The year 2012 has fast come. Time flies far quicker than I can keep up with these days. I am however trolling along with an optimistic outlook on what's ahead of us this year. I'm getting to know the land of the Welsh and I must say, it has been a pleasant breath of fresh air thus far. I find myself directionally challenged lost in the most popular areas, but then again, one cannot bring a testimony without the tests...
My PhD is slowly taking the shape of a full time job (much of it spent trying to find the library!) that occupies my mind on a full time basis, but only noticed how consuming it is just now, as I reflect. It is a fine bubble to be in!
One of the issues I've been pondering on lately is that this year is the year of massive soldier withdrawal from Afghanistan.The United States is pulling out approximately 33,000 by the end of 2012, which is one third of the 101,000 American troops who were in Afghanistan in June, the peak of U.S. military presence in the war.Canada withdrew 2,850 combat forces and France and Britain will each send about 400 home while Poland is recalling 200 and Denmark and Slovenia are pulling out about 120 combined. On one hand it is good to see that this war might finally be coming to an end, hoping the Afghan troops can maintain law and order in their country.
I dread the conditions the returning soldiers will be facing though, as many of those who had come back from Rwanda, Iraq and Vietnam for example had severe stress and depression related illnesses leading to endangerment to themselves and others at times. Statistics that reflect the mental health conditions of returning soldiers and veterans and their levels of post-traumatic stress disorders are astounding. What's ironic is that these same soldiers are revered and well looked after by their governments prior to their departure.
I was watching a documentary not long ago that highlighted this issue titled 'A War in the Mind' and what baffled me was the lack of after-care there is available for these soldiers. It is almost as if they're of no more use, so they get disposed of and this is precisely what leads some of them to commit the ultimate act of violence against themselves.
For many of these soldiers, and probably for those that will return this year, admitting the symptoms is often the hardest in a “suck-it-up” military culture of macho toughness that stigmatizes men for the “weakness” of being emotionally troubled. What isn't often taken into account is that once a soldier returns from a battlefield, the horrors of war remain engraved in their memory long after the war has ended.
Being successful does not mean winning a war but rather being able to go to sleep with a clear conscious and waking up with a noble perspective.
