Showing posts with label Afghanistan deployments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Afghanistan deployments. Show all posts

Friday, June 25, 2021

Who failed Nicholas Mavrakis and his family?

When you read this story, notice that it was known he had PTSD and had been deployed multiple times. The last listed deployment was in 2008. The question is, why didn't he get the help he needed to heal during all these years back home?

Did the Army fail him? Did the VA fail him? Did all the suicide awareness groups out there fail him? The truth is, they all did and so did the rest of us!

Greek-American Man Suffering from PTSD Kills Family in Murder/Suicide
Greek Reporter
Patricia Claus
June 25, 2021
The Greek-American man had served in the U.S. Army from April 1993 through July 2013 and retired as a staff sergeant according to US Department of Defense records. He had been deployed to Afghanistan from January 2002 to July 2002, and served in Iraq twice, from February 2003 to February 2004 and then again from September 2007 to November 2008.
Nick Mavrakis and his family. Mavrakis shot and killed his own family on Father’s Day in a murder/suicide. Credit: Facebook/Nick Mavrakis

Nicholas Mavrakis III, of Jackson Township, outside Canton, Ohio, allegedly shot and killed his wife and two children before turning the gun on himself in a murder/suicide on Father’s Day.

The shocking incident took place at the family home in Jackson Township, five miles from Canton, Ohio according to police and local media reports.

The Greek-American man was a U.S. Army veteran who had served in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Local police, in a post on Facebook, reported that Mavrakis, along with his wife Lesley Mavrakis, 37, and children Ace Mavrakis, 13, and Pippa Mavrakis, 5, “were found dead shortly after 4 PM Sunday in their home.”
read more here

Monday, May 11, 2020

Wisconsin OEF-OIF veteran shot and killed trying to protect sister

Male shooting victim was decorated Army vet, family says, only trying to help sister out of 'very bad situation'


Rome Sentinel
Sean I. Mills
May 11, 2020
Family said the male victim was a 12-year veteran of the U.S. Army, who served two tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. They said he came home with a Purple Heart. Family said he is survived by six children.

The man who was shot and killed on Whittier Avenue Saturday night was a decorated Army veteran and father of six who had come to Rome to help his sister out of a "very bad situation," according to the victim's family and others close to the family.

The woman was also shot during the incident and remains hospitalized, according to police. The gunman is believed to have then turned his 12-gauge shotgun on himself.

Rome Police have not yet released the names of those involved in the incident at 107 Whittier Ave. The investigation is ongoing and police officials said they will release more information when it is available.

A sister of the two victims recently spoke to the Daily Sentinel and said her brother and her nephew traveled to Rome from Wisconsin to help the woman.

"My brother traveled here to help my sister in a very bad situation," the sister said.

"The fact of the matter is, she didn't come to file the police report and try to get the order of protection for no reason."
read it here


Tuesday, May 5, 2020

More than 200,000 veterans and service members signed up for Burn Pit Registry

More than 200,000 veterans, troops sign up for VA burn pit, airborne hazard registry


Connecting Vets
Abbie Bennett
May 5, 2020

The Pentagon encouraged registry participation in a letter to more than 700,000 active-duty, National Guard and Reserve members, VA said.
More than 200,000 veterans and service members have signed on to the Department of Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, VA announced Tuesday.

The registry was established in June 2014 and allows current and former service members to self-report toxic exposures and health concerns using an online questionnaire. That registry and their responses can be used to discuss health issues with doctors and other providers.

“Concerns about the long-term effects of exposure to burn pits remain a priority,” VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a statement. “By joining the registry, veterans, service members and the department will further understand the impact of deployment-related exposures on health.”

VA credited the Defense Department with an extra push to put participation beyond the 200,000 mark, which it called a "major milestone."
read it here

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Fort Carson Staff Sgt. killed by police after domestic disturbance

Army staff sergeant shot and killed after allegedly pointing rifle at police through basement window


Army Times
Kyle Rempfer
April 30,2020

Thorpe, a 28-year-old combat veteran assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, joined the Army on May 22, 2012, according to his service history. His home of record is Canton, Massachusetts. He had been assigned to Fort Carson since April 14, 2016.

Thorpe deployed to Afghanistan between May 2, 2013, and Dec. 1, 2013.
(Blackfoot Troop 4-10 Cavalry Regiment)
An Afghanistan veteran and non-commissioned officer was shot and killed by four police officers on April 19 after he allegedly picked up a rifle and pointed it at them through a basement window, Colorado Springs Police Department officials said.

Staff Sgt. Virgill Thorpe, a cavalry scout assigned to nearby Fort Carson, was shot on a Sunday night. A woman had called police to report a domestic disturbance in which a man was armed with a rifle. Officers arrived at the 3200 block of Oak Creek Drive East in Colorado Springs at roughly 10 p.m. and spoke at the front door with Thorpe.

“There was a verbal exchange. The suspect then ran inside ... downstairs to the basement of the residence where the [reporting party] was at,” said Colorado Springs Police spokesman Lt. Jim Sokolik.

“Officers were on the outside of the residence and could see through the basement window that he picked up a rifle," Sokolik added. “He then pointed that rifle at the officers who were outside the residence, through the basement window. And that’s when the officers fired.”

All four officers fired shots. Until the coroner’s report comes back, which takes about four weeks or longer, police cannot say definitively how many times Thorpe was struck. Sokolik could also not say how many rounds were fired in total or how large the basement window was through which Thorpe pointed his rifle.
read it here

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Spreading suicide awareness spreads more suicides of younger veterans and older ones too!

If you still think that the groups raising awareness veterans are killing themselves is a good thing...YOU ARE NOT THINKING AT ALL!

Suicide remains growing challenge for younger veterans, survey shows


Military Times
Leo Shaqne III
March 1, 2020

The number of young veterans who know someone who has died by suicide or considered harming themselves both increased significantly in recent years according to just-released annual membership survey of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, another sign of the mental health struggles facing the military community.
An excerpt from the annual Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America member survey released on March 4, 2020. More than two-thirds of individuals who participated said they know a fellow veteran who attempted suicide. (Courtesy of IAVA)
Of the more than 1,700 veterans who participated in the questionnaire, more than two-thirds said they know at least one post-9/11 veteran who has attempted suicide. Nearly as many — 62 percent — said that they have lost a fellow young veteran to suicide.

Six years ago, only about 40 percent of members surveyed said they knew of a fellow veteran’s suicide.
read it here


Time to stop spreading misery and start spreading hope!


When will people wake up? What will it take for veterans to stop being treated like they are not worth every effort to let them know they can heal...they do not deserve to suffer...they are not broken and their lives are not hopeless?

As long as all this crap taking over social media is support, they will lose whatever shard of hope they have left and become one of the ones everyone is talking about, raising money talking about something they have no clue about and increasing their numbers of those we failed!

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Capt. Ryan S. Phaneuf of Hudson, New Hampshire, one of two killed in plane crash

NH Airman Among 2 Killed in Afghanistan Plane Crash


NBC 10 Boston
Published 2 hours ago

A wreckage of a U.S. military aircraft that crashed in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, is seen Monday, Jan. 27, 2020.

A New Hampshire man was one of two airmen killed when an Air Force plane crashed in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense has confirmed.

U.S. forces recovered the service members' remains Tuesday from the site of a plane crash in Afghanistan the day before. Wednesday, the deceased were identified as 30-year-old Capt. Ryan S. Phaneuf of Hudson, New Hampshire, and 46-year-old Lt. Col. Paul K. Voss of Yigo, Guam.

Phaneuf was assigned to the 37th Bomb Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. Voss was assigned to Headquarters Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. Both men were on board the U.S. Bombardier E-11A aircraft that went down Monday in Ghazni Province.
read it here

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Tim Foret, OEF OIF veteran lost battle with PTSD

Mentor veteran loses battle with PTSD, community wants to remind vets help is out there


19 News
By Kelly Kennedy
January 7, 2020
“We tried doing everything and he was just a proud vet. He didn’t want the help. He kept telling everybody he was fine, he was anything but.” Chris Blood
MENTOR, Ohio (WOIO) - A Mentor veteran took his own life last weekend. 19 News is told the man barricaded himself inside his home. Police and SWAT tried to talk the vet down, but sadly, it did not work.

On Tuesday night the community held a vigil to remember the veteran and to raise awareness for PTSD.

Tim Foret, 38, was no stranger to being out on the battlefield.

“He had been over in Iraq and Afghanistan, several tours, seen things that no man should have to see and sadly he brought that home with him,” said Chris Blood, friend to Foret and First Lady of the US Militia RC, a veteran support group.

There was one enemy the soldier could not defeat, PTSD.
read it here

What could have happened if he had known veterans like him could heal...instead of being made aware too many were committing suicide instead?

YOU CAN HEAL and life can get a lot better than what it is right now.
If you are struggling, that is the message you need to leave this site with.

Monday, December 30, 2019

UK Veterans 'betrayed and abandoned' by the Government

Heroes' pension betrayal: Savings scam sanctioned in Whitehall could cost military veterans up to £50,000 each and force them to work into their eighties to recoup their losses


Daily Mail
By TOM KELLY INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR FOR THE DAILY MAIL
30 December 2019
Tens of thousands of pensioners have lost up to £10billion between them Armed forces now face working into their eighties despite suffering trauma They said they had been 'betrayed and abandoned' by the Government
Forces veterans have had their futures ruined by a Government-sanctioned pension scam.

Although some are still suffering trauma from tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland, they now face working into their eighties after losing nest eggs worth up to £50,000.

They said they had been 'betrayed and abandoned' by the Government which registered the rogue scheme but now refuses to help.
read it here

Nebraska who suffered his second traumatic brain injury is making a miraculous recovery

Nebraska veteran comes out of coma in time for Christmas


WCMH/CNN 17 min ago

OMAHA, Neb. — A Purple Heart veteran from Nebraska who suffered his second traumatic brain injury is making a miraculous recovery.

Tony Belt, who fell 18 feet in a work accident, woke up from a coma before Christmas and has been able to communicate by giving a thumbs up or down. WCMH/CNN
Christmas Eve marked three months since Tony Belt fell 18 feet in a work accident, KETV reported.

"The doctors told me he probably wasn’t going to make it to the weekend,” said Kyli Belt, Tony’s wife.

He survived that weekend, but doctors still said he would never wake up.

Tony is a fighter. He spent eight years in the Army, deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2006, he was shot in the head, an incident that ended his military career and sent him home with a Purple Heart. read it here

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Veteran Army Ranger healing his PTSD with hugging arms

Soldier’s new mission: giving free hugs to help others’ mental health


WGN9 News
BY MARCELLA RAYMOND
DECEMBER 23, 2019
“There are many routes to recovery, Dr. Troiani says, there’ not one golden brick road” to help people recover from PTSD.
Kevin Milligan is 6’6”, has a massive wingspan and a giant smile. He’s also a great hugger.

Kevin is a former Army Ranger who was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He was in Kosovo and Afghanistan from 1998 to 2003. When he had to stay in Afghanistan longer than he planned, he says he felt like the whole world had fell out from under him.
To help him heal, he started The Unconditional Hug. Studies have shown that people need eight hugs a day for maintenance and twelve for survival. They help ward off disease, reduce stress and just make us feel good.

Kevin stood on the corner of Washington and Clark for about an hour and a half, in ten-degree temperatures, and hugged as many people that would let him. We counted about twenty-five to thirty.

Dr. Joseph Trioani is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Adler University in the Loop. He’s a retired Navy Commander and the founder of The Military Psychology Program. He trains other clinical psychologists to treat veterans with PTSD.
read it here

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Military suicide research shows suicides increased during Wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan

Historic data on military suicide shows no clear link with combat operations


Military Times
Leo Shane
December 13, 2019

The results show an increase in suicide rates among soldiers during the Vietnam War and the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but decreases during the U.S. Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War.
Contrary to public assumptions, increased combat operations do not lead to more military suicides and may actually result in fewer troops engaging in self-harm, according to a new analysis of historic Defense Department data released Friday.

Study authors say their findings provide both a reminder that the motivations behind suicide aren’t singular, simple factors, and an alert to other researchers that more data on the problem is available than they may know about.

The study tracks Army suicide data from the 1840s to today. Dr. Christopher Frueh, a professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii and one of the study’s authors, said researchers spent the last four years combing through Army medical records to find the information.

“Before we started, we didn’t know if the data would be there,” he said.

What they found was a trove of reports, including from the Army Surgeon General as far back as 1843 that included accounting of “self-inflicted” deaths in the ranks. By the early 1900s, those suicides were clearly delineated in official service figures, allowing researchers to analyze the death totals across different eras of military operations.
read it here


Monday, December 9, 2019

Operation Combat Bikesaver mending veterans of all generations

Hot rod therapy: Vets tout positive influence of motorcycle building workshop; ‘It’s really amazing what getting your knuckles dirty and bloody can do’


Chicago Tribune
By CARRIE NAPOLEON
POST-TRIBUNE
DEC 08, 2019

Participants are from different branches of the service and different wars and conflicts including Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. What they find on those Sundays is the camaraderie they had while serving and a place to work through their feelings physically by working on projects or their own bike.
U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Indiana), right, visits the headquarters of Operation Combat Bikesaver in Center Township near Crown Point on Friday, December 6, 2019. At left is organization CEO, president and founder, Jason Zaideman. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune) (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune)

Marine veteran Dan Riordan explained to U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., how the motorcycle he is building at Operation Combat Bikesaver Inc. will look when the project is done.

The bike will be Marine Corps dress blue with the red stripe. There will be a Gold Star in front with the names of the members of his battalion “Mad Ghosts 224” killed in action listed, Riordan said. The battalion logo will be on the sides.

“It’s gonna be looking good and sounding even better,” Riordan, of Griffith, said.

Young was in Crown Point to tour the Operation Combat Bikesaver facility and learn more about the work done there to help veterans struggling with issues including depression and PTSD find their footing.
read it here

Sunday, September 8, 2019

150 volunteers showed love to combat wounded veteran

Volunteers come out in force to work on disabled veteran's home


Village News
August 30, 2019
“They transported me to Landstuhl in Germany, where they actually called my mom and told her to fly out to Germany because they didn’t think I was going to make it,” Paulks said in a video from Homes for Our Troops. “They were hoping that they could get there to say goodbye.”

An unusually warm Saturday morning couldn’t stop more than 150 volunteers from showing up to work on the future home of a disabled U.S. Army veteran relocating to Fallbrook with the help of Homes for Our Troops.

The event is the second for the home build for Spc. Joseph Paulks, leading up to the key presentation ceremony, Saturday, Sept. 7.

The landscaping event was organized by Homes for Our Troops with the help of general contractor Youngren Construction.

“We as a company and also as a family are so appreciative to be a part of giving back to our veterans who have given so much,” Jennifer Youngren said. “Joey’s home will be the 23rd we’ve completed for Homes for Our Troops. We get to know each veteran throughout the build process but the best part for us is seeing them through the years afterward. It’s amazing to witness how each family has thrived because of the freedom this specially adapted home provides.”

Paulks was serving with the 546th Military Police Company as the lead driver of a Quick Reaction Force in southern Afghanistan in 2007, and while on a rescue mission, his convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device, causing the vehicle to flip over.

Though he was ejected from the vehicle, he was engulfed in flames. His unit quickly put the fire out with fire extinguishers as Paulks sustained severe burns. He was moved to the nearest U.S. facilities in Afghanistan, where doctors put him into a medically induced coma.
read it here

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Warm welcome home for Green Beret who survived ambush

Hundreds give wounded veteran hero's welcome in North Idaho


KREM 2 News
Author: Megan Carroll
August 30, 2019

Army Sgt. 1st Class Brian Sharp and his fellow Green Berets were ambushed during a mission in Afghanistan. Sharp was shot multiple times and almost died.
KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — Dozens of community members are lined up to give a hero's welcome on Friday to a veteran who was wounded in Afghanistan this year.
Deputies with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office provided an escort for Army Sgt. 1st Class Brian Sharp from Stateline to Highway 95, then north to Lancaster Road at 11 a.m. on Friday.

The sheriff's office has also reached out to Idaho State Police and other law enforcement agencies that may want to help.

Sharp is the cousin-in-law of KCSO Sgt. Erik Hedlund, who says Sharp is coming to visit family in North Idaho now that he has recovered enough to travel.

Sgt. Sharp and his fellow Green Berets were on a mission in Afghanistan earlier this year when they were ambushed by their own Afghan support team, Hedlund said.

Two soldiers were killed in the battle. Sharp was shot multiple times in the pelvis and abdomen, and almost died in the field. He was awarded a Purple Heart for his sacrifices.

After Sharp was stabilized, he returned to the United States and has been recovering in the hospital, just recently regaining the ability to walk, Hedlund said. At the same time, his one-year-old daughter, Audrey, was also learning to walk for the first time.
read it here

Thursday, August 22, 2019

7th Special Forces mourn loss of two Green Berets

Army Posthumously Promotes Two Green Berets Killed in Afghanistan


Military.com
By Hope Hodge Seck
22 Aug 2019

Both men belonged to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
Two Special Forces soldiers killed Wednesday in Afghanistan during combat operations have been posthumously promoted, officials announced Thursday.

Master Sgts. Luis F. Deleon-Figueroa, 31, and Jose J. Gonzalez, 35, died in Faryab province, Afghanistan, at the country's northern border with Turkmenistan, according to a release from U.S. Special Operations Command. They died of wounded sustained from small arms fire due to combat operations, according to a Pentagon release. The incident is under investigation.
read it here

Saturday, August 10, 2019

OEF OIF veteran lost job as Police Officer because of PTSD Service Dog

Man claims he's being discriminated against because of PTSD and service dog


KMVT 11 News
By Garrett Hottle
Aug 09, 2019
Thompson said his PTSD is the reason he's not a police officer anymore. But that things have recently gotten better, thanks to the addition of his service dog, Ziva. Thompson said he could tell she would make a huge difference in his life, from one of the first times they met.
SHOSHONE, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) A military veteran and former police officer in the Magic Valley, believes he's experiencing discrimination in his search for employment because of his service dog.

Former police offer and veteran Michael Thompson explains how his service dog Ziva helps him cope with PTSD. Michael Thompson is a Shoshone resident who previously worked for the Bellevue and Shoshone police departments. Prior to that, he served in the U.S. Military and saw combat during the invasion of Iraq.

"I did the initial invasion for Iraq," Thompson said. "We were the group that was embedded with special forces that jumped into north Iraq and worked our way south."

Thompson has lived in Buhl most of his life and his time in the military was a big change for him, especially going overseas.

"I went from small town kid to a gunner in a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), where we were actually fighting and taking over areas as we worked our way south," Michael said.
read it here

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Fort Carson 10th Special Forces Group Lost Hero

Decorated special forces soldier dies in combat in Afghanistan


NBC News
By Tim Stelloh
July 14, 2019

Sgt. Maj. James Sartor "was a beloved warrior who epitomized the quiet professional," a military official said.

A Special Forces company sergeant was killed during combat operations in Afghanistan, military officials said Sunday.

Sgt. Maj. James Sartor, 40, died Saturday in the country’s northern Faryab Province, U.S. Army Special Operations spokesman Lt. Col. Loren Bymer said in a statement.

Additional details about Sartor’s death were not immediately available.

Sartor, of Teague, Texas, was assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group in Fort Carson, Colorado, Bymer said. He deployed to Iraq as an infantryman in 2002 and later as a Green Beret. Sartor had served in Afghanistan twice — once in 2017 and again this year.

Sartor, who went by "Ryan," joined the Army in June, 2001, and was given more than 20 awards and decorations during his military career. He will posthumously receive a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, Bymer said.
read it here

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Philly veteran met best friend in Florida...PTSD Service Dog named Maverick

How a very good dog named Maverick is helping a local vet escape the lingering effects of war


Philly Voice
BY BRIAN HICKEY
PhillyVoice Staff
July 2, 2019

Geoff Dempsey was haunted by things he saw in Afghanistan, but an 18-month old canine lightened his mental load
In late April, Geoff Dempsey flew from Philadelphia to Florida knowing he would soon meet his new best friend without any idea who, exactly, that was.
BRIAN HICKEY/PHILLYVOICE Geoff Dempsey said he felt an instant connection with Maverick, a black-and-tan lab who helps him escape a shell brought about by PTSD stemming from his service with the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan.

He and six other veterans – each still troubled by their time in the service – waited in line. One by one, they walked outside of K9s for Warriors headquarters in Ponte Verde for the big moment.

There, the 30-year-old, who served for five years including an eight-month tour in Afghanistan with his fellow U.S. Marines, was introduced to Maverick, a one-and-a-half-year-old black-and tan lab. They hit it off on the spot.

That connection was clearly evident when the duo arrived at Philadelphia’s Fitler Square Park two months later to talk about a non-profit program that matches veterans with “life-changing service dogs.”

In Dempsey’s case, it was all about being saddled with post-traumatic stress disorder related to his military service.

“He was licking me, sniffing me. I felt an instant connection,” he recalled with a smile on Monday morning, with Maverick at his side. “It was clear that he had a lot of love to give.
read it here

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Veteran of Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq running for President

Joe’s In: Former Congressman, 3-Star Admiral Sestak announces campaign for President.


JUNE 22, 2019

Thank you for taking the time to see why I am declaring my candidacy for President of the United States of America.
What Americans most want today is someone who is accountable to them, above self, above party, above any special interest … a President who has the depth of global experience to restore America’s leadership in the world to protect our American Dream at home … and one who is trusted to restructure policies where too many see only the growth of inequity not of the economy.

I want to be that President who serves the American people the way they deserve to be served.

And while my announcement may be later than others for the honor of seeking the Presidency, the decision to delay was so I would be there with Alex, our daughter, as the brain cancer she had courageously beaten at four years old returned this past year. But with her same team of medical heroes, she has again overcome the single digit odds.

I had worn the cloth of our nation for over 31 years in peace and war, but after Alex’s first high-grade brain tumor, I needed to answer to you, the American people, who provided the military healthcare coverage that saved our daughter’s life. I served our nation as a U.S. Congressman for two terms from a Republican District in order to work for all Americans to have the healthcare coverage we fortunately had had for Alex.

Now, the hour has become late to restore U.S. global leadership that convenes the world for two primary objectives that serve our collective well-being here at home: putting a brake on climate change and putting an end to an illiberal world order’s injustices, from China’s control of the 5G network to Russian interference in democratic elections.

However, we cannot meet the defining challenges of our time without a united America. This is our Hobson’s Choice: not just to win this Presidential election, but to heal our nation’s soul by regaining the trust of Americans – all Americans – by a President who the people know will remain accountable to them alone, no matter the cost to him.

I ask that you would take a moment and watch the video(s) below. The first is my announcement summarizing why our next President must have a unique understanding of all the elements of our nation’s power: our economy and diplomacy, our military – including its limitations – and the power of our ideals. The other videos describe the foreign and domestic challenges we face, and the policies I will pursue as President, particularly accountability to America.
go here for more

Being exposed to the death and suffering of others tends to result in worse PTSD

For Veterans, Witnessing Suffering Can Mean Worse PTSD


PsychCentral
Traci Pedersen
Associate News Editor
June 23, 2019
“An example of witnessing might be that a suicide bomber triggers a bomb that hurts or kills children and civilians. Then our soldiers come in to clean up or secure the area after the bomb has gone off and experience the devastation,” said study author Andreas Espetvedt Nordstrand from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Department of Psychology.

A study of Norwegian veterans who served in Afghanistan finds that being exposed to the death and suffering of others tends to result in worse symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than being put in life-threatening situations.

The study, published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology, is part of a comprehensive survey of how veterans are faring after the war in Afghanistan. Just over 7,000 Norwegian soldiers participated in the war in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011, and 4,053 of them participated in this research.

Trauma is roughly divided into danger-based and non-danger-based stressors. Both types of stressors lead to an increase in PTSD, an anxiety disorder which can involve being hyper-alert, jumpy, sleeping poorly and reliving events after they’ve happened.

Danger-based trauma occurs when soldiers are exposed to trauma in classic military settings, such as being shot or ambushed. It is an active threat that is linked to anxiety.

Non-danger-based trauma is divided into two subgroups: Witnessing (seeing the suffering or death of others, without being in danger oneself) and moral challenges (seeing or performing an act that violates a person’s own moral beliefs).
read more here