Page 28 - Total War on PTSD

Until recently, a Marine suffering PTSD who dared to quietly complain to his Gunnery Sergeant of a distracting emotional problem would face severe ridicule and disrespect. The standard though unofficial response to the appeal for help was the Gunnery Sgt. handing the troubled Marine a straw and then saying these words, “Here you go, sweetheart, suck it up!”, and with that the upset Marine would have his masculinity attacked. He would also be made to feel that if he pursued treatment, he would be branded a failure and become an outcast. Well, it turns out that mindless, “Traditional” response to a plea for help only served to create even more troubled and less reliable Marines, not tougher ones. Marines aren’t stupid. Many of their top bosses are brilliant as well as tough. But they still were caught up in the macho culture of shaming troubled Marines instead of getting them the help they needed. Finally, the Marine Corps is changing and leathernecks with PTSD can now get treatment without ridicule. Now they can get back to work being the serious badasses we need them to be.
The Army used to be just as bad as the Marines. That’s how I lost my friend to untreated PTSD. Identifying him would only serve to open old wounds for his family and friends so I will not name him but I will describe him for you. Like most of my other friends in the U.S. military whose first name is Joseph, my buddy was called G.I. Joe. Of course, that suggests a kind of average guy who steps up when everything goes wrong. This G.I. Joe was anything but ordinary. He graduated a famous college with a degree in science and a second lieutenant’s bar on his shoulders. By 1984, this G.I. Joe was a Colonel. He’d earned rapid promotions the old-fashioned way—in combat. He saw a lot
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