 More than 1.9 million U.S. service members have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since October 2001.- Nearly 20% of U.S. service members returning from combat will report symptoms of PTSD or major depression. (RAND)
- Symptoms and repercussions of combat stress include depression, anxiety, misuse of alcohol and drugs, strains in family functioning, separation and divorce. (RAND)
- The divorce rate for National Guard and Reservists is up 50% since the war began. (NY Times 2005).
- According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the jobless rate for veterans ages 18 and older is 11.2 percent in March 2009.
- OEF and OIF veterans are eligible for free VA Health Care for their combat injuries up to five years after separation from duty. (VA)
- Nearly 90% of today's seriously wounded U.S. military service members are surviving. (VA)
- Over 320,000 U.S. service members have sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) during deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. (RAND)
- 1 in 5 military service members return with a Hidden Injury of War - major depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicide, post traumatic stress disorder, or traumatic brain injury. (REMIND.ORG)
- 254,894 National Guard members have deployed in support of OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) between September 2001 and November 2007. (Department of Defense)
- 202,113 Reservists have deployed in support fo OIF and OEF between Sepetember 2001 and November 2007. (Department of Defense)
- According to Army Surgeon General Lieutenant General Eric Schoomaker, "increased exposure of troops to combat is a factor in the rise of PTSD diagnoses." Experts have said symptoms increase as soldiers return to combat for multiple tours of duty. (Voice of America June, 2008)
- According to the U.S. Army, every day, five U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves. Before the Iraq war began, that figure was less than one suicide attempt a day. (CNN)
- Fifty percent of soldiers who killed themselves had recently suffered a failed relationship with a spouse, girlfriend or other loved one. (AP)
- Some 1.6 million troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001; many of them have deployed to the war zone for three or four tours. Fifteen-month combat tours, followed by only 12 months of home leave, put incredible stress on families and make it hard to train for the next mission. (CNN)
- More than 43,000 U.S. troops since 2003 were sent into combat even though they had been listed as medically unfit in the weeks before their scheduled deployment ot Iraq or Afghanistan. (USA Today)
- Army Vice Chief of Staff, General Richard Cody stated "Soldiers, Families, support systems and equipment are stretched and stressed by the demands of lengthy and repeated deployments, with insufficient recovery time.
- More than half of all veterans who took their own lives after returning from Iraq or Afghanistan were members of the National Guard or Reserves (AP, Feb. 2008)
- Mark Kaplan, a researcher at Portland State University in Oregon says, "This is war unlike other wars and we don't know the long-term implications and the hidden injuries of war.
- Approximately 650,000 of the 1.8 million military-conected children have parents who serve in the National Guard or Reserves. (Military Child Education Coalition)
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