GOOD Magazine: The Memory War

GOOD Magazine spoke with IAVA's Director of Government Affairs Todd Bowers for this feature article about veteran suicides and the correlation between rising rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and clinical depression in the armed forces.

“We want the American public to know that we’ve got to take care of this generation of veterans because never before has so much been asked of so few,” says Todd Bowers, Director of Government Relations for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. A veteran himself, Bowers served two voluntary tours in Iraq as a Civil Affairs Team Sergeant with the United States Marine Corps. “When you look at how many [soldiers] have done more than five deployments, that number is huge—that many deployments [used to be] unheard of.”

“[Battlemind] is a good first step,” says Bowers. “But it’s basically trying to reduce the mental health stigma by using videos and a website.” Bowers believes this is the wrong approach—that what soldiers need is dialogue between service members and with leaders. “If someone who is higher up says ‘I came back and I had some issues and I got them dealt with,’ they really respond to that.”

“We are going to see a massive influx of people coming home with mental health problems as a whole and really having a tough time readjusting,” says Bowers. “If we can catch these people now, before they become homeless, before they rely on permanent treatment, we’re going to save a lot of money and, more importantly, save a lot of lives. Veterans issues affect every single American because veterans rely on the American public for their care when they come home. They’re willing to defend this nation on the battlefield but then our nation has to defend us on the home turf—that’s really what I hope people pick up on.”