The Army’s Warrior Transition Battalion units, designed to treat soldiers with several physical and psychological trauma, “have become warehouses of despair,” leading to drug addiction, loneliness and suicide, The New York Times charged Sunday. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/health/25warrior.html?ref=todayspaper
It’s a rather horrifying story. It appears that some of the men and women who served this country in Iraq and Afghanistan, and suffered for it, are being locked away to cope with their headaches, depression and nightmares from combat.
Not only are these servicemen not being given psychological help, according to The Times, they are being harangued by the noncommissioned officers who watch over them. The bullies accuse the war-ravaged vets of exaggerating their problems, and sometimes unfairly discipline them for minor infractions, The Times says.
The paper quotes one veteran of the war in Iraq, Michael Crawford, saying that being in one of the transition units “is worse than being in Iraq.”
There are 7,200 soldiers in 32 transition units around the country.
The soldiers in these units are often prescribed drugs, and become addicted to them or move onto heroin, which according to The Times is easy to find on bases. These soldiers become listless from the drug use, and find it hard to exercise or take the classes they’re supposed to take. Then, they are punished by their noncom leaders.
What does this kind of caretaking lead to? At the Fort Carson transition unit, four soldiers have committed suicide.
The special units were designed to give combat veterans individual, specialized care, especially with their mental wounds. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have subjected many troops to concussions, leading to mental and behavioral problems.
Instead, The Times claims, these wounded soldiers are being made to feel “like fakers or weaklings.”
In one instance, a soldier who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome and traumatic brain injury was assigned 24-hour guard duty against the orders of his physician, That man experienced flashbacks to his tour in Iraq.
All in all, the story is an illuminating look at these transition units, and whether or not they are a failure.
