US veterans chronicle effects of service

By Vakkas Dogantekin

ANKARA (AA) - The U.S. Army's Twitter account received more than 12,000 responses in less than a week when it simply asked veterans: How has serving impacted you?

Most respondents who identified as veterans, or friends or family of veterans, responded heart-wrenching stories of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicidal tendencies or actual suicides and chronic medical problems.

- Unhappy, suicides, assaults and divorce

Jeffrey Scott said he "was a happy person" before he served in the U.S. Navy.

"Now I am broke apart, can't even work a full 30 days due to anxiety and depression. I have Fibromyalgia and nobody understands because I am a guy. I am in constant pain everyday," he said. "I think about killing myself daily."

Michael Alexander, an engineer from Lake Tahoe, California, said one of his veteran friends killed himself.

"My high school friend Ron Keeling committed suicide in 2009 after his second tour in Iraq."

Elizabeth Grey drew attention to another very serious matter within the military: sexual assaults.

"I was sexually assaulted and discharged at Madigan Army hospital when I reported what happened," said Grey as she detailed how it affected her life.

"My DD214 [Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty] was impacted, I was not awarded full benefits, I lived in my car, struggled with suicide attempts and no self worth. Now, I'm fighting a PTSD claim," wrote Grey.

Rachel Bayne from Snohomish, Washington shared the story of his father.

"You drafted my dad as a 26 year old married man. It ruined his marriage. He was exposed to Agent Orange and was recently diagnosed with Lewy body dementia," said Bayne and urged the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs [VA] to "step up and cover his care".

- Parents scared

The torrent of horrific responses scared parents who have children in the army.

"As a mom of a 17-year-old High School senior that recently enlisted with my permission- these responses scare the hell out of me. What did I just do?" said Kari Vondracek.

Another Twitter user, Alexander Carney, added fuel to her fire by his response.

"You made a mistake. Vets suicide at the rate of 22 per day. VA’s own statistic," said Carney.

- 7,200 annual deaths by suicide

The U.S. Armed Forces consists of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

A VA's 2018 report showed 20 veterans died by suicide every day, or 7,200 every year, which has been more or less the same since the late 1990s.

The VA reports also reveal that 30% of army veterans have been diagnosed with PTSD.

According to VA, women and LGBTs experience sexual assaults that cause PTSD on top of the combat fatigue.

These numbers exclude veterans who do not use the VA system for health care.

There are more than 18 million veterans in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.