SBAND Seminar Materials 2013 Free Ethics: Echoes of War The Combat Veteran | Page 9

arm.

 This
 too
 was
 attacked
 by
 electricity,
 but
 before
 it
 disappeared
 it
 had
 to
 be
 chased
  from
 the
 right
 arm,
 left
 leg,
 and
 finally
 the
 right
 leg
 with
 each
 part
 similarly
 treated.”27

  In
 the
 aftermath
 of
 WWII,
 the
 United
 States’
 VA
 was
 guilty
 of
 similar
 treatment
 of
  our
 veterans.

 The
 VA
 had
 102,000
 hospital
 beds
 full
 and
 20,700
 patients
 in
 waiting,
 60
  percent
 of
 which
 were
 in
 need
 of
 psychiatric
 care.28

 Maintaining
 these
 patients
 could
 cost
  as
 much
 as
 $35,000
 per
 year,
 but
 George
 Washington
 University
 professor
 Walter
 Freeman
  created
 the
 ice
 pick
 lobotomy
 to
 be
 able
 to
 treat
 certain
 psychoses.29

 Doctors
 would
 use
 “a
  hammer
 to
 tap
 a
 modified
 ice
 pick
 through
 the
 patient’s
 eye
 socket
 and
 into
 the
 prefrontal
  lobe,
 which
 was
 then
 severed
 from
 the
 rest
 of
 the
 brain.”30

  World
 War
 II’s
 most
 decorated
 soldier,
 Audie
 Murphy,
 is
 credited
 with
 forcing
 the
  United
 States
 government
 to
 study
 PTSD
 and
 extend
 benefits
 to
 psychologically
 injured
  veterans.

 Audie
 returned
 home
 an
 American
 Hero
 and
 went
 on
 to
 become
 a
 major
  Hollywood
 movie
 star.

 He
 also
 secretly
 suffered
 severe
 PTSD.

 He
 became
 a
 chronic
  alcoholic
 and
 prescription
 drug
 addict
 who
 later
 admitted
 he
 slept
 with
 a
 loaded
 gun
 under
  his
 pillow
 every
 night
 after
 the
 war.

 His
 wife
 reported
 many
 incidents
 of
 domestic
 violence
  including
 an
 instance
 in
 which
 he
 held
 a
 gun
 to
 her
 head.

 Audie
 eventually
 sought
 help
 for
  his
 condition
 and
 then
 broke
 the
 taboo
 against
 publicly
 discussing
 war-­?related
  psychological
 injuries.
  Today,
 the
 military
 is
 making
 strides
 in
 removing
 the
 stigma
 of
 PTSD
 among
 its
  ranks.

 Troops
 heading
 into
 combat
 are
 educated
 about
 PTSD
 and
 encouraged
 to
 seek
 help
  if
 they
 need
 it.

 The
 military
 also
 now
 deploys
 “combat
 stress
 officers,”
 basically
 battlefield
  psychologists,
 to
 the
 front
 lines
 to
 screen
 and
 treat
 troops
 as
 they
 come
 out
 of
 battle.

  Though
 the
 military
 is
 making
 progress
 in
 removing
 the
 stigma,
 it
 still
 has
 a
 long
  way
 to
 go.

 The
 military
 is
 under
 unprecedented
 strain
 as
 it
 struggles
 to
 meet
 the
 demands
  of
 two
 extended
 conflicts.

 Military
 leaders
 are
 often
 caught
 between
 a
 rock
 and
 a
 hard
  place.

 Though
 they
 are
 now
 trained
 to
 recognize
 and
 encourage
 treatment
 of
 mental
 health
  disorders,
 they
 are
 also
 under
 pressure
 to
 field
 combat-­?effective
 units.

 Sometimes
 they
  relegate
 mental
 health
 treatment
 to
 a
 secondary
 priority.

 A
 series
 of
 2007
 media
 reports

27 28

 Id.
 at
 78
 (emphasis
 added).

 PENNY
 COLEMAN,
 FLASHBACK:
 POSTTRAUMATIC
 STRESS
 DISORDER,
 SUICIDE,
 AND
 THE
 LESSONS
 OF
 WAR
 54
 (2006).
  29
 Id.
 at
 54?55.
  30
 Id.
 at
 54.

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