Why are we seeing so many young troops going off the deep end? We didn't see this many with WWII and Korea vets and relative few Vietnam vets. IMO my generation (boomer) has created a generation of people who have never had to handle stress and when they encounter it they use readily available meds as the first line of defense.

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Why are we seeing so many young troops going off the deep end?

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If it bleeds it leads. It's as simple as that. The public perception of frequency is completely distorted by the 24 hour news cycle. The news media's carefully constructed template of the psychologically damaged combat veteran is used reflexively to explain all manner of bad things that happen surrounding someone who served in the military. They use it to explain violent crime, divorce rates, drug abuse, and unemployment. Reporters are lazy and this is just the well worn page in their playbook that they use to explain something for which Occam's Razor provides a better explanation.

I don't think that what happened this week at Ft. Hood had anything to do with combat stress or PTSD.

I live in the Killeen/Ft Hood area and teach at a local Jr. College. You drive through Killeen and about every 3 cars have a "DV" on their license plate. I have one student who has received a 100% disability because he was in the band and after 20 years of standing his back is giving him trouble. Another student was encouraged to take a partial disability for hearing because he had been a drummer in the band (he refused it and is flying professionally). I know at least 5 of the students in our department (aviation) that cannot get an FAA medical certificate because of diagnosed PTSD and the meds that were prescribed for them. Being here I come into contact with veterans from all wars since WWII so I have a certain perspective to observe from. I just don't know why we are suddenly seeing so many PTSD cases now.

I misunderstood. There is definitely a problem with the VA disability determination process. It errs on both sides i.e. awarding service connected disability to bandsmen for standing and denying them to those who have sometimes invisible combat injuries. The over medication and off-label prescriptions are another big problem. As one example, Pfizer is being sued for advertising off label applications of Neurontin (gabapentin) for chronic pain and other conditions for which it was never tested let alone approved. Military doctors have been prescribing SSRIs, sleep aids, and anti seizure medications very liberally.

Suicidal ideations are being used as one of the easiest ways for service members to malinger/separate, too, which inflates the rate and the mental illness perception.

I'd also point to social media- making it more difficult to disconnect with previous social circles and less necessary to connect with those physically around (ex: 2 hours in an armory line are now 2 hours on facebook rather than bsing with those around you). Thus those who should see the early warning signs aren't close enough to see them, and there's a more pervasive feeling of loneliness.

tldr: darn kids and their gadgets!

"We didn't see this many with WWII and Korea vets and relative few Vietnam vets."

That you/we are aware of. I am sure if you asked individuals that lived back then that they could tell you about incidents involving vets in their town, which is about as far as news like that traveled. Certainly wasn't national news. My dad can tell you about the psych ward at the Temple Veterans hospital in the late '40s.

I had a Civil War veteran in my family who took his own life. There is no documentation that his experiences in battle was the cause which was probably the norm back in those days (1880's).

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Suicidal ideations are being used as one of the easiest ways for service members to malinger/separate, too, which inflates the rate and the mental illness perception.

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I don't have access to recent data but when I was on recruiting duty 1994-97 the rate of discharges for suicidal ideations was higher than for any other reason at boot camp. When a recruit said, "I've been thinking of hurting myself" and that was all it took. The recruit was then "off to see the wizards" (a.k.a. psychiatrists) who will recommend them for discharge. Claiming suicidal thoughts is the easiest card to play to get discharged from boot camp. I would wager that the rates of discharge at boot camp or in the first 180 days of active duty for suicidal ideation are far higher than among Veterans or the general population.



[This message has been edited by Ulysses90 (edited 4/5/2014 4:50p).]

PTSD is a golden ticket out of the service with a nice rating for those who want out. I'm not saying many aren't severely afflicted with it, just saying there are many who are taking advantage of it too.

All 3 of the suicides by people I served with, that I know of, none were separated for PTSD. I don't even think they were being treated for it. It's typical that most with the worst issues never seek help. They try to handle it themselves or medicate with alcohol. Damn sad.

2 uncles both in combat WW2 spent most of the last years of their lives in the Vet hospital
at Temple.

They were alcoholics before, during and after the war ! Only worked when they were desparate.

Vet admiin didn't know what to do with them so they were stored at the Vet hospital . Combat had nothing to do with their condition !