By: Stephanie Jacksis
KILLEEN - Veterans marched in Killeen's parade on Friday to raise awareness about Operation Recovery. It's a campaign aimed to help soldiers access treatment for psychological issues.
Members said they hope the campaign will highlight Fort Hood's high suicide rate and help solders' overall well-being.
Several soldiers said Fort Hood soldiers are still being deployed, despite on going health concerns, such as PTSD and depression.
"It's irresponsible in the leadership's part," Curtis Sirmans said, adding, "Every soldier has their personal issues or serious issues, and they should be addressed before someone goes into combat."
Some soldiers said there's a negative stigma for those who suffer from PTSD and other forms of trauma. They said they constantly have to explain their conditions and are overworked, even when they have a physical profile stating their activities should be limited.
"It'll affect their performance overseas. It'll put soldiers at risk if they deploy with medical issues or PTSD. It's pretty much a safety issue and a liability issue," Sirmans said.
He did say counseling was available, but some people would wait six to eight weeks before being provided with a counselor.
Veteran Kyle Wesolowski is also supporting Operation Recovery. After he served the military for three and a half years, he now suffers from PTSD. He said every day was a struggle, because the army was quick to provide medication instead of counseling.
He said pills are only a temporary solution. Counseling helps soldiers learn how to cope, which helps them in the long run.
"One pill, twice a day, everyday. And if I don't take it, I'd probably be curled up on the couch, completely blank faced," Wesolowski said.
"It's easy to get medication," Sirmans said. "It's harder to get actual counseling. They're very quick to hand out medication. A lot of soldiers in my platoon are on multiple serious medications."
Members of Operation Recovery have met with hundreds of service members and families to collect personal stories and share resources.
Iraq Veterans Against the War's press release read, "It is clear that service members at Fort Hood are disproportionately being affected by the abuse of service members' right to heal."
Several soldiers said Fort Hood's attempts to help those who suffer from PTSD isn't taken seriously enough.
"They can say it all they want, but it's all just mostly talk," Wesolowski said. "We've talked to hundreds and hundreds of soldiers. Many of them said that they're not getting proper care. They have family issues. They're experiencing multi-deployments which then compounds their issues."
Fort Hood officials were not available to comment.
