Experts: Vets' PTSD, violence a growing problem

Source: CNN
Published: Tuesday 17 January, 2012

A man opens fire in a national park, killing a ranger who was attempting to stop him after he blew through a vehicle checkpoint.

A second man is suspected in the stabbing deaths of four homeless men in Southern California.

Both men, U.S. military veterans, served in Iraq -- and both, according to authorities and those who knew them, returned home changed men after their combat service.

Iraq War vet could face death penalty

A coincidence -- two recent high-profile cases? Or a sign of an increase in hostile behavior as U.S. troops complete their withdrawal from Iraq, similar to that seen when U.S. troops returned home from the Vietnam War?...

It's important to note, experts said, that the two cases represent the extreme end of a spectrum of behavior signifying difficulties faced by returning troops, and some experience little difficulty, if any.

"What we don't want to do is stigmatize veterans by saying they're walking time bombs," said Elspeth Ritchie, chief clinical officer for the Washington, D.C., Department of Mental Health and a former U.S. Army colonel. "They're not."

But study after study has highlighted the struggles faced by troops returning home, including substance abuse, relationship problems, aggression or depression, she and others noted.

Some may have trouble sitting still in college classes, Ritchie said. Others may react with aggression at a perceived threat, such as being pulled over for a traffic violation, Meshad said. Still others have trouble riding in or driving vehicles because they are used to the threat of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), or may react aggressively to a sudden move, even one by their spouse, he said.

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