I couldn't find any site that has actual figures cited. I've heard some high numbers and was alarmed by the high numbers from what I heard. I'd like to know the facts if they're out there. Having served in Iraq for 3.5 years, all in either combat (USMC Infantry-0311 Rifleman, 2005 Al Anbar) or Mobile Security, I've met several people over the years that have boasted about their ability to get VA benefits with ease for questionable claims of injury. For example, I knew several Marines who were Admin Clerks who filed for and received 15%-25% disability for "service connected ailments" like back pain, who never had to hump a 100 lb pack or face combat. They used to brag about how easy it was and it pissed me off as a combat vet to hear it. That being said, I know a few that never faced combat that are being compensated for PTSD. If I know a few, then there must be thousands. I'd like to see official figures on the percentage of troops receiving compensation for PTSD. I've heard it dwarfs other wars for the sheer amount of people claiming it.
What spurred this on is a little debate about some Army Psychiatrist at Fort Bliss who said that "Soldiers with PTSD deserve the Purple Heart." I was given this story by some former British Royal Marines and it made me extremely embarrassed as an American. Brits already don't get a medal for getting wounded in action...now we are trying to award medals to people that claim Iraq or Afghan gave them an anxiety disorder? F**k that.
Before you lay into me, I saw the worst shit that happens in war happen to my brothers in arms and lost my best friend in combat in Iraq. Body parts strewn across the road from IEDs, bloodied wounded in unimaginable pain, traumatic amputees, you name it. I just don't want to hear that the system is being overloaded with bullshit claims when the true heroes need help.
Answer by tonalc2
From the VA in early 2010.
"...the number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are being treated as PTSD patients by the VA has increased from 134,000 in June last year to 143,530 reported in January this year..."
"...the number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans' claims against the VA that were approved for PTSD claims increased from 59,000 in June last year to 67,052 reported in November..."
Also, of note is that currently, more soldiers are dying from suicide than from combat.
Answer by Marine5
Oh I understand exactly where you are coming from...
It is nothing abnormal...happens in all Wars...
The Number of Fraudulent Claims for PTSD is astounding...
and has been since the end of the Vietnam War...
The VA System is over whelmed by them...
because the VA DOES NOT Authenticate any DD 214's...
most VA Personal have no idea how to interpret one...
Even when you give them Proof of a Fraudulent Claim...
they do nothing...it is all about money...
They get paid by the Social Security Numbers they have...
in their system...
It was so bad during 1968-1969 that the USMC & US NAVY came out
with the "Combat Action Ribbon" (CAR) in efforts to stem the tide...
(That is the real reason for the CAR ...)
Most cases of Actual Combat PTSD today is a result of
far to many Deployments...someone says they have been Deployed 5 times...
doesn't sound alarming until you figure out that, that Marine has been in Combat for 2.5 years+...
out of the last 4 years...(Have a friend that just left for his 5th Deployment (Grunt)...)
(He got home at the end of last May...)
Answer by Paul Sullivan
A person needs to dig, and dig hard, to get the information you want. Here are the latest statistics on Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans and post traumatic stress disorder.
2,158,000: service members deployed at least once to war zones
1,311,000: veterans now eligible for VA healthcare and benefits
625,000: veteran patients treated and diagnosed by VA with at least one medical condition
313,000: veteran patients diagnosed by VA with at least one mental health condition
171,000: veteran patients diagnosed by VA with PTSD
84,000: veterans with approved VA disability claims for PTSD
Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) obtains this information from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). VCS publishes monthly fact sheets with these and other details about the impact of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.
VCS testified before Congress (the House Veterans' Affairs Committee) about this on September 30, 2010.
http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?NewsID=2272
In September 2009, Stanford University published this study estimating a 35 percent PTSD rate among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. This is the best and most current estimate. As the wars continue, and as more troops deploy several times to combat, the rate of PTSD continues climbing.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/knowledgebase/cgi-bin/2009/09/19/high-ptsd-rates/
For more information, contact:
Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans for Common Sense
Washington, DC
www.veteransforcommonsense.org
paul@veteransforcommonsense.org
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Orignal From: Does anyone have actual statistics on PTSD claims from the Iraq/Afghanistan conflict?
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