The Demons Come to Haunt Us All

By DON ROLLINS

It’s September, 2010. Hovering by the airport luggage carousel, a bulky young man in army fatigues is standing next to me. Per his shoulder insignia, I think he’s infantry.

He sees my Reds cap and asks me how I think they’ll do this year. From there we fall into the easy give-and-take baseball fanatics live for. Turns out our tribal loyalties are not the same, but on one essential we agree: anybody but the Yankees.

Says he’s a Humvee turret gunner on leave from Iraq. Me, I’m a minister and sometimes substance misuse counselor. At that, the smile fades. An eternal 20 or 30 seconds later, he whispers “I’m fresh out of Mosul, and a couple weeks clean off Oxies.” And scared.

We exchange information, I promise to email him some referrals in town. Call the VA hotline. Meanwhile, reach out anytime.

I never heard back.

I’ve listened to some version of that confession from active and inactive combat personnel twenty times, give or take. Some of those troubled souls were sober, some white knuckling it hour by hour, most still using. All were scarred, all were scared.

Same with thousands of other battle-exposed American soldiers, sailors, marines and aviators whose ranks continue to swell. Estimates of those acutely traumatized by America’s recent wars (WWII and counting) range between 11 and 20 percent, with Vietnam combats disproportionately represented. And over the course of a single eight-year period, 2004-2012, PTSD diagnoses rose by 400% — a statistic only partially driven by an increased awareness of the symptoms.

Grimmer still, male members of the military are four times more likely to experience chronic symptoms of trauma than those in the civilian population. Likewise roughly the same ratio for substance misuse. And every day twenty-two more veterans of combat complete a suicide attempt.

Although dependent on region and resources, the response to such deeply traumatized military personnel — including women sexually assaulted and harassed while serving — is slowly improving. A more holistic model is emerging from studies and best practices, per a privately run program here in Pittsburgh combining counseling, yoga, meditation, writing, the arts, trauma and brain chemistry, and addiction support. The outcomes for such programs are encouraging.

Yet, the outlook at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs is less heartening. Hampered by institutional inertia, spotty leadership and rollercoaster funding, the VA remains a mixed blessing for traumatized vets. Treatment alternatives have increased manifold, and wait times for psychological screening are dropping; still, as evidenced by Trump-era cuts to programs for veterans’ caregivers, many VA policies betray a true systemic understanding of trauma.

There is clear need for private, nonprofit, faith community and government services if the country is to better minister to its traumatized fighters. And while progressives rightly seek to end war once and for all, we too have a role in the healing. Nothing less can dispel the demons of war that in one way or another come to haunt us all.

Don Rollins is a Unitarian Universalist minister and substance abuse counselor living in Pittsburgh, Pa. Email donaldlrollins@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, February 15, 2019

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