=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

For many Iraq veterans, a mental battle is just beginning
Experts see growing numbers of soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder.

By Esther Schrader

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Monday, November 15, 2004

WASHINGTON -- Matt LaBranche got the tattoos at a seedy place down the street from the Army hospital here where he was a patient in the psychiatric ward.

The pain of the needle felt good to the former Army sergeant, 40, whose memories of his nine months as a machine gunner in Iraq had left him "feeling dead inside."

Before LaBranche left the tattoo parlor, his back was covered in images, the largest the dark outline of a sword. Drawn from his neck to the small of his back, it is emblazoned with the words LaBranche says encapsulate the war's effect on him: "I've come to bring you hell."

In soldiers such as LaBranche, their bodies whole but their psyches deeply wounded, mental health experts say that a crisis is unfolding. One out of every six soldiers returning from Iraq is suffering the effects of post-traumatic stress, and as more come home, that number is expected to grow.

...

The Army survey of 6,200 soldiers and Marines included only troops willing to report their problems.

The study did not look at reservists, who tend to suffer higher rates of psychological injury than career Marines and soldiers. And the soldiers in the study served in the early months of the war, when tours were shorter and the Iraqi insurgency had not taken shape.

...

Since the study was completed, Friedman said, "The complexion of the war has changed into a grueling counterinsurgency. And that may be very important in terms of the potential toxicity of this combat experience."

Last year, 1,100 troops who had fought in Iraq or Afghanistan came to VA clinics seeking help for symptoms of depression or post-traumatic stress; this year, the number grew tenfold.

In all, 23 percent of Iraq veterans treated at VA facilities have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mental health professionals say they fear that the system is not moving fast enough to treat the trauma.

...

more... (may require registration).