Today being Veterans day, and reading Mr. Bolos's blog post this morning inspired me to think about how veterans are treated in America. On the NY Times website, I found an opinion piece called "When War Comes Home" about a decorated combat veteran, Staff Sgt. Dwight L. Smith Jr., who ended up murdering a 65 year old woman. The author, Nicholas Kristof, tries to explore whether soldiers' brain injuries and traumas from war could be blamed for crimes committed later. Staff Sgt. Dwight L. Smith Jr. was diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) after being blown 15 feet in the air by a mortar shell.
Kristof brings up the question whether the army could have done a better job in screening Sargent Smith's mental health. I think they definitely could have. Asking questions of the soldiers is simply not enough. There needs to be a more intensive screening process of soldiers coming back for war, so that they can attempt to treat whatever problems may be present. Smith wrote a letter to his father in which he wrote, "I am going to be honest with you dad. I have killed a lot of men and children. Some that didn’t even do anything for me to kill them.... I think I got addicted to killing people." If Sargent Smith was able to admit to his father that he had this problem, a professional should have been able to at least see that Smith had some serious problems that needed to be dealt with before he was integrated back into society. He needed to be meeting with psychologists and doctors in order to cope with his PTSD.
Do you think the Army is partly responsible for what Sargent Smith did? How do you think America can better deal with Veterans with serious brain injuries and trauma?
Rachel, I read this article in the New York Times and do think that what Sargent Smith did was because of the army. Asking the soldiers if they are alright once they return home is simply not enough. Many soldiers probably come home thinking that they have to act like a hero and don't want to admit to any serious problems that they might be having. These soldiers serve for our country, but come home just to be completely traumatized from experiences they had in the war. It must be mandatory that upon returning home, soldiers receive a complete physical and sociological exam, as well as treatment when necessary.
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