Post Traumatic Stress Disorder When I came back, I was suffering from PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. I didn’t know it, though. I started talking about it in 2007, but they weren’t talking about it the way that they do now. And actually, it was frowned upon that you would seek help, and we’d hear things like, “That little bit of time in Iraq broke you?” Most of us come back like that. It’s life-changing. You do a good job as a soldier, but it’s not always something that you can mesh back with the human being that you are at home.
Operation Iraqi Freedom My unit then deployed for the initial invasion in March 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom. After having my son, I joined them from November 2003 through March 2004. We set up at Baqubah, Iraq. There was nothing set up for us, no tents, no usable buildings, no safety, no perimeter—nothing but sand for miles. We did all the setting up for our unit, much like you saw on the TV show “Mash.” There were thick green tents everywhere. Every single day, we had loss of life. It was either ours or theirs. Under the Geneva Convention rules, we treated all of the most wounded, no matter what side they were on. Hard to do. Definitely hard to live with. As a medic, we run towards the call even if the enemy is still shooting at us. Mortars might still be coming. That somebody wanted to kill you every single day at your base or outside became normal . Because our unit was losing so many soldiers, part of my job was to decide which medics would go out on convoys as drivers or gunners, which was the heaviest burden. In Iraq, we supplied medics for every convoy. Iraq Deployment 2 was 2006–2007.
Location of Camp Scunion, U.S. Army FOB, Operation Iraqi Freedom (Photo courtesy©Livy Lazaro)
Keeping the Holiday Spirit Alive Christmas 2003, Iraq (Photoc ourtesy©Livy Lazaro)
There are more wounds that take a longer time to heal from, to forgive ourselves. Some wounds we just learn to live with. It took me about 10 years to even emerge from my severe depression and PTSD. Finally, when I moved to San Diego from Texas, new therapy at the La Jolla VA helped me because I had tried every possible treatment.
Members & Medics of Treatment Platoon 204th FSB, 4th ID FOB Warhorse at Baqubah, Iraq, 2004 (Photo courtesy©Livy Lazaro)
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San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 9 – Proudly We Serve
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