Skip to main content

ATTENTION: This site is no longer active but remains as an archive.

Iraq Veterans Against the War has become About Face: Veterans Against the War. About Face can be found at aboutfaceveterans.org

Iraq Veterans Against the War

Join IVAW

Donate to IVAW

  • About
    • Founding of IVAW
    • Mission, Values, and Vision
    • War in Afghanistan
    • Why We Are against the Wars
    • Resolutions
    • IVAW Timeline
    • Board of Directors
    • Advisory Committee
    • Staff
  • Events
  • Campaigns
    • Operation Recovery
    • Winter Soldier
      • Breakdown of the Military
      • Civilian Testimony
      • Corporate Pillaging
      • Cost of War at Home
      • Crisis in Veterans Healthcare
      • Future of GI Resistance
      • Gender and Sexuality
      • Legacy of GI Resistance
      • Racism and War
      • Response to DoD
      • Rules of Engagement
      • Press Coverage
      • Press Releases
    • Right to Heal
  • Members
  • Resources
    • AWOL
    • Active Duty
    • Conscientious Objector
    • Depleted Uranium
    • History of Resistance
    • IRR Reactivation
    • Lariam
    • PTSD
    • Profiles of Resisters
    • Resources for Veterans
    • Stop Loss
    • Women's Resources
    • Mesothelioma
  • Press
  • Contact
    • Press
    • Speaker Request

Operation Recovery: Champaign-Urbana, IL

published by Aaron Hughes on 02/16/11 1:42pm
Posted to: 
Staff

The Iraq Veterans Against the War organization addressed the controversial issue of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and its effects on the military and the community at a panel discussion Tuesday night at Gregory Hall.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that causes side effects of depression and suicide, along with feelings of “reliving” traumatizing events.

 

According to the Iraq Veterans organization, 20 to 50 percent of all service members deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan have suffered from PTSD. Suicide rates among active-duty troops are twice as high as the general population; veterans diagnosed with PTSD are six times more likely to attempt suicide.

Jacob Crawford, president of the Illinois Veterans Against the War Central Illinois chapter, said the goal of the discussion was to talk about the true costs of war, and the impact of occupying Iraq and Afghanistan for the past decade.

“Most people like to know firsthand experience of combat, yet that usually leads to the uncomfortable topic of PTSD,” Crawford said.

The group was founded in 2004 and has 62 chapters in the United States, Canada and Germany. According to its website, there are two chapters in the state — one in Chicago and another in Central Illinois.

Crawford, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who served for six-and-a-half years as a Naval aircrewman, said that with the veterans on campus, it was important that the University community learn more about these issues.

“A lot of veterans here say their problems aren’t fully understood, especially by the campus community,” Crawford said. “When people hear of these problems, it complicates our feeling of security. We see it as a sign of strength when troops seek help.”

Joe Miller, a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, was one of six panel members. Miller said the war in Vietnam taught everyone the true reality of PTSD.

He added that it is a battle that many troops continue to fight physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

“We have to figure out how to deal with this, not just as a group, but as a community,” Miller said.

Johanna Hans Buwalda, director of mental health for Vietnam Veterans Against the War’s Chicago Chapter, said she is on call 24/7, and receives calls from troops everywhere struggling with their personal demons. She criticized the military for ignoring affected troops’ pleas for rehabilitation, a lack of benefits and redeploying troops who suffer from PTSD.

Buwalda said the military should not be allowing troops to fall into these dangerous conditions.

“As long as these individuals are willing to fight, the military doesn’t care,” Buwalda said.

One of the most talked about topics during the discussion was Operation Recovery, a campaign aimed at stopping the redeployment of traumatized troops affected by PTSD and related symptoms.

Scott Kimball, senior in LAS and Iraq veteran, said the next phase of the campaign is to hear stories from soldiers from different bases, and get the “popular research” stage of the campaign done this year.

“From that, we’ll get a better idea of where we go from here,” Kimball said.

War veterans address post-traumatic stress disorder at campus panel

Restrepo Director Dies in Libya

IVAW mourns the passing of Tim Hetherington, photojournalist and co-director of the Oscar nominated documentary film Restrepo. We had the honor of meeting Tim in New York City at a joint screening of another Oscar nominated...

There's No Quick Fix for Veterans

Huffington Post, There's No Quick Fixes for Veterans  April 13, 2011. By Maggie Martin "It has been nearly five years since I left the Army and still my time in the service is fresh in my mind. I think about my...

"Kill Team" in Afghanistan

March 27, 2011 / By Mark Boal Rolling Stone reports, "How U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan murdered innocent civilians and mutilated their corpses – and how their officers failed to stop them." http://www.rollingstone....
Aaron Hughes's picture

Iraqis Take to the Streets, Call for Real Democracy

Repost from Truthout Friday 25 March 2011 by: David Bacon, t r u t h o u t | News Analysis The war in Iraq is supposedly over. The US administration says the occupation, which began on March 20 eight years ago, is ending...

Malalai Joya National Tour

(Reposted from Afghan Women's Mission) Malalai Joya, the acclaimed Afghan activist and author of A Woman Among Warlords with Derrick O’Keefe, will tour the United States this Spring to call attention to the on-going...

Iraq/Wisconson Labor Solidarity: Two Statements

In the wake of the threat posed to what remain of labor rights in Wisconsin, and the public’s powerful response, two Iraqi labor leaders, Hassan Jum’a and Faleh Abood, penned solidarity statements in late February on...

Pages

  • « First
  • ‹ Prev
  • …
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • …
  • Next ›
  • Last »

Supporter Newsletter!

Donations

Make a single donation or become an IVAW sustainer by making your donation a recurring one. Please consider making your generous gift right now.
Donate Online Today!

Speaker Request

Please be advised that we get many speaker requests, but regret that we are sometimes unable to fill them.
Speaker Request

Joining IVAW

Iraq Veterans Against the War is open to Active Duty, National Guard and Reservists who have served since 09/11/2001.
Join IVAW

Navigation

  • About
  • Events
  • Campaigns
  • Committees
  • Chapters
  • Members
  • Resources
  • Contact