American+Wars+in+Vietnam,+Irag+and+Afghanistan

Ted Englemann

__//**American wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan**//__


 * Vietnam--**
 * US involvement--1964-1973
 * Australia and South Korea were our main allies; not a lot of textbooks show this.
 * Thailand and Philippines did not have a large presence as allies, but they did help.
 * Presence of these other countries helped show that the US superpower was not just picking on a smaller country. Having allies showed it was a war on Communism.
 * In Vietnam, this is known as the American War--not the Vietnam War. Cultural bias.....
 * It is difficult to acknowledge our culpability.
 * What did America get out of Vietnam?
 * We learned a lot, but from hindsight. How veterans are treated today is predicated on how they were treated after Vietnam.
 * We were looking at a lot of resources--oil, rubber, tin
 * Emergency medicine developed

__//**War:**//__
 * Draft
 * Universal
 * Lottery--based on birthdates; little ping pong balls with numbers, and the numbers referred to dates (birthdates)
 * Economic
 * WWII--Soldiers enlisted, drafted or deferred (only son of family; health; student)
 * Vietnam--Draft, only high school grads could enlist in Air Force or Navy; many died due to lack of education; Lottery (1967).
 * Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom--"all volunteer", economic draft (for people who needed money and wanted to work over there--cleaned bathrooms and kitches, made sure food is clean,), mercenaries, contractors.
 * Tour of Duty
 * Deployment
 * WWII--Units went for the duration
 * Vietnam--Every soldier was a replacement for 365 days (USMC spent 13 months--to show they were tougher that everyone else) until DEROS (**D**ate of **E**stimated **R**eturn from **O**ver**S**eas); government did not think soldiers would have neuro-psychological issues if they had shorter tours of duty--lets not send people out to war for long periods of time.
 * President Bush's "Fatwa" (GWOT==**G**lobal **W**ar **O**n **T**error)--Units endure multiple and extended deployments.
 * Media Exposure
 * The return home
 * WWII--Units returned together, slowly. Resumed Life.
 * Vietnam--Individuals returned in 12-36 hours, "Foxhole to Frisco"; Melted away in social chaos.
 * OEF/OIF: Units return with little civilian awareness.
 * Outcomes of war
 * World War II:
 * Vets returned to a grateful nation.
 * Between March-June 1945, USMC suffered 20,000 neuro-psychiatric (“np”) caualties in the battle of Okinawa. (Thomas Childers, “Soldier From the War Returning”
 * Between 1944-’45, the Armies in Europe evacuated over 150,000 “np” cases to hospitals. (Michael Doubler, “Closing with the Enemy”)
 * WW II vets didn’t tell sons about war.
 * DSM III in 1980 includes “PTSD.” VA Vet Centers established
 * Most vet suicides were after the war.
 * OEF/OIF:
 * Nam vets didn’t tell their children about war.
 * Probably due to extended and multiple deployments, military and VA record highest rates of “PTSD” and suicide.
 * Increase in Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) increases “PTSD” symptoms.