Last week, Shinseki spoke to a group of young veterans attending college. A former Army chief of staff who was wounded during his service in Vietnam, Shinseki asked the veterans if any of them suffered from post-traumatic stress.
He got only silence ”” so Shinseki asked about symptoms.
“How many of you have a little trouble sleeping at night?” he asked the students, many of whom had been in combat.
The general then asked them if they were overly vigilant for threats in their own homes, or if any of them had been having anger management problems.
“And then hands go up,” Shinseki said. “And they looked at each other, and they suddenly realize they’re not the only ones in it.”
Gen Shinseki may very well be the best VA director, ever. He cares about vets, he really does.
It’s a great piece about some of the real costs of war. The General comes off very well indeed. God bless him.