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canada goose clearance After Liz Kaplan’s son, Adam, returned to Ft. Carson from Iraq in late 2004, therapists diagnosed him with PTSD. They said his illness was triggered partly by an incident in Iraq: He accidentally caused canada goose outlet miami the death of a fellow http://www.canadagoosecanadaoutlet.com soldier as he blew up the doors of a suspected weapons cache. canada goose clearance
But Liz and her husband say that after their son started canada goose jacket outlet store doing drugs which studies show is common among soldiers with PTSD officials at Ft. Carson failed to give him the help canada goose outlet michigan he needed. Liz threatened to chain herself to a statue at the base’s entrance until officials answered her family’s pleas to canada goose clothing uk help her son. (In the end, she didn’t.) Adam Kaplan was eventually court martialed on drug charges and sentenced to 15 months in military prison.
Canada Goose sale Military officials say that soldiers diagnosed with PTSD or other serious mental health disorders can attend group therapy sessions at their Army bases. But soldiers at Ft. Carson said that in some cases, the group sessions make them feel more upset, not better. Canada Goose sale
canadian goose jacket Soldier Michael Lemke attended those sessions before he was discharged from the Army because of PTSD and other canada goose outlet locations in toronto medical disabilities. As Lemke and others told NPR, Army therapists told soldiers they were not permitted to criticize Army officers during the therapy sessions even though officers were allegedly harassing and punishing them for being emotionally “weak.” canadian goose jacket
Army studies show that at least 20 percent to 25 percent of the soldiers who have served in Iraq display symptoms of serious mental health problems, including depression, substance abuse and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Administration officials say there are extensive programs canada goose outlet florida to heal canada goose uk site soldiers both at home and in Iraq.
Canada Goose Parka But an NPR investigation at Colorado’s Ft. Carson has canada goose outlet found that even those who feel desperate can have trouble getting the help they need. In fact, evidence suggests that officers at Ft. Carson punish soldiers who need help, and even kick them out of the Army. Canada Goose Parka
Soldier Tyler Jennings says that when he canada goose outlet reviews came home from Iraq last year, he felt so depressed and desperate that he decided to kill himself. Late one night in the middle of May, his wife was out of town, and he felt more scared than he’d felt in gunfights in Iraq. Jennings says he opened the window, tied a noose canada goose outlet black friday sale around his neck and started drinking vodka, “trying to get drunk enough to either slip or just canada goose sale uk make that decision.”
Five months before, Jennings had gone to the medical center at Ft. Carson, where a staff member typed up his symptoms: “Crying spells. hopelessness. helplessness. worthlessness.” Jennings says that when the sergeants who ran his platoon found out he was having a breakdown and taking drugs, they started to haze him. He decided to attempt suicide when they said that they would eject him from the Army.
“You know, there were many times I’ve told my wife in just a state of panic, and canada goose outlet washington dc just being so upset that I really wished I just died over there [in Iraq],” he said. “Cause if you just die over there, everyone writes you off as a hero.”
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Jennings isn’t alone. Other soldiers who’ve returned to Ft. Carson from Iraq say they feel canada goose jacket outlet sale betrayed by the way officials have treated them. Army files show that these were soldiers in good standing before they went to Iraq, and that they started spinning out of control upon their return.
canada goose coats on sale Since the war in Vietnam, military leaders have said canada goose outlet new york city that soldiers who are wounded emotionally need help, just like soldiers missing limbs. canada goose coats on sale
“The goal, first and foremost, is to identify who’s having a problem,” says William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. “Secondly, it’s to provide immediate support. And finally, our goal is to canada goose outlet winnipeg restore good mental health.”
canada goose The Army boasts of having great programs to care for soldiers. The Pentagon has sent therapists to Iraq to work with soldiers in the field. And at Army bases in the United States, mental health units offer individual and group therapy, and counseling for substance abuse. But soldiers say that in practice, the mental health programs at Ft. Carson don’t work the way they should. canada goose
For instance, soldiers fill out questionnaires when they return from Iraq that are supposed to warn officials if they might be getting canada goose outlet store quebec depressed, or suffering from PTSD, or abusing alcohol or drugs. But many soldiers at Ft. Carson say that even though they acknowledged on the questionnaires that they were having disturbing symptoms, nobody at the base followed up to make sure they got appropriate support. A study by the investigative arm of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, suggests it’s a national problem: GAO found that about 80 percent of the soldiers who showed potential signs of PTSD were not referred for mental health follow ups. The Pentagon disagrees with the GAO’s findings.
cheap Canada Goose Soldiers at Ft. Carson also say that even when they request support, the mental health unit is so overwhelmed that they can’t get the help they need. Corey Davis, who was a machine gunner in Iraq, says he began “freaking out” after he came back to Ft. Carson; he had constant nightmares and began using drugs. He says he finally got up the courage to go to the Army hospital to beg for help. cheap Canada Goose
“They said I had to wait a month and a half before I’d be seen,” Davis said. “I almost started crying right there.”
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canada goose store Almost all of the soldiers said that their worst problem is that their supervisors and friends turned them into pariahs when they learned that they were having an emotional crisis. Supervisors said it’s canada goose outlet seattle true: They are giving some soldiers with problems a hard time, because they don’t belong in the Army. canada goose store
Jennings called a supervisor at Ft. Carson to say that he had almost killed himself, so he was going to skip formation to check into a psychiatric ward. The canada goose outlet online store Defense Department’s clinical guidelines say that when a soldier has been planning suicide, one of the canada goose jacket outlet toronto main ways to help is to put him in the hospital. Instead, officers sent a team of soldiers to his house to put him in jail, saying that Jennings was AWOL for missing work.
Canada Goose online “I had them pounding on my door out there. They’re saying ‘Jennings, you’re AWOL. The police are going to come get you. You’ve got 10 seconds to open up this door,'” Jennings said. “I was really scared about it. But finally, I opened the door up for them, and I was like ‘I’m going to the hospital.'” Canada Goose online
A supervisor in Jennings’ platoon corroborated Jennings’ account of the incident.
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Evidence suggests that officials are kicking soldiers with PTSD out of the Army in a manner that masks the problem.
Richard Travis, formerly the Army’s senior prosecutor at Ft. Carson, is now in private practice. He says that the Army has canada goose outlet woodbury to pay special mental health benefits to soldiers discharged due to PTSD. But soldiers discharged for breaking the rules receive fewer or even no benefits, he says.
Alex canada goose outlet legit Orum’s medical records showed that he had PTSD, but his officers expelled him from the Army earlier this year for “patterns of misconduct,” repeatedly citing him on disciplinary grounds. In Orum’s case, he was cited for such infractions as showing up late to formation, coming to work unwashed, mishandling his personal finances and lying to supervisors behaviors which psychiatrists say are consistent with PTSD.
canada goose clearance sale Sergeant Nathan Towsley told NPR, “When I’m dealing with Alex Orum’s personal problems on a daily basis, I don’t have time to train soldiers to fight in Iraq. I have to get rid of him, because canada goose outlet online he is a detriment to the rest of the soldiers.” canada goose clearance sale
Doctors diagnosed another soldier named Jason Harvey with PTSD. At the end of May this year, Harvey slashed his wrists in a cry for help. Officials also kicked Harvey out a few months ago for “patterns of misconduct.”
buy canada goose jacket A therapist diagnosed Tyler Jennings with PTSD in May, but the Army’s records show he is being tossed out because he used drugs and canada goose outlet store uk missed formations. Files on other soldiers suggest the same pattern: Those who seek mental health help are repeatedly cited for misconduct, then purged from the ranks buy canada goose jacket.