Ollie North Misrepresents Facts About "PTSD"!

[Gimpy]

UNEMPLOYED VETERANS AND OLLIE NORTH -- OLLIE BLAMES MEDIA, PSYCHIATRISTS AND "CONSTANT HARPING ABOUT PTSD" AS REASONS FOR THE HIGH VETERAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE --WE HAVE A SERIOUS MISREPRESENTATION OF THE FACTS HERE!

In a recent opinion piece, Ollie North tried to simplify the problem of unemployed veterans. And, in doing this, he paid the ultimate DISRESPECT to veterans.

Here is the quote...the red emphasis is mine:

------START---------

"Part of the answer is found in the fact that so few corporate executives and personnel managers are veterans themselves. Couple that with a drumbeat of adverse publicity about the war, a mainstream media fixation on military ?atrocities? and the constant harping about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -- PTSD -- and one has to wonder how any war veteran gets hired. On a recent flight to Texas, my seatmate, a corporate CEO, asked if ?all the troops coming back from ?over there' were ?screwed up.'? He cited a study alleging that, ?more than a third of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan needed psychological treatment.? The actual number -- according to the American Medical Association -- is 35 percent -- a figure compiled by psychiatrists who have made diagnosing PTSD a self-employment program."
-------END--------

Ollie North should know that DoD and VA studies have come up with similar numbers. Yet he fails to mention this.

The problems our troops are having with mental health issues are not the fault of the media...or psychiatrists...or "constant harping about PTSD"...

These problems are real.

Trying to dismiss the problems with such nonsense is simplistic, uncaring and disrespectful of our troops and veterans.

This is shameful behavior that only helps to further stigmatize those with mental health issues.

North should be ashamed of himself and certainly should be admonished and deserves all the criticism he can get for this misrepresentation of the facts!

There are many things in his op-ed piece that are appropriate and factual that I happen to agree with, but his complete and utter failure to report the "facts" in this article indicates just how far 'off-base' his 'opinion' really is!

The Link to the entire opinion piece is here... http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,92792,00.html

######################