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Shanisha Henry

Dr. Matt Becker

English 350

29 February 2016

PTSD:

A Threat to Many Military Soldiers in Battle

As the symptoms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) become more prevalent in the

community of military soldiers, there is no question that each killing in battle can affect a soldier.

In a recent study, RAND Corporation found that one in five (approximately 300,000) Iraq and

Afghanistan veterans suffer from depression or stress disorders and another 320,000 suffer from

TBIs (Traumatic Brain Injuries) that place them at a higher risk for depression and stress

disorders (Gilbertson1). According to the NCHSs National Death and the CDCs National

Violent Death Reporting System, Katz estimated that between 550 and 650 veterans are

committing suicide each month (Gilbertson1). According to both reports, PSTD is a direct result

of soldiers killing during combat. In this essay, I will argue that although military officers

understand that there may be war while in the military, many soldiers are not aware that as a

result of war they most likely will be diagnosed with PTSD. Also soldiers are killing during

wartime; they cannot automatically become a civilian and not want to kill during peacetime.

While PTSD is not new to the military soldier population, many soldiers and their families is

affected by the symptoms resulting from PTSD. During combat, Specialist Noah Pierce admits,

My life has been hell since 2003 (qtd. in Wartorn). According to Noahs mother Cheryl, I can
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honestly say he was nothing but a messed up, confused little boy-man, child, all wrapped up into

one. Didnt know what to do, Couldnt drive a car really, because driving he was constantly

worried about car bombs. Youre not the same. He didnt laugh anymore, he didnt smile

anymore, and he did, it was phony and it never went to the eyes. He had absolutely no time, no

tolerance, no patience for (qtd. in Gilbertson). Specialist Noah Pierce was battling the

transition into the civilian life. Cheryl admits, We were sitting together one day, and out of the

blue, matter-of-fact, he said, [Noah], I could kill every one of you in the house, not give it a

second thought, and go to sleep(qtd. in Gilbertson). PTSD not only affects the soldier; it also

affects the family as Cheryl emphasizes, I want to see my son one more time, just one more

time, just one more, But for some reason God wont let me have it. I dont know if its because

He knows Im not emotionally ready for it, or if I will just never dream about my son, ever again.

But every night I ask God. Please, let this be the night Noah is in my dreams, and I remember

him. Every morning I wake up, and it wasnt the night (qtd. in Gilbertson 3). Specialist Noah

Pierce committed suicide on July 26, 2007, and he stated, It was impotence-a common side

effect of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It was the snowflake that toppled the iceberg

(qtd. in Gilbertson).

Some experts have argued that there should be a great concern for military soldiers that are

diagnosed with PTSD. Dr. Jonathan Shay, a psychiatrist who has worked with combat vets for

twenty years and has two books about PTSD has noted, Its a titanic pain that these men live

with. They dont feel that across, in part because they feel they deserve it, and in part because

they dont feel people will understand it (qtd. in Gilbertson 7). Dr. Shay explains the reasons for

the lack of sleep and nightmares soldiers like Specialist Noah Pierce are, Contributing directly

from loss of control of his own anger, a loss of control of things he felt morally responsible for
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(qtd. in Gilbertson 7). According to Dr. Shay, Specialist Noah lived a life post combat as being a

life of, Despair, this word thats so hard to get our arms around. Its despair that rips people

apart [who] feel theyve become irredeemable (qtd. in Gilbertson 7). Because Specialist Noah

committed suicide, the Pentagon will never add him to the official tally of 4,000 war dead. Many

of the soldiers that are diagnosed with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are excluded

from the count of 50,000 severe combat wounds even though PTSD and TBI have more long-

term effects that bullet wound and lost limbs (Gilbertson 1).

With PTSD and TBI likely being a part of the life of a soldier, it is imperative that a soldier

receive mandatory counseling with an extensive psychological evaluation. Soldiers are dying

slowly with PTSD post war, and it seems as if they are written off like a bad check. Many

soldiers are enlisting with the hope that they are somehow contributing to the safety of the

Americans. However, if a soldier is in active duty, and becomes injured even though it may be

psychologically, is this soldier not honorable in the American government military eyes? There

will be more casualties as a result of not taking accountability for the symptoms of PTSD and

how it affects the soldiers life. When did we become a society where we actually believe if you

train a person to kill then they can automatically just stop killing because they are no longer in

combat? These soldiers are humans not robots, but the American government warehouses these

men as if they are half-man and half-machine. It is an atrocity to the American flag if the

Pentagon will continue to keep soldiers with PTSD off of the roster of the war dead. I believe

they started dying for the country the first time they left boot camp.
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Works Cited

Gilbertson, Ashley. "The Life and Lonely Death of Noah Pierce." The Life and Lonely Death

of Noah Pierce. Web. 27 Feb. 2016. http://www.vqronline.org/vqr-portfolio/life-and-lonely-

death-noah-pierce.

HBO: Wartorn 1861-2010: Home." HBO. Web. 27 Feb. 2016.

http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/wartorn-1861-2010