As many as one-third of veterans suffer some mental health problem after serving in Iraq or Afganistan, according to Defense Department reports. These military personnel have been being diagnosed with PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to the Secretary of the Veteran Administration, R James Nicholson, his agency is stepping up services in that area. As a result, the Psychiatric Community and Big Pharma are having a hay day hooking these returning soldiers on powerful psychotropic drugs, so they will  now have another large customer base for their poisons.

It is even worse than this, though. The DOD has decided to help the soldiers out by not making them be stigmitized for life . . . so instead of being diagnosed with PTSD after returning to the states from Iraq and exhibiting PTSD related problems, the people that may be seen are diagnosed with the lesser problem of ASR (Acute Stress Reaction) up to 4-6 months after the incident.

They get “stabilized” on Paxil, Zoloft or other pyschiatric medications and then deemed deployable, rather than being diagnosed with PTSD and sent home, with possible compensation for the rest of their lives. And people think the government is always out to hurt them. See how nice they are to military personnel?

Compounding these issues are new reports that large numbers of U.S. troops in Iraq are reportedly being given antidepressant, anti-anxiety and sleep medications. Many military personnel are being redeployed to Iraq for the second or third time, sometimes with several types of mental health disorders.

In addition to psychotropic drugs, most troops are given the anti-malaria drug Lariam, which is known to cause severe psychiatric problems including suicidal and homicidal behavior. The use of amphetamines by U.S. troops has been rumored. In some circumstances, the military does issue "stay awake" drugs.

There are numerous methods that can be employed to help relieve our valuable military personnel of the mental stress and ravages of war. Before psychiatric medications became the fad in recent decades, returning soldiers assimilated themselves back into society, perhaps sometimes with difficulty, but successfully none-the-less, without being perm-anently disabled by powerful medications.

When our troops come home, there should be more waiting for them than just a bunch of newly-built psych wards. They should have jobs waiting for them -- decent, meaningful jobs. It’s also been suggested we keep platoons together. When you work side by side with someone else who is a good worker, a bond of respect and trust is created. And if a military platoon learns to work well together like a well-oiled machine in Iraq, then let's try to keep that crew together back in civilian life too.

Give them meaningful work, leadership positions, jobs that require skill and responsibility -- like the ones they had back in Iraq. Jobs like you and I wish that we had. And also let's give our returning service men and women veterans' perks, healthcare, decent housing, economic support.

Most of all, give them the ability to communicate their experiences, because only with some kind of communication will it move away for them. Altering and deadening their perceptions and ability to rationalize is just adding insult to injury and locking the stress and emotional pain deep inside where it can never get out except in a rage. That is cruelty itself and should never be inflicted on those brave men and women who dedicated their lives to keeping the beacon of freedom burning for the rest of us.