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Heroes
Heroes
Courtesy of Bruce Krasting
I know a man. Call him Eddie. He’s African American, going on about 63. When he was a boy he had no real home or much education, so when he was eighteen he took the only option available to him. He joined the military. That was 1967.
He must have been a hell of a soldier. He ended up in the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division. (One of the toughest outfits around.)
In February of 1968 he fought in the battle of Hue during the Tet offensive. He was in non-stop firefights for three weeks. He said half his platoon were killed or wounded. He told me about the time he held onto a fellow soldier, while he bled to death from a sniper round through the throat.
After the Tet Offensive his tour was up, but for some stupid reason (probably a few thousand dollars) he did a second tour. In April of 1968 he went back “up country” with the 1st Cav. This time he fought in the A Shau Valley. (This was referred to at the “Valley of Death". The fighting was as bad as any combat in history). He once talked of the time that he spent a night in a bomb crater with two dead comrades while the Viet Cong were shooting AK47s with green tracers over his head. He also talked about killing his enemy in hand-to-hand combat. His buddies did the same. For some reason, Eddie walked away from it.
But he was a broken man. He has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He has never been able to function properly. He is afraid of everything. On the Fourth of July he has to be sedated. He’s terrified by the noise of the fireworks.
The Army never questioned that he was damaged goods, and that it was his time in battle that was responsible. They gave him antidepressants; after a while he got a half disability pension. Life was just a struggle. Eight years ago I banged on a bunch of doors and helped him get a full disability pension. He’s okay these days, sort of.
I bring up Eddie’s story in connection with a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The wars we fight today are no different than those of 1968, or any other war. Almost one in four (21%) of our soldiers are coming home with PTSD.
The CBO attempts to come up with a price on this. By its calculation, it costs an average of $10,000 per year for each soldier with PTSD. Given that 2.3mm troops have cycled through our wars the past ten years we can expect a bill for at least $5 billion a year for just those with PTSD. For how long? The CBO reports that 80+% of those with PTSD were still in need of treatment after four years. For Eddie, it’s been forty plus years now.
Of course the CBO numbers don’t measure the real cost. What is the cost of a busted life? You can’t put a number on it.
We have some very big debts to pay to the soldiers that have come home recently. (Don’t blame them for wars – they just fight them.) I’m concerned that we will renege on those promises. I think the CBO is too, that’s probably why it wrote the report.
I’m writing about this because the CBO report reminded me of Eddie. And that got me to thinking how fucking stupid these wars have been.
Note: PTSD is just a fraction of the total costs of taking care of our Vets.
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Well, Bruce just described some of the worst side effects of the more personal option. I'll stick by what I wrote.
Unless you think that there is never a justifiable reason to fight an offensive war (and maybe there isn't) I don't see why you'd want to increase the chances of casualties on our side just to be "fair".
'Well, Bruce just described some of the worst side effects of the more personal option.'
He sure did. Guess what? good thing because it means it was confrontational. Makes for human interaction about things that are not easy to weigh the costs of seeing as how they don't register on charts or through numbers. Unless you're an emotional retard(most Americans), the huge burden of this won't matter to you. Another example of why your whole premise is fucked.
'casualties on our side just to be "fair".'
'Our' side? You might be beyond repair.
(Don’t blame them for wars – they just fight them.)
If such is the case then we owe more to the people they slaughtered.
I disagree. We have done some sensless killing yes? Who voted for the politicians who ordered the killing, you? Well then who?
If you voted republicrat, you voted for war--yep, too bad. So you ordered your troops to go out killing with your vote right? Most troops would rather not be out killing.
So you - voting, taxpaying civilians have ordered your troops out a-killing and you really did not know that? Well how dense can you be!?
If you dont want a war-dont vote for the republicrats. Find a true statesman or stateswoman to vote for, but yer gonna hafta git off yer ass and do some research. So you go ahead and prioritize the forigners you fucked over above your own troops who you have indeed fucked over. Is that what I just read from you and all of the up arrows on your remark?
'If you dont want a war.....'
Who actually does want a war, you?....is it acceptable to go overseas and shoot, maim and poison innocent people because there were no jobs at home?......justifying murder becuase of unemployment figures is bush league. Until people start to take responsibility for their own actions and quit trying to hide behind the state, it will always be ok to say 'i was just following orders'. PTSD is an handy acronym coined by acedemia to justify wasting even more dollars. The dude killed people, maybe he might find solace if he went back and tried to make peace with the people he terrorized.
Typical - your response proves the case and the point.
bigKahuna,
He doesn't get it. Most people don't understand that by voting for the same politicians, the same parties, the same system that they are in fact doing nothing to change anything and only supporting the status quo.
Most people seem incapable of understanding the absolute lack of connection between our politicians and any sense of conviction on the platforms they run on. Period.
Look at how Obama has kept troops in the ME this long. Think our troop's families hadn't hoped they would all be home by now? Many of us are starting to talk about Ron Paul and alternative thinking people. The Republican and Democratic labels are falling away and now seen as really one party. The ideas from the Republicans are stale and wrong-headed and have not worked because they can't. Same with the Democrats. Everyone in our society can't benefit from tax-cuts, survival of the fittest, or is on the pay-roll of large crony Kapitalist institutions. We can't have a society long-term where 50% of the population pays no taxes and our spending exceeds our revenues for government services by 10% every year. We can't afford to put everyone on medicare (and in effect subsidize all sorts of bad behaviors and moral hazards). Same with Social Security. The problems are too numerous to enumerate because the source of the problems has pervaded every aspect of our society...our fraudulent monetary system. However, people don't understand this is the nature of the beast and find themselves focusing on the issues handed to them on a platter instead of thinking for themselves. I hope this is changing and see some of it happening now.
As for his comments on the dead and those hurt by wars. We all understand that many "innocents" are hurt in war because of the bad behaviours of the "guilty" that are rarely or never punished. It isn't pleasant for anyone. Someday our military will collapse and we will be on the receiving end of those bullets and bombs. I think those that are wiser in our military realize this. I just wish our politicians did. Maybe then they would have the conviction to start *really* fixing things. That means no more pork, no more special treatment, no more division based on artificially created differences that merit little significance to most of our daily lives. Instead we should have a serious national dialog on our monetary system, our economic model, and the sort of future we want collectively. If we don't then we will tear ourselves apart over gay-marriage, national and personal debt, abortion, financial repression, terrorism fears, global warming, minority rights, taxes, pensions, social safety network, land rights, gun rights, legal rights, immigration rights, religous freedoms, etc. All these problems of which many are just symptoms of the cause behind our days of discord. Notice I don't take a side on any of these positions? To think you can solve our woes by addressing the symptoms is folly. The politicians know this and are happy to keep us distracted by them while they give us "circus and bread" to keep from actually acting on our animal impulses....
Well said, Stack. Have you noticed how much Haley Barbour looks like Bill Clinton these days? I won't bring up the midnight pardons.
I am not sure how you got the idea that I support any politician of any poltical party, they all suck.
Thank you.
When your age is 15, everything looks clear-cut and simple. Same when your IQ is 15.
I can tell that blowjob wasn't around when judges asked 18 year olds, Which do ya want, son--jail or the army? He wasn't around when the draft took everyone who didn't get a student deferment.
I was. You know nothing.
+1
"I can tell that blowjob wasn't around when judges asked 18 year olds, Which do ya want, son--jail or the army? He wasn't around when the draft took everyone who didn't get a student deferment."
I know one of those guys.
Typical old fart, never wrong. Thanks for fucking up the planet.
Open your mind and learn your very recent history. I am not a draft era guy myself, but you have to get familiar with the concept that the troops are an arm of the US federal government. If they refuse orders, then you can count on 1) Americans shooting Americans (Soldiers, Civilians at one another and each other) - 2) A military coup - or 3) some other power taking a shot at us. The Soldiers and Marines, Airmen and Navy take their orders from the US President/Congress/Senate who are "elected" and paid for by the US populace.
The wars come from the politicians. The politicians come from the electorate. The electorate is the root of the wars because the electorate will not put anti-war candidates (with the exception of RP) into any office. If people would think it through-all of this would be over, but that requires thinking and for some reason people are unable to use their critical mind.
The media and its owners are the root of the wars, not the "electorate". The so-called electorate, aka the stupid fucking sheep, doesn't make any real choices that haven't already been made by their owners. The "electorate" gets to choose between usually two candidates that have been selected by the media's owners. Voting in America is a fraud.
The wars don't come from the politicians. They come from the politicians' owners, the ones that actually benefit from the wars.
Bruce:
Fantastic article. I'll leave it at that.
Agreed. Thank you, Bruce.
Agreed!
Great read BK
Bravo, Sir.
thank you
Second that from a family full of veterans of all these stupid wars.
We all suffer being broken while the folks at the top party. My brother has done 3 tours. The rest of the extended family is left keeping his family together, my nephew did several tours in air calvary and is a total mess. My best friend committed suicide after a stint in the Marines. My child-hood friend fought in first gulf war and still suffers from PTSD.
On and on from my father and father's father. We are a large military family. Everyone on my wife's side including her has served. Even all the wives. I too would have served but a medical condition prevented it. I was upset at one time because of it but now that I have seen how ou military is abused for profit motive I am glad I wasn't accepted.
All of us are upset about these wars but keep such feelings within the family despite the enormous hard-ships.
Understand and respect that you choose to do so, but if you change your mind, there's people who will appreciate it.