Especially when it comes to mental health issues...

45 weeks of pay if you're medically discharged and the you have to prove to a government body that it was the armies fault you got hurt

Canada has a similar issue re: lowering standards. I worry about JTF2

It was easy for me because I was blown up but for others not so much.

Is there a country that handles mental health issues well?

Prolly not

The US was at least trying early on I think, but...

Like

People go on and on about the barbarism of late 19th and early 20th century psychology

Mental health is hard to diagnose and treat. Its probably almost impossible to get right.

Dissolving the institutions was a terrible idea tbh. Now they're just homeless

Institutions would make it easy and probably drop the suicide rate.

But they seem to forget that the entire reason we know as much of what little we do know at the moment is _because_ of that shit

It's not perfect but better than nothing.

my buddy was blown up too and got an honorable

Hefty reform was needed for sure, but dropping funding was a step in the wrong direction

I honestly think we need to raise the age of combat troops.

You reckon raise enlistment to like 21 or something?

People who's brains aren't fully developed shouldn't be in combat.

I think thats exactly when they want them

Theres been studies where people over the age of 25 are much less susceptible to ptsd.

if you're "all there" you might hesitate, as fucked up as that sounds

But I know plenty of people who got in the shit over the age of 25 and still suffer from ptsd

I really think it's more nurture than nature when it comes to ptsd.

Hmmm... maybe

No real data I can cite or say I’ve read to really form any conclusions though

Just that it’s incredibly prevalent

And the negative public perception certainly doesn’t help

Yeah. I can only speak anecdotally myself.

Just a general trend I've noticed.

In my shop, I had an old customer who was a vet from both Korea and Vietnam

He was... let’s say he had this sparkle in his eye when I told him I was a vet too

Like he hasn’t spoken to anyone about his experiences in _years_

And the painful thing is like...

He’d be so animated talking about him and his buddies and shit

And as soon as some other customer walks in he automatically becomes dead silent

I love hanging with the old vets.

And the worst part?

Guy was a combat medic

He didn’t even actively take part in shooting people

Was having a beer with a bloke who was an observer during the Malayan emergency.