Veteran, instructor talks impact of war

By Jay January/reporter

Studies show 85 percent of 2,000 soldiers who deployed have conditions that detach them from the rest of society, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. 

Arlandis Jones, a U.S. Army veteran, U.S. Navy veteran and SE English instructor, showed the film Searching for Home about soldiers returning from war and not feeling at home.

And they are not the only ones affected. 

“Families are a part of the traumatic experience as well,” Jones said.

SE Campus student Lucy Mutia’s husband served in the military and said she didn’t like how much her husband had changed when he came back home. 

Mutia said she doesn’t know anyone with PTSD but now knows how to identify the signs.

Out of the 325 million soldiers in the U.S., 50 percent are married, and soldiers are away from their families up to 15 months at a time when deployed, she said. As a result, social stress is placed on soldiers as well as their families.

Children react in other ways — sadness for thinking that their father or mother won’t return home, or behavior and academics problems in school, Jones said.

“They like to say that [PTSD is] a reason for the madness, but it feels like it’s all just madness,” Jones said.

Soldiers spend years in an aggressive environment and have trouble turning that aggression off when they return home, even when not threatened, Jones said.

Medications are often prescribed to treat veterans with these issues but can have unpleasant side effects, he said.

“If the country is facing an opioid crisis, you can imagine that it’s even worse in the military,” Jones said.

 Veterans get the most diagnosis in mental health and all they get is drugs, Jones said. 

“Combat impacts every soldier mentally and emotionally,” Jones said. 

No one escapes from the emotional or mental stigmas that come from being in the combat zone, he said. Afraid to admit they have a mental problem, veterans often don’t reveal to the Veterans Affairs or anyone they have a problem, Jones said.

“We didn’t know what this stuff was back in World War I and World War II,” Jones said.

There was not enough data before the War of Iraq to study. Now they’re starting to understand the effects on the brain after being in combat situations, Jones said. 

With this new data from the studies of soldiers, it identifies a clinical problem to solve because there are a lot of people still suffering from PTSD with no real cure, Stanford University mental health specialist Dr. Amit Etkin said in the featured film.

Campus counselors offer short-term counseling for veterans or spouses of veterans. Veterans who have a crisis or need someone to talk to for counseling can contact veterans counselors on their campus for help.

VetSuccess Centers

South Campus
Randal Baker, Veterans Specialist
SFOC 1341C
817-515-4838
randal.baker@tccd.edu

Northwest Campus
Randal Baker, Veterans Specialist
WADM 1204A
817-515-7958
randal.baker@tccd.edu

Northeast Campus
Vincent Smith, Veterans Specialist
NADM 1101A
817-515-6069
vincent.smith@tccd.edu

Southeast Campus
Vincent Smith, Veterans Specialist
ESED 1123A
817-515-3251
vincent.smith@tccd.edu

Trinity River Campus
Randal Baker, Veterans Specialist
TRTR 1016B
817-515-1051
randal.baker@tccd.edu