PTSD: One Million Plus American Military Victims

Phillip Leveque has spent his life as a Combat Infantryman, Physician, Toxicologist and Pharmacologist. He is an expert in medical marijuana treatment.

Soldiers like this upper turret gunner in Afghanistan served their nation, it is time to return the favor. Photo by Tim King Salem-News.com

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - It is comforting for me as a combat infantryman and physician for PTSD victims to see an article in the Oregonian newspaper on PTSD. Articles also appearing in the New York Times, Cox News Service and Associated Press, are finally publicizing the negligence and the disgrace of the Army, Marines and V.A. about the gross mistreatment of not only hundreds of thousands of battle veterans but the mistreatment of all PTSD veterans going back even to the Civil War.

The figures usually given by the newspapers is 300 thousand PTSD veterans. What is not mentioned is their families. They have PTSD also. One of the symptoms or signs of PTSD is hypervigilance, in other words veterans are as "jumpy as a cat".

If a vet hears a click in the night it could be a trigger rifle safety, a hand grenade or even a mine trigger. Survival response is immediate and if the vet is in bed sleeping or taking a nap the effect on a spouse or children is as frightening as it is to the PTSD veteran. It seems no one has addressed this problem.

My wife wouldn't sleep with me for years because I thrashed in bed. I was only reaching for my rifle or running for my foxhole. She didn't quite understand!

I don't know what the divorce rate for this problem is, but I'll bet it is considerate. In addition to divorce, areas of major concern deal with spousal abuse and in some extreme cases, even murder.

To think that some of these vets have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as many as four times when the Army knows that more deployments causes greater and worse PTSD is troubling to me and should be to all Americans.

All of us will eventually have to pay for this with Big Bucks, I mean really BIG.

The newspaper says, "it has become a central topic of high-level discussions within the Army and the fundings have been accepted by Army leaders".

I say Hoo rah, let's do something about it.

There was a bill in Congress in January 1945 to insure adequate medical care for American servicemen, what happened?

*******************************************************
Got a question or comment for Dr. Leveque?
Email him: Newsroom@Salem-News.com

More information on the history of Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of Phil Leveque about his experiences in WWII.
Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier.
If you are a World War II history buff, you don't want to miss it.

Watch for more streaming video question and answer segments about medical marijuana with Bonnie King and Dr. Phil Leveque.

Click on this link for other articles and video segments about PTSD and medical marijuana on Salem-News.com: Dr. Leveque INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES

Salem-News.com Marijuana Coverage

Where and How to Smoke Legal Marijuana without Fear of Arrest in the U.S.

Eulogy of a Great Warrior: Hoss Plourde

The Ripple Effect How Marijuana Laws Are Impacting Society

Audit the Audit

Welcome Home, Tom

Comments Leave a comment on this story.

Name:

All comments and messages are approved by people and self promotional links or unacceptable comments are denied.

---

Henry Ruark May 19, 2008 7:14 pm (Pacific time)

Steve et al: AND we need to work over all those agencies, too, especially the fancy ones Bush set up to avoid lines of responsibility and bolster those "signing agreements" so contemptuous of the Congressional process. But with careful choice for change-maker, we can get that job done more rapidly than one might suppose. Tuesday is Change Day in Oregon and watch the vote for an indication of rapid progress or perhaps the reverse. Washington is the problem, not our governance system, and we can change what happens there, if we have the wit, wisdom and will to do so.

---

Steve B May 19, 2008 2:59 pm (Pacific time)

I agree with you AGM, it's congress who has been dragging their feet. Let's face it, it doesn't matter what political party is in charged, the democrats have done nothing for the last 2 1/2 years and the pubs before them did not fully address our needs. We need to clean house in both parties, obviously!

---

Henry Ruark May 19, 2008 1:02 pm (Pacific time)

AGM: Agree many workers in VA are unfairly included among those causing the real troubles so well now known to exist. Unfortunatly that's one more inescapable consequence of neocon-generated but Congress supported actions re budgeting and its deleterious effects on VA service and reputation via its very damaging impacts on those to whom we owe more than we can ever repay.\ Solution ? Easy and very democratic --kick the b......s (read "bums" !) out, in both neocon cabal AND Congress. That process already well underway in mounting GOP loss list in both Senate and House, and we can push it further and faster by our own choice for nomination and election, too.

---

A veteran named Smoke May 19, 2008 9:04 am (Pacific time)

It is incredible with all the revelations over the last couple of years that anyone would openly advocate for the V.A. I am offended, the person above is a government shill at best.

---

Matt Johnson May 19, 2008 1:19 am (Pacific time)

What a load of crap, cry me a river you fool. Just because you work for them means jack, the VA is so full of holes that the ONLY proper position for someone on the inside to have is one of change. Whah... poor VA being bashed, you make veterans SICK, Shut Up!

---

AGM May 18, 2008 10:29 pm (Pacific time)

I work in a Veterans Hospital and I have never seen a more dedicated and committed group of people as those that serve the veterans, many of whom are veterans themselves,. I am tired of the constant bashing of VA hospitals. The problem is not the VA but Congress who underfunds these hospitals and expects them to perfom miracles. Rather than constantly beat up on the VA, blame your legislators. Write to them and insist that they provide funding. Lastly they never anticipated this war and that needs to be addressed before anyone brings the troops home!!

[Return to Top]

---

©2025 Salem-News.com. All opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Salem-News.com.