Gulf War Syndrome Essay

Over the last decade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have drastically increased the need for effective mental health services and treatment for U.S. veterans and service members, especially those suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nearly 1.5 million American service members have been deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) since the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001 (Price, Gros, Strachan, Ruggiero, & Acierno, 2013). Approximately 25% of soldiers and wounded warriors returning home from OEF/OIF present with mental illness due to combat-related violence and other trauma exposure (Steinberg & Eisner, 2015). According to Price and colleagues (2013), OEF/OIF soldiers and veterans are at greater risk for developing mental illness compared to others who served in past military operations.

There have been many diagnoses of PTSD in American soldiers. As Mark Thomas said in a magazine article, “The National Academy of Sciences have report estimated that up to 20% of 2.6 million US men and women who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq may have it (PTSD)”(Thomas). This quote expresses that nearly 520,000 US families have been affected by this disorder. It also shows that PTSD has become a large enough issue that more and more people and

(O’Brien 1519). The symptoms vary with each soldier depending on how the soldier faced and took in the war. Though the symptoms are: re-experiencing, such as reliving, hallucinations, flashbacks, or feeling/acting as though the trauma is happening again. (Finely 11) This can cause major disorientation in the soldier, which causes pain to the veteran and family who they associate with. Avoidance/Numbing is also a symptom, this symptom affects feelings, although it may be hard to explain, it is the attempt to avoid thoughts, feelings or discussions of the trauma (Finely 11); for soldiers in war it may be the war in all. The Soldiers in “The Things They Carried” (Lieutenant Cross) kept to himself about how he felt when his man was shot, he felt he was supposed to protect him and so he avoided the others and his feelings about that situation (O’Brien 1525). Hyperarousal is something simple but something that soldiers have an intensified amount of. The trouble of falling or staying asleep, may be because they don’t want dreams of what they have gone through, the exaggerated startle response is because how they trained to survive the war (Finley 11), a simple wake up may put them in fight for life mode. Soldiers face difficult times in the war, and they don’t realize the harm that happened to them from the war.

service members who have been deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan have returned with an range of signs and symptoms that we are now calling post-deployment syndrome (PDS). Traumatic brain injury, combat stress, blast injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, or post-concussive syndrome each fit into the variety of symptoms called PDS. Four hundred thousand previously healthy service men and women now live with PDS that, at times, causes them to be entirely disabled or to suffer so much that they even may take their own lives. This number may seem shocking, however PDS doesn’t just affect these service members, reservists, and veterans, but also their friends, family members, employers, communities, and even the very health care workers who are desperately trying to help them. Surprisingly, despite how common this condition is, it still remains puzzling to fully define and

After the Vietnam War, the use of chemical warfare caused many post-war issues for American veterans. Many veterans had a direct experience on homelessness due to the immediate consequence of American military policies. Psychological symptoms were apparent, when veterans had phobic avoidance to society. Diseases affected veterans health conditions by making their skin bare to infections. Through the wake of the chemical warfare in the Vietnam War,veterans could not substantiate the long term impacts given through combat.

Military Pathway (2013) concluded “Military life, especially the stress of deployments or mobilizations, can present challenges to service members and their families that are both unique and difficult”. Hence, it is not surprising that soldiers returning from a stressful war environment often suffer from a psychological condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This paper provides a historical perspective of PTSD affecting soldiers, and how this illness has often been ignored. In addition, the this paper examines the cause and diagnosis of the illness, the changes of functional strengths and limitations, the overall effects this disease may have on soldiers and their families, with a conclusion of

Victor Monjaraz, a former Marine, says that he felt he could handle PTSD on his own, but his emotions did not allow him to. His wife had to convince him to visit a psychologist at the VA and see what the doctor had to say. Monjaraz already felt that he had PTSD before the visit. He was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Monjaraz experienced night terrors and road rage. He was easily irritated and could not be in crowded spaces. The disease also took a toll on his marriage and says, “The Marines taught me to turn off my emotions but didn’t teach me how to turn them back on” (Monjaraz).

The truth behind the Gulf War illness was that it was caused by brain damage from neurotoxins. Michael believed that symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, fatigue, bone and joint pain, memory loss, poor concentration, muscle weakness, skin rashes and sores, and gastrointestinal problems can only be linked to

In 2004 Operation Iraqi Freedom became the deadliest American military conflict since the Vietnam War. Military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and Vietnam have brought heightened awareness of military related PTSD, as well as the relationship and family problems that accompany the disorder. Studies have shown that 11% - 20% of Veterans that served in Iraq and 6% - 11% of veterans that were deployed to Afghanistan have suffered from PTSD. Veterans of operation Desert Storm suffer at a rate of about 10% and Vietnam veteran estimates have been as high as 30% – 50%.

“When I was in serious danger I was almost completely paralysed by fear, I remember sitting with a coffin (a fellow soldier) on the fire-step of a trench during an intense bombardment, when it seemed certain that we must be killed”(The Psychological Effects Of The Vietnam War). Our soldiers that we send to war to protect us against the countries trying to harm us are put into dangerous situations that affect them physically and mentally and leave them with permanent damage to their minds and bodies. The server damage that our military soldiers faced when returning from war is PTSD which stands for post traumatic stress disorder and is the most common disorder that returning soldiers are diagnosed with , but a more tragic diagnosis from war

The Gulf War Syndrome is fake, but is also a very real disease. Herbert Block published a political cartoon about a sensitive topic, not knowing how people might react. The political cartoon has a so called military troop and he was leaves over his eyes, this might imply that the public thinks they know about what’s going on when they are far from it (Block). The Gulf War syndrome is not believed to be an actual disease, but there are patterns linked between veterans and their disabilities (“Public Health”). In Virginia, the veterans must have the symptoms of the syndrome for at least 6 months, and with that time they need no proven indication the he/she was in the military (“Public Health”). In the cartoon, the man also holds up a sign saying

The war against Iraq began on March 20, 2002, when the U.S lunched “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. This was after President Bush called Iraq part of an “axis of evil”, also calling the country dangerous which is threatening U.S with the world’s most destructive weapons. The major phase of the war began when U.S troops marched within 50 miles of Baghdad with heavy aerial attacks on Baghdad and other cities. After the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon which was believed to be the work of Al Qaeda, U.S was concerned about the security of the Untied States which lead to the war in Iraq. Even though U.S officials felt the war in Iraq is the main priority, but many people in U.S opposes the war which brings up a lot of controversial issues.

Wars have been apart of this world almost as long as anything else has. Even in the Bible days there are records of wars. There are many reasons that states choose to go to war. Sometimes it is for the expansion of a nation or state, other times it is for financial gains, and it also could be for security or defense purposes. Whatever the case may be, wars have been apart of human life and will always be. There were no differences when it came to the Persian Gulf War. This war involved the United States, Iraq, and Kuwait. When trying to determine the purpose behind this war I chose to view it from a comparison of both the realist and liberalist views on the war.

One part of being an American, is giving yourself to your country when deemed necessary. In 1991, the United States took action in the Gulf War, where many US solders were sent. In fact, a total of 697,000 solders took part in the Gulf War. And of that amount, 6% (about 45,000) veterans have reported an ailment related to this war. Much chaos arose from these sicknesses, and from this a syndrome was born. The syndrome is called the Gulf War Syndrome. Wether this is myth or not has been throughly researched, but how can one claim 45,000 veterans to be falsely accusing an ailment they believe to be at fault of the Gulf War?

Not only death and injuries come from war, but war can result in high-risk emotional and physical affliction/trauma. Depression, shell shock, trench fever and malaria were among the common diseases throughout and years after the war has concluded. Trauma caused by war can have a significant and long-term affect to those entailed in war. It may be 70 years since the end of WWII, but veterans presently are still enduring diseases such as depression today, caused by war. Post war depression leaves a soldier in pain and agony after his return home,