How Veterans can learn from Vietnam Veterans
Major news outlets for the past few months have focused on the drawdown of our nation’s longest war: Afghanistan.
While the conflicts are different, there are parallels.
Each operation had U.S. involvement for about two decades. Both countries had a low initial amount of forces. Both later had a surge in forces. U.S. forces in both theaters fought an enemy that hid among the people. The U.S. participation in the Vietnam War started ending in 1973 with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords. The U.S. withdrew, leaving the country to determine a path ahead. In Afghanistan, the U.S. withdrawal will leave Afghans to determine their own future.
Emotions on Afghanistan
When the announcement came that U.S. forces would leave Afghanistan this year, it triggered a complicated wave of emotions through those who served in the country. Air Force Veteran Scott Watson is one of them.
Watson spent a year in Afghanistan from July 2009 to July 2010. He worked for Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan as the Afghan National Army fuels officer, the top level of the supply chain when it came to fuel. He spent a year separated from his daughter.
“It was a mix of disappointment and relief,” Watson said about hearing the news. “I’m disappointed that we’re leaving, and I don’t feel like we’re done training the Afghan security forces. At the same time, I’m relieved that I don’t ever have to go see names of people that I know redeploying to this place where it’s just Groundhog Day every day.”
At its peak, there were more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2010; the number of troops have steadily shrunk over the past decade. While news coverage debates the decision to cease combat operations, the highest-ranking enlisted service member in the military said Veterans from the war should remember the positive to help reconcile their service.
“Our purpose for being there was to prevent further attacks on the homeland,” said Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman Ramón “CZ” Colón-López. “We wanted to make sure that we denied Al Qaeda, specifically, of sanctuary, training ground and places where they could plan terrorism attacks. If you look at the past 20 years, that is exactly what we did. There hasn’t been a single attack on the homeland. They will think twice about doing it because of our actions over the past 20 years. For our Veterans, be proud of what you did, because you have kept the country safe over the last 20 years.”
Deployment and PTSD
Colón-López has lived the war for two decades. He was an element leader with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron on 9/11. Shortly after, he deployed to Afghanistan on direct action and combat search and rescue missions to capture or kill high value targets. He also provided security for Hamid Kharzai, who later served as Afghanistan’s president. Now, as the senior enlisted service member, he serves as an advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on all matters involving joint and combined total force integration, utilization, health of the force, and joint development for enlisted personnel.
Colón-López admitted getting to a place of being proud of his own service wasn’t easy. Serving as a special operator in Afghanistan, he’s dealt with tragedy and personal demons. He said one of his personal hardest moments was hearing the death of Air Force Veteran Scott Duffman, who died with seven others on a mission in 2007. He also faced repeated deployments, placing both physical and mental stress on his body. While stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, a July 4th celebration in neighboring Albuquerque turned traumatic. The combination of the desert, smoke in the air, loud noises and smell of powder triggered his PTSD.
Years of dodging his PTSD led to heavy drinking, moodiness, hiding his trauma during physical health appointments and engaging in reckless behavior. Once, while stationed in North Carolina, he left work for his 45-minute drive home. By the time he got there, he was in tears. He went inside and talked to his wife, Janet, about his PTSD. While talking about it helped him, he said the breakdown was simply “mitigation.”
Seeking help
Colón-López said a mountain biking accident in Germany led to an ultimatum from Janet to get help. He crashed his bike while seeking a thrill to replace his combat experience.
“She said, ‘you’re going to the clinic now,’” he said. “It was liberating by the time I actually went in there. I thought I could fix myself and that is not the answer.”
Citing 20 years of combat operations in Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, Syria and other locations, he said “We’re resilient, we know how to suck it up, and we know how to power through it. But there’s going to come a time to where you won’t be able to do that.”
Dealing with the end of combat
While some troops have reconciled their service, not all have. With the recent news and announcements over the end of the Afghanistan mission, VA facilities also started seeing an increase in Veterans seeking help. Two psychologists from the National Center for PTSD said they are starting to see Afghanistan Veterans bring up issues around their service.
“Reactions aren’t always what people think they are going to be, and that’s okay,” said Dr. Jennifer Vasterling, the chief of psychology at the VA Boston Healthcare System and affiliated investigator with the National Center for PTSD.
Avoidance
Another unsuccessful coping mechanism many Veterans use is avoiding the topic.
“It can feel really good in the short term,” Norman said. “In the longer term, avoidance breeds more avoidance. It felt so good that one time that you begin avoiding more and you start doing less. Your world becomes so small, time over time, as you avoid more and more.”
Norman said that numbness can spread and snowball, where people aren’t feeling pleasure or joy. She said people can feel danger in relatively safe situations. For those people with PTSD, replacing traumatic wartime memories with thoughts and activities that make them happier can be difficult without treatment and may feel reluctant to let the memories out.
‘Be proud of what you have done’
According to Colón-López, one of those positive memories Afghanistan Veterans should be proud of is the fact that U.S. troops arrived home safe. The last U.S. combat death was Feb. 8, 2020, more than 17 months ago.
“We had been there for 20 years, and I know because I was one of the first people to go out there on the first rotations. What we have done from then to now is phenomenal,” he said, pointing toward the progress made in Afghanistan, including helping stand up a government and building a military force. Both of which denied safe haven to al-Qa’idah.
(SOF: The Colonel Blimp foiled that progress, but that is no reflection on our Servicemembers)
“For any Veteran out there listening, be proud of what you have done,” he added. “Our government has made the decision and we have followed lawful orders.”
Soldier of Fortune was launched to give the Vietnam Vet a voice. For four decades, in print and online, veterans have a sounding board and support their fellow Vets.