No peace from war

No Peace From War

The mother of a 24-year-old soldier who returned from Afghanistan sleepless, agitated and suicidal arrives on Parliament Hill today to press for better care for troops with severe psychological battle scars.

Ann LeClair of Sarnia said her son, Cpl. Travis Schouten, returned from Kandahar in the fall of 2006 a "changed man." She said the Canadian Forces is not doing enough to help soldiers like him who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She will testify in-camera today before MPs on the Commons defence committee studying the scope of the problem.

When Schouten returned from tour of duty, he started drinking heavily and became easily frustrated and angry. The gunner based at CFB Petawawa suffered nightmares, depression and wanted to be left alone. Eventually LeClair gave up her job to care for him.

"He didn't want to sleep anymore because he didn't want the dreams," she said. "We had to leave the lights on for him at night."

Schouten's depression eventually led to a two-day vanishing act and an attempt to kill himself with a mix of pills and alcohol. LeClair said she has been battling the military for help ever since.




"I was appalled at the treatment he received, or should I say, didn't receive," she said. "I was astonished. It was beyond my wildest imagination or my wildest nightmare. In all honesty, Afghanistan was hard. But this is hell."

LeClair recently brought her concerns to the top, meeting with Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier. He told her the military is doing its best but grappling with a tremendous "volume" of such cases.

Figures from Veterans Affairs show the caseload is now 10,881 veterans or armed forces members with a psychiatric condition, of whom 7,106 are diagnosed with PTSD. Numbers include vets from previous conflicts, but have been climbing quickly since Canada's Afghanistan mission began in 2002.

Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson said his department is taking care of those in need with financial and clinical programs.

LONG-RUNNING BATTLE

"This was recognized long before my tenure with previous ministers, the need to address that," he said in a recent interview, adding his government is always striving to meet the changing needs of traditional and "new force" vets.

But LeClair said she will demand the government do better when she speaks to the committee today.

"My son has gone through hell," she said. "He didn't anticipate feeling like he was nobody because he has an occupational stress injury."

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It appears the Canadian government is treating their war deployed soldiers like the DOd and the VA is here in the states........

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