Posted on 07/07/2022 10:35:37 AM PDT by Mount Athos
There may be a looming psychological health crisis for U.S. volunteers returning from Ukraine.
It is apparent that a large number of U.S. volunteers — most of whom are prior military or police — have joined Ukraine in the fight against Russia.
American casualties in Ukraine are mounting. Additionally, two Americans have been captured and are being held as prisoners of war.
“[I’m] former U.S. Military. Seen and been around some pretty decent combat before but not like this, man. Not even close. There are jets and drones here bombing us constantly. Tanks, BTRs, BMPs, everything you can think of, they’ve brought it here… In a weird way, it’s given me a new respect for our old enemies.”
A 2021 study found that 4 times as many post-9/11 veterans have committed suicide than had died in combat.
The high pace and brutality of combat in Ukraine may lead to more severe psychological health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in returning volunteers. These issues might be exacerbated by other unique aspects of this conflict.
When fighting in the Middle East or North Africa, it may have been possible to create a dissociation because the enemy “is not like us.”
This is not the case in Ukraine.
“Three days ago I was in a trench line listening to artillery. I got to thinking about the perspective of the enemy. Just a few hundred yards away are the Russians. Living through the same bullshit I am… I’ve seen dead bodies before. Dead Taliban. Dead Afghan civilians. But that culture was so far removed and different from ours that I couldn’t really identify with it. I saw some dead Russians lined up by the road and I was shocked. I thought, ‘These guys could be me.’”
(Excerpt) Read more at taskandpurpose.com ...
Thanks for article, Mount Athos. I tried seeing things from Russia’s perspective on these threads before the invasion and that was verboten among the Biden apologists. Now American veterans who felt the need to be there are seeing it for themselves the hard way. For their sake, I hope they get out if that mess as soon as possible.
Absurd that this Slavic death fest involves Americans.
Those who wish to receive a PTSD diagnosis from the VA are often asked to write a “stressor statement” that details events that they believe led to PTSD. Importantly, PTSD must be service-related – developed as a direct consequence of military service or developed while in the military. Volunteers who return from Ukraine may not be able to utilize VA benefits for psychological disorders (or physical injuries) developed or sustained while acting as a foreign volunteer because their stressor events are not related to their U.S. military service.
It’s difficult to dehumanize people who look like you more or less. Seeing the Taliban and Iraqi Hajjis as dead roaches wasn’t too difficult for many reasons.
Thats because the US keeps ‘the gloves on’. Russia never puts the gloves on.
LOL! They were nuts to go there in the first place. They were psychologically damaged already.
War is an enemy to all mankind.
Amen.
Democrats, who hate us, demanding we hate Russia. And these goofs believe it. The math isn't there.
That fits. I also think that in NATO trying to make Ukraine a bear trap, it is becoming their tar baby, too.
Perfect
The fights in the Donbas are closer to WWII or even WWI artillery duels over entrenched lines than anything they've experienced.
Play stupid games. Win stupid prizes.
They are risking their lives for the most corrupt country in all of Europe run by a tyrant.
Please don’t post irrelevant article on my thread, I ask nicely
I’ll leave you out of the information loop in the future.
Thanks
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