This Country Has Failed Me In Every Way: Spc. William Wooldridge OIF Vet With PTSD

This interview was conducted on 1/14/06. The person being interviewed is Spc. William Wooldridge, who served with the 1123rd Transportation Company, 87th Troop Command, Arkansas National Guard.

His story is all too common for thousands of citizen soldiers who were mobilized to fight in Iraq. Thousands are now finding that they have returned home and lost everything they had, and are now denied benefits and disability compensation.

William served in Iraq during the initial phase of the invasion and the ensuing time of chaos and confusion while the country was secured. He experienced a severe traumatic reaction to combat stress and had to be airlifted out of Iraq after being there less than three months. William was in a convoy that was attacked by a bus carrying explosives. It blew up less than 25 feet behind the truck he was driving.

He witnessed the very bloody and violent death of civilians and children, which led to his breakdown. During the time he was traveling back and forth through Iraq, he was agonized and deeply hurt by the sight of children starving and dying from disease and dehydration. Those facts were never taken into consideration as a cause leading to his mental instability and subsequent loss of reasoning and rational.

Instead of diagnosing him with PTSD, the Army said he had an adjustment problem and classified him as having a personality disorder. While he did have a significant problem in regards to his relationship with his wife, it was only the end of a long chain of mental horrors and traumatic buildup. The DOD officially stated that many of his recent mental problems go back to childhood or early adulthood, and in no way relate to combat stress or battle trauma.

The Army used that personal issue as one of the only determining factors in giving him the ruling that his problems were related to previously existing conditions. As a result they denied him a medical discharge and put the burden of his problems directly on his shoulders. They laid the blame solely on his head and pushed him out the door and slammed it in his face.

A personality adjustment disorder discharge is commonly given to soldiers serving in the National Guard or Reserves. It is a type of discharge which by its very nature denies access to medical, counseling and disability benefits. Thousands of recently returned vets have been branded with this stigma. They are then blocked from any and all benefits or help they normally would be granted as a combat veteran.

As an interesting note, a significant amount of soldiers having the greatest difficulty with PTSD are personnel from the Transportation or supply and support units of the National Guard and Reserves.

William's story is becoming a reality for thousands of citizen soldiers who were mobilized to fight in Iraq. The majority of them are now being denied benefits and disability compensation. A two year wait for processing is now the norm rather than the exception. They are granted medical treatment benefits for two years, and that’s only if they have received an honorable discharge.

Please listen to this story and I am sure it will touch you and serve to drive home the true cost of this war. Many of the hometown soldiers find that they are being thrown away like garbage. Please listen to them, for they are crying out for help. Their voices are being ignored by the general public and our ruling party.

It is time to stand up and say NO MORE! We cannot send these soldiers off to war and then fail them in every way possible after they come back! We must let our leaders and representatives know that we will not tolerate this or allow it to go on any longer!

I AM RELEASING THIS INTERVIEW IN PRINT FORMAT IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. I WILL POST IT HERE AND AT MY GROUP.

ALSO SEE:
A Soldier For Truth Has Fallen: In Memory of Specialist Doug Barber
http://groups.google.com/group/Coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia/msg/0d65658a3254fde8

Spc. Douglas Barber: PTSD- Every Soldier's Personal WAR!
http://groups.google.com/group/Coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia/msg/339447f2ecaef4db?hl=en&

Spc. Doug Barber: Conservative talk show hosts and their stupidity toward troops
http://groups.google.com/group/Coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia/msg/8468c5364c48a142?hl=en&

Iraq took away our innocence! - Spc. Douglas Barber OIF Vet with PTSD
http://groups.google.com/group/Coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia/msg/2fe6cd944011c4b5?hl=en&

I’m just not the same person I was before Iraq: Spc. Mike Harmon-OIF Vet
http://groups.google.com/group/Coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia/msg/58317f166d8dc42f?hl=en&

TRUTH FROM U.S. SOLDIERS ABOUT IRAQ: Letters and audio- Soldiers speaking out
http://groups.google.com/group/Coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia/msg/baf0ab8997803869?hl=en&


ABOUT THE INTERVIEWER:

Jay Shaft is a freelance investigative writer. He is the Managing Executive Editor/Owner of the independent news group Coalition For Free Thought In Media.
http://groups.google.com/group/Coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia

He has conducted many interviews with soldiers who have served in Iraq, in which service members exposed the issues of the military's failure to provide proper equipment and training to USA troops. He has been on the forefront of investigating the price that soldiers are paying as a result.

He is currently involved in interviewing soldiers who have returned from war with PTSD or traumatic injuries. An ongoing expose and series of troops/vet interviews and articles highlighting the failure of the VA system to adequately take care of the soldiers and vets is in current publication at this time. An additional project to document the wartime and combat experiences of returning soldiers is also in active production.

He has also published many letters and interviews from parents speaking out against the death or injury of their children serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Contact Jay at coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia [at] yahoo.com or cftmeditor [at] gmail.com

THIS AUDIO INTERVIEW IS PROTECTED UNDER U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL LAW.
COPYRIGHT 2006- Coalition For Free Thought In Media©/ Jay Shaft ©2006
This AUDIO INTERVIEW is freely provided for public and private NON-PROFIT use, as long as anyone who uses it does not alter or remove any of the content.