Soldiers, Injuries And Substance Abuse
Over at The Fix (which you should bookmark, RSS, and read regularly), I’ve got the first in a three-part series about substance abuse and addiction among this generation of soldiers and veterans.
This link between addiction and mental health is precisely what makes the situation of today’s soldiers so dire. More men and women who have seen combat in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are suffering from brain-based damage—primarily, PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI)—that frequently precipitates addiction. And, crucially, these soldiers have received grossly inadequate care from the military’s medical system.
