Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
During the Vietnam war, the U.S. armed forces learned quite a few lessons about modern warfare the likes of which they never experienced before. One of those lessons was that fighting an intractable force on foreign soil was a frustrating effort in futility. No matter how many times we bombed Northern Vietnam forces, they continued to fight.
This led to serious morale issues amongst the troops on the front lines. Many soldiers resorted to illicit drug use to help ease the fear and pain of war.
And while the U.S. has apparently learned little from the military lessons the Vietnam war taught us in Iraq, we have learned how to help soliders cope with the stresses of war without marijuana or opium. No, we have modern and reportedly safer drugs to offer our soldiers.
Time magazine has the reported on America’s new “medicated Army:”
While the headline-grabbing weapons in this war have been high-tech wonders, like unmanned drones that drop Hellfire missiles on the enemy below, troops like LeJeune are going into battle with a different kind of weapon, one so stealthy that few Americans even know of its deployment. For the first time in history, a sizable and growing number of U.S. combat troops are taking daily doses of antidepressants to calm nerves strained by repeated and lengthy tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The medicines are intended not only to help troops keep their cool but also to enable the already strapped Army to preserve its most precious resource: soldiers on the front lines. Data contained in the Army’s fifth Mental Health Advisory Team report indicate that, according to an anonymous survey of U.S. troops taken last fall, about 12% of combat troops in Iraq and 17% of those in Afghanistan are taking prescription antidepressants or sleeping pills to help them cope. Escalating violence in Afghanistan and the more isolated mission have driven troops to rely more on medication there than in Iraq, military officials say.
Is it better the troops are taking antidepressants over, say, marijuana or alcohol, to help keep their morale up and cope with the terror of war? Probably.
But it’s also telling that prior to modern warfare in the 20th century, soldiers typically had no such pharmaceutical, mind-altering chemicals readily available to them regularly in combat (outside of the rations of rum provided to troops prior to WWII).
I’m not fearful of antidepressants causing untoward or unforeseen side effects in people who take them, active military or not. The track record on antidepressants is long and well-known. A soldier taking an antidepressant to cope with the stresses of combat is likely to be a better equipped soldier than one who is trying to deny their depressive feelings.
Of course, long, protracted wars with stop-loss policies are likely to lead to far greater numbers of depressed soldiers than say a targeted strike and limited engagement. So it’s really little wonder that the Army is dealing with its highest suicide rates in modern times and the media are writing articles about it.
Read the full article: America’s Medicated Army
9 comments
Hi,
I am depressed, I need to know a solution for my problem, if you can help me please send a mail with it, else please make some one solve it regarding this.
I am from India, here the normal height of men is 5 feet and 8 inches, but I am 6 feet and 3 inches and I am lean. so every people are making fun of me every day, every hour.
Do you have any solution for this.
I await a reply.
Regards,
Austin
Austin: Sorry to hear about your troubles. :-\ I think it’s quite silly for people to poke fun at each other’s physical differences…. I wish I could be more helpful.
I watch a show on ABC, called The View and the youngest co-host, 30, supports the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Bush surge. I often wonder in listening to her, if she has any idea about how soldiers suffer after a tour or multiple tours.
They go from being private citizens to a world where killing to protect American freedom, becomes a potential psychological nightmare to going home and having to adjust to private citizen once again.
These soldiers, many of them suffer from PTSS, lose limbs and need to be rehabilated and counselled. For sure, they’ll need to take anti-depressants and/or other meds.
I’d like to ask said person if that’s what she wants for her fellow American woman and man, to stay in Iraq until the people can self-govern or casualties just keep mounting??
The more I listen to horror stories about this never-ending war, the more I wonder if Americans have any understanding of what it’s actually like for those who go to patrol, kill and protect.
Bush’s initial “shock and awe” has shocked thousands upon thousands of soldiers, especially those fortunate enough to go home and not have to return.
Think of it this way. You could be short. Plus I bet you could dominate those guys in basketball.
what drugs do they supply the soilders that come out of the war with mental disorders or just can’t funtion
Is this really only merely psychological? Can moral/values issues be solved with giving the persona a pill?
I am not against ADs to help to cope with PTSD per se… but it seems that with the whole calling war trauma a disorder and treating it and portraying it the way we do… it’s like implying it shouldn’t happen. That people should be able to kill and witness atrocities without being screwed up over it. After all, it’s all in national interest, and protection of “our values” (do we even know what these are anymore? Can politicians imagine to what degree it must be traumatizing for person who went to Iraq… when it seems it was all for nothing?).