PTSD in Persian Gulf, Iraq & Afghanistan

President Bush greets Soldiers

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By Gaurav Roy

The rates of war-zone inflicted PTSD have steadily risen since the American Civil War. All wars have brought tremendous impact on the lives of the soldiers involved in it regardless of whichever war or conflict you look into. Posttraumatic stress disorder has been one of the most notorious culprits to affect our soldiers in all wars that the United States has taken part in.

Length of War Have Direct Psychological Impact on the War?

Persian Gulf War was a shortlived war compared to the other wars that the United States have taken part in. However, its psychological impact was just as severe as other wars in inflicting trauma on the soldiers involved in the war. There has been a rise in the reported number of physical and mental problems among the veterans after the end of the Persian Gulf War in 1991 till now.

The results of mental health impact studies of the Persian Gulf War are mixed as some of these reports indicate that the rates of PTSD caused by the Gulf War are in the range of 3%-12%, which is lower than the other wars. On the other hand, some reports have found that the rate of PTSD has been higher among veterans deployed in the Gulf War.

U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman HM1 Richard Barnett, assigned to the 1st Marine Division, holds an Iraqi child in central Iraq on March 29, 2003

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U.S. Marines from Task Force Tarawa carry a wounded Marine during a gun battle on March 23, 2003, in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. The Marines suffered a number of deaths and casualties during gun battles throughout the city.

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The Iraq War ≠ The Afghanistan War

Researchers often combine the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to study psychological trauma caused during the recent wars. They group the veterans from both of these wars into the same depression and suicide statistics. However, it has been found that the soldiers returning from the Iraq War have higher levels of PTSD as they are far more likely to be exposed to greater levels of stressors during the Iraq War.

Unique Problems!

The problems faced by the Iraq and Afghanistan vets wars are unique compared to those of the earlier wars. These wars brought longer stints for the soldiers in the battleground and shorter rest periods. It increased the risk of psychological trauma among the soldiers involved in these wars. The study conducted in 2018 by the Rand Corporation reported that since 9/11, 2.77 million U.S. troops took part in 5.4 million deployments.

The U.S. troops don’t fight the enemy soldiers wearing uniforms in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. They face terrorists in these wars who use unconventional suicide bombing tactics and initiate deadly blasts through improvised explosive devices.

Both of these wars have the lowest death rates ever recorded in any of the wars that the United States was involved in. However, the rates of PTSD and psychological trauma have grown to a level that has never been seen before in any wars.

PTSD in The Iraq War vs PTSD in The Afghanistan War

In 2004, a study was carried out to determine which wars among the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were more likely to expose the involved soldiers in live combat scenarios. The study concluded that the soldiers who were serving in the Iraq War were far more likely to have exposure to combat than the Afghanistan War.

The United States Department of Veteran Affairs has reported that 13-20% of veterans who served in Iraq are suffering from PTSD. On the other hand, the rate of PTSD was found to be 11% among the Afghanistan War veterans.

It is to be noted that the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are still ongoing, and that’s why the full psychological impact of these wars is still not fully studied. Once these wars end, we can expect a clear picture depicting the true impact of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars on the involved soldiers' psychological profile.