Amen! Have we learned nothing from the terrifying experiences of so many young men who returned from wars in the past century? Although the vast majority of new veterans do not engage in domestic violence at home, inordinate numbers do suffer from all manner of symptoms associated with posttraumatic stress disorder, ranging from mild up to a disproportionate number of suicides. In short, for many, their lives are never right when they came home. This, of course, is another reason war should truly be a last resort.

I am glad the feminist movement is speaking out on this issue since it affects women and children -- and everyone. Historically, our society has shamefully brushed aside psychological trauma that afflicts the predominantly male veteran corp -- after all, they are "tough" and "macho" and "they'll get over it." It is now scientifically proven that this is yet another gender stereotype that hurts everyone.

Samhita - thank you thank you THANK YOU for writing about this! This is just one of the many ways that women suffer under militarism.

I would be concerned that framing the issue this way has the potential to let military or ex-military domestic abusers off the hook. I mean, okay, war "includes the use, abuse and disposal of young men and women, turning them into killing machines." But how many of these women came back and brutally murdered their husbands?

As terrible as these stories are, please keep in mind that they represent a tiny tiny tiny percentage of all the servicemembers who have served in Iraq. Most don't come home with PTSD, much less start killing people.

That said, the post-deployment screening I had was pointless and a waste of time. All it takes to slip through the mental health cracks is to write "no" on the questinnaire when you should have written "yes".

A fellow classmate of mine is ex-military and her husband is in the military, he has been in for almost 30 years. She suffered from PTSD after serving in Operation Desert Storm. She is studying PTSD (we are both psych students) and she said that the problem is worse than is thought and the soldiers don't receive the help that they need and deserve.

SassyGirl, I think there's still a lot of resistance from the soldiers to admitting the problem, because it's "all in their head" which means they're either crazy or weren't strong enough to take the pressure.

Thank you for writing about this.

SassyGirl, I think there's still a lot of resistance from the soldiers to admitting the problem, because it's "all in their head" which means they're either crazy or weren't strong enough to take the pressure.

I agree. Men are raised in this culture to be strong and macho and not show their feelings. Going off to war is the traditional ultimate in proving one's "manhood". Given that, I can't imagine how much courage it must take for a male veteran to admit that he has PTSD and that he has been emotionally affected by the war. And we give them so little support and safe places to recover appropriately. Sadly, it is no surprise to me at all that some veterans act out the trauma by committing violent crimes.

the15th, I don't think framing the issue this way is giving permission to let the abusers off the hook. Rather, I see it as saying that we need to find ways to help these people recover BEFORE they get to the point of committing domestic violence, since there is pretty clearly a connection there. I'm not sure what you were getting at with asking how many of the female veterans come back and murder their husbands, because the point is that some male veterans, at least, ARE coming back and committing domestic violence. Given the macho culture that expects men, specifically, to hide their feelings, it would not surprise me to find out that female veterans get better help/treatment for PTSD than men do (I don't, however, know if that is the case. Does anyone know where one would find statistics on such things?).

As much of a concern as PTSD is and should be, please do not forget that the NYT article failed to give any context to the number of murders in light of the general population. It turns out that Veterans returning from Iraq, even though 121 sounds high, are still far less likely to commit a violent crime than any United States citizen. Returning veterans have a lower violent crime and murder rate than the rest of us, so is this really a sotry that reflects bad on the rest of U.S. citizens when normal Americans are more violent than professionally trained killers.

I saw this. My reaction was basically, well, what do you expect when you send soldiers into a country and make them kill innocent civilians? I'm not excusing their actions, but I don't even want to imagine what that does to one's psyche. And, having lived in a city with two large military bases and knowing family of soldiers, I can tell you that the military mentality isn't one that supports psychological help and treatment for PTSD. The military needs to have some sort of requirement that soldiers returning from war have at least some counseling, then make it easy (and not stigmatizing) to get more if they need it.

I was a psych major, and I've personally suffered from depression and PTSD (though probably not to the extent returning soldiers do - mine was from a car accident). I can tell you that those conditions can completely change who you are and how you act. Again, I'm not excusing their actions. Someone (like, themselves) should have recognized that they needed help, and they should have had treatment.

Robin Rhea--

One point that the article makes is that civilian murderers/violent criminals tend to have a history of criminal behavior, where the returning soldiers often don't, saying that the war time experience has a huge impact on them, and it'd difficult to gauge how differnt people will react to it.

Robin Rhea--

One point that the article makes is that civilian murderers/violent criminals tend to have a history of criminal behavior, where the returning soldiers often don't, saying that the war time experience has a huge impact on them, and it'd difficult to gauge how differnt people will react to it.

"I can tell you that those conditions can completely change who you are and how you act. Again, I'm not excusing their actions. Someone (like, themselves) should have recognized that they needed help, and they should have had treatment."

I am suffering from PSTD right now, I was hit by a car and suffered extensive injuries, some of which will never heal, so I know what it is like. I also know that had I not been a psych major or had a friend who was studying ptsd who pointed out that what I was experiencing was ptsd, I would not have recognized it or sought out treatment. These men and women are taught to be tough and to not show any weakness. Admitting that what you have seen and/or done has had an affect on your mental well being is admitting weakness to them. According to my friend, they are not given the care that they need for ptsd.

I know there are a lot of Feministers here that are in the military, and so, to them, I'd like to ask:

What can we do to help? How can we put pressure on the military, the government, whoever to strengthen/create programs and services for men and women returning from war? How can we increase access to existing services?

I'm frustrated with how much there is to be done to change things and feeling like I don't know where to start or how to pitch in. Raising awareness with posts like this is fantastic, but I want to take that next step and try to implement change. Anyone out there willing to brainstorm with me on this one? (Or anything else?)

Aren't soldiers dishonorably discharged for requesting mental help? I heard that somewhere and it didn't sound right to me, but if anyone knows the details... I just know there is a real stigma about checking the box for mental issues.

kissmypineapple, I'm not in the military, but there's more information about this at http://www.iava.org. On their website (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America), you can sign a petition to give veterans better mental health care.

Hope that helps.

ALL aspects of the military healthcare system need a major overhaul, from physical to mental. A lot of it, as mentioned, stems from that military mindset of toughing it out. If they can't actually SEE a problem with their own two eyes, it must be in your head/made up. I was in the Army for a year, my hip got screwed up in basic, but as soon as x-rays came back with no breaks, it was written off as me being a shammer. They ended up sending me home for it months later, so apparently I'm quite good at pretending. I saw a lot of the same thing with people who had mental health issues; if it didn't fit what they expected, it wasn't taken seriously. It's incredibly easy to fool them; if you want out, you say the right things, they'll send you out. If you don't want them to know, you say the right things, they'll be clueless.

I was in the National Guard for 5 years and was able to get out without being deployed to Iraq but we were activated for 9/11. As a female mechanic I was not deployed with my male counterparts when they were deployed as Infantry, sexism worked in my favor for once.

I am in IVAW (www.ivaw.org) and see the effects of PTSD on men and women. I know women that have become violent after coming home. I myself had a lot of issues with anger which were only made worse by my military service despite not serving in Iraq. Being in IVAW is helping me to draw connection between women and men that I never saw in civilian life.

Ten other female veterans and myself founded an organization looking to help heal service women, SWAN, the Service Womens Action Network. www.servicewomen.org

Those two organizations are working to help find ways for veterans to help other veterans. Help those and other organizations like IAVA are ways to start helping.

I don't think the military medical system is all that bad, it's the culture that's the problem. "Suck it up" is the cure for everything. Getting checked out is a sign of weakness, and seeking mental help is doubly so. (It doesn't result in a dishonorable discharge, and it never will. It's possible to get a General discharge or a Medical discharge from it. Both of these types of discharges are middle-of-the-road not good but not bad types.)

I sucked it up, and ended up with a broken ankle. Unlike mental problems though, the pain prevented me from doing anything. Like gabs said, "If they can't actually SEE a problem with their own two eyes, it must be in your head/made up."

I think it's easier to ignore the problem with the euphemism it's turned into. It's been the same issue for years. In WWI and WWII, it was called Shellshock. It's a visceral and accurate description of the mental damage from war. It went through a few more iterations, then became "Gulf War Syndrome", which could mean pretty much anything. Now it's just an acronym. Maybe I'm overblowing the naming thing, but burying the problem under comfortable words just seems to exacerbate the "suck it up" mentality.

Military women get better treatment? That's sheer bull. Women get subjected to the same conditions in war, then come home and are supposed to go back to being the little wifey or girlfriend. They're not supposed to require help for themselves.

Also, the story didn't say 'most' of the servicemembers killed girlfriends and wives and children. It was one third. Many of these soldiers were younger, lower-enlisted, and the least likely to question authority.

The VA screws people over, but there's often an outright hostility in the way they treat women, in assessments, decisions, and benefits. I finally had to get a lawyer. When I told them about my combat experience, they asked me if I'd had a traumatic childhood.

I hate it when you are not told the whole story. Samhita, I am not blaming you. I am blaming the NY Times. The "121" was put out here like it was an amazingly huge number. The NY Times either purposefully left out or neglected to compare to the national average per person. The number of veterans committing murder is about equal to the national average. When you compare using the ages of the veterans, you will find that veterans are below the national average.

Does the NY Times staff have an bias against the military? I believe so. Did the bias play out in this news story? It's entirely possible.

I will agree that our Military personnel need better physical and mental health treatment. The quality of care from VA Hospitals have been sub-standard more often than not. The VA Hospitals are run by the government. I point this out to people that tell me we should all have health care run by the government. (Trying to get that can of worms closed)

Liza: "My reaction was basically, well, what do you expect when you send soldiers into a country and make them kill innocent civilians?"

How dare you. How dare you diminish the sacrificies and hard work of our men and women in uniform by accusing them of targeting civilians.

If anything, Dave, they left out a lot of homicides that didn't make the paper.