War On Terror Essay example

The heroes that make up our armed forces often suffer from terrible experiences in battle, some of which severely impact their mental and physical health, including suffering from post traumatic stress disorder or PSTD. Unfortunately, this has caused many of them to turn to drugs, whether prescription or illicit, to treat these problems. In fact, recent statistics estimate that one in 10 soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq suffer from a substance abuse problem.

On September 11, 2015 the greatest act of terror known was committed at the World Trade Center, as well as the Pentagon. The terrorist group known as al-Quaeda coordinated an attack by hijacking U.S. commercial flights and sending two planes into the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon. Luckily, a fourth flight was retaken by the passengers and could not reach its target, yet sadly it crashed in a Pennsylvanian valley. This event broke the hearts of American citizens and citizens worldwide, and the actions coming after wards would have a huge impact on America.

PTSD having been on the rise following various deployments necessitated by the various wars against terror, where the soldiers encounter traumatic experiences like harsh training conditions, unfavorable living standards, enemy attacks, extreme working environment, explosions, torture by enemies, loss of colleagues as well as long term separation from family back at home (Melinda S & Jeanne S., 2012). This therefore calls for a concerted effort in handling the pandemic of PTSD since it has been constantly on the increase and as a

Alcohol use and abuse is prevalent among members of the United States military as well as among the veteran population. Binge and heavy drinking is commonplace among the military and veterans. Veterans and members of the active duty military face a unique set of challenges when compared to the civilian population. There is a trend of combat exposure leading to a higher risk to abuse alcohol. For over a decade the United States military was involved in combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). This has lead to a generation of service men and women as well as veterans with a host of physical and mental injuries as a result multiple combat deployments. There are many veterans and active duty personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as traumatic brain injuries (TBI) as a result of their deployment in support of OIF and OEF. There is a link between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and a higher potential for the abuse of alcohol. Veterans and members of the armed forces deal with a host of psychological injuries related to the stresses of combat which can lead to the abuse of alcohol as a coping mechanism.

Members of the armed forces sacrifice not only their time, but also their lives serving in extreme stressful situations and remote circumstances in the world. Although these individuals are considered to be one our bravest people in this nation, they are also not immune to the substance use issues that affect the rest of society. U.S. military members are considered to use illicit drug use the least as compared to their civilian counterparts, but the popularity of heavy alcohol and tobacco, prescription drugs, and opioids are increasing in a fast pace. If this is left untreated, then it can often lead to criminal activity and can tragically increase numbers of veterans that are being arrested and entering the criminal justice system.

When Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is mentioned or thought of, often the thought that enters the mind is military veterans who have witnessed, experienced and even suffered the tragic or violent events of war. It is true military experience can trigger PTSD and PTSD was brought to the attention of the medical profession by war veterans. According to the National Center for PTSD between 11 – 20% of those who served in Iraqi, 12% of those who served in Desert Storm and the numbers have been adjust to 30% of those who served in Vietnam have been diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime. The National Center for PTSD goes on to list another cause of PTSD in the

A common sign of mental health issues surrounding PTSD and major depression is abuse of alcohol and/or drugs (U.S. Army, 2012, p. 28). To better understand the possible role of substance abuse as a coping mechanism for combat stress, and its aftermath, this essay will examine what is known about the prevalence of substance abuse within the ranks of the U.S. Army and veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

With the advances in technology and military medicine, improved amounts of armed veterans are surviving the injuries they endure at war. These brave men and woman are faced to enter the civilian life after enduring the things that they cannot remove form their memories. Posttraumatic stress disorder is a common psychological and physiological consequence of deployment for combat in military veterans. For an individual to be diagnosed of PTSD, the person had to have been exposed to an intense traumatic situation, which resulted in terror or helplessness and continue to re-experience the event for at least a month (World Health Organization). It can be very difficult for a military personal to return from active duty with the mindset that

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in war veterans is most commonly created when soldiers are put into situation in which they fear for their life. Recent war have changed in the way in which they have been fought. In past wars like World War I and World War II they type of fighting was strategically planned out. There would be attacks and retreats back to safety allowing some time to recuperate. However, in today’s war like in Iraq and Afghanistan soldier are attacking and being assaulted on the daily basis where there is little if any time for recuperation. The daily stress and common occurrences of horrific events and casualties but tremendous stress on soldiers’ brains. This daily stress is not just left on the battlefield once the soldiers return home. The physical, mental and emotional strain that war has on humans leaves lasting impression on the brain and body. When PTSD results from this strain, veterans can experience a wide range of symptoms. According to the Journal of Occupational Medicine the most common general symptoms include re-experiencing phenomena, avoidance tactics, and increased arousal (Bisson). Re-experiencing phenomena refers to a patient’s recurrent psychological recollections to the events that transpired to cause his or her PTSD. For many patients once they find a stimulus that causes them to have a recollection many try to avoid such areas in attempt to block their memories of the events. Arousal is shown through numerous methods with the most common being inability to sleep, difficulty concentrating, or irritability. Each treatment that follows is focused on reducing a patient’s symptoms and the severity in which it affects their

Today's veterans offten return home and find themselves experiencing PTSD symptoms as a result of combat-related stress and signfigant amount of exposure to traumatic events. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among United States Veterans has risen to great numbers in recent years due United States involvement in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) thus far within the last 10 years 1,400,000 military service members have been engaged in these conflicts. Once Unitied States troops were deployed and participated in Operation New Dawn (OND) numbers began to rise over 2.5 million troops. (Rosenthal, J. Z., Grosswald, S., Ross, R., & Rosenthal, N. 2011) The veteran population will face exclusive types of stressors

The encounters they had overseas never leave. They always remember them. The mental illness known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is commonly associated with war, when you are in the military you see combat, been in life threatening situations, been shot at or seen a friend get shot, these types of events contribute to PTSD greatly. As indicated by Geiger (2006), "A late investigation of battle troops taking after come back from arrangement to Afghanistan or Iraq discovered post bellum rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) going from 12.2% to 12.9%." This measurement is stunning. Experts in the therapeutic fields are the ones who analyze this emotional illness, however the soldiers are the ones who live it. To think this is a "made-up" illness is bazar. Moreover, different studies have been performed to demonstrate this is a genuine sickness. As indicated by the (Mayo Clinic), "The reason for PTSD is obscure. Mental, hereditary, physical, and social variables are included." The Mayo Clinic contextual analyses have demonstrated that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a disease that includes mental, hereditary, physical, and social

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans has been prevalent in the United States ever since the diagnosis of shell shock after World War I. PTSD continues to be prevalent in veterans from the Vietnam War, to the Gulf War, to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The estimated lifetime prevalence of PTSD among veterans during the Vietnam era was 30.9% for men and 26.9% for women (U.S. Department of Government Affairs, 2015). Based on a population study the prevalence of PTSD among previously deployed Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom was 13.8% (U.S. Department of Government Affairs, 2015). PTSD in combat veterans can be very difficult to understand. This is widely due to the lack of research

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, affects many of our nation’s veterans. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimated that in the Vietnam War, almost thirty-one percent of its veterans, when they came back to the United States, developed PTSD. In recent history, eleven percent of veterans from the Afghanistan War and twenty percent of veterans from the Iraqi War have developed PTSD after arriving back in the states. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, though brought into the light recently by veterans, is still widely unknown, mainly in what the symptoms are, diagnosis, and treatments.

The Global War on Terror is a military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom and supported by other NATO members. It was originally against al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations with the purpose of eliminating them. This paper discusses how the Bush Administration handled the War on Terror as well as different aspects of it, including its terminology, its objectives, its military operations and criticism against it.

Ever since the beginning of the terrorist attacks on American soil, the War on Terror has been involved in the lives of Americans and nations near us. The War on Terror’s background originated through conflicts between warring countries in the Middle East; U.S. involvement started when a terrorist guided plane crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in New York City. The attack was suspected to be the work of the middle-eastern terrorist group Al-Qaeda. The U.S. military, under the leadership of then commander-in-chief George W. Bush, declared a “War on Terror” on the terrorist group and the fighting began.