Issues with a war veteran?

Question

I have recently found out (which is no surprise) that my brother has numerous mental and physical conditions from the iraq war such as chemical abuse and a thrist for more. They military branch that he's in hasn't allowed him to be discharged for going a.w.o.l. for almost two weeks and now has a chemical problem that they may have started! What do i do just listen? Please only honest advice.

Answer 1

First off, tell your brother not to go AWOL or UA again. He needs to get an honorable discharge in order to speed up the benefit process when he does get out.
If he has a chemical problem, and by this I guess it is drugs, then he needs to get help ASAP. The military will discharge him under other than honorable conditions and it will take forever for him to get any type of help out of the Veterans Administration with that type of discharge.
If he is suffering from mental problems like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) then he needs to get in to see a psychologist or social worker on the base. The medic in his unit cannot keep him from seeing a mental health specialist. IF a medic does try and stop him, I would recommend that one night in the very near future, your brother show up at the military hospital nearest him and say that he is having thoughts of suicide. Of course they will ask if he has a plan, and all he has to do is say that I want to walk out infront of a bus and get hit so I don't have to have my nightmares and stuff anymore.
This will lock him up for at least 72 hours and start the treatment that he needs. It's a bad way to get treatment, but sometimes you have to sidestep around people that won't help you.
When your brother is seeing this psychologist or social worker, he has to be totally honest about what the problems are. Flashbacks, nightmares, trouble sleeping, crying spells, thoughts of suicide the works. Don't forget about what is causing some of these problems, seeing combat in Iraq or Afghanistan or whatever. This will help the doctors treat all of the problems instead of trying to work on one and they should have been working on this other one.
If all else fails, your brother will get a medical discharge which will put him on the fast track to getting disability compensation and medical care at the VA when he gets out.
Tell you brother to hang in there and follow the rules about drugs and alcohol and going UA. That will only get him into trouble and cause more problems for him.

Answer 2

The military will not discharge you for go a.w.o.l.( the correct term is UA) or using drugs in peace time His only chance is to go back, do his time in the Brigg, maybe 30 days, and try to get some help. The navy has programs to help people get off drugs and I sure other branches also have them. This problem is common in peace time also. Most troops join because they can afford to go to school or get a job. They were told that the military will provide the chance for a better life. It is odd that most people who tell this never served.
They cannot handle military life and then add to that you are kill people who never have done anything to your country and you see it is a sham.
When you sign that paper the government owns you and you sign away all of your rights. He has no choice but to go back.
Or leave the country, but if he had that type resources he never should have joined.

Answer 3

First thing, get with the VFW and Legion in your community. Join the auxiliary -- or if you were a vet yourself, join. Then talk to the people there about the problems and they should be able to direct you to some resources and answer some of your questions. Never-ever-ever let something slide just because getting answers might be difficult. Remember what the illegal aliens already know .....the squeeky wheel gets the grease! Sometimes, it might seem like you are making more trouble just by asking questions -- don't believe it. If they are causing you more trouble, you know you are on the right track. Just keep changing directions until you've surrounded them and they can't move without giving you good answers to your questions and possibly the help that you need.

Answer 4

By chemical abuse, do you mean he is on drugs? I am not sure what you mean. Maybe than he is taking meds for mental and physical problems relating to the war?

I would get him help right away. I would get him to a Psychologist and Medical Doctor (not the VA) and get a diagnosis. Several diagnosis is even better. Get it on paper documented.

Then have him turn himself in to the Military. Send in copies of these records with a letter from you on his behalf to prove that is us not fit for service. Make sure it goes to several of his superior officers, not one but many. Because things get lost in the shuffle and some officers are hard noses. They may put him in jail until a hearing but they may have a hearing soon. Get him representation. Since he has proof of his disabilites, he should me medically discharged.
The longer you wait the worse it gets. Any war with the stress can cause problems and some soldiers handle it better than others.

Please help him right away.

Answer 5

Sound to me like your brother has his @ss in hot water and knows it. The reason he has not been discharged is it does take time and he may have charges pending. Having said that, take him to the nearest VA and have him evaluated. If he is a danger to himself or others, have him committed so he can get some much needed help. He was in enough trouble without adding drugs to the mix.

Answer 6

There are a number of techniques to confirm this. a million. finding at it traditionally, there does look some important distinction interior the reaction of human beings to war from approximately that element onward. i've got on no account heard an fairly convincing argument as to why which would be. the assumption of PTSD truly did not exist previous to then. Did human beings not have it, or replace into it purely one thing that variety into missed? No sturdy answer. 2. The psychological and emotional tension of that conflict replace into different for US troops than any conflict earlier. there have been many human beings there that did not decide to be there. The conflict replace into fought in a fashion that variety right into a techniques extra durable to assert once you have been risk-free or not, so there replace into much less possibility to have alleviation from that tension. The sight of civilians being killed (the two by twist of destiny because of the fact of the place the conflict replace into being fought or killed intentionally by the enemy) replace into terrible. Then, there replace into the actuality that lots of them got here homestead to the U. S. not as heroes (like another conflict), yet as those that a variety of of the conventional public hated. Many returning infantrymen have been spit on and verbally attacked by others. somewhat of having the emotional and psychological catharsis of provided that human beings favored their sacrifices, they have been taken care of like airborne dirt and dust. 3. using Agent Orange and different components for the duration of the conflict might have brought about some issues for them mentally. There nonetheless isn't an entire accounting for what Agent Orange does to a man or woman, we purely know that's undesirable.

Answer 7

Don't blame the military. Most people come back from Iraq just fine. I'm sorry he wasn't but thats not their fault.

Answer 8

Definately go and see a counselor. The VA can actually be a great resource for him. Go with him and make sure he puts claims in for his conditions.

Answer 9

Sounds like your brother came up hot on a drug test.

The military did not make him do drugs, and they did not make him go AWOL.

He made his choices and he is going to have to deal with the consequences.

Answer 10

You should help him get counseling for his issues regarding his experience and get treatment for his chemical dependency. Both should be available through the military.

No one can fix him. He has to take actions to fix himself.