Monthly Archives: May 2013
The Different Faces of War
We are at war every day, and I’m not talking about Afghanistan. As an author, I know that there are many different types of conflict—there is man vs. man, man vs. nature, and man vs. himself.
When we think of war, we often think of World War I, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and we ignore the other battles fought daily all over the world.
For example, the tornado in Oklahoma. That was a battle against nature and it was just as devastating as combat in Afghanistan. In Oklahoma—in sixteen minutes—more than fifty died and twenty were children.
Natural disasters are battles in man’s unending war against nature. For a few examples:
- the tropical cyclone that hit Galveston in 1900 caused 6,000 – 12,000 fatalities.
- In 1906, the San Francisco earthquake killed 3,000 – 6,000.
- In 2004, an Indian Ocean earthquake caused a tidal wave that killed 230,000 people.
- In 2005, Hurricane Katrina killed 1,836 people.
Then there is the war with viruses—man vs. nature—such as the flu. For example, the CDC estimates that from the 1976-77 to the 2006-07 flu season, flu-associated deaths ranged from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people (annually).
On January 18, 2013 Bloomberg reported, the flu season, which has now been at epidemic levels for two straight weeks, may result in 36,000 deaths, said William Schaffner, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee.
Top FIVE Deadliest Diseases – this video is an entertaining way to scare yourself to death
For another example, there is the war raging on America’s roads every minute of every day. The US Census says that in 2009 alone, there were 35.9 thousand deaths from motor vehicle accidents and that was a low year. In fact, from 1990 to 2009, about 740,000 people lost their lives in vehicle accidents (about 39,000 annually).
In 2012, The Washington Post reported that “The U.S. has far more gun-related killings than any other developed country.” In fact, The U.S. gun murder rate is about 20 times the average for all other developed countries.
How many gun deaths are there in the US every year?
In 2011 alone, the figures from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that 31,940 people died in the United States from gun injuries.
- In 2010 that number was 31,328
- In 2009 it was 31,177
- In 2007 it was 31,224
- In 2004 it was 29,569.
Breaking down deaths from firearms in 2011:
- Accidental discharge = 851
- Suicide = 19,766 (man vs. himself) Note: the CDC says that the total number of suicides from all methods was 38,364 for just 2011.
- Homicide = 11,101
- Undetermined Intent = 222
By comparison, in World War I, the United States had 53,401 combat deaths (1917-1918) or 26,700 annually.
- In World War II there were 291,557 combat deaths (1941-1945) or 58,311 annually.
- In the Korean War there were 33,686 combat deaths (1951 – 1953) or 11,229 annually.
- In Vietnam there were 47,424 (1955-1975) or 2,371 annually.
- In Afghanistan there have been 2,012 combat deaths (2001-present) or 168 annually.
- In Iraq there were 3,542 combat deaths (2003-2011) or 443 annually.
Why do we hear so much about combat deaths and very little about highway deaths, suicide deaths, deaths by virus, natural-disaster deaths, and firearm deaths?
The fatal casualty numbers for Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq show us that the odds of dying a violent death in the United States are much higher than in a combat zone. It seems to me that we’d be safer joining the Army or the Marines and going off to fight in one of America’s wars.
Ignoring the numbers, why is death in combat considered more dramatic and devastating than someone going out to buy a quart of milk and dying in an accident on an American road or accidentally shooting himself cleaning a Smith and Wesson revolver while watching Dancing with the Stars?
Discover how a U.S. Marine Deals with his PTSD through Ballet
_______________________
Lloyd Lofthouse is a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam Veteran.
His latest novel is the award winning suspense-thriller Running with the Enemy. Blamed for a crime he did not commit while serving in Vietnam, his country considers him a traitor. Ethan Card is a loyal U.S. Marine desperate to prove his innocence or he will never go home again.
And the woman he loves and wants to save was fighting for the other side.
To follow this Blog via E-mail see upper left-hand column and click on “FOLLOW!”
Coming Home
I flew to Okinawa in late December 2005 and spent the New Year inside a Quonset hut during heavy rain and a typhoon warning. A few weeks later, we boarded a troop transport and my battalion shipped out to Chu Lei, Vietnam.
Fast forward to December 2006, and I was deep underground in a communications bunker. It was 2:00 am and I was alone when I heard the clatter of feet running down the stairs, slowing at the grenade trap and then moving fast again.
At the time, I was sitting in front of the radio set leaning back in a chair. Then another radio operator burst through the door. When I heard “We’re going home,” I fell over backwards and landed with a crash.
With little warning—before noon—three of us were on a flight to Da Nang where we boarded a civilian airliner and flew home to land at LAX fourteen hours later. After being processed, I rented a Mustang using my military driver’s license and headed home to the San Gabriel Valley south of Los Angeles.
It was three in the morning when I pulled into the driveway of my parent’s house. I was twenty-one. I didn’t have a wife, girlfriend or child. I had an older brother and sister who were married and had their own homes.
There was a light on in my father’s half bath. I knew that he was in there shaving and getting ready to go to work.
I rang the doorbell and heard him say, “Who the hell could that be at this hour?”
When the door opened, half of my dad’s face was covered in shaving cream. He was wearing his work pants and a T-shirt. Without saying a word, he stared in stunned shock, then spun around and ran through the house shouting for my mother, who was still in bed sleeping. Then I heard her surprised voice and feet rushing down the hall to the kitchen.
That was my homecoming from war.
Today, returning from war can be a very different experience, but the emotions are the same. Now homecomings are often filmed and posted on You Tube—something impossible in 1966. And when I watch them, which I do, my eyes fill with tears and I remember that early morning in December 1966 when my dad opened the kitchen door.
Discover The Sniper and the Dear-John letter
_______________________
Lloyd Lofthouse is a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam Veteran.
His latest novel is the award winning suspense-thriller Running with the Enemy. Blamed for a crime he did not commit while serving in Vietnam, his country considers him a traitor. Ethan Card is a loyal U.S. Marine desperate to prove his innocence or he will never go home again.
And the woman he loves and wants to save was fighting for the other side.
To follow this Blog via E-mail see upper left-hand column and click on “FOLLOW!”
Reporting for Duty, Sir
With the permission of his family, I report, with much sadness, that another young veteran whom I have had the honor to serve died this past week. The cause of his death remains unclear, but all agree that it was not self-inflicted, and it does appear that he died suddenly and without suffering.
Ethan (not his real name) first came to my office a couple years ago. He was not in good shape. He had suffered a significant traumatic brain injury (TBI) from an IED (improvised explosive device) explosion while having served in the Middle East, and he had subsequently become hooked on opiates (painkillers). When I first met him, he was gaunt of body and of gaze. He had the distractibility that I have often seen in veterans who are struggling with the consequences of TBI, but his had a desperate edge to it, an irritation that appeared to…
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War and Life Afterwards: An Interview with Brian Castner
“There are a number of writing programs for veterans that focus on healing, and they are great, encouraging men and women to just get their story out.” – Brian Castner
We’re honored that Brian Castner, Iraq War veteran and author of The Long Walk, makes his official online home right here at WordPress.com. Brian’s history and work are fascinating, as are the writing and photographs he shares on his blog.
We asked Brian a few questions about his background, his book, his blogging philosophy, and his choice of WordPress.com for his site.
Could you please tell us a bit about your unique background?
I served in the Air Force as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Officer, and deployed twice to Iraq in 2005 and 2006. EOD is the military’s bomb squad, so we defuse roadside bombs and all types of rockets and missiles and such. I got out of the military in 2007 and became a contractor teaching Army and Marine Corps EOD units before their deployments, but when the stress and post-traumatic issues finally caught up with…
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Acronyms Describing Women in the US Military
In the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, “military sexual trauma” has been so pervasive it got its own acronym: MST.
There are other acronyms—some now obsolete and some not listed—that are used to describe women in the military. I’ve listed a few here that I found from several lists.
Be warned, some of these acronyms and what they mean may offend a few, and I’m sure the last one will offend many.
WAAC = Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps and individual members of – now obsolete
WAC = Women’s Army Corps and individual members of – now obsolete
WAF = Women (in the) air Force and individual members of – now obsolete
WAVES = Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services in the US Navy – now obsolete
WM = Woman/Women Marine(s)
BAM = Broad Assed Marine; pejorative term for women Marines
field 10 = a physically unattractive female service member who becomes an object of desire for male service members after extended time in a field or combat environment away from civilian women.
ma’am = proper method of addressing female officers in particular and all women in general.
WACB (AR 310-50] = Women’s Army Classification Battery
WACSM [AR 310-50] = Women’s Army Corps Service Medal
WEST = weapon effectiveness simulated threat, (AR 310-50] Women’s Enlistment Screening Test
There’s one more acronyms that I could not find—but one I heard more than once from more than one Marine in 1967/68 while I was stationed at Camp Pendleton after my 1966 combat tour in Vietnam.
Marine men called—at least in my unit, the active duty nucleus for the division headquarters of the 4th Marine Division—women Marines SPAM.
Before I define what SPAM meant forty-six years ago, I want to warn you that you might be offended in this age of political correctness with so many words that are considered offensive by one group or another. Just remember, that the SPAM acronym was used by some Marines in the 1960s, and it was never official enough to make any of lists that I researched for this post and probably became obsolete soon after political correctness became a fact of life.
SPAM = Special Prostitute Assigned to the Marines
Considering all of the news about rapes and sexual harassment in the US military today, the use of SPAM to describe women Marines during the Vietnam War might reveal what some military men think about women serving in the military today telling us that maybe the way some men thought back then hasn’t changed much.
Should we be surprised?
The Justice Project reports, “The global sex trade has been increasing over the past 10 years and has now become one of the largest money-makers for criminals, presently taking place as the second largest criminal industry worldwide.”
800,000 are estimated to be trafficked across international borders each year.
80% of these people are females and 50% are minors
The vast majority of these victims will be forced into prostitution, requiring them to service high numbers of clients a day.
There are increasing demands for younger children in the sex slave trade.
Discover Stanford Study shows effect of PTSD trauma on brain
_______________________
Lloyd Lofthouse, a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam Veteran,
is the award winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition].
To follow this Blog via E-mail see upper left-hand column and click on “FOLLOW!”
Is Rape a Hazard of Military Service?
The Associated Press reports, “Sexual assaults in the military are a growing epidemic across the services and thousands of victims are still unwilling to come forward despite a slew of new oversight and assistance programs, according to a new Pentagon report. The report says that of the 1.4 million active duty personnel, 6.1 percent of active duty women — or 12,100 — say they experienced unwanted sexual contact in 2012, a sharp increase over the 8,600 who said that in 2010.”
Do not confuse unwanted sexual contact with sexual assaults. Unwanted Sexual contact is defined as any non-consensual sexual contact, such as touching or fondling of breasts, buttocks, genitals or other sexual/”private” parts. Sexual assault is defined as any sexual activity involving a person who does not or cannot—due to alcohol, drugs, or some sort of incapacitation—consent, and rape may include partner or marital rape.
And unwanted sexual contact and/or sexual assault is not the fault of the victim.
However, there is an explanation for the increase is sexual assaults in the military and it has to do—in part—with the following facts. From 1973 to 2010 the number of active-duty enlisted women in the military increased from about 42,000 to 167,000—a 400% increase.
In addition, the 1991 Gulf War was the first major military deployment where female troops were integrated into almost every military unit, except for combat ground units—this brought more women into daily contact with men suffering from combat induced PTSD.
The increased number of women serving in the US military; integration into almost every military unit and increased numbers of deployments to combat zones leading to more combat induced PTSD explains the increase in sexual assaults in the military.
Why would more combat veterans with PTSD lead to unwanted sexual contact and/or sexual assault?
The Huffington Post reports, “Combat veteran with PTSD were more likely to commit crimes. … A 2009 study of enlisted combat Marines with at least one deployment demonstrated that those with PTSD were six times more likely to be busted on drug charges than Marines without PTSD, and 11 times more likely to be discharged for misconduct.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs says PTSD and alcohol use problems are often found together and alcohol can make PTSD symptoms worse. … If you have a drinking problem, you are more likely than others with your same sort of background to go through a psychological trauma. You may also have problems getting close to others. You may have more conflicts with those people to whom you are close.
In addition, “Alcohol and drugs dis-inhibit people,” says Paul Rinaldi, associate director of the Addiction Institute of New York City.” Source: CBS News
And Helen Benedict writes in her new book “The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq—one of the symptoms of this disorder (PTSD) is uncontrollable violence (including increased incidents of rape).” Source: Womens enews.org
In conclusion: knowing the cause of this crime is not an excuse for the increase in sexual assaults in the US military, but knowing the cause offers possible solutions. One solution might be to remove military women from combat units and away from veterans—still serving in the military—who abuse alcohol/drugs while suffering from PTSD. Another solution might be through education, intervention and counseling programs for both women and men raising awareness of the problem along with methods to avoid or deal with it.
By The Numbers:
The Air Force has the highest percentage of women: 18% (11,665) are officers and 20% (51,614) are enlisted. In 2012, 790—1.2% of women serving in the Air Force—reported sexual assaults that include women and men.
Army: 15.5% officers (13,560) and 13.2% (59,672) enlisted. In 2012, 1,423—1.9%—reported sexual assaults that include women and men.
Navy: 15.1% (7,769) are officers and 15% (41,294) enlisted. In 2012, 726—1.5%—reported sexual assaults that include women and men.
Marine Corps: 5.8% (1,172) are officers and 6.2% (11,049) enlisted. In 2012, 435—3.6%—reported sexual assaults that include women and men.
Coast Guard: 14.9% (1,212) are officers and 11.6% (3,854) enlisted. One in three women as well as many men in the Coast Guard is going to fall victim of sexual assault and rape. Sources: Daily Kos.com and Slide Share.net
Discover The Dark Side of Humanity
_______________________
Lloyd Lofthouse, a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam Veteran,
is the award winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition].
His latest novel is Running with the Enemy. Blamed for a crime he did not commit while serving in Vietnam, his country considers him a traitor. Ethan Card is a loyal U.S. Marine desperate to prove his innocence or he will never go home again.
And the woman he loves and wants to save was fighting for the other side.
To follow this Blog via E-mail see upper left-hand column and click on “FOLLOW!”
2013 San Francisco Book Festival Award Winners
Running with the Enemy by Lloyd Lofthouse was awarded an honorable mention in general fiction at the 2013 San Francisco Book Festival.
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The winner of the general fiction category went to John Irving’s In One Person published by Simon & Schuster, and the grand prize was awarded to The Power of Starting Something Stupid: How to Crush Fear, Make Dreams Happen & Live Without Regret by Richie Norton with Natalie Norton — Shadow Mountain Publishing.
John Irving won the National Book Award in 1980 for The World According to Garp, and he received an O. Henry Award in 1981 for the short story “Interior Space. In 2000, he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules.
Richard Norton, the grand prize winner of the 2013 San Francisco Book Festival, is the CEO of Global Consulting Circle. He is a sought after speaker and consultant for the corporate growth and personal development industries. Norton has shared the stage with bestselling authors such as Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and Kevin Rollins, former CEO of Dell Computers.
Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of the award winning My Splendid Concubine and Running with the Enemy. His short story, A Night at the ‘Well of Purity’ was named a finalist in the 2007 Chicago Literary Awards. Anchee Min, Lloyd’s wife, is the author of Red Azalea, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year—in addition to national bestsellers Becoming Madame Mao and Empress Orchid, which was a finalist for the British Book Awards. Min’s memoir, the sequel to Red Azalea—The Cooked Seed—will be released May 7, 2013.
_______________________
Lloyd Lofthouse, a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam Veteran,
is the award winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition].
His latest novel is Running with the Enemy. Blamed for a crime he did not commit while serving in Vietnam, his country considers him a traitor. Ethan Card is a loyal U.S. Marine desperate to prove his innocence or he will never go home again.
And the woman he loves and wants to save was fighting for the other side.
To follow this Blog via E-mail see upper left-hand column and click on “FOLLOW
Returning from Combat with PTSD – the impact on family
I returned from Vietnam late December of 1966, and I did not talk about the war for years. Instead I kept it locked in my head, but I slept with a K-BAR that had a seven-inch blade. The reason I did not sleep with a pistol was because I feared shooting my wife.
I drank too much. I had an explosive temper. When the anger overwhelmed, instead of hitting her, I punched holes in the drywall and drank more.
After falling asleep at night, the flashbacks were vivid, violent and real. There were times that I carried a loaded rifle through the house checking the doors and windows to secure the perimeter. Sometimes I still do. All it takes is an unexpected noise and out comes a loaded weapon and I cannot rest until I know my family is safe.
After the first divorce in 1979, I stopped drinking and fight to contain the anger, and—at the time—most of us still didn’t know what PTSD was. It helped that I started writing about my time in Vietnam in the MFA program I started at Cal Poly, Pomona causing me to open up and talk about what I experienced in the war.
There is no cure for PTSD, but with understanding, the afflicted might be able to manage the trauma better and avoid destroying families and lives. For sure, drugs and alcohol are a bad mix with PTSD.
The impact of PTSD on families is shocking. “Research that has examined the effect of PTSD on intimate relationships reveals severe and pervasive negative effects on marital adjustment, general family functioning, and the mental health of partners.
“These negative effects result in such problems as compromised parenting, family violence, divorce, sexual problems, aggression and caregiver burden.
“About 38% of Vietnam veteran marriages failed within six months of returning from the war. The overall divorce rate among Vietnam veterans is significantly higher than the general population.” Source: ptsd.va.gov
Impact on family
The divorce rate among Afghanistan, Iraq War Vets increased 42% throughout the wars.
A July 2010 report found that child abuse in Army families has been three times higher in homes from which a parent was deployed, for example. From 2001 through 2011, alcohol use associated with physical domestic violence in Army families increased by 54%, and with child abuse by 40%. Source: cost of war.org
In addition, Expedition Balance.org says, “It’s harder for veterans with PTSD to hold jobs.
“The VA reported that more than 130,000 veterans were homeless on any night.
“Studies show that families where a parent has PTSD are characterized by increased anxiety, unhappiness, marital problems and behavioral problems among children.
“People with PTSD are more likely to have problems with drugs and/or alcohol.
“People who suffer from PTSD and depression are significantly more like to take their own lives.
“Female veterans have a higher rate of military sexual trauma. They have a higher rate of divorce and homelessness as well.”
The Huffington Post reported that “Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who struggle with the anger and emotional outbursts of combat trauma are more than twice as likely as other veterans to be arrested for criminal misbehavior … Veterans ‘who perceive that they have control over their future and who have greater psychological resilience’ are better able to refrain from violence, the study said.”
For me, managing the PTSD—so it does not manage me—is a full time job that is not always successful.
In 2011, there were 21.5 million combat veterans in the United States. Source: American Veterans by the Numbers (that is the cost of America’s endless wars)
Discover A Prisoner of War for Life
_______________________
Lloyd Lofthouse, a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam Veteran,
is the award winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition].
His latest novel is Running with the Enemy. Blamed for a crime he did not commit while serving in Vietnam, his country considers him a traitor. Ethan Card is a loyal U.S. Marine desperate to prove his innocence or he will never go home again.
And the woman he loves and wants to save was fighting for the other side.
To follow this Blog via E-mail see upper left-hand column and click on “FOLLOW!”
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