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The Mudville Gazette is written and produced by Greyhawk, the call sign of a real military guy currently serving somewhere in Iraq. Unless otherwise credited, the opinions expressed are those of the author, and nothing here is to be taken as representing the official position of or endorsement by the United States Department of Defense or any of its subordinate components. Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house.

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May 10, 2005

Odd Statistic

Greyhawk

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The Defense Department began issuing its post-deployment health assessment in June 2003. Since then, 525,019 troops have answered the 24-question survey. Designed to assess the mental and physical well-being of those returning from war, the analysis provides an unprecedented snapshot into the minds of troops fresh from battle.

Among the biggest gender differences: 70 percent of the 60,000 servicewomen reported seeing someone wounded, dead or killed, while 54 percent of the 466,000 servicemen said the same.

And I'm not sure if I agree with this response:

"Women are more likely to be in support roles, especially medical roles," said Col. Joyce Adkins, the Defense Department's program director for operational stress and deployment mental health. "They would be more likely to see people who are wounded or dead if they are serving in medical function than if they are discharging their weapons."

Neither point is true from my experience. Meanwhile, the headline War Stress Heavier On Women, offers little support for the women in combat argument.

Posted by Greyhawk at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) |

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GreyOne,

Why is it wrong to be a "Cowboy"? When I was a cowboy, I worked hard, got up early, went home late; handled cattle firmly when necessary, but gently when the younger ones needed the gentle touch; was patient to keep from spooking them, but pushed them hard when they needed to get to the pens. We were tough, but fair. We didn't bother anyone unless they bothered us first. And if they bothered us, we finished the argument for them.

So why is it wrong, if you want to try to handle your stress on your own first? If I couldn't handle my kids perfectly after they were born, why should I seek mental health or parenting help immediately from strangers? Why can't I work it out on my own, if I choose to?

I know the answer is that I might never admit defeat when it is required, and seek the help I must have when I would be overcome by problems too great for me to handle. But my father saw Death in Burma in WWII. He never talked about it, but neither did he seek mental counseling every month to help him combat demons he was quite able to handle on his own. He knew what he had done was right, and those who said otherwise were wrong.

And when he hung up his spurs for good in 1981, he had shown me self reliance, and the ability to handle many problems on my own, but also the ability to ask for help when I recognized I needed it. I have not had the benefit of asking him for help for 24 years now. I'll do my counseling with him in Paradise.

Cowboy Wisdom: A man should never flirt with the Truth; he should be married to it.

Press on.

Subsunk

Posted by Subsunk at May 10, 2005 10:47 PM

As you can tell by my username, I'm in the medical field. Yes, I've see some pretty nasty stuff (and got cool pictures to prove it), but I don't even see how that begins to compare to what line dogs endure everyday. Seeing blood and guts, IMHO, really doesn't equate to staring death square in the face.

As far as becoming a psyche casualty, I think a big part of hardening up (regardless of your job) is not only accepting what you do, but embracing it. While I don't wish severe injury on people (well at least most people), I get a rush when I'm in the swirl of a hopping trauma room.

Posted by armynurseboy at May 11, 2005 03:57 AM

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May 10, 2005

Odd Statistic