Again, it seems like I am one of the few following news regarding the Iraq war, but have to mention my support for the combat stress guys in Iraq. The combat stress folks are in the news now, since a soldier attacked one of the combat stress units in Iraq. A 3 star general mentions that he suffered from combat stress and sought help. Some observers find his openness remarkable. I do not. Everyone suffers some combat stress, either while you are there or soon after returning home.
As the report mentions, infantry does attract the Type A personalities. But, we feel stress like anyone else. I had a soldier working for me, who received little apparent support form his family while we were in Iraq. His girlfriend then treated him badly. This young man, who I love like a son, was the best soldier. Just excellent. Until his girlfriend issues, we could always rely on him. In combat, there is no greater praise.
He suffered some bad stress near the end. We sent him to the combat stress unit for a weekend and he came back a new man. They did a tremendous amount of good for this very remarkable soldier. He too was macho and did not believe at first that he needed help.
We all suffer stress. Its the brave ones who face it and deal with it straight on. My young soldier did.
Nothing to do with employment issues, but maybe, this has everything to do with employment issues……..