High at the Mountain Post (ABC News Special Report - 'Coming Home: Soldiers and Drugs')

Source: ABC News

They were prepared for war. They were prepared to die for their country. But Fort Carson soldiers say they weren't prepared to come home and fight a different battle -- addiction to illegal drugs.

Many of this country's bravest men and women who volunteered to defend America in a time of war have come home wounded -- physically and mentally -- and are turning to illicit drugs as they adjust to normal life, according to soldiers, health experts and advocates.

"Lots of soldiers coming back from Iraq have been using drugs," said Spc. William Swenson, who was deployed to Iraq from Fort Carson. "Right when we got back, there were people using cocaine in the barracks; there were people smoking marijuana at strip clubs; one guy started shooting up," he said.

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ABC News spoke to more than a dozen soldiers who described widespread abuse of illegal drugs at Fort Carson by service members back from the war.

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"(Soldiers are) coming back, drinking, fighting, putting $1,000 tabs down at a bar and drinking four to five hours, getting to the point where you don't give a crap about anything anymore (or) anybody, don't care if you live or die…the point where you do drugs," Hartmann said. "(Drugs) have been in Fort Carson like crazy."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=3898810&page=1

I was there and the best description of the last years of the US Army in Vietnam was Mute Mutiny. The only goal was to get high and survive. There weren’t any Lifers left except the First Sergeants, Colonels and Generals punching their tickets. Shake and Bake Sergeants and Officers were trying to survive, too. There were crazy Swift Boat types around but they were weeded out of the Army in the field by 1969-1970.

What is shocking about the numbers above are the 24 Majors and Colonels killed. My company spent a year trying to pacify a valley in II Corps. Both Captains made it through their 6 month tours in the field. A few enlisted make it 9 months and made it to the rear. All the rest were medivaced, literally hundreds of soldiers. Even the lightly wounded never came back. The Majors and Colonels were all at battalion or brigade level and never ever were on the ground in danger.

This is just one more indication that Iraq is a hell of lot more dangerous than Vietnam except when crazy officers sent the Grunts charging up hills against main force NVA.

The one true thing about War is that the State and its lapdog media will not tell the truth. War: Realities and Myths has one of the best description of those drawn to war. The real question is why do old men want power so much that they can glory in killing 1698 fellow Americans. How could the Generals be so addicted to power and status that couldn’t tell their civilian leadership what a fools errand they were embarking on that got 147 of their fellow officers killed.

Posted by: Jim S | Jun 12, 2005 12:18:41 AM | 28
SOURCE: http://www.moonofalabama.org/2005/06/fragging.html

.... that people would go off to war and then come back and use drugs?

That certainly never happened in my war.... Vietnam. :sarcasm:

If this country really loved it's veterans, it wouldn't make so damned many of them.

Is it any wonder that they self medicate any way they can?

After his funeral last February, we returned to my Mom's house and the mourners finished off a bottle of scotch in his memory.