashing rants it is so dishonorable and in the end does your cause which isnt the soldiers but your political parties dominance of the country , no good sam....it shows all the bad that makes people not want to vote for your party

people like me in the middle , people who are afraid to vote for a democrat for they will get someone like you in office

According to Amnesty International, Saddam was responsible for between 100 and 200 deaths a year in the years leading up to the invasion.

So as many as a thousand lives may have been saved by removing him from power so far.

__________________
“ The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.”

Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations 1776

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
FDR's second Inaugural Address

Great points Rak. You touched on a very important thing about warrior culture. I think the thing to take away from all of this is that everyone deals with it differently. In my case we had mandatory counseling when I returned, and everyone had to go through a few sessions. It helped some guys, and didn't other guys. Once all my required sessions were over I never went back, as did most guys. I could and do handle it in my own way. Again, as most guys did. Other guys chose to go back for additional help, and no one thought less of them because they still did their job and didn't let whatever baggage they had interfere with their job. They didn't let their buddies down, and stayed the course. Those that couldn't handle it were quietly shown the door.

__________________
I am a liberal, a classical liberal. Classical liberalism is liberalism, but the current collectivists have captured that designation in the United States. In Europe they are glad enough to call themselves socialists. But no one in America wants to be called socialist and admit what they are.

Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self-Reliance, Perseverance

yep, know a couple of these types of guys to. They are Warriors, every one of them. There is NO stigma attached to the trigger pullers. Each guy has his own sensitivities, and way of dealing with things. Just because you like to talk your thoughts out with a shrink instead of close personal friends doesn't make you less of a man or Warrior.

Some guys drink it off, and those are the ones I recommend to the command to force them to go to counseling.

Some guys start banging every skirt in sight. Counseling recommended.

Others start fighting... these guys have no choice, automatic counceling for them.

The things that bring on PTSD the most that I have seen is losing a few friends all at once; surviving an attack when someone in very close proximity to you doesn't; or losing a cherished and beloved leader figure.

These are the hardest types for guys to overcome. These are the cases where you have to point out repeatedly but in a tactful manner, that that guy took the same calculated risk that you did, it just didn't pay off because every now and then, the opponent gets it right too.

Given that you think Spec. Dwyer was a "pampered loser", I'm surprised you'd have the audacity to show your face in this thread.

Samantha, here's a perfect opportunity to discuss using this soldier's death for partisan silliness. Goober here says all our troops are "pampered losers". Why do you think he's here in this thread?

Matt

See, that's what I fear. I've known too many guys who insisted that they could handle everything, and that they didn't need help. Hell, I've done it myself. I know how it eats you from the inside until there's nothing left.

All I'm saying is that our troops deserve better than that. They deserve to get help. They deserve to be given the tools that they'll need to come back to civvy life and not just survive, but thrive. To be able to get past the horrors that they've seen.

Anything less, IMHO, is inexcusable. They've offered to sacrifice everything for their nation, and they deserve nothing less from their nation.

__________________

Oh, that's weird, just a little while ago you said the opposite. You said it was his own fault that he didn't get help for his PTSD. You said he's a dumbass. You said PTSD is diagnosed way too much anyway. I thought you meant those things. That's why I thought you were NOT a strong advocate for PTSD treatment. Silly me.