Well, this sucks.

[Noah930]

Deepest condolences to your family. May your cousin's soul be in a better place, now.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by flyenby

I thank your brother for his service , as well as you for listening. I too wear the badge , being a infantryman I Nam. 69-70. I am sorry for your loss....

Thank you for your service. I wasn't there, and I didn't see it, but am always willing to listen.

[flyenby]

Your listening to him ....meant more than you imagine. You did your best.....some things can't be undone. The fact he talked to you about his experience shows a trust. This trust is exceedingly rare...I speak from experience, I saw combat at the age of 19, I am 64 now

[nostatic]

Sorry to hear. PTS is devastating. We have research projects that show promise- part of the trick is getting the vet to seek treatment and the tech iinto the VA.

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

SimCoach

[flyenby]

They are already using it at the VA in Long Beach...I have not heard anything else about it

[nostatic]

We gave it in about 50 clinical locations. The treatment system is undergoing trials but it is based on techniques that are proven effective. The immersive element makes it more effective for the patient and easier for the clinician.

[flyenby]

I think M.Schulte is in charge in LB...

[gacook]

Originally Posted by SilberUrS6

I would talk to your son in person, and be happy doing so. I will talk to him by phone, via e-mail, whatever.

Realize this: I have never been there. I have never had anyone shoot at me with the intent to kill me, and I have never shot at anyone with the intent to kill them. Since I haven't been there, I don't know anything about it. I have only listened to those who have been there. I understand in a way that only those who haven't been there understand - combat arms is not a place for human beings. You might go there, but "you" won't come back. Someone else will. And that person might not be that great a person.

I loved my cousin before he went, and I loved him when he came back. And I understand he was proud of his service. I am proud of his decision to serve. But I will tell everyone that before they become a combat infantryman, please look into some other specialty first.

First off, I'm very sorry for your loss; and very proud of your cousin for his service. It has been said many times that war is hell. This is not an understatement, and some people are unable to ever escape that hell, even after returning home to their loved ones.

As to the bolded part...please realize that it's a job that SOMEBODY has to do, and unfortunately, many thousands of people must do this job. The sad reality is that some simply aren't wired to do perform this line of work--even if they think they are--while others can do it just fine. In my opinion, we do not do a good job of preparing our combatant soldiers for the atrocities that they may/will face, and we do an even worse job of taking care of them once they come home.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by gacook

As to the bolded part...please realize that it's a job that SOMEBODY has to do, and unfortunately, many thousands of people must do this job.

Maybe if there were less people available for the job, it wouldn't be as attractive to use them? Or that the ones who actually *do* do the job will have more value, during and after?

Seeing your pal, the guy you eat and sleep and work with on a daily basis essentially cut in half by an RPG? I would like to think that this would be necessary only in the most extreme of cases. Or seeing your sergeant lose his arm at the elbow from a 12.7mm machine gun round? And I don't even want to think about some of the other stuff, much less write it down. My brother was a Navy man, and he had his share of duty that exposed him to the grimness of service life. Like when a guy got a Dear John letter from home, went to the hangar deck, climbed into an aircraft, then activated the ejection seat. Being on that clean-up crew still bugs my brother, thirty years later.

No, I want folks to think REALLY carefully about being an 11Bravo. As it stands right now, I think the cost is too high. Maybe in the future, the costs will be less. Then I might revisit my opinion on the subject.

[gacook]

I don't think the costs will ever be less, until we start using androids to fight our battles. War is a constant amongst mankind (unfortunately), and when you have war, you need bodies to fight that war. It's an ugly fact of life for we flawed humans. Honoring our men/women who've served, and actually providing them the care they need and deserve is the absolute least our government should do for them. I can't begin to tell you how many suicide prevention classes I've been through while in the Army and as an Army civilian; this isn't near enough to actually address the situation, though.