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The psychological toll of war
By Eric Zillmer, Special to CNN
March 13, 2012 -- Updated 1243 GMT (2043 HKT)
Editor's note: Eric Zillmer is the Carl R. Pacifico professor of neuropsychology and director of athletics at Drexel University. He is the co-author of "Military Psychology: Clinical and Operational Application" (Guilford Press).
(CNN) -- What motivated an American soldier to allegedly open fire and kill 16 innocent Afghan civilians in cold blood? No one knows at this point. The soldier, an Army staff sergeant, seems to have acted alone, and he turned himself in to authorities after the shooting rampage. What we do know is that he had been injured in an accident while deployed to Iraq in 2010. Despite being diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, he was found fit for duty.
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However, one can't help but wonder whether the recent spate of events, including the desecration of Taliban corpses by four Marines, the burning of the Quran by U.S. troops, and now, the slaying of Afghan civilians, point to the toll that the Afghanistan war is taking. Has the psychological impact of the long war been underestimated?
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As we learn more about the 38-year-old married staff sergeant who is a qualified infantry sniper and serving his third deployment in the Middle East, we have already learned one very painful lesson. Namely, there is an expensive psychological cost to sending our men and women to war.
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By Eric Zillmer, Special to CNN
March 13, 2012 -- Updated 1243 GMT (2043 HKT)
Editor's note: Eric Zillmer is the Carl R. Pacifico professor of neuropsychology and director of athletics at Drexel University. He is the co-author of "Military Psychology: Clinical and Operational Application" (Guilford Press).
(CNN) -- What motivated an American soldier to allegedly open fire and kill 16 innocent Afghan civilians in cold blood? No one knows at this point. The soldier, an Army staff sergeant, seems to have acted alone, and he turned himself in to authorities after the shooting rampage. What we do know is that he had been injured in an accident while deployed to Iraq in 2010. Despite being diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, he was found fit for duty.
...
However, one can't help but wonder whether the recent spate of events, including the desecration of Taliban corpses by four Marines, the burning of the Quran by U.S. troops, and now, the slaying of Afghan civilians, point to the toll that the Afghanistan war is taking. Has the psychological impact of the long war been underestimated?
...
As we learn more about the 38-year-old married staff sergeant who is a qualified infantry sniper and serving his third deployment in the Middle East, we have already learned one very painful lesson. Namely, there is an expensive psychological cost to sending our men and women to war.
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