From Combat To College – The life of a soldier with PTSD

Did you know that more veterans are taken by suicide than are killed by military forces? Neither did I, which is why students filled the seats and lined the walls of the Student Union Theater to listen to speaker, Brian Adams, discuss his experience in Iraq and with PTSD. His story began in high school, when Brian was just a normal guy spending his time focused on sports and having fun. As graduation approached, Brian realized that college was not for him and so he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. He’d been exposed to the Army early on, since his grandfather had been in the Navy during World War II, and knew this was what he wanted.

Two months after graudation, Brian was shipped off to Basic Training, where he learned how to be a good soldier and to perform his duties well. Once he made it through Basic, Brian was sent with his infantry unit to Germany, for his first duty station. It was here that he realized, “you’re all here together and you all have the same goal.” He spent some time in Germany, but after returning a routine drill in the field, his life would completely change. Yes, his unit retured from their 60 days in the field to the news of September 11th and Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

Three weeks after hearing this horrible news, Brian’s unit got their orders and were sent for a one year deployment to Iraq in support of Iraqi Freedom. He spoke of not knowing what to expect when he got to Iraq, but Brian knew one thing: there was no guarantee to his returning to Germany. In February 2004 Brian was sent to Iraq, where his unit was matched up with one already on base. He noticed immediately that the men there were burnt out and looked like the life had been sucked out of them. 

Immediately upon arrival, Brian experienced the horrors of war. He saw his compnay commander blown up by an improvised explosive device (IED) on his seventh day in Iraq, as well as his best friend bleed to death when his legs were blown off. His base was under indirect fire for 180 days, which meant he had to constantly worry about being hit by missles while walking around. He spent his nights on sniper missions, where he had to navigate the town to scan for people planting IEDs. One night he was on one of these missions when he came under fire and was shot in the leg. His thoughts were “This is how my life will end. On the sidewalk on a road in Iraq.”

Luckily Brian survived, and recieved a Purple Heart. On September 2, 2005 he was honorably discharged, and returned home with his family. He had a difficult time reintigrating into society, and found himself getting frustrated with simple daily interactions. Brian developed a short temper, and would react drastically to minor problems. After two years of this struggle, Brian went to group therapy for PTSD. He states this is one of the best decisions he ever made. Now he is working daily on moving past this difficulty, and has focused on keeping his mental health well.