Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan - Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupation - March 13-16, 2008 - Washington , DC
The Winter Soldier Preview Video is below. It's long, about 17 minutes, and parts of it are graphic.
I have to ask myself this question when it comes to events like this: If I can't bear to watch a few photos of what's really going on in this war, then how can I expect my brother or my nephew to actually participate in it? The memory of these photos will subside rapidly from my memory; the pictures of these scenes will probably be burned indelibly into the memories of those I love who are required to participate in them. That's why I watch.
How does this subject relate to the topic of this blog? Briefly, when my friends or family are active duty military, I think of war in much more personal terms. Not to whine but just stating a fact, this causes me a lot of stress. We all know that stress affects our illnesses in many ways, most of them negative. The other way the war relates to the topic of this blog is that it is producing lots and lots more people with ICI: People with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD; people with a myriad of other anxiety related illnesses; people with sleep disorders; people with Major Depressive Disorder, etc. There's also a relatively new kid on the block: Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI. The wonders of modern medicine saves the lives of lots more veterans than it used to, but our knowledge of the damage war does to the mind lags far behind.
I have to ask myself this question when it comes to events like this: If I can't bear to watch a few photos of what's really going on in this war, then how can I expect my brother or my nephew to actually participate in it? The memory of these photos will subside rapidly from my memory; the pictures of these scenes will probably be burned indelibly into the memories of those I love who are required to participate in them. That's why I watch.
How does this subject relate to the topic of this blog? Briefly, when my friends or family are active duty military, I think of war in much more personal terms. Not to whine but just stating a fact, this causes me a lot of stress. We all know that stress affects our illnesses in many ways, most of them negative. The other way the war relates to the topic of this blog is that it is producing lots and lots more people with ICI: People with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD; people with a myriad of other anxiety related illnesses; people with sleep disorders; people with Major Depressive Disorder, etc. There's also a relatively new kid on the block: Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI. The wonders of modern medicine saves the lives of lots more veterans than it used to, but our knowledge of the damage war does to the mind lags far behind.
Bob Woodruff and his wife Lee spoke in Rye, NY yesterday about his own traumatic brain injuries and their efforts to try to get better health care and rehabilitation to similarly injured troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Lee Woodruff had a lot to say about the soldiers she's seen in VA hospitals, and that TBIs are the defining injury of this combat experience. You can hear some audio clips of the event at http://veterans.lohudblogs.com.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment and the link. I'll check it out asap.
ReplyDeleteMy husband, his dad, and his sister are all in the Army, so I know what you mean - if they go over there, it will still effect US too. Thankfully, they're starting to pay more attention to things like PTSD in soldiers and are doing more research as we speak. There was some big thing in the news about it this past week.
ReplyDeleteYes, there is more and more talk about PTSD. I hope the vets of this war get better care for that than the vets from the Vietnam War did...
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