John McCain recently spoke out against Obama’s support for a “surge” in Afghanistan, because he believes it conflicts with Obama’s opposition to the surge in Iraq. This shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the difference between the two wars.

We have all but forgotten our troops in Afghanistan. We have 160,000 troops in Iraq and 17,000 in Afghanistan. People like my friend Orrin McClellan are dismissed as crazies by their peers, discharged for “Personality Disorders” when they have acute PTSD.

My frustration has hit the boiling point since the troops returning home from either front will not be taken care of by the VA. And it’s not the fault of those who work there, on the contrary, they’re great. They simply don’t have the resources necessary to treat so many people.

An estimated 1 million people will come home with PTSD. That’s one million people who need severe psychiatric help, but will likely end up in jail instead.

• The Fallacy of the “Marlboro Marine”
• Fighting the Army, a video about troops who aren’t receiving the help they need
• PTSD Combat: Winnin the War Within

Sorry for the disjointed rant, but I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.

Header photo by Orrin McClellan.