A lot of others worse off than him: Post traumatic stress disorder among veterans

Army psychiatrist Nidal Hassan apparently committed a mass shooting at an Army base in Texas. If it turns out that Major Hassan did in fact break partly under the stress of the job and impending deployment, many veterans would not be surprised.

"If this guy can go over the edge, imagine what it is like for the actual combat troops who have been through four or five deployments," said Bryan Hannah, 22, a disabled Iraq war veteran from San Marcos, Texas, who was stationed at Fort Hood until he was discharged a year ago because of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other injuries.

He added, "There are a lot of others who are worse off than him."

Advice: Bring our soldiers home before more horrors like this occur.

Read a PTSD story with a happier ending. Thanks to the writers of the New York Times for this story, published Nov. 8, 2009.