>> Major funding for
In Wisconsin is provided by
the people of Alliant Energy,
who bring safe, reliable and
environmentally friendly energy
to keep homes, neighborhoods
and life in Wisconsin
running smoothly.
Alliant Energy, offering
energy-saving ideas on the Web.
UW Health, providing specialty
and primary care for all ages
throughout Wisconsin.
Information on UW Health
physicians and clinics, and on
University of Wisconsin Hospital
is available on the Web.
And Wisconsin's
Technical Colleges,
providing local education
for the crucial occupations
essential to our communities.
Wisconsin's
Technical Colleges.
Communities first.


>> The war in Iraq is front and
center on the national and
international political stage
of course with deep divides
over what to do about it.
As important as it is,
the political wrangling
cannot touch the personal toll
this or any war takes on the men
and women who fight it.
Here at home, some 30,000
soldiers from Wisconsin
have so far been deployed.
Among them, two Army National
Guardsmen, who served in
a Waukesha-based medical unit.
One, a sergeant, a nurse.
The other, a medical doctor
and commander of the unit.
We tell their story because
they agreed to share it.
Agreed to share a war story
that includes lasting physical
and emotional injury.
We should tell you, this program
includes graphic images.


>> We did a lot of convoys,
two or three times a week,
we were out on the road
taking chances,
but you know, that was
what our mission entailed.
Luckily, we had no deaths,
but we did have many injuries.
Nine out of the 72 members
actually had a Purple Heart
received for combat wounded.
>> We had a lot
of mortar attacks.
We had rockets on occasion.
>> Did I have enough men?
I wish I had more men
and women over there
to run all these missions.
But you know, like every war,
the country is strapped
for logistics
of many different reasons.
So we dealt with it
the best we can.
>> You know, the citizen
soldier, if you will,
we have doctors, nurses.
The majority of my unit
was college students.
And you're thrown into
an environment.
Granted, we all volunteered,
but then you are in a war zone
and you have to adapt, and
you have to adapt in a hurry.
>> I would have to say,
body armor-wise, they gave us
what we needed.
In terms of vehicles, no,
I don't think the medical unit
had the types of vehicles
that we needed to do the runs.
However, you know,
again, we adapted.
We used whatever kits we could
find to turn it into an armored
vehicle, rather than a typical
Humvee that's aluminum sided.
But our unit was seeing,
on a daily basis, regular
sick calls, plus injuries
and all that, about 60
to 80 patients a day.
We had, probably, mass casualty,
major trauma cases
coming in at least once a week.
It's a 24-hour,
seven days a week service.
It does take a toll on
a lot of people.
The mental stress of seeing
the trauma day after day,
working with young and old,
such a devastation
on a physical body.
It is heartbreaking.
A lot of times, you know,
we don't think about a person,
we think about it
as one of the medical triage.
But it's usually the afterwards,
then it kind of hits you.
My God, that kid was really
young, that I just treated.
September 12, 2004,
as one of the convoy mission,
we were stopped by a security
checkpoint because
they found a roadside bomb
and they were clearing it.
>> We were traveling
Route Irish, for people in the
theater, they know it's a
very dangerous stretch of road.
Probably three-quarters
of the way through our trip,
we were actually stopped
by U.S. forces.
They actually had a vehicle
across the road.
Stopped our three-vehicle
convoy, my commander was in
the first vehicle.
He radioed back and said that
they had an IED that was
implanted in the road ahead,
and that we were able to either
turn around and go back
or wait here for
the bomb disposal group to
come and take care of the IED.
He chose the latter.
He actually went against
the cardinal rule,
it's always to keep moving.
And in this particular case,
we were standing still,
like I said,
a target opportunity.
And many times, suicide bombers
look for the standing target
of opportunity.
And you know, not thinking
that that was going to happen,
but we were standing
on the side of the road.
I think we were there
for nearly 30 minutes.
And out of the,
kind of the right side
of my peripheral vision,
I saw something moving real fast
and I looked.
And there was actually
a vehicle that was accelerating.
I raised my rifle up
and pointed it
at the driver's head.
And I remember firing once
and right after that,
I fired again,
and the vehicle
almost simultaneously after that
exploded.
>> I remember the face
of the driver clearly.
I also remember two shots
ringing out right next to me as
one of the nurses took a shot.
I remember the spider holes
on the windshield.
And I remember
an orange ball of fire
and the heat that hit me.
>> It happened so fast.
When the explosion went off,
one of the thoughts
is I'm going to die here.
And you have the real quick
where your life does flash
in front of your eyes.
>> The first thing I saw
when I saw the orange flame,
I wondered what was going
to happen to Kate, my wife,
and what's going to happen
to my kids.
It played along that during
the split-millisecond,
I do remember there,
"Well, here goes."
>> I fell down immediately,
and both my legs
felt like they were on fire.
So I thought I was on fire.
I looked down, and my left leg
was twisted and backwards.
I could see the back side
of my boot,
which had my blood type on it.
>> When I came to, I remember
hearing helicopters,
I remember hearing screaming,
small arms fire.
I'm not sure
if we were under attack or
the ammunition was cooking off.
But I remember a lot of pain.
And I remember the medic
that came to treat me,
and someone telling me
that your vehicle is gone,
it's burning.
>> I instinctually thought
well, if my leg is off
or nearly off,
I need to get a tourniquet on it
to stop the bleeding.
Otherwise,
I'm going to bleed to death.
>> I lost consciousness
for about 15 minutes.
Other injuries are in my arms,
hands and legs.
Luckily, my body armor
protected me fully
in terms of vital organs.
So I had most of the burn
and shrapnel injuries
and nerve injuries.
>> I remember I was
coughing up a lot of blood.
So, my first thought was
that I had a chest injury.
Of course, then, you know, God,
I've got to deal with this now.
And my back hurt really bad,
so I had them roll me over.
I actually had a piece of metal
sticking out of my back.
I'm like, just leave it there,
don't pull it out,
it's plugging a hole.
Leave it in.
>> As soon as I heard
small arms fire, I was trying
to take some cover.
But I knew I couldn't move.
Then I got scared again,
I know I'm wide open here.
>> To realize how helpless
you are, and then the anger
and the blame comes in.
I blamed somebody
for that helplessness.
I pointed a finger
at an individual.
It was my commander.
I was very upset with him,
and he knew that.
>> As a commander,
you get blamed a lot.
And part of our job
is to take the blame.
>> My commander has to
live with that every day.
I don't have to live with that,
that feeling of guilt.
I mean, I know I did
what I was ordered to do.
He gave the order.
So he has to live with that
every day.
>> It's a very lonely job,
the commander's job.
>> I mean, don't have
that feeling of anger or blame
any longer.
It is what it is.
It happened.
>> My job was to, you know,
spend a year out there,
and bring back all my soldiers.
That was the promise I made
to the family members
before I left.
I couldn't keep that promise
and it hurt.
>> I really had a hard time
coming to terms
with why I lived.


>> What neither Sgt. Chris Cook
nor Col. Ken Lee knew,
in the immediate aftermath
of the explosion was that
the physical trauma would
be only half their problem.
Lasting emotional trauma,
in the form of Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder, would also
nearly take their lives.


>> Lee: I do remember standing
there with two other nurses,
watching this vehicle
come towards us.
I think it was a brown Buick.
>> And they were coming
right at our position.
I just remember.
I remember kind of looking down.
I took my weapon off of safe,
and I put it on semi.
And I raised my rifle up
and pointed it
at the driver's head.
>> I remember the spider holes
on the windshield.
And I remember
an orange ball of fire
and the heat that hit me.
>> Here I am, how many
thousands of miles
away from home,
and I'm going to die here?
>> But I was scared.
I was very scared when I came to
and realized what happened.
>> I instinctually thought,
well, if my leg's off or nearly
off, I need to get a tourniquet
on it to stop the bleeding.
Otherwise, I'm going to
bleed to death.
Consequently, they ended up
getting me loaded onto another
vehicle from another company.
I had no idea
who these guys were.
They drove me through
the streets of Baghdad
and got me to the hospital.
>> Three of us were medivac'd
out from that Baghdad site
to Germany,
eventually to Walter Reed.
At Walter Reed,
I had four more surgeries.
>> Had two surgeries
in the hospital.
I think I got six units
of blood.
Then they medivac'd me to
Walter Reed, where I spent
nearly 60 days in the hospital,
and had a myriad of surgeries.
I was usually going to surgery
about every second or third day.
I think within the first
seven days I was there,
they actually had
a mental health team
come around.
And they said that I had signs
and symptoms of Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder.
And they suggested that
I would participate in
their mental health counseling,
which I'm like,
of course I'm angry.
I'm laying in bed here.
You're telling me I have a
mental health issue, as well as
this major physical issue.
It was just kind of like,
leave me alone.
>> I thought I could
handle it myself,
especially as a physician.
I didn't think I need any help.


>> Lee: Nightmares were
very vivid about the incident.
It's usually the sulfuric smell.
The suicide bomber's windshield,
the brown vehicle
that I remember,
his face.
It was very vivid.
And then that orange ball,
the flame that came through.
I remember that one
very vividly.
That was the usual one
that keeps coming back.
You know, I wake up with,
you know, sweats
and heart pounding.


>> I love my parents
with all my soul.
And to be at a point
in your life when you
look at your mom
and you call her the "F" word,
you know,
get the "F" out of here.
>> I was flying out
to a conference.
I was in the plane.
And just ready to fall asleep.
I was at that stage
when you're aware
of the surroundings,
but you're ready to go to sleep.
I heard somebody come back
from bathroom, sit down
and he clicked his belt shut.
That sound sounded just like
a weapons charging.
When I heard that, I said
"Weapons green, weapons green."
I was starting to yell,
you know, because I thought
somebody was charging
their weapon
when they shouldn't be.
So the person that was
sitting next to me
just kind of freaked out.
>> But I did spend a long time
just crying by myself.
I spent a lot of time
when I was at Walter Reed,
they actually put you up
in a hotel that's on the base.
I basically laid in bed
with my leg propped up
for weeks at a time,
crying.
>> When my unit came home,
and I wasn't part
of that homecoming,
that was really bad.
If I ever had
a suicidal thought,
at that time,
and had the means to carry it,
it would have been done.
>> My lowest point
was just wanting to die.


>> I was playing a board game
with my daughter, who at
that time, was nine years old.
And we were playing the game.
She mentioned to me, "Dad,
you don't smile anymore."
And it just kind of hit me
like a rock.
>> I think my life would have
probably been in a shambles
had I not sought out treatment.
>> I think I would have been
more outcasted, and probably
become more of a loner.
>> Once I was able to be
a little bit more up and about
in a wheelchair,
I started attending
group therapy.
And to go into a group of ten,
12 soldiers, men and women,
to see people missing limbs
and, you know, missing eyes,
people that were in wheelchairs
with leather helmets on
who could barely speak,
because they had
such significant head injuries
helps to put things
in perspective.
>> I didn't want it.
For a year, I knew it was there,
I just fought it
and said that's not what it is.
It's just a phase
I'm going through.
Nobody really wants this
diagnosis to be part of us.
I definitely don't want it.
At one point,
I couldn't deny it anymore.
I felt very embarrassed
going for help.
>> There's that certain level
of bravado that we have,
and that you
don't want to show weakness.
I still think that holds true.
I think that you're doing
yourself a disservice
by not seeking the treatment.
And not only are you doing
yourself a disservice,
but those people around you,
your family,
your significant other.
>> For anyone that is thinking
about looking for support,
I think it's important
to listen to the ones
that are closest to you.
>> PTSD can define
who you are.
Or, I think you can
take the other path and
actually seek out the treatment
that's suggested
and rise above it, and
hopefully become a better person
because of your injury
and because of having
Post Traumatic Stress.
That's why I think
it's important to talk about it.
>> Once I started opening up,
they help you open up,
it was a big relief.
>> I have a lot to thank.
I have a lot to thank
the veterans,
the Vietnam veterans
in particular, because I know
that they were huge proponents
that this is not going to happen
to this generation.
I really do believe that
part of the reason why I got
excellent mental healthcare
was because of them
and their voice.


>> The voice of Vietnam Veterans
allows Chris Cook to have
a stronger voice of his own
for what he believes
is the right way to treat
a returning wounded war vet.
Cook says he still
can't get past
how his own state treated him.
And he's not talking about
the medical care.
The personal attention,
or lack of it,
he regards as an insult
to his injury.
>> I actually hold
a great deal of animosity
toward the Wisconsin
Army National Guard.


I think when you become
one of their wounded,
I think you get
kind of left behind.
>> Freyberg:
It was at Walter Reed,
and later back in Wisconsin,
that Cook says he felt abandoned
by his National Guard
that he had served for 14 years.
>> When you get deployed,
they really stress
that we're this big family.
And then I felt like the
red-headed stepchild
when I got back.
It's difficult when you
promote this close-knit
family relationship that we're
going to take care of our own.
Then it doesn't occur.
I would have much rather
have not heard even that speech
before I went.
Then I wouldn't have expected it
when I came home.
>> Cook says top
Wisconsin National Guard brass,
including the General,
did visit him when he first
arrived at Walter Reed,
but that to him felt like
a hollow formality.
>> They had difficulty.
They came out once,
pat on the back.
And that was it.
>> Cook acknowledges
that the Guard is busy
helping wage a war, but when
asked what more he wanted
from the Guard,
he says something closer
to what a family might express.
>> It would have been great
to get some phone calls,
once a month,
once every couple weeks,
say, "How are you progressing?
Is there anything
we can do for you?"
That human component,
that human contact,
I think, retrospectively,
would have meant a lot.
>> Chris Cook's dismay
in turn dismays the front office
at the Wisconsin Guard.
>> Well, I was surprised.
Everybody here was surprised.
We've tried to do as good a job
as we can.
>> Freyberg: Representing
the Wisconsin Guard and speaking
on behalf of its General,
Col. Tim Donovan says talk
of soldiers being a family
is not just talk.
>> Donovan: Well, they
sure aren't hollow words.
I know the people who made
those pledges of family to
the soldiers and to the airmen
who have departed from
the Wisconsin National Guard,
and they care very deeply
about taking care of our family
that's deployed overseas
and the families
they leave behind in Wisconsin.
And we do the best job we can.
It's obviously not perfect.
>> Freyberg: A phone call,
a couple of phone calls,
would have apparently
made all the difference to him.
>> I wish we would have
made them.
§ Don't even know §
§ If we're ever comin' home §
§ I don't even know §
§ If we're ever comin' home §
>> Col. Donovan: We try to do
the best we can by all of them,
but there are a lot of them.
>> Freyberg: For his part,
Chris Cook harbors
what he regards as yet
another insult to injury
from his service.
>> You know, when someone
is put in for an award,
you don't ask about it.
You just wait to hear
if you're going to get it.
>> Freyberg: Chris Cook has been
waiting for years, waiting
to receive the Bronze Star
with a "V" for valor
that his commander put in for
on his behalf in 2004.
In recommending the medal,
the commander wrote,
"Sgt. Cook's actions
saved at least three lives
of his fellow soldiers
and probably more..."
>> The real bad taste is that
I haven't received it yet,
you know, we're going
on how many years now, nearly
two and a half years later.
>> Freyberg: When Congressman
Paul Ryan learned of the delay
in 2006,
he wrote to the U.S. Army.
"It is my understanding that
this recommendation has
been submitted through official
Army and National Guard channels
at various times in 2004
and 2005, only to have it lost
or misplaced
without a determination."
By 2007, Ryan had had it
with the delay, writing,
"I want you to know
that I find unacceptable
the U.S. Army's lackadaisical
efforts to present Sgt. Cook
with the Bronze Star medal
with V device.
I certainly hope that
this situation is an anomaly
and not typical
of the active components
handling of valor awards
to other members
of the Reserve Components and
medical retirees
who have served our nation."
Days after that correspondence,
the National Guard bureau
had Sgt. Cook's Bronze Star
delivered
to Congressman Ryan's office.
A formal ceremony awarding it
is set for mid-June.
That's closing in on
three years after the fact.
>> I wish it could have
been done sooner.
And we apologize to him
that it wasn't.
>> Freyberg: Col. Donovan
says there is a backlog
for awarding medals across
all branches of the military.
Cook currently works
in the emergency department
of Waukesha Memorial Hospital.
He was medically retired
from the Guard.
He says receiving
his Bronze Star
will mark the final chapter
in his military service.
>> And, again, I'm
a proponent of the military.
I'm just very dissatisfied
with the way the state
has chosen to handle this.
>> Freyberg: While initially
surprised by his words,
the Wisconsin National Guard
is not deaf to them.
As more and more of its soldiers
return home wounded in combat.
>> We are doing
everything we can.
We're just now going to do
a little bit better.
>> Upwards of 450 soldiers
from Wisconsin have
returned home from Iraq
wounded in combat.
Latest statistics show
at least a quarter
of all returning vets suffer
from mental health issues.
In a region that includes
northern Illinois and Wisconsin,
the number of Iraq war veterans
diagnosed with PTSD
sits at more than 1,500.
Now, these numbers
in part reflect a new way
of doing the business
of mental health screening.
In particular, the Veteran's
Administration is trying to help
soldiers identify, diagnose
and treat Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder earlier
and more often
than in past wars.


Soldiers returning to Wisconsin
from Iraq
are met right off the plane
by family and loved ones.
But they soon separate again
for de-mobilization processing
at Fort McCoy.
That processing includes
mental health screening.
The VA facility in Tomah
has seen more than 300 referrals
for mental health care
of returning Iraq War veterans.
>> It is the tip of the iceberg.
And I think that
there's more to come,
especially now with the military
doing the post-deployment
screens on these soldiers.
We're going to get
more and more referrals.
>> Michael Brandt: I know
the VA has made inroads
toward to reaching out
to the veteran.
And that, one might argue
that that should have been done
decades ago.
But the fact of the matter is
it hadn't been
and is being done now.
>> Freyberg: Dr. Michael Brandt
says the most effective therapy
includes drug treatment
coupled with exposure therapy.
>> Brandt: That's probably
the most grueling aspect
of the therapy.
However, it's probably
the most beneficial,
in that it reduces the fear
by repeatedly exposing
the person
to what they feel the most.
There's a wide range of emotions
that transpire in this office.
Weeping, screaming,
rageful outbursts of anger,
some that will experience
flashbacks
and become suddenly silent,
very removed,
disassociated in their thoughts,
some will hallucinate.
>> Freyberg: Brandt says
therapy helps PTSD patients
better cope,
but it is not a cure-all.
>> Brandt: It can be
very successful,
but seldom is PTSD cured.
And I mean very seldom.
Oftentimes, we educate
the veteran that they will learn
how to better live vocationally
in their interpersonal lives,
that PTSD may not interfere
as much in their everyday life.
>> Freyberg: And what about
not just the stigma
of the diagnosis,
but its potential ramifications
for employment
or continued military service?
Employers or insurance companies
cannot access
mental health records,
we're told.
But the military can.
>> We tell them that
we're going to try to work
really hard at getting them
so they can be functioning
adequately, and it won't
interfere with their careers.
But we can't guarantee that.
And that's the sad part.
>> Freyberg: Dr. Ken Lee
continues his work
as Chief of Spinal Cord Injury
at the VA Hospital in Milwaukee.
And he was instrumental
in getting the 2007 National
Veteran's Wheelchair Games
to come to Milwaukee.
His ulterior motive
in bringing the games there
is to make sure Milwaukee
is wheelchair accessible
during and long after the event.
In addition, Col. Lee
travels across the country
speaking to Veteran's
service groups
about his war experience.
Chris Cook also makes
public appearances,
talking about PTSD
in hopes of helping others.
Two and a half years
after the explosion that nearly
ripped his leg off,
Cook had yet another surgery
when doctors discovered
a long-simmering infection.
That marked his 19th surgery.
He continues his work
in emergency services
at Waukesha Memorial Hospital.
Our thanks to these soldiers
and all others
for their service.
For In Wisconsin
I'm Frederica Freyberg.


>> If you or someone you know
would like information
about PTSD treatment
or resources, please see
our Web site for links.
You can go to:
wpt.org/InWisconsin


>> Major funding for
In Wisconsin is provided by
the people of Alliant Energy,
who bring safe, reliable and
environmentally friendly energy
to keep homes, neighborhoods
and life in Wisconsin
running smoothly.
Alliant Energy, offering
energy-saving ideas on the Web.
UW Health, providing specialty
and primary care for all ages
throughout Wisconsin.
Information on UW Health
physicians and clinics, and on
University of Wisconsin Hospital
is available on the Web.
And Wisconsin's
Technical Colleges,
providing the people
of Wisconsin with the knowledge
and skills they'll need
for the economy of tomorrow.
Wisconsin's Technical Colleges.
Communities first.