Posistion Synthesis Final

Kelsch 1 Kassidy Kelsch Alison Fernley ENGL-1010-411 13 April 2018 Opinions and Solutions: Veterans with PTSD Not a lot of people know this but Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, was first diagnosed as such after the Vietnam War, more specifically in 1980. Sure it had names before then such as “Shell Shock” and “War is Hell”. It’s also been ingrained in our human DNA since the beginning of warfare but more recently we as a species have been paying more attention to it because of the devastating effects that it has on a single person. One of the catalysts that has brought this problem to the modern era is the war in the Middle East. From the war’s start in 2001 to 2011 when we pulled out all combative troops to the present day 2018 where there are still soldiers over there helping rebuild the infrastructure of the Middle East, there has been an excessive amount of veterans who have returned home with PTSD. For far too long the only solution on how one should deal with PTSD was to just ignore it and pretend that it never happened; this solution has never worked in the past and will never work now in the present. Nowadays there are many solutions on how we can help veterans who have PTSD and in this essay I explore some of those solutions, and compare and contrast them because within my research I have figured out that there is no one true cure all for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. First let’s talk about the opinions that are opposite on the scale, the first one being that volunteers need to be involved in community programs and the second one being that we need

Kelsch 2 to pull all military operations out of the Middle Ease all together. There are so many civilians out there who want to give back to those who have served our great country but have no where to start. Well the first solution I came across is to start small and just volunteer in your community. There are many small community outreach programs that specialize in providing relief to veterans with PTSD and it is honestly one of the best way to honor those who served while really getting up close and personal with this disease that has plagued our country (Carafano, “Dog’s Life”). In contrast, the other end of the scale’s solution is to completely pull all military operation out of the Middle East to reduce PTSD in not only American soldiers but also in the civilians of the Middle East too. According to Erik Goepner, a U.S. Air Force veteran, “When at war, the U.S. military prioritizes winning, not mental health, America has no good choices in Afghanistan. The least bad option, though, is likely the withdrawal of U.S. forces”, and that, simply put, “militaries cannot fix trauma states.” These solutions are represented as the beginning and ending of the scale. For example, serving in one’s community is the simplest thing to do and withdrawing all forces out of the Middle east is the most complicated. While they both do the same job, which is helping veterans with PTSD, they are almost complete opposites in terms of their execution. Another set of solutions consists of those who are of the opinion that the best way to help veterans is that veterans need to transition to civilian life quickly, effortlessly, and that doing so will ease the stress that a veteran goes through when essentially changing every aspect of their life. One specific solution states that veterans need to be put into the workforce as soon as possible, that veterans don’t need a handout or our pity but a hand up and that veterans need to get in contact with companies who specialize in getting veterans in touch with companies

Kelsch 3 looking to hire them, such as the America Works organization (Carafano, “America Works”). The previous solution then flows into this next solution which is that the government needs new policies so that it works better with private organizations that hire veterans and with local and state programs (Flournoy). This solution also calls for the government to be more cohesive and that we need to have an understanding of the demographics of today’s veterans (Flournoy). Both of these solutions complete the goal of trying to get veterans active and involved in their work after service so as to not fall into the deep dark depressing hole that is PTSD. While these two solutions complete the same task in similar ways there are differences that make them different and unique such as the fact that the first solution is based on private individuals, civilians, and charity organizations and the second solution bears mostly on the government and how to change it to better suit veterans. These third set of solutions involves getting help with healing the souls of the returning veterans with PTSD. According to some the best way to help is to have the government give the surplus of veteran’s cases to private practitioners and pay them to help the over one million veterans who can’t get help because of the fact that the VA can’t get to them all because of the sheer amount of cases that they have (O'Hanlon). There are others who believe that along with providing more professional help, a family member or loved one of a veteran can be just as effective by being there for them when they need it by listening, understanding, and validating what their loved one is going through while at the same time giving them space to allow the veteran to process the traumatic event and figure out for themselves what they need to do next (Brock). Although these solutions seem not as cohesive as the others due to the fact that the first one deals with changing our government and the second one deals with changing people’s way

Kelsch 4 of thinking, the reason they are grouped together is because of the parallels of people understanding what the veteran has gone through in order to deal with the corruption of the veteran’s broken soul in order to heal them and have them move on with the rest of their lives happy and healthy. All the previously mentioned solutions are able to answer my question that I set out to do when writing this essay. I think that all of these solutions, if put into place, will better help veterans with PTSD. My own educated opinion is that in order to better help veterans with PTSD we need to create a discourse in our country about Toxic Masculinity. I use Toxic Masculinity to define the practice of teaching children, who may or may not be male, to show no weakness no matter what one is feeling inside and that asking for help with anything is never acceptable. The kids believing this then grow up and have no idea how to deal with the emotional turmoil that everyday adult life and traumatic events throw at them and it leads to very disastrous results. We need to get rid of this stigma that is rampant in our military and our country. We need to boost the idea that if you are the protector or in a position where your masculinity means the different between life and death, it is okay to ask for help with your feelings. We also need to establish that many other people are in this position and that there are a ton of people out there who feel the ramifications of PTSD. We need to do this through this discourse but also through representation in different outlets of media so that victims can have someone to relate to out there and know that it’s okay to do something about their feelings. I think that if we as a society put these ideas into effect, then we will be able to catch and treat people and veterans with PTSD much sooner and we won’t have to wait until something

Kelsch 5 catastrophic happens. People will instead feel the need to get help without the embarrassment or shame that currently goes with it. When I started writing this essay, I really didn’t know how I, a simple student, could help this group of people who are suffering every day of their lives. By finding six unique points of view on how to actually get into the grit of helping veterans with PTSD and how to take action to do that, I feel that I have successfully answered my question. Millions of Veterans are hurting and after basically sacrificing their lives for you, for our country to be free, and to help others maybe we should return the debt and help them with their chronic suffering.

Kelsch 6 Works Cited

Carafano, James. “A Dog's Life for Veterans.” The Heritage Foundation, 27 Mar. 2013, www.heritage.org/defense/commentary/dogs-life-veterans. Carafano, James. “America Works for Veterans Seeking Jobs.” The Heritage Foundation, 13 Apr. 2013, www.heritage.org/jobs-and-labor/commentary/america-works-veterans-seeking-jobs. Flournoy, Michèle A. “We Aren't Doing Enough to Help Veterans Transition to Civilian Life.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 2 Apr. 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-arent-doing-enough-to-help-veterans-transition-tocivilian-life/2014/04/02/d43189e2-b52a-11e3-b899-20667de76985_story.html?utm_term=. 340e323fa81d. Goepner, Erik. “The Rise of the Trauma State: Afghanistan and America's Unwinnable War”. Cato Institute, 28 Sept. 2017, www.cato.org/publications/commentary/rise-trauma-state-afghanistan-americas-unwinnabl e-war. O'Hanlon, Michael E., et al. “We Needed the Veterans-Now They Need Us.” The Brookings Institution, 9 July 2012, www.brookings.edu/opinions/we-needed-the-veterans-now-they-need-us/. Brock, Rita Nakashima and William Gibson. “Care About a Veteran with PTSD? Here Is How to Help.” The Huffington Post, 27 Jan. 2017, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rita-nakashima-brock-ph-d/care-about-a-veteran-with-ptsd _b_9073122.html.