320,000 US Wounded

By Cernig

320,000 wounded. How's that for a casualty figure for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Some 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from major depression or post traumatic stress from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 320,000 received brain injuries, a new study estimates.

Only about half have sought treatment, said the study released Thursday by the RAND Corporation.

“There is a major health crisis facing those men and women who have served our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Terri Tanielian, the project’s co-leader and a researcher at the nonprofit RAND.

...The Rand study, completed in January, put the percentage of PTSD and depression at 18.5 percent, calculating that approximately 300,000 current and former service members were suffering from those problems at the time of its survey, which was completed in January.

The figure is based on Pentagon data showing over 1.6 million military personnel have deployed to the conflicts since the war in Afghanistan began in late 2001.

RAND researchers also found:

• About 19 percent — or some 320,000 services members — reported that they experienced a possible traumatic brain injury while deployed. In wars where blasts from roadside bombs are prevalent, the injuries can range from mild concussions to severe head wounds.
• About 7 percent reported both a probable brain injury and current PTSD or major depression.
• Only 43 percent reported ever being evaluated by a physician for their head injuries.
• Only 53 percent of service members with PTSD or depression sought help over the past year.
• They gave various reasons for not getting help, including that they worried about the side effects of medication; believe family and friends could help them with the problem, or that they feared seeking care might damage their careers.
• Rates of PTSD and major depression were highest among women and reservists.

One of the project's leaders said "“Unless they receive appropriate and effective care for these mental health conditions, there will be long-term consequences for them and for the nation.” The costs of caring for these wounded but unacknowledged veterans are a major component of the estimated $3 trillion long-term cost of the wars, and most of them come from Bush's war of choice in Iraq. Isn't that more than enough "blood and treasure" for a war of choice that has utterly failed in all of its objectives after five years?