what are the kind of problems solder's experience after war?

Question

could u pls explain what u understand about this topic. what are the kind of problems solders experience when they return back from war? does the war affect there life or would they be any changes when they return back.
thanks

Answer 1

depends on the soldier, some may have trouble adjusting, others may have PTSD, some may never re-acclimate, others may be fine for awhile and then degrade...

drug use, drinking, paranoia, violent behavior, night terrors, inappropriate behavior, flat affect, loss of interest or pleasure in normal or preferable activity, depression, and hallucinations are not uncommon, but also not standard, there is really no way to know how any individual will react.

Answer 2

I don’t want to speak for the guys coming back today but I’m a Vietnam Vet and it’s been forty years since I came out of that war and it still affects me today. This present war only brings back all the bad feelings and fears from that time. I and eight other Vietnam vets meet at the VA for PTSD group counseling each week and will for a year.

Some can handle it better then others but don’t let any one fool you everyone comes back different then when they went. Today’s solders get a better reception home then we did but they are being sent back sooner. They at least now know that PTSD is a problem where with us they ignored us for 20 + years. So yes war will and does affect ones life and it’s for “LIFE”.

Answer 3

witwwats, you aren't paying attention, the same troops are getting rotated, year on year off. So your comment that there are few problems is indicative of how misinformed you are. I have two 15 month tours stating in 2004 and just returned two weeks ago. The problems just compound after each deployment to a combat zone. Basically, just research PTSD and you will find a list of symptoms, there is no blanket symptoms that fit everyone. PTSD is nothing new, WWII vets and veterans of other wars have it, just didn't get treated for it because little was known about it at the time. Also, other events besides war can bring on PTSD.

Answer 4

I also would have to disagree with that other answer..Since this da** thing started my husband has done 3 rotations in theatre!!
To get back to your question..When my husband comes home he doesnt drive for awhile. That is definitely an adjustment..he sees things in the road that to him could be IED's. People walking along the side of the road could be "the bad guys" If jaywalkers dont get out of the road quickly he is liable to just run them over.
He is jumpy at first..the dog jumping on the bed while he is sleeping will send him to the ceiling. He sleeps very lightly (not his usual way) and hears everything.
Everything he eats upsets his stomach for a few weeks because the food at chow is very different. Im not saying its bad just different..lol.
Crowds make him nervous and worse if people bump him by accident.
There are many other things that I could list..things that may seem small things to others but since I know him so well they really stick out. On the other hand he is incredibly appreciative of little things that you or I may take for granted.
If you have a loved one there just remember above all is to be patient and listen. It may take awhile before they open up but when they do..listen..listen..listen. It probably will be things you dont want to hear but you have to be there for them. We have cried many times together and I am ready to do it all again.
My husband is a Combat Medic for a CAV unit and has seen and been in the worst of it. Everyone is different and have done and seen different things there. Be compassionate and patient..
Proud Army Wife! HOOAH!!

Answer 5

I can only speak for what I experienced. When he came back he was numb, didn't like crowds, startled easily, was cautious when he drove, wanted to be around his fellow Soldiers, the list goes on and on. Most of the time these symptoms disappear after a few months. Some symptoms last a lifetime. I'd say that is does affect their life and the people around them.

Answer 6

Battle fatigue: known today as post-traumatic stress, this is a psychological disorder that develops in some individuals who have had major traumatic experiences (and, for example, have been in a serious accident or through a war). The person is typically numb at first but later has symptoms including depression, excessive irritability, guilt (for having survived while others died), recurrent nightmares, flashbacks to the traumatic scene, and overreaction to sudden noises.

Answer 7

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition that can develop following any traumatic, catastrophic life experience. Recognition of this condition increased dramatically following the war in Viet Nam, when many returning U.S. veterans developed disturbing psychological symptoms and impaired functioning. More recently, the 9/11 tragedy or the war in Iraq ........
PTSD symptoms can develop weeks or months, or sometimes even years, following a catastrophic event. Along with survivors of natural disasters, wars, and acts of terrorism, people who have been the victims of violent crime or torture often develop symptoms of PTS

Answer 8

I was in a car with my friend, who just returned from Iraq. He saw a box on the side of the road and swerved thinking it was an IED and almost killed everyone in the car. That's one thing.

Answer 9

not me personally, but my friend has gone through a few things. anywhere from driving down the middle of the road to avoid the I.E.D.s that aren't there, to having bad dreams about the firefights. he is talking to someone about it and the army has been good about making sure he is taken care of.

Answer 10

Combat affects people differently.

In combat people do things that they would never consider doing in civilian life... and they do it every day. No civilized human wants to take the life of another human being. But in combat, one does so with the knowledge that it is a case of kill or be killed.

Few but soldiers, some police, and some firefighters, know what fear is. Fear is knowing that you are in an area in which you can look right at the enemy and not even see him. Fear is knowing that you don't know him until he fires at you. Fear is knowing that his sole purpose of existence is to take your life. Fear is knowing that he doesn't care if he dies in the attempt... he may even desire to do so. And you learn to live with that fear.

In combat people die. You can hold your buddy, trying to comfort him as he dies. You can be talking to a guy, and the next instant he's dead. Death is not always like you see in the movies... where the ground erupts in a ball of flame and guys go flying through the air to land off screen on some air mattress. Sometimes parts of guys go flying through the air... and they don't get up for the next scene.

Combat can be frustrating... even heartbreaking. I think most soldiers are naturally drawn to little kids. They represent innocence. Kids are non-combatants. They're safe. At least that's the way soldiers tend to feel. They share their rations, give them candy. At least that's the way they pray they can treat kids. But in combat, the enemy uses kids... as decoys and to carry bombs. So you're on patrol, and you see a little kid approaching. Maybe he looks like a kid you might have seen back home. Suddenly the kid disappears in a flash of smoke and fire... and maybe a couple of your buddies are killed... but you survive. The next time you're on patrol, you may encounter a similar situation. This time you ask the kid to stop where he is. If he doesn't, you might draw down on him... you might fire a couple of rounds in the air, or into the ground in front of him. But he still keeps coming. So you grit your teeth and pull the trigger... and the kid dies. Now you're praying that he presented a danger. If he did, nobody ever hears about the incident. But if he didn't, it's going to be on CNN, and the world will pillory you.

Soldiers put up with total stupidity on the part of the press and, by and large, by the folks back home. In wars gone by, soldiers were captured and tortured... some to death. The enemy wanted the prisoners to trash their mission, their command structure, their country. They wanted prisoners to give information about troop strength, locations, movement, and tactics. Those soldiers believed that such action was treasonous. Today they hear folks back home... including elected officials... bashing their mission, command structure, and country... in the name of free speech. Today the press provides all the military information they could hope for. Soldiers are not allowed to discuss these topics with foreign nationals. The media follow them around, and ignores wins and exalts defeats or mistakes. In a firefight, the insurgents lose about 20 to 1... in a battle, it's more like 50 to 1... but the press always publishes the number of US soldiers killed and wounded, the number of civilian casualties, the amount of damage to the Iraqi infrastructure... and totally neglects the enemy losses. Those kinds of reports couldn't have been written any better for the enemy if they had been written by the enemy.

I have a buddy from my Vietnam days who wrote a song. Part of it goes:
... It wasn't the bombs...
... It wasn't the blood...
... Watching our comrades fall in the mud...
... When I came home on crutches
... and looked for my place...
... It was the pretty young girl who spit in my face.

The people who pretend to support the troops, but who don't also affect the soldiers. These people take away their benefits, close their bases, cut their budgets, refuse to serve... they call the soldiers murders, rapists, and torturers, they call the military corrupt, inept, incompetent, they call the mission immoral and illegal, they call the government corrupt, immoral, and insane... and call that "supporting the troops."

When a soldier comes home, he has to deal with all of that. Sometimes it takes time. For some, it takes time to readjust their moral compasses to civilian life. I know guys who still react to some situations in manners that seem odd to those who have never been in combat. Personally, I never go to a 4th of July fireworks display. Movies and television are ok... but the sound and concussion... well, been there and done that. I was talking to a Korean Vet who can't handle loud noises behind him.

Add to the problem moronic pseudo-scientists (psychologists, psychiatrists, sociologists) those in the majority who know nothing about combat, but who try to treat guys who have. They see something that's odd to them (remember they have no first hand knowledge whatsoever about combat), so they diagnose some syndrome or other... if they don't know one that fits the behavior, they make one up... they're good at that. And how do they treat it? They medicate the poor guy into oblivion and he never recovers because he never has to deal with the cause of the problem. What they need to do is have these guys talk with guys who've been there... who know what kinds of things these guys experienced. Actually, in California there is a move to do just that for guys coming back from Iraq.

Then there are the family problems. Sometimes wives or husbands and kids have a hard time coping with the person who came home. He or she looks like their husband, wife, father or mother, but doesn't act like what they remember. They're more strict, or more withdrawn, or quieter, or crave quiet more. They react differently to things. Things that didn't bother them before upset them now... things that used to bug the heck out of them... they don't seem to notice. Sometimes families break up.

Then there are the financial problems... especially for Reservists. Jobs they once had have been filled by others. The greed-based economy makes for high prices and low wages. Sometimes men returning from serving their country can find themselves homeless and destitute.

Well, I guess I could go on a little longer, but that's stuff that I've observed, encountered, or experienced.