Operation Recovery: Champaign-Urbana, IL

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