A discussion of this and a review of where we stand overall when it comes to Iraq in an informative piece filed by Robert Burns. From AP:

The Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which helped lead the charge to Baghdad at the outset of the war, will return next year and become the first Army division to serve three tours in Iraq. More than 3 1/2 years into the war, the Army and Marine Corps are straining to keep a steady flow of combat and support forces to Iraq while giving the troops sufficient time between deployments for rest and retraining.

Both services are far short of their goal of providing two years between deployments; the 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry, for example, will have spent barely more than 12 months at home when it returns next year. The same is true for the division's 1st Brigade, which officials have said is scheduled to deploy again in January.

The 3rd Infantry, based at Fort Stewart, Ga., is among several units - totaling 57,000 troops - identified by the Pentagon on Friday for deployment in a fresh rotation of forces starting in January. The announcement does not presume any change in troop levels, nor is any major change expected for at least several months.

Charlie Rose Roundtable Discussion With Three Iraq Vets
Hat tip to IAVA for providing the video of founder Paul Rieckhoff appearing with two other Iraq vets -- Daniel Anfang and David Myers -- on Charlie Rose to speak of their service, their frustrations on and off the battlefield, and the combat buddies they'll remember forever.

Click on image to view the program in full. The veterans' roundtable is found in the second half of the show, at 32:50.

Times Argus: Some Troops Self-Medicating in Field
From Cox News via the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus:

Experts say the PTSD rate among Iraq veterans could well eclipse the 30 percent lifetime rate found in a 1990 national study of Vietnam veterans because soldiers still on active duty are being deployed longer and more often to Iraq and more doctors are aware of the disorder and will properly diagnose it.

But a study released in May by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found that nearly four in five service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who may have been at risk for PTSD were not referred for further mental health evaluation. The Pentagon was unable to explain to the GAO why some were not referred for care.

Medical experts say mental health and substance abuse problems are intertwined. And drugs ranging from marijuana to prescription anti-depressants are easily accessible in Iraq, according to interviews with more than a dozen soldiers who served there.

Soldiers said they used banned substances as a way to mentally escape the violence around them. Others said pills were handed out by medics in the field. John Crawford, a 28-year-old former Florida National Guardsman with the Army's 101st Airborne Division, said soldiers in his unit drank alcohol, some took steroids, 'pretty much everyone took Valium' and 'some did all three.'

Times: British PTSD Figures and Court Cases
From the British Times:

A SOLDIER has been awarded £375,000 after becoming the first member of the Armed Forces successfully to sue the Ministry of Defence for suffering post-traumatic stress while serving in Iraq. ... Four soldiers were involved in test-firing when the barrel ignited. One soldier lost an arm and has been granted substantial compensation.

The three others were not physically injured but all put forward claims that they had suffered post-traumatic stress after witnessing the grievous wounds to their comrade. ... The MoD said that there were six other claims over post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the pipeline, including the two soldiers involved in the test-firing incident.

Hundreds of soldiers returning from Iraq have been suffering from mental health problems, according to the latest official figures. Of the 1,897 cases, 278 were classed as PTSD sufferers. The figures do not include personnel who have received treatment since leaving the Armed Forces.

LTE: Enough Lip Service Re: Post-War Aftercare
A Letter to the Editor in Maine's Morning Sentinel:

America's military needs to stop giving lip service to the aftercare it provides for the returning traumatized soldiers of today's "war on terror."
Currently, the United States military disavows the existence of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and the devastating impact it has upon the lives of these soldiers. Our country must be accountable and required to take care of all those who have made sacrifices protecting our freedoms. Anything less is an insult to all members of the service and a disgrace to our country and all veterans.

I am deeply aware of this problem as my son, an Army Ranger, has returned from combat in Afghanistan unable to receive needed treatment he deserves.

Michael Smilek, veteran U.S. Navy
Farmington

Albany Times Union Delivers Exhaustive PTSD Piece
Dennis Yusko at the Albany Times Union writes a stellar piece on the issues surrounding combat PTSD. "War's pain comes home" is a Page 1 article that ran on Sunday, spanning 4 online pages. Well worth the time to read it, here's a snippet of the opening:

For nearly a year, Christopher DeLara sped ruthlessly around Baghdad's lawless streets, riding adrenaline and paranoia as he dodged hidden bombs and insurgents.

But 18 months after his return to the U.S., doctors no longer allow the Army administrative specialist- turned-gunner to get behind the wheel. The 33-year-old veteran's readjustment to civilian life is tormented by sudden blackouts, nightmares and severe depression caused by his time in Iraq. Since moving to Albany last June, DeLara accidently smashed the family minivan, attempted suicide, separated from and reunited with his wife and lost his civilian driving job.

'I go from a job where I'm taking care of everything to coming back and being lucky if I know who the hell I am, or don't have a breakdown,' DeLara said from his living room couch, his eyes glazed and droopy from prescription drugs.

DeLara is among more than 38,000 Afghanistan and Iraq veterans fighting war's invisible wound -- post-traumatic stress disorder. The twin post-9/11 conflicts are generating a record number of PTSD cases, and the skyrocketing number of troops seeking care has Veterans Administration hospitals scrambling to provide increased services for the disorder.

Ilona Meagher is a citizen journalist with ePluribus Media and editor of PTSD Combat: Winning the War Within [email sign-up]. Her collaboration with ePluribus Media has resulted in the PTSD Timeline -- a database of reported OEF/OIF PTSD incidents -- as well as the 3-part series Blaming the Veteran: The Politics of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and book reviews The Corroding Effect and The Stories They Tell: Iraq War Vets Bear Witness. A journalism student at Northern Illinois University, Ilona is currently putting the finishing touches on her upcoming book, Moving a Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and America's Returning Troops.