Comments on: DRUGGING THE TROOPS??? WHAT NEXT? http://www.calledtoservevietnam.com/blog/2008/01/11/drugging-the-troops-what-next/ Called to Serve: Stories of the Men and Women Confronted by the Vietnam War Draft Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:09:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Tom Weiner http://www.calledtoservevietnam.com/blog/2008/01/11/drugging-the-troops-what-next/#comment-83 Tom Weiner Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:06:43 +0000 http://www.vietnamwardraftstories.com/blog/2008/01/11/drugging-the-troops-what-next/#comment-83 Thanks for visiting the blog and for your honesty. I can only imagine the ways in which such a "drug policy" would be carried out. You raise some valid and essential questions, which would have to be dealt with, although our government's track record on dealing with what has to be dealt with is certainly shaky. I agree that the idea that self-medicating is hardly new for soldiers. Knowing what we know about the horrors of war, it is no surprise that those who find a way have taken a wide variety of drugs to numb out and to make coping more possible. That you have to deal with PTSD is a result of what you lived through, not of not having had access to drugs. As i am sure you know, many of those who took various drugs and/or alcohol came back from Vietnam addicted. The toll in lost years and anguish, while not to be compared to the ravages of PTSD, is yet another result of the seemingly endless wars this country appears destined to send its young men and women to fight. I have interviewed several men who left Vietnam strung out on heroin, marijuana or alcohol. Their stories convey the devastating consequences of their actions in Vietnam and each of them suffers from PTSD that they are forced to deal with once the addiction is overcome... Thanks for visiting the blog and for your honesty. I can only imagine the ways in which such a “drug policy” would be carried out. You raise some valid and essential questions, which would have to be dealt with, although our government’s track record on dealing with what has to be dealt with is certainly shaky.
I agree that the idea that self-medicating is hardly new for soldiers. Knowing what we know about the horrors of war, it is no surprise that those who find a way have taken a wide variety of drugs to numb out and to make coping more possible. That you have to deal with PTSD is a result of what you lived through, not of not having had access to drugs. As i am sure you know, many of those who took various drugs and/or alcohol came back from Vietnam addicted. The toll in lost years and anguish, while not to be compared to the ravages of PTSD, is yet another result of the seemingly endless wars this country appears destined to send its young men and women to fight. I have interviewed several men who left Vietnam strung out on heroin, marijuana or alcohol. Their stories convey the devastating consequences of their actions in Vietnam and each of them suffers from PTSD that they are forced to deal with once the addiction is overcome…

]]> By: tom http://www.calledtoservevietnam.com/blog/2008/01/11/drugging-the-troops-what-next/#comment-82 tom Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:49:27 +0000 http://www.vietnamwardraftstories.com/blog/2008/01/11/drugging-the-troops-what-next/#comment-82 What happens to soldiers who refuse the drug? Will they waive their rights to benefits for PTSD? Can they be forced to take the drug or could the drug be given without the soldiers knowledge,i.e food. This idea cannot be new. Tranquilizers have been around for years. I used alcohol in Vietnam after missions. I was an infantryman and may have considered anything to calm my nerves. I knew one soldier who managed to carry whiskey in his pack. He was an ass-hole, a brave ass-hole on his whiskey. I have PTSD and wish I'd had something back then for stress. What happens to soldiers who refuse the drug? Will they waive their rights to benefits for PTSD? Can they be forced to take the drug or could the drug be given without the soldiers knowledge,i.e food.

This idea cannot be new. Tranquilizers have been around for years. I used alcohol in Vietnam after missions. I was an infantryman and may have considered anything to calm my nerves. I knew one soldier who managed to carry whiskey in his pack. He was an ass-hole, a brave ass-hole on his whiskey. I have PTSD and wish I’d had something back then for stress.

]]> By: Tom Weiner http://www.calledtoservevietnam.com/blog/2008/01/11/drugging-the-troops-what-next/#comment-81 Tom Weiner Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:41:39 +0000 http://www.vietnamwardraftstories.com/blog/2008/01/11/drugging-the-troops-what-next/#comment-81 Dear Diane, So very well said. Thanks for expressing what I am sure many who read the piece felt. How desperate must our government be to perpetuate this war (and which one next?) that it would consider numbing out those who are in combat? It boggles my mind to imagine anyone who would consider such a corruption of what makes us human - the capacity for empathy, the ability to use our reason to realize that certain behaviors are absolutely wrong, the awareness that experiencing horrible events will cause us future trauma. At what price will these qualities be stolen? As you so aptly expressed: "We should be," affected... Tom Dear Diane,
So very well said. Thanks for expressing what I am sure many who read the piece felt. How desperate must our government be to perpetuate this war (and which one next?) that it would consider numbing out those who are in combat? It boggles my mind to imagine anyone who would consider such a corruption of what makes us human – the capacity for empathy, the ability to use our reason to realize that certain behaviors are absolutely wrong, the awareness that experiencing horrible events will cause us future trauma. At what price will these qualities be stolen? As you so aptly expressed: “We should be,” affected…
Tom

]]> By: Diane Clancy http://www.calledtoservevietnam.com/blog/2008/01/11/drugging-the-troops-what-next/#comment-80 Diane Clancy Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:54:17 +0000 http://www.vietnamwardraftstories.com/blog/2008/01/11/drugging-the-troops-what-next/#comment-80 Hi Tom, I agree with Sarah .. I can barely take this in ... it is so horrifying. We judge so harshly the soldiers in Hitlers army who committed terrible deeds ... I think their moral compass had been polluted by ... whatever ... most humans can not commit or see such horror and not be affected. As we should be. ~ Diane Clancy <a title="www.dianeclancy.com/blog" href="http://dianeclancy.com/blog" rel="nofollow">www.dianeclancy.com/blog</a> Hi Tom,

I agree with Sarah .. I can barely take this in … it is so horrifying. We judge so harshly the soldiers in Hitlers army who committed terrible deeds … I think their moral compass had been polluted by … whatever … most humans can not commit or see such horror and not be affected. As we should be.

~ Diane Clancy
http://www.dianeclancy.com/blog

]]> By: Sarah Buttenwieser http://www.calledtoservevietnam.com/blog/2008/01/11/drugging-the-troops-what-next/#comment-79 Sarah Buttenwieser Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:40:46 +0000 http://www.vietnamwardraftstories.com/blog/2008/01/11/drugging-the-troops-what-next/#comment-79 Especially as we wonder how a woman in the military, 8 months pregnant, lost her life possibly by another officer, we know that blunting emotions isn't a solution long-term at least; not living through inhumane experiences is the only answer... we are far down another path. It's barbaric. Scary, disheartening. I can't quite take it in, & I'm sure I'm not alone in this. Especially as we wonder how a woman in the military, 8 months pregnant, lost her life possibly by another officer, we know that blunting emotions isn’t a solution long-term at least; not living through inhumane experiences is the only answer… we are far down another path. It’s barbaric. Scary, disheartening. I can’t quite take it in, & I’m sure I’m not alone in this.

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