Veterans and Post-Traumatic Stress

NOW
t r u t h o u t | Programming Note

Airdate: Friday, September 28, 2007, at 8:30 p.m. on PBS.
(Check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/now/sched.html.)

Dealing with the hidden scars of war. This time on NOW.

For many Iraq and Gulf War veterans, the transition from battlefield to home front is difficult. Bouts of fierce anger, depression and anxiety that previous generations of soldiers described as "shell shock" or "combat/battle fatigue" now earn a clinical diagnosis: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But the relatively new medical label doesn't guarantee soldiers will get the care they need. On Friday, September 28, at 8:30 p.m., NOW looks at how America's newest crop of returning soldiers is coping with the emotional scars of war, and some new and innovative treatments for them.

In the show, we spent time with Iraq war veteran Michael Zacchea, a Marine lieutenant colonel who trained Iraqi troops and led them in the battle of Fallujah. Haunted by the violence he saw there, Zacchea and other soldiers diagnosed with PTSD now face what could be a lifelong struggle to leave the horrors of war behind and reclaim their once-peaceful lives.

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NOW Online will reveal facts and figures about vets and PTSD, and offer resources for coping. Also, an interview with veterans advocate Paul Rieckhoff about the denial of veteran benefits, and a deeper look at this week's children's health care bill debate.

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