Britain’s army Chief General Sir Richard Dannatt said in a speech at the Institute of Strategic Studies (23/09/07); that he was concerned by the apathy and lack of support by the Nation towards our soldiers returning home after serving in the war/conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan. He also went on to compare how the American public treat, honour and respect their troops/veterans on their return home and show their thanks by having welcome home parades and shaking their hands in public.
Clearly General Dannatt’s speech was aimed at trying to shame the British public into changing their attitudes towards our troops/veterans and to start treating them like he heroes they fully deserve to be treated as, when they return home. His criticism of the nation’s reluctance to support our troops/veterans on their return home form the wars/conflicts is also being ‘picked’ up and backed’ by politicians (probably the same ones who committed our troops/veterans into the war/conflicts in the first place). These politicians are now saying that ‘this apathy by the public is dangerous, because if the public are not interested then they will have no real comprehension of what our Armed Forces do in wars/conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan’.
However words are very cheap – especially from politicians and the Top Brass doing their more ‘strategic role’ of overseeing the wars/conflicts from behind their desks at Whitehall and if General Dannatt and these politicians want to cite moral values, courage, heroism and the bravery of our troops/veterans to the nation – then firstly they should look at themselves and their own betrayal and treachery to our troops/veterans. They should look at the aftermath of these wars/conflicts and how our troops/veterans are discarded like pieces of used military equipment once the Government of the day and the Generals have finished with their service in these wars/ conflicts. how these politicians and Top Brass become (conveniently) totally ignorant of the real cost of the ‘Butchers Bill’ which thousands of these troops/veterans (and their families) are left to pay on their return home – and its got absolutely nothing to do with ‘hand shakes or welcome home parades’!
This ongoing tragedy is about the callous incompetence and indifference of the MoD regarding untreated troops/veterans suffering combat related PTSD – and how the MoD conveniently try and throw the onus of blame of suffering this disorder onto our troops/veterans (and their families), as if it was their fault they were psychologically wounded.
MoD’s Medical Services
In April 2006 the director of the Mod’s Medical Services Air Commodore TK Austin, when interviewed on TV Channel 4 lunchtime news, regarding the ineffectiveness of the MoD’s Medical Services for troops/veterans returning home from serving in wars/conflicts and suffering mental illnesses stated: “it is up to the individual to realise that they are suffering PTSD, and to come forward for treatment”.
Astonishingly the MoD’s Chief Medical Officer’s lack of knowledge of combat related PTSD (or washing his hands of the responsibility), is clearly shown in his statement, regardless of the fact that the vast majority of troops/veterans suffering PTSD ‘do not know or realise’ that they are suffering from this disorder (combat related PTSD easily masks itself in troops/veterans minds).
The director of the Armed Forces Medical Services statement also confirms how people who have never suffered PTSD, simply do not know what they are talking about or what is going on in troops/veterans minds who are (unknowingly) suffering this disorder, and most importantly this treatment is of no help whatsoever to the families of troops/veterans.
Additionally by the look of things even if troops/veterans (and their families) did not know that they were suffering from combat related PTSD, they still wouldn’t get the proper treatment and would still be left to cope with this disorder alone – as a very recent article in the Daily Mirror ‘Army has dumped me, says heroine’ (25/10/07) verifies; - the article was about a woman soldier badly wounded in Iraq last year (2006),she was hit by mortar shrapnel and will never walk properly again without the use of walking sticks. She still gets terrible flashbacks and nightmares and wakes up screaming, she’s very depressed and feels isolated and has received almost no treatment for PTSD (scandalously this is after years of spin coming from the MoD saying they are dealing with and treating PTSD seriously)!
Tragically there are more questions than answers of this hidden agenda of not educating troops/veterans (and their families) of how to cope with and control PTSD by the MoD. So until troops/veterans (and their families) are properly alerted to the problems of combat related PTSD and why and how it comes about – then thousands of troops/veterans and families lives and families lives will be destroyed by this disorder. Troops/veterans (and their families) have no idea that after the joy and relief of getting their loved ones safely back home from the wars/conflicts – that the effects of combat related PTSD will turn thousands of theirs and others lives into a living nightmare! This unprepared ness and incompetence of the MoD is not only shameful, its criminal – because what is very predictable is that thousands of troops/veterans, who are unknowingly suffering combat related PTSD, will suffer from one or ,ore of these symptoms and ruthlessly left to their fate:
- Thousands of troops/veterans will resort to ‘alcohol or drugs’ in a form of self medication because if they don’t drink or take drugs – nightmares will ensure they don’t sleep!
- Thousands of troops/veterans will ‘divorce’ their families because of their change in behaviour and also problems with intimacy are the main factors with this issue – if families don’t know what PTSD is about then the complete ruination of families is inevitable!
- Thousands of troops/veterans will become ‘homeless’ as responsibilities ‘go out of the window’ along with anxiety and strong tendencies towards isolation – they’ve got to be alone ( even though they still love their families)!
- Thousands of troops/veterans will end up inside the ‘prisons’, they have already become the highest percentage rate of inmates in the entire prison population – they have unknowingly brought back home the madness and the violence of these wars/conflicts!
- Thousands of troops/veterans will commit ‘suicide’ because of depression along with suicidal feelings and thoughts they cannot life themselves out of, because they don’t know what’s happening to themselves. Tragically more troops/veterans have committed suicide since the Falklands War than were killed fighting that war!
Veterans In Prison must warn troops/veterans ((and their families) that there are many other hidden symptoms of combat related PTSD, such as not being able to hold down jobs, as well as fits of anger and intense rage! Appallingly behaviour and symptoms, such as violence, in troops/veterans will go together like ‘peaches and cream’. In short behaviours which often run foul of the law and which are being mischaracterised at the time of their trials. Until troops/veterans (and their families) are properly informed and alerted to the traits of combat related PTSD thousands of troops/veterans, their families and innocent victims lives will be ‘attacked and destroyed’ by the effects of this disorder!
MoD’s Justice Department
Astonishingly not only do the MoD fail in their duty of educating and preparing troops/veterans (and their families) for the hurricane of horrors which combat related PTSD will throw at them on their return home, but they also fail dramatically in their dispensation of justice – making a mockery of the Court Martial system.
A particular poignant example of this happened in December 2006, at a General Court Martial in Osnabruck, Germany. The Court Martial heard that soldier Sergeant D. McEneany was charged with having a Russian made pistol in his possession – to which he pleaded guilty (an open and shut case on the face of it). However it was also found that Sgt McEneany was suffering from untreated combat related PTSD when he committed the crime (this was due to his service in Iraq).
Judge Advocate Michael Elsom presiding over the Court Martial – said that the Sgt had committed a serious criminal offence and a weapons offence so serious that only exceptional circumstances would prevent the soldier from being jailed for the mandatory 5 year minimum term. He went on to say how he had thought ‘long and hard’ but could find none.
The judge Advocate also told Sgt McEneany, “Whilst it was your service which led to your suffering from the medical condition which afflicts you, there are thousands of other soldiers who have been exposed to the same dangers but have not offended in this way”. He added that if the court had decided otherwise “We would be driving a coach and horsed through a piece of legislation which Parliament has specifically designed to protect he public. If anything a higher duty falls upon those who wear the Queens uniform to abide by the law relating to dangerous weapons than any other sections of the community"
These words of the Judge Advocate are unbelievable, and it seemed the more he spoke – the more bizarre his words got, as for instance;
Firstly he said “that only exceptional circumstances would prevent him sentencing the soldier from being jailed for the mandatory 5 year minimum term and that he had thought ‘long and hard’ and could find none?
No mitigating circumstances – apparently the Judge Advocate does not now that PTSD is a legitimate medical diagnosis and also mitigating circumstances and therefore a direction in law – meaning that if a person is suffering from a mental illness when committing an offence then they should be tried under ‘diminished responsibility’ and not under criminal law. Therefore a person suffering PTSD (a mental illness) is not driving a coach and horses through the law – the law is actually protecting the person suffering from the mental illness and administering justice in theory (though not apparently in Judge Advocate Elsom’s Court Martial)!
Secondly he told Sgt McEneany “Whilst it was your service which led you to suffering from this medical condition which afflicts you, there are thousands of other soldiers who have been exposed to the same dangers but have not offended in this way”.
It seems that Judge Advocate Elsom is living on a different planet – not all soldiers who come under fires are shot and killed are they? And if he believes that there are thousands of other soldiers who have been exposed to the same dangers as Sgt McEneany and have not offended because of PTSD! Then Judge Advocate Elsom should look at the statistics which VIP published on this website and read of the amazingly high numbers of troops/veterans languishing inside the prison system and realise - he may then take a different outlook and stop trying to blame troops/veterans for being psychologically injured, because no matter who’s uniform you are wearing ‘if you cut you bleed’!
Those hidden numbers of troops/veterans in the prison population is an enormous catastrophe but also a huge embarrassment to the MoD and Government – especially if it were found out that their is a direct connection between the behavioural problems (crimes) of these troops/veterans and their military service experiences – significantly more so when this connection was not considered at the time of their trials!
The fact of the matter is – is that there is no escaping this and previous Governments bungling attitude towards combat related PTSD ad its tragic consequences for troops/veterans and their families! And therefore ‘all’ troops/veterans who have served in wars/conflicts should have the right to have their actions an behaviours re –examined and considered, in t he context of what we now know about he causes and effects of combat related PTSD. Otherwise how many future troops/veterans will ‘step forward’ to defend and lay down their lives for their country – knowing that being psychologically injured for their military service, does not mean anything other than a few ‘hand shakes and welcome home parades’?
Afterthought Apathy – what’s that about the lack of interest (or shame) of the politicians and Top Brass towards the thousands of troops/veterans inside the prison system, these are also casualties of the wars/conflicts – left mentally scarred, fighting for a society which they (sand their families) have been betrayed and sacrificed for – because they served their country!
