Pubdate: Tue, 13 Nov 2007
Source: Newsday (NY)
Copyright: 2007 Newsday Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/308
Author: Tony Newman
Note: Tony Newman is the director of media relations at the Drug 
Policy Alliance, a nonprofit advocacy organization based in Manhattan.
Referenced: Vets Make Up Quarter of Nation's Homeless 
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1290/a02.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/veterans
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)

RETURNING IRAQ WAR VETS NEED COMPASSION, TREATMENT

Veterans Day 2007 has come and gone, but the problems facing our vets continue.

Every day I pass homeless people on the subway and streets, and many 
of them hold up signs saying that they served in the Vietnam War. 
Sometimes, I don't allow myself to think about it. I hand them a 
dollar and go back to reading my newspaper.

But when I do think about it, I try to imagine what these veterans 
have seen and been through.

What is it like to be shot at during war and know that any day may be 
your last? How do you deal with the pain of having friends killed in 
your arms? What does killing other human beings do to your emotional stability?

It's not hard to imagine how such experiences could lead to 
self-medication, drug addiction and even homelessness.

And seeing the many Vietnam veterans with mental problems who are 
self-medicating with drugs, it's easy to believe that vets from the 
United States' current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan - many of 
whom are going through similar horrors - will also battle drug abuse 
and homelessness.

Many of us struggle with dependency on cigarettes, marijuana and 
alcohol while attempting to cope with the pressures of hectic lives. 
It's obvious that our problems are nothing compared with those of 
people coming back after 15 months away from their families - people 
who have experienced the horrors and uncertainties of war and who may 
be emotionally or physically impaired.

Last week, The New York Times ran a story headlined "Surge Seen in 
Number of Homeless Veterans." The same day, the Los Angeles Times 
published a story about a new report by the Alliance to End 
Homelessness that says one of four homeless are veterans.

The stories of substance abuse are also coming in. The military 
publication "Stars and Stripes" has reported that alcohol and other 
drug-use problems are common throughout the forces in Iraq. "Some of 
the young soldiers just can't handle the stress and turn to alcohol 
or drugs to self-medicate," said military defense lawyer Capt. Chris Krafchek.

The Army's surgeon general was quoted in an Associated Press story 
that a survey of troops returning from Iraq found 30 percent had 
developed mental health problems three to four months after coming home.

What's going to happen to all of these people who are suffering from 
depression and suicidal thoughts? Many will end up using drugs, just 
as many civilians do. So on top of all their other problems, many of 
the vets will have to worry about getting caught with drugs, being 
arrested or ending up homeless.

U.S. prisons are already filled with nonviolent drug offenders, many 
serving mandatory sentences of 15 years to life for the possession of 
small amounts of drugs. Service members incarcerated and separated 
from their families because of drug addictions resulting from their 
service in Iraq or Afghanistan will be yet more "collateral damage" 
of these wars. Veterans ending up homeless will be a similar tragedy.

It's easy to buy a bumper sticker and demand that everybody "Support 
Our Troops." But if we're going to walk the talk, we better be ready 
to offer compassion and treatment - not just a jail cell, or the 
street, when it comes to helping our brothers and sisters heal from 
the damages of war. Veterans Day was a moment to remember, but the 
support must continue. We have to do better for our current returning 
troops than we did for veterans of Vietnam. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake