Veteran related links and useful info...

[BigJerr]

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[The_Bammo]

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Very interesting articles and a lot of useful info for the Vet.

Hang Tough~

[The_Bammo]

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[The_Bammo]

Agent Orange

Become familiar with Agent Orange and the Health of Our Vietnam Veterans
Agent Orange Overview. Approximately 20 million gallons of herbicides were used in Vietnam between 1962 and 1971 to remove unwanted plant life and leaves which otherwise provided cover for enemy forces during the Vietnam Conflict. Shortly following their military service in Vietnam, some veterans reported a variety of health problems and concerns which some of them attributed to exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides. The Department of Veterans Affairs has developed a comprehensive program to respond to these medical problems and concerns. The principal elements of this program include quality healthcare services, disability compensation for veterans with service-connected illnesses, scientific research and outreach and education.
Agent Orange Poster - May 2004 ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) IOM Identifies Link with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Principi Extends Benefits ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Agent Orange General Information Brochure - July 2003 ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Agent Orange Information Bulletin 10-49 - March 2004 (Espanol) ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans Benefits for those exposed to Agent Orange ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Agent Orange Handbook 1302.1 - 2006 ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans Health Initiative (VHI) Agent Orange ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
DoD Report on Herbicides Used Outside of Vietnam ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
(We would encourage any veteran with in-country Vietnam service and diagnosed diabetes mellitus to contact his or her local VA office for information and assistance on applying for benefits. Or you may apply on-line) [Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])



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Request an Agent Orange Review (Info for Vets that were in Nam and their families) visit [Only registered and activated users can see links] agents/ or contact Don J. Rosenblum, Deputy Director, Environmental Agents Serv. (131), VA Central Office, 810 Vermont Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20420

Read editions
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Questions on AO toll free number
1-800-749-8387

[The_Bammo]

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Links of Interest to Veterans ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Department of Veterans Affairs Links ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Military, Retiree, and Other Veterans Links ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Veterans Advocacy Links ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Management and Leadership Links ([Only registered and activated users can see links])


Links of Interest to Veterans

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[The_Bammo]

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[The_Bammo]

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The GI Rights Hotline is answered by a coalition of nonprofit, non-governmental organizations who provide information to members of the military about discharges, grievance and complaint procedures, and other civil rights.

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[The_Bammo]

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It all started in 1967, with six Vietnam veterans marching together in a peace demonstration. Now, thirty-nine years later, VVAW is still going strong-- continuing its fight for peace, justice, and the rights of all veterans.
Explore these pages; see what we've done ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), what we do ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), and why we do it ([Only registered and activated users can see links]). The struggle continues, perhaps these days more than ever. VVAW has never stopped working to protect the welfare of those who served their country.
Will you join us ([Only registered and activated users can see links])?

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[The_Bammo]

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[The_Bammo]

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Resources


Resource Guide: Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) Veterans for America published the Resource Guide: Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom in order to provide a comprehensive directory of resources and benefits to assist in readjustment for returning veterans.
News Archives ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

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Iraq War's Toll on Veterans ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Cable News Network August 27, 2006

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Experts say Iraq war may have highest rate of combat stress victims. CNN's Gary Nurenberg reports. Interview with Veterans for America's Bobby Muller and Steve Robinson. Click here to view video. ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
</SPAN>
PTSD: Veterans say the illness is very real and very debilitating ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Jon Brodkin Metro West Daily News August 22, 2006
"There are those in Congress who believe there’s not any problem whatsoever [with PTSD]," said Steve Robinson, government relations director of Veterans for America, a program run by the Vietnam Veterans group. "They don’t want to hear it." Robinson said he thinks post-traumatic stress may be a greater problem among Iraq veterans than those who served in Vietnam because military staff are serving multiple tours of duty and there are no safe places for soldiers to rest when not in combat. After returning home, some veterans find themselves scanning the tops of buildings for snipers when they walk down the street, he said. </SPAN>
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[101Scout]

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Very interesting articles and a lot of useful info for the Vet.

Hang Tough~

Hey bro... know of any Vet links? :party0016[1]:

No man... great thread ... good links and info.

Thanks bro. :a075:

[The_Bammo]

No problem Bro' -- thanks for the honesty Bro'!

Hang Tough~

This one is pretty interesting --from Major Bro'--my nic for him !

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LEAVE NO VETERAN BEHIND CONVOY KICKS OFF IN KANSAS!Blog Title: Leave No Veteran Behind Convoy kicks off in Kansas


?We feel it?s our obligation for future generations to stand up and speak out on all issues war. And with many American troops still overseas, he said its time veterans come together from health care and benefits. A number of issues that affect the kids today coming back affect us and most of the issues that affect us affect them,?said Randy Barnes.
Read more: [Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Please visit Veterans for America at [Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

The Major is 100% anti-"SHRUB" and a hell of a Bro' !

[The_Bammo]

Some may have a different view on this but why should a small percentage get smashed with the burden of fighting in the "SHUB FIASCO" ! You know my view on this, and I really believe a draft would wake up the "It Don't Effect Me None" society today and end this BS.
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MURTHA'S CALL FOR THE DRAFT TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO OUR TROOPS NEEDS MEDIA ATTENTION!Blog Title: CALL FOR THE DRAFT ALSO COMING FROM ACADEMIC COMMUNITY!

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Please visit Veterans for America at [Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Thanks again to Major Bro' -

[The_Bammo]

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VETERANS FOR PEACE
Veterans Working Together for Peace & Justice Through Non-violence. Wage Peace!

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(Loads slow sometimes but worth the wait!)

[The_Bammo]

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We as families of soldiers who have died as a result of war are organizing to be a positive force in our world to bring our country’s sons and daughters home from Iraq, to minimize the “human cost” of this war, and to prevent other families from the pain we are feeling as the result of our losses.

Read More» ([Only registered and activated users can see links])


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[The_Bammo]

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About Us

In support of justice for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims, a national coalition of veterans, Vietnamese-Americans and other community leaders announces the formation of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign on February 28, 2005.
The U.S. government used Agent Orange, from 1962 to 1971, as part of their war in Vietnam. Agent Orange contains dioxin, one of the deadliest substances known, and continues to cause death and sickness to millions of Vietnamese and to many U.S. veterans of the Vietnam war. Now even more than thirty years after the war, Agent Orange remains in the land and water of Vietnam, causing horrific birth defects to several generation of children.

We support the Vietnamese Agent Orange survivors and their representative, the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin in their lawsuit against the U.S. chemical companies. Their lawsuit is a historic first effort by Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange to achieve compensation from the manufacturers who profited from this chemical warfare.
We call upon our government to meet its responsibility to compensate the more than three million Vietnamese people suffering from the effects of Agent Orange. The U.S. government has a moral and legal obligation to heal the wounds of war.Our Campaign will continue until justice for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims is achieved by winning significant U.S. government compensation.

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[The_Bammo]

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OBJECTIVE: The goal of “Before You Enlist!” (working title) is to provide a rational voice to help counter the seductive and often deceptive practices of the military in our nation’s high schools. The message is not “don’t enlist” but rather to provide students and their families a more complete picture of the life-altering consequences of joining the military – especially in wartime. Completion planned for Spring 2006.
View a 4-minute PREVIEW
(updated March '06):
LARGE QuickTime (17MB) ([Only registered and activated users can see links]></b>:showmoviebig())
SMALL QuickTime (7MB) ([Only registered and activated users can see links]></b>:showmoviesmall())

LARGE Windows Media (15MB) ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
SMALL Windows Media (8MB) ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

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[The_Bammo]

Hey bro... know of any Vet links? :party0016[1]:

No man... great thread ... good links and info.

Thanks bro. :a075:

Tryin' Bro', givin' it a shot!! LOL What about you Bro' - throw what you know in here - anyone's invited to share - vet or vet concerned .

Hang Tough~

[The_Bammo]

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Government resources
Small Business Administration ([Only registered and activated users can see links])-- tips from the federal government about starting, expanding and financing your business; includes an outstanding directory of information and links for local services
Federal Trade Commission ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- working for consumer protection and a competitive marketplace
Dept. of Veterans Affairs ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- details about benefits, office location, legislative affairs
United States Senate ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- legislative updates
House of Representatives ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- legislative updates
National Archives and Records Administration ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- National Personnel Records

Helpful Veteran Links
Locate your local VA office ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) (PDF)
Women Veterans Issues ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
VA Forms ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
National Veterans Legal Services Program ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- VRNA Experts
Department of Veterans Affairs ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- homepage to forms, facilities and VA information
Veterans Benefits Administration ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- Forms
U.S. Office of Personnel Management ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- Veterans Information
National Personnel Records Center ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- obtain your military records
The Vietnam, Persian Gulf and Kosovo Internet hub ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veteran Locators
The American War Library ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- The World's Oldest and Largest Online Public Access Military/Veteran/Military Family Member Registry
National Archives and Records Administration ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Army Locator ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Marine Corps Locator ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Navy Locator ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Official Military Reunions Site ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veteran/Military News
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans News and Information Service ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Weekly Defense Monitor ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Center for Security Policy ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- Latest Releases
Military News ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- from about.com
USO ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- History of USO plus current projects serving troops overseas
Veterans Aimed Toward Awareness ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veteran Travel
Orlando Travel Deals for Veterans ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Military Discounts at Greyhound ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Wars/Military Conflicts
Bosnia ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- Archived Military News From Bosnia
The Virtual Wall ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- a place to remember and receive online name rubbings
Korean War Project ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Casualty Statistics ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- America's Major Wars
Kosovo: Operation Allied Force ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Stabilization Force ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- Bosnia and Herzegovnia
WWI Document Archive ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Grolier's WWII page ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The World War II Preservation Society ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Civil War site ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Site in honor of those who served in Operation Desert-Storm ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Women in the Military
Facts and Statistics About Women in the Military ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
NOW and Women in the Military ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Military Women Veterans ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Military and Veteran Women Resource Guide ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
VA women's health care ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans Service Organizations
Jewish War Veterans ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Catholic War Veterans ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
American Red Cross ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Virtual Wall ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- view names, write memories or receive a virtual rubbing
American Veterans of WWII, Korea and Vietnam ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
American Legion ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans of Foreign Wars ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam Veterans of America ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans of the Vietnam War ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Site dedicated to the memory of the Korean War, with traveling memorial ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Disabled Veterans of America ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Army/Navy Union ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- founded in 1886
Dedicated to the remembrance of all black patriots ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Military Order of the Purple Heart ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Retired Officers Association ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Vietnam, Persian Gulf and Kosovo Internet hub ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
American Gulf War Veterans Association ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Employment Opportunities
Alpha Omega Veterans Services, Inc. ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- A private non-profit charitable organization established to provide food, shelter, clothing and rehabilitative services to homeless and displaced veterans, both male and female and their dependents in the Memphis area.
New York State Department of Labor ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- see the Local Veterans Employment Representative here
National Business & Disability Council ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- If anyone from Long Island calls and is looking for vocational help, this clinic offers training for the disabled and mentally ill.
GI Jobs ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- Links to state agencies that offer special employment training or help for Veterans through the National Veterans' Training Institute.

Veteran Special Interest
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Read about "Our Mission ([Only registered and activated users can see links])"


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[The_Bammo]

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VETERANS' ORGANIZATIONS:

Vietnam Veterans Home Page ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam Veterans Against the War ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Northwest Veterans Newsletter ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Garberville Veterans Association ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Ern Marshall's Sunraysia Vietnam Veterans, Australia ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam Women Veterans ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans' Rights Now ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietna467's link page ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vets of the 3/39th Infantry of the 9th Division ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Bamboo Bridge ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Firebase Tennesee ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vets Outreach ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans.Com ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
213th Assault Support Helicopter Company Black Cat Alumni Assoc. ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam Veterans of America ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Rice Patty Stew & Saigon Tea ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans Transition Center ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
22nd Infantry Regiment Society ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
In Country ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam Brotherhood ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans for Peace ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam Veterans of America ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans for Common Sense ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans Speakers Alliance ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Military Order of the Turtles, Hut 36 ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam Veterans' Legacy Foundation ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Military Pals ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- free site for locating lost friends
MEMORIALS:
Berkeley Vietnam Veterans Memorial ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Page ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) the official page of the Vietnam Vets Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam Veterans Memorials ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Beacon, NY, Veterans Electronic Memorial ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Highground Veterans Memorial ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Washington Women's Memorial ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Widows of War Living Memorial ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
American Veterans Traveling Tribute ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Virtual Wall ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS:

Army Times ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Navy Times ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Air Force Times ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Marines ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
State Guard Association of the U.S. ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS:

The My Lai Peace Park Project ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Swords to Plowshares ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Military City On-Line ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Sixties Project ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Viet Nam War Museum, Chicago, IL ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Vietnam War Generation Journal ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
The Immortal Chaplains Foundation ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Entertaining Vietnam ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) is a documentary film about those who entertained the troops -- with message board
Women's Research and Education Institute ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Landmines Vietnam Quang Tri ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Grief Denied: A Vietnam Widow's Story ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- Paulene Laurent's memoir
The Justice Project ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
WarWidows International Peace Alliance ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Operation Babylift ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
PTSD AND AGENT ORANGE:

National Center for PTSD ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Psych Trauma pages, University of Queensland ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Patience Press ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- publisher of books and literature about PTSD
Trauma Anonymous ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) -- forum and chat rooms
The Order of the Silver Rose ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Agent Orange Quilt of Tears ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Veterans Voices ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
NEWSGROUPS AND MAILING LISTS:

Usenet newsgroup: soc.history.war.vietnam (news:soc.history.war.vietnam)
Usenet newsgroup: alt.war.vietnam (news:alt.war.vietnam)
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Dusty's Newsletter ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
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[The_Bammo]

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Serving and Honoring Victims of Agent Orange Dioxins


NEW VISITORS >>> CLICK HERE ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Returning Visitors >>> CLICK HERE ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
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[The_Bammo]

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[GymGeekAus]

Someone is having some issues, it seems.

[The_Bammo]

[quote]

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[The_Bammo]

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[Fisher]

Someone is having some issues, it seems.


Gym, how many actual combat veterans do you know? Don't be so naive, of course these people have issues and if you had the chops to walk in their boots, you would have issues as well. Think before you rattle a chain Gym. For the chain you rattle, you know nothing about.
Tell me Gym, what do you actually know about Screaming Eagle here? Do you know what he saw, what he did, if he is disabled . Before your wise remarks are tossed back at you, ask him and maybe you just might understand.
As far as issues Gym, I think you have more than your fair share.

[The_Bammo]

Someone is having some issues, it seems.

Have a lot of issues GymGeekAus, which one you want to discuss?

[The_Bammo]

Gym, how many actual combat veterans do you know? Don't be so naive, of course these people have issues and if you had the chops to walk in their boots, you would have issues as well. Think before you rattle a chain Gym. For the chain you rattle, you know nothing about.
Tell me Gym, what do you actually know about Screaming Eagle here? Do you know what he saw, what he did, if he is disabled . Before your wise remarks are tossed back at you, ask him and maybe you just might understand.
As far as issues Gym, I think you have more than your fair share.

Fisher, welcome back Bro'. Semper Fi, Airborne Style.

Hang Tough~

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[The_Bammo]

Stress Disorders, Drug Abuse, Little Help for Troops

Anne Usher, Cox News


Austin American Statesman
([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Nov 26, 2006




WASHINGTON — Military personnel on multiple and extended tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan are being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder at rates that probably will match or exceed the rate among Vietnam veterans, government officials and veterans groups say.
The war in Iraq, with often-hidden enemies and explosives, has left many service members particularly vulnerable to combat stress and is driving the abuse of drugs and alcohol both in Iraq and at home, military health experts say.
Yet many veterans and on-duty troops are not getting the treatment they need.
As of August, more than 184,500 returning veterans had sought care of all kinds through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and about one in six of those had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, a rate expected to climb since it can take months and sometimes years for the condition to manifest itself.
Symptoms include anxiety, sleeplessness, flashbacks and extreme wariness, a recipe that can strain relationships and make it hard for those suffering to get or keep jobs.
Jesus Bocanegra, a 24-year-old former Army sergeant with an infantry company based at Fort Hood, says he is haunted by countless shots he fired at Iraqis while serving as a scout in Tikrit in 2003-04.
The McAllen native says he lost track of how many civilians died in the crossfire when he squeezed off rounds at Iraqi insurgents.
"How the hell was I capable of that?" he says now.
Back home and plagued with anxiety attacks, he said he tried to close himself off from the world by drinking to the point of passing out. He said he progressed to marijuana use and then cocaine.
"The only way to sustain yourself day to day is to keep yourself drugged up," he said. But "it made it worse."
Eventually, he said, he stopped taking drugs and visited a VA clinic. Seven months later, a psychiatrist there diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder and gave him pills, dispensing medications in five-minute meetings every three to four months. A clinic employee verified his diagnosis and said that with 400 to 600 patients a day, "every doctor is overbooked."
With no VA psychotherapists in his area at the time — one has since been added — Bocanegra sought help from a support group called Vets for Vets.
"It's good to have someone to talk to," he said. "It's the only thing that keeps me going."
Married for just under a year, he is unemployed but hopes to return to school.
He said he is focused now on his mental health and on touring with other veterans to push for improved services for vets, many of whom he says are also suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Disability benefits of $2,500 a month help keep him afloat.
Up to 29 percent of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, predicts Col. Charles Engel, a clinician at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As of August, the VA had diagnosed 63,767 discharged veterans with a mental disorder and 34,380 with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Experts say the rate of the disorder among Iraq veterans could well eclipse the 30 percent lifetime rate found in a 1990 study of Vietnam veterans because military personnel are being deployed longer and more often to Iraq and because greater awareness of the disorder among doctors will lead to more diagnoses.
Some statistics show the cases climbing fast. The number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have sought help for readjustment concerns including post-traumatic stress disorder doubled between October 2005 and June 2006, according to a recent survey of 60 VA-run centers by the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.
That increase has made it only more difficult to get quality care, the survey found.
Among active-duty military personnel who served in Iraq, 35 percent used military mental health care services in the year after coming home and 12 percent were diagnosed with a mental health problem, a study published in March in the Journal of the American Medical Association found.
Veterans groups fear that the VA won't be able to handle the high proportion of service members seeking such help once they are discharged. They note studies showing that though post-traumatic stress disorder can resolve itself in some people over time, its symptoms can worsen if not treated quickly.
The Department of Veterans Affairs says it has enough resources to offer treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse to all of the roughly 160,000 service members now in Iraq and Afghanistan once they are home.
Dr. Ira Katz, deputy chief patient care officer for mental health for the VA, noted that there are 200 veteran readjustment centers nationwide and that mental health counseling is available over the Internet.
As part of unprecedented efforts on its part, the military in September 2005 began giving returning troops a questionnaire aimed at catching early signs of the disorder. Questions include whether they have nightmares, are feeling emotionally numb or super alert, or have physical reactions such as breathing trouble when reminded of a stressful experience. In January, the military put in place a secondary screening test to check for similar symptoms.
But nearly four in five returning troops who may have been at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder were not referred for further mental health evaluation, according to a study released in May by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. About half of those diagnosed with a mental health problem got care, but fewer than 10 percent were referred through the military's new screening program, the JAMA study in March showed.
The Pentagon told the GAO that it generally concurred with the its recommendations and that a systemic evaluation of referrals is planned. After the study's publication, however, the Pentagon said it was flawed because it did not include troops referred to chaplains, primary care physicians and group counseling. The GAO says the Defense Department was not able to provide any evidence that those referrals occurred and still has not provided figures on personnel who may have since received treatment.
After his first Iraq tour ended in August 2005, former Pfc. Josh Revak said, a large number of soldiers in his 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder on the test, but the commanders "just took it as a joke, and I think barely anybody received treatment."
The 25-year-old said he asked for help but didn't get psychological counseling until after a 120 mm mortar landed near him on his second tour in Iraq in June, sending him back to their base in Germany with shrapnel through his foot.
By that time, Revak said, several men in his unit had been disciplined for Valium use.
Medical experts say mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse are often intertwined.
"When they don't get the kind of mental health screening — or physical — history tells us they will turn to coping mechanisms," said Steve Robinson, director of government relations for Veterans for America, a 35,000-member organization.
He says many of the hundreds of troops he has interviewed at post-deployment sites are addicted to medications given to them in the field, such as painkillers and sleeping pills. But they are not getting the therapy that normally goes with such medications, Robinson said.
Adam Reuter, a 23-year-old former Army specialist, said that after he was tossed out of a Humvee in an accident in Iraq, a medic handed him a plastic bag filled with pills and gave him no instructions.
The bag contained four kinds of painkillers, an anti-inflammatory drug and a muscle relaxant, said Reuter, an Atlanta native who served with the 3rd Squadron of the 3rd Armored Company from May 2003 until February 2004. He said he went back for more and developed a dependency that he is still trying to shake.
Military personnel said they used banned substances as a way to mentally escape the violence around them. Drugs ranging from marijuana to prescription anti-depressants are easily accessible in Iraq, according to interviews with more than a dozen soldiers who served there.
John Crawford, a 28-year-old former Florida National Guardsman with the Army's 101st Airborne Division, said soldiers in his unit drank alcohol, some took steroids, "pretty much everyone took Valium," and "some did all three."
Crawford said he bought 200 to 300 Valium pills on the street in Baghdad for $2 as a way to get some sleep between patrols. After eight months, he built up a tolerance and was taking seven or eight at a time.
The extent of alcohol and drug abuse among combat veterans is difficult to quantify. The Pentagon declined to release the results of announced drug tests specifically for Iraq. The tests are usually done just once a year.
Army Maj. James Weeden directed a team of 200 specialists dealing with combat stress in Iraq until he left the country in September.
He says senior officers recognize the strain their troops are under and in the past year have assigned specialists to address the issue at remote forward operating bases.
But seeking treatment in a combat environment is difficult. All travel is risky, and asking for help is seen as a sign of weakness.
Weeden and other medical specialists say that they can treat only the symptoms of combat stress — with anti-depressant drugs and rest, for example — and that troops are sent out of Iraq only when they have clearly disabling cases of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Commanders want to keep troops in the field, and most service members say that they don't want to abandon their units.
"We strengthen (combat readiness) because we get them back," Weeden said.
That desire to keep medicated troops in combat troubles Joyce Raezer, director of government relations at the National Military Family Association.
She says U.S. troops — some now on their fourth or fifth tour — are bringing "all the baggage from the last deployment into the next."
"The stress is cumulative," she said.
Families are alarmed by military statistics showing that 80 percent of soldiers who have been flagged with mild symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder have been sent back to Iraq and Afghanistan, many with anti-depressant pills aimed at ensuring they can still fight. Experts say repeated exposure to combat is the greatest predictor of whether a person will get post-traumatic stress disorder and how severe it will be.
When they come home, many seeking treatment say they face steep hurdles getting help from the government. With a wave of post-traumatic stress disorder cases arriving, outreach groups fear the VA will not have adequate resources to treat them and to pay disability benefits.
The VA is proposing a $339 million increase in mental health care spending next year, Katz said Tuesday. That would bring total annual spending on those programs to about $3.2 billion.
Implementation is another question. As of late September, about $42 million of $200 million directed for initiatives to close gaps in VA mental health care in 2006 had not been spent, the GAO found.
"Requesting more money is a step in the right direction," said Paul Sullivan, director of programs for Veterans for America, who was a senior analyst at the VA until he left six months ago.
But he added, "The VA's problems are systemic, and the solutions must be more comprehensive than simple increases in funding."
He noted the GAO findings that the VA lacked a comprehensive plan to implement the funding in last year's budget.
About 144,000 of the 589,000 veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have already been seen at VA-run Vet Centers for "readjustment concerns" ranging from depression and marital problems to full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder.
Forty percent of the 60 centers surveyed in the study by the Democratic House staff have directed veterans for whom individualized therapy would be appropriate to group therapy instead.
Dr. Frances Murphy, undersecretary for Health Policy Coordination at the VA, told a mental health commission in March that the growing numbers of veterans seeking mental health care has revealed areas in which improvement is needed.
Some VA clinics, she said, do not provide mental health or substance abuse care, or if they do, "waiting lists render that care virtually inaccessible."
"The VA needs more capacity so that vets can get treatment and don't have to wait," Sullivan said.
If they are able to see a VA doctor, hundreds of veterans with severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder are being denied disability benefits because their condition is obscured by drug or alcohol abuse, which is labeled "willful misconduct," said Elinor Roberts, legal director for Swords to Plowshares, a San Francisco-based veterans organization.
The military maintains a zero tolerance policy for drug use on all but prescription medications.
Some service members have lost their military benefits, regardless of their combat citations, after they have been found to have used banned substances.
But many commanders offer leeway in such cases, choosing nonjudicial punishments such as demotions to keep soldiers on duty, said Army Col. Bill Buckner, a public affairs officer at Fort Bragg, N.C.
The VA is allowed to give benefits to veterans dealing with alcohol abuse but not illicit drugs, and only if a clinician finds that the veteran also has post-traumatic stress disorder. VA officials say many vets with the condition have trouble making appointments to get that diagnosis in the first place.
Amy Fairweather, who has counseled about 50 Iraq vets for Swords to Plowshares, said the impact of repeated deployments "is enormous."
"It contributes to all the elements for substance abuse, mental illness and family dissolution," she said. "There's only so many times you can be uprooted from family and work. Not to mention that they're over there in hell."


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