Returning Soliders and Wartime Effects on Themselves and their Families - Jenna Cavanaugh

By Jenna Cavanaugh           

           Emily Wiley, a senior at Stonehill College whose father serves in the Army, is familiar with a life full of family moves and worries of possible deployment. “He was supposed to be deployed to Iraq [in 2008],” said Wiley, “For four months, we thought he was going to go. The lead up was difficult. It put a strain on us.”

            There is a misconception that the manner in which a soldier readjusts to life after serving is a mental game that separates the boys from the men. Instead, the struggle after returning is a legitimate issue that ranges from minimal adjustment to diagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  

Photo by Rick Anderson

             Though Wiley’s father did not end up in the Iraqi war, even the possibility started to cause changed dynamics within her family. This is because many soldiers struggle to readjust and even return with PTSD, a disorder created from the horrors faced while deployed.

            According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan run the risk of developing problems such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, and traumatic brain injury due to their deployment.” Approximately 12% to 25% of the returning soldiers involved in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom showed signs of PTSD.” Therefore, almost one in every four soldiers suffers from PTSD alone – this does not take into account other side effects or undiagnosed personnel.

            Elizabeth Abramo, another senior at Stonehill College, volunteered at the Brockton Veteran’s Hospital and witnessed the negative effects that war can have on those who do enter combat. “Many told war stories,” Abramo said, “They had a lot of injuries including PTSD.”

            Abramo also visited the Andre House of Hospitality in Arizona during a H.O.P.E. trip, where she spoke to a homeless veteran affected by his service. “He lost his leg in the war and found it really hard coming back and adjusting. That is why he said he was on the street,” Abramo said. PTSD is strong enough for some to affect their lives to the point of losing housing, creating a problem that directly hinders the entire futures of these veterans.

            Dr. Gwen Kesten, a psychologist in Glastonbury, has dealt with the aftermath of solider deployment within her practice. “They’re tough cases,” Dr. Kesten said, “Improvements are definitely possible, but it is a process that not every veteran or returning solider is able to accomplish quickly or ever.”

            Louis Abramo, mother of Elizabeth Abramo, is the sister of an ex-Naval dental hygienist who changed after her experience serving. Jane Clark was discharged at age 23 after serving since age 18. “She was stationed in Scotland and was one of five women on the base for four years,” Louis Abramo said, “In Scotland, they had darkness eight months of the year.” This lifestyle led to the effects Clark experienced after her return.

            “She came back changed. They didn’t call it PTSD at the time. She couldn’t do what she wanted when she wanted because she did not like authority. She couldn’t get her life back to normal,” said Louis Abramo.

            Tori Ferland, another senior at Stonehill College, has seen her father process Army deployment and return. Her father is the Command Sergeant Major in New Hampshire National Guard currently stationed in the Middle East. In past tours, he has been deployed in Iraq and Kuwait.

           

                                                              Photo by Ahsan Rana

                  “The most difficult part of my father returning home is often when people assume that everything will be all better now in my family now that he is home and assume that things will proceed as normal,” Ferland said, “The first deployment was especially hard because we were expecting him to be the same person he was when he left and he wasn’t at all.”

            Though her father hasn’t personally gone through PTSD, Ferland said, “I think that it’s extremely common for soldiers just to not really be themselves after a deployment and to struggle with stress and readjustment… he deals a lot first hand with soldiers that must be referred to mental health services for treatment of PTSD.”

            Within the umbrella of PTSD symptoms, she said that most commonly, “He tends to meet with soldiers that have been caught abusing substances or self harming upon which it is later revealed that they are struggling with the effects of PTSD. Currently, there are a couple of soldiers on his deployment that are recovering from PTSD from previous deployments so there is a mental health specialist that deployed with them to be able to support those individuals.”

            Therefore, even though he does not suffer specifically front that illness, he is surrounded by those that do and has to endure the readjustment process regardless. The families of those who have served or are serving in the military experience the trauma secondhand no matter how difficult the readjustment is, but that does not devalue the family member’s willingness to serve for her.

            “I don’t want to say it gets easier, but it becomes the norm,” Ferland said, “It is certainly inspiring to see how strong of a leader my father is and I look up to him entirely in that respect.”