About this guy I met just back from Iraq.........

So, I'm working with this guy right now (a kid really, he's just 26) in a part time civilian job.
He's in the National Guard. He's done two tours in Iraq on the front lines.
He told me yesterday that they want his ass back.
He does NOT want to go back for a third tour.
He has shrapnel wounds in his back, he was in a convoy attack and he has seen his buddies die.
His head was grazed by a sniper's bullet. He takes pain pills during the day and a sleeping pill every night to get through the nightmares.
He is tall, lean and has a shaved head. He is blue-eyed and handsome.
He is nervous and twitchy, but very polite and he has exceptional manners.
He recently got married (in August) and he wants a family, maybe one or two children.
He does NOT want to go back to Iraq. He said this whole Iraq invasion was bogus.
He said the Guard should be here in THIS country helping out, fighting fires and assisting in any national emergency. That's what he wants to do.
He told me his life is different now. He lives in a small quiet town but his life has changed.
He has weapons everywhere. He moves them around. He has knives, guns and machetes.
His new young wife told him NO WAY he will have a gun under his pillow or under their bed.
He is so affected by his Iraq duty, that he moves and hides his weapons around in his house on a weekly basis. He told me that if he moves his weapons, he can get to them when an intruder enters and there will always be a weapon nearby that he can access. I asked him if his house has ever been burglarized or entered, He said, "No, never". (But he is ready just in case)
He told me of a recent incident that really upset him.
He and his buddy were at a 7/11 getting gas. They both were in uniform. A very young girl came running up to them and said, "Oh, you are soldiers, I have some gum for YOU". His buddy saw the girl whip her hand out from her pocket and immediately thrashed her with his arm. That sent her flying airborne and her head crashed into a wall. He asked his buddy, "What the fuck are you doing?"
His buddy said, "Oh man, I thought she was bringing a weapon, let's get the fuck out of here."
They took off.
He is so twitchy that any quick movement sets him on alert.
He told me that ANY item or person in Iraq is suspicious. There are booby traps everywhere. Mannequins are set up with explosives. A dead animal is considered rigged and deadly.
He is appealing with a lawyer to get an exemption with PTSD but he is not encouraged or hopeful.
How the hell can I help this kid?
He has seen with his young eyes horrors that I can't even imagine.
:-(

Dead asleep to swinging. He did over two years in Iraq. We're trying to get him to get it in writing on his medical records so he can work on getting it fixed when he's out.

When there are really loud noises, he hits the dirt. Somebody dropped a box near him and he dove under a desk.

It's going to be a long time before they get back to normal. I have a suspicion that my brother is collecting weapons now too, but he hasn't said it outright.

he got back from illegal ops in Cambodia (he thinks). He has punched, kicked, and strangled his wife regularly in his sleep for over 30 years now.

The episodes have become less frequent over the years, but it still happens several ties a year.

I hope my brother gets over Iraq.

My dad still doesn't talk about where his missions were. He flew B-52s so you know that was a happy time for him. (sarcasm: He knows that B-52s don't drop leaflets.)

back from Iraq that have had to completely remove themselves from society.
They can no longer function.
Loud noises like you mention, sets them off and every single person and vehicle poses a threat.

Viet Nam. They eventually got a divorce and he recently died. War is Hell!!!

He was first wave in Afghanistan.. when he got back, he was driving down the road with his dad, and a tree was laying accross the road.. he stopped the vehicle and hit the dirt, expecting an ambush.. Then the other day, she was sitting up in the bed to get up and go to the bathroom, and in his sleep he instictively punched her in the face.. had no clue the next day that he did that.... Now, my sis n' law has went thru boot camp... marines, so she understands some of these little things that can happen when they come back.... It just sucks... war is horrible.

was when the enemies rocket launcher wouldn't go off and he shot the man... If it had, he would have been the dead one... Good times.

Was he discharged and they're trying to get him back, or is he still active? a friend of mine, his son served over there at the beginning, just before his time was up. they tried to tell him he had to come back. He refused; as far as I know, the military either can't or hasn't done a thing about it. I would try to find an attorney. There has to be someone out there advocating for these kids.

He's got a year or more left.
He may get an attorney and try to appeal on the PTSD route.
This kid is never still, ever. He is moving and twirling, turning and shifting.
There is no peace or relaxing for him that I can see.

Imagine if Gore were president.

never see combat sleep very well at night. It is time to kick the ass of some of the well to do and politically powerful in this country. How in the hell do the majority of this nation stand by while the powerful destroy the average person? Or is it not enough of Joe Six Pac has been killed, maimed, lost his home, etc? Is it because Bush has the National Guard on the front line instead of the other services? and those who do well in this nation have not suffered? This picture of this nation is sickening. Any culture with a moral backbone would be up in arms. Instead Republicans rely on the gutless and self-serving in this nation.

while at work at a hotel, and I wasn't that upset -- worked to the end of my shift since the local police were hanging around. The next day I was talking to a FRIEND of mine and he made the same movement as the guy had when he reached for his gun. and my body automatically went into fight or flight mode. I practically launched myself out of the chair, my heart was being FAST and it was almost like I was in an altered reality. It was a CELLULAR memory - I had no control over my reaction.

I can't imagine what it would be like to have to live with what these soldiers have gone through. It CAN'T not have a deep, everlasting effect.

I would like each of the candidates and every member of Congress and the Senate to read your post. It's very moving and eye-opening. And it breaks my heart that we've done that to these kids. I can't tell you the level of anger I'm feeling now.

Please tell your co-worker that we care, we want to do what's best for THEM, and we will keep fighting to bring an end to this war. Thank him for us - he's given his life.

He HAS given his life since it will never be the same.
The young man that returned from this hell-hole is not the same kid that waved good bye to his
Mom and Dad a few years ago. A lot of parents will not even recognize their own children anymore.

A woman I work with has a son in the Army, he's heading to Iraq for his second tour come April. He's 22.

To put it lightly, may Bush be damned to hell for this bloody mess. Well, that, and all the other shit he's done.

Bush will have his ass and use him up until he's dead or totally broken. That's what war does. It's all torture, all the time.

"Sweden is Beautiful this time of year."


Not sure if there are any sanctuary countries anymore.

That is just so sad...:(

I have PTSD, a very mild case compared to the poor guys who went in the military. But I know how quickly I can get angry when my trigger impulse is activated and I'm too surprised by the triggering to control it.

And I'm not asking for anybody to be hurt. But I just wish these pompous chickenhawks, and the one guy who DID serve who's acting just like them, would witness what their beloved leader's policies - which they want to continue - do to living, breathing people.

not add to the negative experience. Maintain good personal boundaries and mutual respect will take care of the rest.

reading Gibbon's "and they said we wouldn't fight'. about being a correspondent in WW1. he was watching the new american soldier's training on the 76 gun artillery. and he asked what they feared the most(he probably assumed return artillery fire).
bad ammo.
if it exploded right out of the barrel, very bad. worse if in the barrel, and you never knew when you 'lit the fuse'.
how do you relax when shit can come from anybody, anywhere.

This might be of some help.

Sounds like this kid would qualify. He needs to take his wife with him to our Neighbor to the North.

most a lot worse. The horror of it all! How does that damn psycho bush* sleep at night. Oh I forgot he doesn't watch TV and only listens to those that give him happy news. He doesn't read stuff like this...or the papers.
No wonder he doesn't go on line either. He's in his own happy stupid bubble.

Don't yell "Boo!" just to see him jump.

He has PTSD and needs professional help NOW.

I loathe the bush cabal with every fiber of what little is left of my being.

Ask if he has followed the Lt. Watada trial. There are other members of the armed services who have refused to go, I think he should join them if he doesn't want to go. Advise him to get a lawyer, or at least call some of the referral phone numbers.

(accidentally finding himself at a Benson for Congress benefit at Mad Myrna's, Anchorage's premier gay bar) the night before Thanksgiving who had just arrived back from Iraq that very day. He was drinking heavily, desperately sad. Angry, hopeless, disillusioned -- especially with politics. He had lost his 19-year-old best friend "who shouldn't have died. He was so good. He had his whole life ahead of him. He probably hadn't even f***** a girl yet. I've always been bad -- it should have been me instead of him." He had harsh words for the Iraqis -- I couldn't get him to muster up much sympathy for them. He knew that I didn't understand -- and I'm sure after talking with him that he's right. Unless we've been there, we can't understand.

It's a horrible thing that's happening to these young men and women. This was all so unnecessary.

http://ptsdcombat.blogspot.com/

http://www.ivaw.org/ptsdfactsheet

http://www.veteransandfamilies.org/home.html


If you can get him to seek help, he has a chance of a normal life again. Family and friends are extremely important - just be aware this is going to be a long slog.

Good luck.

I checked them out and I will ask him if he is aware of them.
He admits he has PTSD, so he is at that first step.
Thanks everyone for all the good suggestions.
I'll see him tomorrow and ask him if he would like to access these web sites that may offer help and support for him.