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Wounded Platoon

Updated on December 8, 2012

As, I watched a video about the wounded platoon, I learned about a soldier of the name of Kenny Eastridge. His mentor was a sergeant called Shawn Huey. Everyone liked Huey and felt that he was a good guy. As Kenny and his platoon, served overseas, their duty was to patrol a highway which was the most dangerous highway around. This highway was known for IED or improvised explosive devices and attacks. They captured Iraqis and sent some of them to jail. While still serving in Iraq, there favorite sergeant and friend Shawn Huey was killed. After their time in Iraq, four of the men from this platoon went out to drink one night. The next night, one of their friends, ended up dead. He was shot at point blank range three times by either one or two of his friends. Kenny Eastridge was an accessory to the murder. After this event has happened, the question is, can post traumatic disorder be reduced or is there nothing that can be done for these soldiers.

I feel that the United States government should have stepped in with these soldiers. I feel that these soldiers needed help and deserve it. The U.S. government trained these soldiers to become killing machines while they were in Iraq. Watching the video more and more, I learned about soldiers coming back to the U.S. having a cocaine addiction and alcohol problem after staying here for two months. According to Steven Nash, he felt paranoid and unsafe when he came back and thought that the only way he could fix that would be to take cocaine. The statistics show that the amount of soldiers failing a drug test rose more than 4,000%. This statistic is significant is showing that these men need help and extreme therapy for the post traumatic disorder that they are experiencing. The fact that Steven Nash did alert these individuals that he had symptoms of post traumatic disorder and that they did not do anything to help him, is absurd. They gave this individual misconduct absent of leave because of his drinking and drug addiction thinking he did not have post traumatic disorder but that he was just crazy. I think that after all these soldiers go through with the killing of women and children and the constant bombing, yelling, shooting, and deaths of friends that they suffer mentally, physically, and emotionally. There should be sometime of program for these soldiers while they are in the army, if they still want to be in the army. Their mindset is that of the army and that is why they have a drug and drinking problem trying to cope with what they use to witness on a daily basis.

Overall, I feel that post traumatic disorder is a very serious disorder for these soldiers. I personally think that post traumatic disorder can’t be reduced. I think that the soldiers have suffered greatly from killings of their favorite sergeant and other friends alike. The fact that the United States government allowed men with criminal backgrounds to enter the army is a good and a bad thing. It is a good thing because they can be trained to become good soldiers, listening and taking orders from sergeants. It is a bad thing because they have committed crimes before entering the military, which is illegal because the military is not supposed to take in people with a criminal background. The United States ignored this rule because they needed men in Iraq at that point of time. I think that since the United States government did this is outrageous and goes to show that rules will be broken in certain cases. The fact that they sent these men back to the United States without the proper help is outlandish. Their post traumatic disorder affected them heavily with becoming involved in drinking, drugs, and harming others. I feel that their post traumatic disorder can be treated but not necessarily reduced. I think that they can receive therapy for their nightmares and flashbacks of their time in Iraq. Also, I feel that reconnecting with loved ones would help some of these soldiers. On the other hand, I feel that some soldiers can’t be helped with therapy and being back with loved ones. Some soldiers have a mindset that they are still in Iraq and feel that others that they do not know are the enemy potentially causing them to harm these innocent people. They are emotionally, mentally, and physically drained and are still thinking of their times in the Iraqi war.

I think some of the soldiers should be aware of this disorder before they are employed. On the other hand, I feel like the majority of these soldiers are aware or at least have heard of post traumatic stress disorder. I think that these soldiers should be informed of how their time in Iraq will affect them heavily. While they are in Iraq serving, these individuals should be given some sort of therapy on a daily basis. I feel this way because I think that constant therapy will greatly help these individuals with dealing with the killings, smoke, deaths, and bombing of their friends and casualties alike. Before the symptoms of post traumatic disorder were discovered, some of these soldiers talked to the psychiatrist that was on site in Iraq. The psychiatrist prescribed these medications to these soldiers because of their nightmares, depression, and sleeping problems. I feel that these soldiers should not have been given any medication at all. I feel this way because I feel that these soldiers could possibly become addicted to these medications and other drugs alike. I feel that these soldiers have suffered beyond anything an American citizen can even imagine.

In conclusion, the soldiers that have served over in Iraq have suffered greatly mentally, physically, and emotionally. There time spent in Iraq had them dealing with constant killing, bombs, deaths of women and children, and their friends. These soldiers were prescribed medications while they were serving in Iraq, which was not a good thing to do because of the side effects that it could have on their performance and their mentality. After their time served in Iraq, they were sent back home, where they became addicted to drugs, drinking, and harming others because of their constant depression and nightmares. If only the United States government would have stepped in, these soldiers could have been given the necessary help that they deserved while they were serving in Iraq.


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    • greatstuff profile image

      Mazlan 3 years ago from Malaysia

      I did not know that the United States employed criminals to fight in the Iraq wars. I have heard of Chinese and Korean companies employing criminals to work in oversea construction projects, but for the USA to do this probably explained why so many civilians are killed in the wars. On your questions why the USA government did not step in to help the soldiers, I believe they tried, but there were too many to cope with. Thanks for sharing these important info.

    • torrilynn profile image

      torrilynn 3 years ago

      @greatstuff thanks for stopping by and yes the government did employ criminals and i now have a better understanding of why they could or couldn't step in.

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