The Consequences of War

Not many people are fans of wars; nobody wins until years after the war begins and countless lives are lost. Fathers and Mothers have to bury their sons when they should be buried by their son or daughter; not the other way around. The consequences of war can be felt and seen all throughout the world today. Many Soldiers, families of soldiers and the trained dogs that are there to help the soldiers are coming out of war with PTSD and other mental health issues that can impede their lives. How can our country find peace through war? Canines are becoming more and more common in the war setting, dogs smell first then use there sight and last they use there hearing. Canine have a sense of smell that is 40 times a human’s sense of smell. When dogs are panting they are 40% less likely to have great smell, so how well can dogs do in the Iraq and Afghanistan desert? Many dogs in the war setting have signs of PTSD; many don’t want to do the thing that they are assigned to do anymore. Such as a dog that is assigned to sniff out I.E.D’s in cars and buses will not want to go into them and cower away or they will be very hesitant to enter because of the stress that it would cause them. Dogs can develop PTSD just like their human counter parts. The dogs are mostly put on Xanax and are good to go back to work within the next few days, those that are more severely affected by PTSD are retired from service are live out the rest of their days in loving homes. American soldiers of the wars are also coming back with mental health issues; many are not treated until they have a psychological break they then are forced to be treated most likely in a mental hospital. Women and the disabled were more likely to have issues returning home. Many children whose mother and fathers are deployed also have underlying symptoms of mental issues. Children and women in the foreign countries that wars have been held in are also experiencing issues such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression. In Iraq and

Citations: Dao, James. "The Dogs of War, Suffering Like Soldiers." The New York Times, 02 Dec. 2011. Dromi, Uri. "Beware of the Consequences of War." The Miami Herald. 8 Mar. 2012. "Economic Consequences of War on the U.S. Economy." Institute for Economics & Peace, Feb. 2012. Enzler, S. M. "Environmental Effects of Warfare: The Impact of War on the Environment and Human Health." Environmental Effects of War. Lenntech, 2006. Murthy, R. Sirinivasa, and Rashmi Lakshminarayana. "Mental Health Consequences of War: A Brief Review of Research Findings." World Psychiatry 5.1 (2006): 25-30. National Center for Biotechnology Information.