Editor's
Note: We at MarinesAndTrauma are delighted to have Mr. O'Dell's writing. His
site, PTSDhelp.net is an invaluable
resource for Marines and their loved ones.
THE IED IN YOUR FUTURE
By:
Richard E. O’Dell
February 2010
After Vietnam, like
many veterans, I returned to college.
Others who yearned for the tranquility of civilian life came home and
resumed interrupted jobs and marriages. Some
chose to remain in service to complete a career in the all-volunteer military.
For most of us the sudden absence of war was a welcome change.
Yet, for many of us our homecoming felt different from what we
expected. We had no way of
knowing our feelings of uneasiness were the stirrings of emotions that would
haunt many of us in years to come.
Like countless
veterans before us, most of us who fought in Vietnam used the strength gleaned
from that experience to build successful and productive lives.
Many simply set aside the horrors they experienced, completed college,
did well in their careers, or otherwise got on with their lives.
For others, the war would not be so easily set aside.
For them there would be an endless struggle of dropping in and out of
school, in and out of jobs; and in and out of marriages.
Just beneath the
warrior’s hardened exterior of strength and self-confidence, there was often
restlessness, intolerance for the inconsequential, irrational rages, and the
irksome feeling something had changed.
Suicides and violence among veterans, the extreme cases, were evident
early on and indicated that some
Vietnam
veterans were having problems.
For other veterans it would take years for the stress of their wartime
experiences to overtake them. For
them, the memories and emotions of war would not return until families were
reared and careers began to fade into retirement.
Wisdom is the
by-product of applying the lessons of the past to the present.
The experience of Vietnam veterans provides OIF and
OEF veterans with a glimpse of what the future may have in store for them.
With multiple deployments and military
careers consumed by war, not punctuated by it, our newest veterans can expect
emotional IED’s in their future.
Knowing what to expect allows them to seek the early treatment necessary to
alleviate the symptoms and causes of combat-related stress.
Knowing what to expect and doing nothing is foolish.
Neither training nor
mental toughness can fully prepare those who experience combat.
An emotional reaction to the stress and horror of war is a reasonable
and expected human response.
Military training anticipates and seeks to help suppress those feelings in
combat. Likewise, in the absence
of war, dealing with the emotional consequences of war should be equally
accepted as an integral part of military life.
Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a delayed reaction to a traumatic event such as
combat or other life-threatening experience.
Covered-up, ignored, dismissed as insignificant, or left untreated,
PTSD has the potential to destroy your marriage, your career, and to generally
make your life miserable. The
alternative is coming to terms with how you feel about your experiences by
dealing with your PTSD. Trust me;
it will help you avoid the emotional IED’s that may be hidden in the road
before you.
©The
Surviving Warrior Project, Inc., 2010
The Author:
Richard E. (Rick) O'Dell is a former director of the Virginia Department of
Veterans’ Affairs and has more than 30 years experience as a veterans service
professional; a past national officer of a major veterans organization.
He is a combat veteran of Vietnam where he
served with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment as a tank gunner.
Rick is the co-author of two books on veterans' rights and benefits:
The Viet Vet Survival Guide (Ballantine Books, 1985) and Veterans
Benefits, The Complete Guide (HarperCollins, 1994).
He is the President of The
Surviving Warrior Project, Inc., a charitable non-profit foundation; and
author and publisher of the Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder Network,
www.PTSDhelp.net.
