...The policy was instituted in the early 1980's and is currently enforced by weekly random drug testing. Service members face dishonorable discharge and even criminal prosecution for having a positive drug test. However, although there is a low level of illegal drug use. Abuse of prescription drugs is higher among service members than among civilians and is slowly increasing. In 2008, 11 percent of service members reported misusing prescription drugs. Most of the prescription drugs misused by service members are opioid pain medications. Alcohol use is also higher among men and women in military service than among civilians. Almost half of active duty members have reported binge drinking. 20 percent of military people have reported binge drinking every week for the past month. This rate was considerably higher for those with high combat exposure. It was shown that in 2008 30 percent of all service members were current cigarette smokers, However along with alcohol use, smoking rates are significantly higher among personnel who have been exposed to severe...
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...Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Unethical Business Practices and their Influence on Veteran Unemployment Chase Jeffrey Engel Georgetown University Abstract Military veterans have consistently experienced high unemployment rates. Challenging veterans’ efforts in finding and maintaining employment is the issue of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Exacerbating this problem, is civilian employers’ utilization of deficient hiring and employment practices. In particular, employers have developed a sense of fear and uncertainty about PTSD. These perceptions often prove to be a reason why employers choose not to select veteran candidates for employment. Additionally, organizations fail to successfully acclimate and socialize new veteran employees (who do or may suffer from PTSD) into the organization’s culture. Such failures can lead veteran employees to quit their job. Together, the deficient hiring and employment practices displayed towards former service members have significant ethical implications that serve as the catalyst for high unemployment rates for the veteran population. To minimize these implications and to improve veteran employment opportunities, organizations’ human resources (HR) departments must develop and incorporate new approaches to hiring and employing veterans who do or may suffer from PTSD. Keywords: PTSD, invisible disability, human resources, implicit bias Post-Traumatic...
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...Soldiers will face them. Controlled combat stress can call forth stress reactions of loyalty, selflessness, and heroism. Conversely, uncontrolled combat stress causes erratic or harmful behavior that disrupts or interferes with the accomplishment of a unit’s mission. Any uncontrolled combat stress can impair mission performance and may bring disgrace, disaster, and defeat. The art of war aims to impose so much stress on enemy soldiers that they lose their will to fight. Both sides try to do this and at times accept severe stress themselves in order to inflict greater stress on the enemy. To win, you must control combat stress. The word “control” is better than the word “manage” to emphasize the active steps that leaders, supporting personnel, and individual Soldiers must take to keep stress within an acceptable range. This does not mean that control and management are mutually exclusive terms. Management is, by definition, the exercise of control. Within common usage, however, and especially within Army usage, management has the connotation of being a somewhat detached, number–driven, higher echelon process rather than a direct, inspirational, leadership process. Stress is the body’s and mind’s process for dealing with uncertain change and danger. Elimination of stress is both impossible and undesirable in either the Army’s combat or peacetime missions Combat and Operational Stressors Combat and operational stress will affect you and your Soldiers throughout your...
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...Combat experiences have an effect on couple relationships often times it causes difficulty in expression of feelings, intimacy, and adjustment which could lead to interpersonal violence (Savitsky, Illingworth, & DuLaney, 2009). Some service members returning from deployment who have been diagnosed with PTSD have been found to be associated with partner violence. “Battlemind is the “soldier’s inner strength to face fear and adversity with courage”” (Savitsky, Illingworth, & DuLaney, 2009). Battlemind is very crucial during time of deployment and when in a combat zone, however, if battlemind is used while at home in an aggressive situation it could lead to family violence. During deployment most families become one parent families so stress starts to build for the at home parent. It has been found that military families show more maltreatment during the time of deployment than when a parent was not deployed. Due to relocation making it difficult to create new bonds children face behavioral and academic challenges. The Cycle of Deployment often causes stress on a child because of anxiety, learning to cope with an injured parent, and learning to cope with the absence of a parent. When a service member comes home wounded mentally or physically it puts a stressor on the family. Most families caring for a wounded soldier will need more support and services, this could lead to family members neglecting their own needs to care for the wounded service member. In many cases mental problems...
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...Are Veterans really our heroes? Why should white Americans, given a gun and a permit to murder, be worshiped as a hero? People say that they are doing a right cause by murdering people that deserve it like terrorists. Why do they get to murder them? They should get a fair trial like all people. It is not fair for Americans to have a right to kill without being punished just because they enlisted and are killing people on other soil. I cannot just say all soldiers kill, murder, and rape people in the field but they do protect our borders and keep us safe. As of this year, 570,000 new immigrants have come to America in search of a new life because of its safety. Without Veterans, I would not be here period....
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...Lack of Support for Soldiers with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Soldiers in the war are subjected to many violent and traumatic events which can affect a person internally and emotionally without being noticed for a period of time. This is called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It is a common disorder found in soldiers in the United States military who have been to war. PTSD can cause many health and social issues. In order to help soldiers cope with PTSD and lead normal lives the government should focus more the counseling programs available for soldiers once they return from war. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is “the psychiatric diagnosis now given to a set of reactive symptoms that results from experiencing a traumatic event or a series of such events” (Nidiffer and Leach 1). During The Revolutionary War the soldiers began showing signs of emotional stress and started to refuse to fight. By doing so the soldiers have been viewed as cowards and were treated as though they were deserters of the military. Most of these soldiers were discharged due psychiatric problems, so rather than getting them help they just sent the soldiers back to civilian life. However, “by the end of the war Benjamin Rush, a physician of the period, became among the first to suggest that rehabilitation in some form would be better than mere punishment…Rush’s efforts to understand mental disorders and to promote humane treatment for those patients suffering from it set the foundation...
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...the deployment area. * Prepare the unit to endure battle losses: providing mental preparation and counseling aids in Soldiers emotional well-being when casualties occur among unit members. 3. Based on the scenario, what leader actions would you implement? Why? * Identify which situations or events increase stress or COSR: this will better equip leaders to prevent, lessen or, divert stress away from their Soldiers. * Compensate by reducing other stressors: this will aid in focusing Soldiers on the task at hand. * Take corrective actions and measures: providing visible results, actions, or consequences sends clear messages to other Soldiers in the unit. * Get advice from mental health personnel and/or combat stress personnel: utilizing medical personnel and subject matter experts will greatly aid in preventing or reducing COSR casualties. 4. Describe insight or value that you acquired from this practical exercise. * The scenario provided a lot of vision as to the reactions that many soldiers have in definite situations. The soldier killing the insurgent as a “mercy killing” was shocking. In a way, that...
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...Combat Stress Yan E Oei ECPI University Abstract This research paper investigates the neurological disorder of Combat Stress. Combat stress is a short-term affliction caused by the traumatic effects of war. The historical perspective of combat stress were considered. The effects of combat stress on physical, emotional, mental and psychological parameters were analyzed. The ways of medical and psychological treatment were also mentioned. The cost of war weighs tremendously high, especially if one considers the individual human suffering and not just the loss of government property. When soldiers find themselves in the extraordinary and life threatening conditions, there is a high percent of combat and operational stress from which they may suffer. Combat stress compromises the service-member's emotional, mental and behavioral well-being beyond the lines of the battlefield. Combat stress is a neurological disorder caused by the traumatic effects and accompanied by “melancholy, insomnia, weakness, loss of appetite, and anxiety” (Weaver & Steward, 1988, p3). It is relevant to mention that combat stress is not a continuous disorder but a short-term affliction; and in this case, should be differed from the post-traumatic stress disorder which is long-term and brings more serious consequences. Among the general symptoms of the combat stress are exhaustion, fatigue, fear, uncertainty, and the inability to concentrate as if the person is switched off from the world....
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...This story made me think about the things returning soldiers have to deal with. It also made me think about the transition they go through. They have to go from the mindset of war to the civilian world. The transition is a big overwhelming change. Many soldiers come back detached from the world. Many never get the help they need although and can not completely recover from the things they have seen and done. When someone has PTSD it seems as though many are lonely and not sure of their place in this world. He seems to feel guilty from what had happened in war. This short story also made me think about how it must feel to come back from war and jump into a normal life. I think it would be weird to come from war and have to work at a normal job....
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...A Soldiers Struggle On and Off The Battlefield As I sit at a stoplight and glare at the pothole I sometimes have to stop, think, and remind myself that it is just a pothole. There is no IED (Improvised Explosive Device) in the pothole. Other times, when I am in Wal-Mart, and the store is very busy I have to calm myself down, and tell myself there is no one here that wants to hurt me. Sometimes the smell of burning plastic or a certain smell which I can't quite put my finger on makes my heart race and puts me back in combat mode. These are just some of the problems soldiers face when they return from war. It is something called PTSD ( Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). In this paper I will discuss the definition of PTSD, soldiers committing crimes, and suicides after deployment. Also, what kinds of treatments that are out there for soldiers. Finally, we will discuss the struggles of a soldier returning home. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition resulting from exposure to direct or indirect threat of death, serious injury, or a physical threat. Events that can cause PTSD are called "stressors” and may include natural disasters, accidents or deliberate man-made events/disasters, including war. Symptoms of PTSD can include recurrent thoughts of a traumatic event, reduced involvement in work or outside interests, emotional numbing, hyper-alertness, anxiety and irritability. The disorder can be more severe and longer lasting when the stress is human initiated action...
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...Post traumatic stress disorder or commonly known as PTSD is a psychiatric disorder which commonly falls in military psychology which comes under the subfields of psychology. Posttraumatic stress disorder occurs after you have been gone through a trauma. Trauma is a shock, it can be a horrible scary thing which you see or that happens to you. It can be Experience or witnessing of life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, paranormal visions, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood. These life changing situations may lead to this horrible psychiatric Disorder. The interesting fact here is most survivors of these traumas return to their normal lives with the time but some will carry the flashbacks, memories which cause side reactions and even their lives will be miserable with the time these are the people who develop PTSD. Some traumatic events that can trigger PTSD 1) Traumatic experiences following military combat 2) violent personal assaults such as sexual assault, physical attacks 3) torture 4) terrorist attacks 5) severe road accidents 6) being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness such as cancer 7) observing the serious injury or unnatural death of another person due to violent assault, accident, war, or disaster 8) unexpectedly witnessing a dead body or body parts 9) exposure to natural disasters such as earth quakes, Tsunamis After getting a general idea...
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...The Effects of Military Service on Children and Families Abstract When a service member is deployed or sent on a tour, this has a drastic change in the life of the service member’s family especially the children. Being the family of a military service member is already a difficult and complex lifestyle; deployments don’t make it any easier. Military deployment is a unique experience affecting both service members who make sacrifices for our country, and the loved ones who await their return. The potential for deployment is a constant reality. Today’s military deployments may occur in rapid succession and be extended. Therefore, military personnel and their families must always be deployment-ready. Deployments are not easy and can create significant stress for U.S. military men and women and their families. In many cases deployments cans create problems in families. It can contribute to marital problems, family dysfunction, and emotional or behavioral disturbance in spouses and children. The primary purpose of this research paper is to describe the effects of military deployments on a families and children. This paper will discuss the effects and they type of effects the military families and children are faced with. “Deployments in the United States have increased greatly in the past 10 years. Families and children are psychiatrically affected by these deployments and recent studies are clarifying these effects.” (James 2012, p.16) Deployments in military...
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...When remembering and talking about war veterans we often talk about the battles they fought or the training that they went through. However, this is a very small aspect of veterans military life and experience. There are so much more interesting and fascinating topics to talk about when discussing war veterans. The war veteran I’m researching is John Aguilar. He is a native minnesotan who was a war medic or corpsman during the vietnam war. In this interview and essay, many fascinating aspects of his past military life are talked about including what he did as a medic and his own astonishing war experiences. There are many fascinating things to consider when remembering or discussing military veterans. When remembering vietnam veterans, it is important to consider the effect boot camp has on soldiers, injuries that soldiers have during war, and how veterans are treated by civilians when they come back home. When discussing military related experiences, the effect boot camp has on soldiers is hardly considered or talked about. The following quote from an article on PBS.org concisely summarizes the impact boot camp has on soldiers. “In the Marines, boot camp traditionally last 12 weeks, but Pearl Harbor had cut that time in half. Everything was accelerated. The result was what Sid Phillips remembered as “a contrived nightmare,” intended to transform “silly young men” into “serious, useful warriors” willing to die for one another. “The training was very difficult,” Bill Lansford...
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...In “The Bonds of Battle,” Sebastian Junger uses his personal story and other examples to explain PTSD. He says, “Certainly the society we have created is hard on us by virtually every metric that we use to measure human happiness. This problem may disproportionately affect people, like soldiers, who are making a radical transition back home” (Junger 94). I believe that these sentences bring the whole essay together convey one meaning. These sentences present that the soldiers that go to war may experience a significant change when returning home, emotionally, mentally, and physically. Many soldiers can be affected emotionally by the loss of friends or maybe even family throughout the war. I believe that the change that the soldiers and the...
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...How Deployment Stress Affects Children and Families Keith Kovach Daymar Institute BMG 124 December 11, 2013 With all the frequent moves of military families, absence of either parent to a combat zone represents a challenge of a different magnitude. The one that stays behind (usually the mother), more responsibilities, finances, loneliness, and fear for the deployed soldier’s safety can cause anxiety, isolation, sadness and feelings of being overwhelmed. In my experience during my deployments, my family has felt isolation, loneliness, and stress of handling daily tasks without me. My son has taken his anger out on his mother because I wasn’t there to be with them. Studies have showed that Post-traumatic Stress Disorder not only hinders the soldier’s wellbeing, but also the spouse and children for soldiers with families as well as that of soldiers that are single because they take their frustration out on girlfriends, boyfriends, friends, and family. In Archives and Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, children, whose parents serve in the military have different reactions when one of their parents deploys. Stress varies with age and presence of preexisting psychological or behavioral problems and how one deals with the problem. Young children can show separation anxiety, tantrums, and changes in their eating habits. Older children can change in how they perform in their academics and develop some behavior issues or physical complaints...
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