Vietnam Veterans Research Paper
What if I could tell you that you could be hurt and not even know it. By the time you realize something is wrong it’s been so long that you are now confused and have no clue why you hurt the way you do. There is an average of twenty-two veterans a day that commit suicide. Of those, a majority of them are Vietnam Veterans. That war has been over for decades so why did it take so long for a soldier with suspected PTSD to finally have enough? Sebastian Junger believes that it is not war that affects a soldier after their military service, it is rather the society in which we live and the culture shock of what you were and what you now are. Leading into his talk, Sebastian made a point that initially makes no sense. Wars throughout the years that America has fought in have a causality rate that has gradually decreased, yet the disability rate of veterans has drastically increased. This could be caused by the inability for organizations like the Veterans Administration to be as active and willing to help veterans with issues that they have. Or, it could be that fighting is
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not as “norm” as it once was thought to be. Having said that, we no longer live in a world where you are drafted to fight for your country. One would think that the soldier drafted would be twice as likely to struggle because he never wanted to go fight, he was voluntold to. So, while Vietnam did draft, and the average American did not support returning soldiers. As a matter of fact, soldiers returning from home were greeted with chants of being a baby killer and being spit on. You would think that with less casualties, support for the troops back home, and organizations like the VA to help Veterans reintegrate that suicide and disability numbers would be down. Like mean I think that, and like many I am wrong. A more recent statistic, the current war in Iraq and Afghanistan has only produced one-third of the amount of casualties as Vietnam did. Vietnam death toll was 58,209 were as combined Iraq and Afghanistan have a total of 6,845. So then you might wonder what were the numbers of the deployed. Well, roughly 2.7 million troops went to Vietnam. The United States had boots on the ground from 1964 until 1973, nine years. On October 7th, 2001 America put its first boots on the ground in Afghanistan, Iraq in 2003. Those numbers are already longer then the time we were in Vietnam. However, the current wars have produced three times the disability rates. An even odder statistic, only 10 percent of our military are engaged in active combat.
By active combat I mean getting shot at, shooting back, and seeing those close to you make the ultimate sacrifice. Now, take that ten percent and add another forty to it. This is the percentage of veterans who have filed disability claims for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
On average 20 veterans commit suicide a day. A majority of those numbers are from the Vietnam war. In 2014 65% of Veterans that committed suicide were the age of 50 and older. Also of total number of suicides rose, women suicide rates jumped 85% (Zoroya). Why would an individual who struggles with war wait fifty years to finally give up? When women were not allowed to participate in combat operations, until recently, why would their rates be so high? The answer, according to Sebastian, is war had nothing to do with
it. Towards the end of the Ted talk Sebastian speaks about the Israeli military. His thoughts are that since enlistment into the military in Isreal is mandatory that the country itself, specificaly society, has a military mindset. Males have to serve for three years while femaels only have to serve for two. What this does is gives everyone in Israel the feeling and ability to relate with one another that the military brings. While in the military in Israel you represent Israeli as a whole (Katz). The moral code in which you are taught revolves around the laws and institutions of the State. Isreal's suicide rate among veterans is around one percent (S. Junger). Sebastian believes that it is because of the mindset society has as a whole. Another example that was used is a thesis that he wrote on the Navajo. Looking back, Sebastian can not recollect an issue that they had with PTSD. He believes that this is because nations like that Apache and Navajo are very warlike nations that are welcomed home. This further helped convince him that it is not war that is the struggle, it all falls back to reintegration.
In America service is not mandatory. Society does not know how to assist in the reintegration of a soldier. The wars in Iraq have gone on so long that America has lost focus on why we are fighting these wars to begin with. We were attacked. After Sept. 11th our nation united. Sebastian even goes on to say that murder and suicide rates in New York dropped drastically because of the unity our nation came to know. Over time we forgot what we were fighting for. The veteran knows why he is fighting, your average American has forgot (S. Junger).
While watching this talk over and over my opinion on the matter has changed. I thought he made a good point and offered a more plausible way to look at the matter. I personally know people who struggle with PTSD. I have not asked them why or snuck a peek at their medical records, I just support them and try to answer the phone when they call. I can relate to the comradery that exists in the military and can attest that it is a huge culture shock when we get out. I can not agree that it is society's fault that some of us struggle. We knew what we were doing when we signed up. The way that veterans returning from Vietnam would have been a culture shock, a reason to be completely lost after giving so much. A veteran didn't get coffee cheaper at Starbucks or the chance to get medicated and receive a disability check after Vietnam. In my opinion, if society was going to make you want to end your life it would have been then and not now. Sebastian Junger was a reporter in some of the deadliest places in Iraq and Afghanistan, if you have ever seen the movie Restrepo you would understand. Sebastian was there right next to the unit that lost an un-imaginable amount of young men. I respect what he has done and where he has been. I just can not say that I agree with blaming society, a group of people that didn't want to join. They didn't do anything wrong. They thank us for our service and are the reason some choose to go.
not as “norm” as it once was thought to be. Having said that, we no longer live in a world where you are drafted to fight for your country. One would think that the soldier drafted would be twice as likely to struggle because he never wanted to go fight, he was voluntold to. So, while Vietnam did draft, and the average American did not support returning soldiers. As a matter of fact, soldiers returning from home were greeted with chants of being a baby killer and being spit on. You would think that with less casualties, support for the troops back home, and organizations like the VA to help Veterans reintegrate that suicide and disability numbers would be down. Like mean I think that, and like many I am wrong. A more recent statistic, the current war in Iraq and Afghanistan has only produced one-third of the amount of casualties as Vietnam did. Vietnam death toll was 58,209 were as combined Iraq and Afghanistan have a total of 6,845. So then you might wonder what were the numbers of the deployed. Well, roughly 2.7 million troops went to Vietnam. The United States had boots on the ground from 1964 until 1973, nine years. On October 7th, 2001 America put its first boots on the ground in Afghanistan, Iraq in 2003. Those numbers are already longer then the time we were in Vietnam. However, the current wars have produced three times the disability rates. An even odder statistic, only 10 percent of our military are engaged in active combat.
By active combat I mean getting shot at, shooting back, and seeing those close to you make the ultimate sacrifice. Now, take that ten percent and add another forty to it. This is the percentage of veterans who have filed disability claims for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
On average 20 veterans commit suicide a day. A majority of those numbers are from the Vietnam war. In 2014 65% of Veterans that committed suicide were the age of 50 and older. Also of total number of suicides rose, women suicide rates jumped 85% (Zoroya). Why would an individual who struggles with war wait fifty years to finally give up? When women were not allowed to participate in combat operations, until recently, why would their rates be so high? The answer, according to Sebastian, is war had nothing to do with
it. Towards the end of the Ted talk Sebastian speaks about the Israeli military. His thoughts are that since enlistment into the military in Isreal is mandatory that the country itself, specificaly society, has a military mindset. Males have to serve for three years while femaels only have to serve for two. What this does is gives everyone in Israel the feeling and ability to relate with one another that the military brings. While in the military in Israel you represent Israeli as a whole (Katz). The moral code in which you are taught revolves around the laws and institutions of the State. Isreal's suicide rate among veterans is around one percent (S. Junger). Sebastian believes that it is because of the mindset society has as a whole. Another example that was used is a thesis that he wrote on the Navajo. Looking back, Sebastian can not recollect an issue that they had with PTSD. He believes that this is because nations like that Apache and Navajo are very warlike nations that are welcomed home. This further helped convince him that it is not war that is the struggle, it all falls back to reintegration.
In America service is not mandatory. Society does not know how to assist in the reintegration of a soldier. The wars in Iraq have gone on so long that America has lost focus on why we are fighting these wars to begin with. We were attacked. After Sept. 11th our nation united. Sebastian even goes on to say that murder and suicide rates in New York dropped drastically because of the unity our nation came to know. Over time we forgot what we were fighting for. The veteran knows why he is fighting, your average American has forgot (S. Junger).
While watching this talk over and over my opinion on the matter has changed. I thought he made a good point and offered a more plausible way to look at the matter. I personally know people who struggle with PTSD. I have not asked them why or snuck a peek at their medical records, I just support them and try to answer the phone when they call. I can relate to the comradery that exists in the military and can attest that it is a huge culture shock when we get out. I can not agree that it is society's fault that some of us struggle. We knew what we were doing when we signed up. The way that veterans returning from Vietnam would have been a culture shock, a reason to be completely lost after giving so much. A veteran didn't get coffee cheaper at Starbucks or the chance to get medicated and receive a disability check after Vietnam. In my opinion, if society was going to make you want to end your life it would have been then and not now. Sebastian Junger was a reporter in some of the deadliest places in Iraq and Afghanistan, if you have ever seen the movie Restrepo you would understand. Sebastian was there right next to the unit that lost an un-imaginable amount of young men. I respect what he has done and where he has been. I just can not say that I agree with blaming society, a group of people that didn't want to join. They didn't do anything wrong. They thank us for our service and are the reason some choose to go.