British Military Veterans in Combat Trauma and PTSD in Iraq and Afghanistan war

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My thanks go out to all who have helped me complete this study and with whom this project may have not been possible. In particular, my gratitude goes out to friends, facilitator and family for extensive and helpful comments on early drafts. I am also deeply indebted to the authors who have shared my interest and preceded me. Their works provided me with a host of information to learn from and build upon, also served as examples to emulate.

DECLARATION

I, (Your name), would like to declare that all contents included in this thesis/dissertation stand for my individual work without any aid, & this thesis/dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It is also representing my very own views & not essentially which are associated with university.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSii

DECLARATIONiii

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW (Continuation)1

War: Heroic Service to Archaic Justice1

The Howard League Inquiry1

Sgt McEneany5

The Sense of Self and De-Personalization7

The 'Total Institution'9

The Punitive Turn10

The Pattern of Offending11

Inquiry: Prison as an inevitable trajectory12

Propensity of crime13

Summary15

CHAPTER 3: DISCUSSION17

Available Help17

Shell-Shock': The rise and fall18

Committed Confinement20

Psychiatric Fallout20

World War II and 'Combat Fatigue'21

Vietnam and the birth of PTSD23

The Falklands25

Altruistic Suicide26

Gulf War Syndrome27

Treatment of soldiers for PTSD28

Alcohol29

War Heroes31

Ex-Service personnel (arresting figures)31

Soldier's demographics32

Family34

Asking for help36

Homeward Bound38

Comrades39

Testing the DSM-IV and ICD-10 models39

Summary41

CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION43

Social Work Practice and Policy Implications45

Conclusion47

CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS48

REFERENCES49

BIBLIOGRAPHY62

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW (Continuation)

War: Heroic Service to Archaic Justice

The Howard League Inquiry

The Howard League Inquiry into the punitive treatment of Britain's heroes argues that the state has a 'duty of care' to ameliorate trauma issues before their return to 'normal' society (Caesar, 2010: p.1-5). However, success of the Howard League also depends on the implementation of a 'proactive' and not a 'reactive' approach to the handling of ex-servicemen and women by the Criminal Justice System itself with respect to trauma (Brown: 2008: 8). As Brown asserts, there is ample evidence to suggest that 'for the men and women who serve, or have served, in Afghanistan and Iraq' there is a 'second war,' a war which does not commence until the point at which 'they leave the military' (2008: 1).

There is a large body of literature on military families. This literature dates back at least to World War II. The scope of the research has encompassed active duty military members, their spouses, and their children. It is important to note that the military has primarily been concerned with military members and their legal dependents and the research reflects this. Little attention has been given to non-traditional forms of families such as unmarried couples living together. These non-traditional family members have not been eligible for benefits given to military dependents; therefore, they miss the social services so important in buffering the effects of military service on families.

It is unknown how military service has affected these non-traditional families. This idea is rarely noted in the limitations sections of research articles. Much of the military family literature has addressed the general theme of ...