An American Lion

We have seen stories like this, but in the wake of what happened at Fort Hood earlier this month, a heightened awareness of Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is beginning to seep into news items. This is sort of making it out to be a fad of some kind, and that’s not a good thing. Heightened awareness is needed, but not at the expense of excusing bad behavior.

A fundamental lack of treatment is what causes the bad behavior, so what you see is the untreated or badly treated person acting out the aggressive behavior, and yet, the real culprit is the breakdown in the system which should be treating the disorders and the symptoms. This is like seeing someone with an undiagnosed broken leg getting all the way into the middle of the mall, and their broken leg finally can’t carry them anymore, and they go to pieces, screaming, because they haven’t gotten the help they need.

This story, about a Veteran using his vehicle as a deadly weapon, is a symbol of what we may see more of in the future:

Christopher Miller, 30, weaved between cars for about 30 miles before he slammed his car into the side of a Maryland State Police cruiser on I-495, according to authorities. That cruiser spun out of control and hit another cruiser. The wreck put two troopers and another driver in the hospital. All three were back home recovering by Monday night.

Miller is facing more obvious charges for traffic violations, but also attempted murder. Police say he was intentionally trying to harm people on the road.

Miller, a native of Horsham, Pa., has served two tours in Iraq and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Press of Atlantic City paper. In one article, he’s quoted as saying he was having trouble re-adjusting to civilian life. The Prince George’s County State’s Attorney office, which is handling the charges against Miller, has given no indication that the his status as a war veteran will have any impact on the charges.

There is some legal precedence at work, and if Mr. Miller gets a good attorney, and had well-documented PTSD, there is a chance he can count on getting some help rather than a lengthy stay in prison:

It was the first trial in the U.S. where a Veteran’s PTSD was successfully considered to mitigate the circumstances of a crime.

Dr. William Brown and Dr. Robert Stanulis from The Bunker Project, who work on Veteran defense cases throughout Oregon and Washington, provided research and testimony for Bratcher’s attorney who argued that his PTSD and the influence of the Military Total Institution shaped his actions in the killing of Jose Ceja Medina. Bratcher believed his girlfriend had been raped by the man he shot to death. Bratcher is VA rated as 100% disabled due to PTSD he developed while deployed in Iraq. Bratcher was a model citizen before joining the Army, with no criminal or juvenile history.

Bratcher strictly adhered to the rules of engagement in Iraq, twice refusing to fire on civilians. There, he witnessed the death of a friend from an IED explosion, which commanders reported drastically changed Bratcher’s mental state.

Dr. Brown is a Vietnam Veteran and college professor who dedicates time to assisting defense cases of Veterans. He teaches Criminology at Western Oregon University.

“This is a significant decision, for Jesse and for Vets around the country, who were law abiding citizens before they went to war and who have been accused of crimes since returning home,” said NVF President Shad Meshad, who consulted with Project Bunker on the case. “The military and the VA have not done enough to diagnose soldiers and Veterans with PTSD and provide them with needed counseling and support to ease their readjustment to civilian life.”

We cannot do this on the cheap, and I am afraid that the pending debt bomb may cause us to cut Veterans services in the future. Now, more than ever, we simply cannot afford to turn our backs on these men and women. Few Veterans are rated 100% disabled, however, and there is no doubt that many should be rated fully disabled and given benefits.