I hope in some small way to have raised awareness to the serious and lethally devastating impact this disease will have on a number of professions. The military is yet another area that will be affected by this disease unfortunately. The ever-reaching scope this disease has is massively underestimated in every way not just in the UK but across the globe.
You will note to date the true nature of the scientific research which places direct evidence before you in a number of ways. This report accredited here Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in an Iraqi war veteran with posttraumatic stress disorder who committed suicide – PubMed (nih.gov) (Graphic images alert) specifically lays out the very nature of the severe impact this disease will have on military veterans.
There was a further study conducted on a Vietnam veteran initially who had died as a result of atherosclerotic disease, it was found after death, he had a variant form of CTE. This study was conducted as far back as 2010 evidencing the live legal fact that military should be paying attention to the very live and legal issue of this disease impacting troops both past and present and future. This disease does not only impact sporting professions as you may have observed within my earlier blogs.
A further study was conducted by DR Omalu in later years on an Iraqi war veteran a US serviceman, an ex-marine who served as an amphibious assault crewman, he was 27 years old when he sadly took his own life. He served with distinction and was honourably discharged. I believe this was the first phase of a systematic failure in the support structure that should be put in place in helping troops active prior to being discharged. This soldier spent a life time in active service going through combat zones and having to contend with human atrocity the likes of which no human being should ever have to witness or go through, it will affect cognition as you will see from the reports here Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in an Iraqi war veteran with posttraumatic stress disorder who committed suicide in: Neurosurgical Focus Volume 31 Issue 5 (2011) (thejns.org)
It is this report that raised my investigative method of research into the connection between CTE and Lewy Body Dementia, it further evidences a scientific need for additional investigation in to pathoetiology and pathogenesis connection between CTE and PTSD. There is clear evidence to link these variants together. It is my belief this area needs further investigation and the impact CTE will have on veterans and serving members of the forces across the globe. I drew connection with possible events and or trigger mechanisms that could form from a specific regiment and or unit. The artillery units, SFSG specifically first contact rapid response units, engineers, these are just a few that I believe would need regular assessment contained within the service itself. This list is not exhaustive, it could impact a full array of other regiments, so why not roll out screening and assessment across a range of units. Article accredited here Brain Injuries from Blasts | NEJM You could of course associate blast victims as a high risk, main area of concern and an intensive focus should be implemented here for screening.
This does not stop there though, you should also consider emergency services like fire, ambulance, police as another area that will need screening towards putting in place the relevant support networks.
Currently I see a raft of players issuing actions against regulatory body, my business is based around ensuring the right support structure is in place. It focuses on areas where we are failing and or letting down the very groups that put their lives on the line every day in their roles.
I am building a support network of people and groups and organisations that can each in their own way offer support to each other or at the very least give leads to the people that I may come into contact with that have the CTE disease. My network is slowly growing in the right way aligned to my business plan. In some cases there is so much lack of trust that some simply wont even make that leap, I have to legally question why, are they feeling threatened by club/organisation/ or regulatory body. I cannot say with any certainty at this stage, but one thing I will say is that I have approached a number of large organisations in my many attempts at raising awareness and some have replied, but most appear to want to ignore it and hope it will simply go away. I have unfortunately received my first death threat last week from an individual telling me to leave their sports alone. CTE will not be going anywhere and will be here for now and the future and so we must make changes towards in the right way to address this disease and the variants.
I attempted to research specific sections of society that I know served and went in to combat sports after they were discharged, one theme I gained whilst speaking to those men and women is they all felt a need like a drug to be kept in and or on a heightened state of self-awareness almost like it was some form of drug. I saw the flight or fight response in those men and women which is possibly one reason why they go on and again place their lives on the line after they left service. There has to be a chemical imbalance that leads to that specific addiction much like a roller coaster adrenaline person enjoys that same connect. You will see that chemical imbalance as a result of the CTE and or trauma process.
I would welcome the creation of a new style division across all services, military included which facilitates coping with and or dealing with symptoms associated with this disease. I know at this time some gents I worked with in the US marine’s corps have in fact commenced a programme tailored towards the coping side of active servicemen/women. This does not however mitigate what occurs when they leave service, is it a case of they are left to fend for themselves or simply make contact with support groups. Contained within provisioning, if a clause is placed within a contract that would facilitate ex serviceman still having some slight involvement on barracks where they could impart knowledge and training expertise to educate and support other associated groups, so the gradual phased reduction in service is not such a knee jerk reaction to discharge. One area I found failures occurring was in the resettlement structure within the service, and I see this as a perfect opportunity building on the phased discharge where screening could be conducted.
Fighting back on a different field can be achieved if we fight it together! Another credited research article here The mental health of the UK Armed Forces: where facts meet fiction (nih.gov) comparators between UK and US figures.
If you have served or are due to leave service, no matter where you are from if you contact me I will offer any serviceman/woman existing and or exiting the military a discounted opportunity to take my online screening assessment. Please contact me directly on info@ctewellbeing.com
“Herosim doesn’t always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history”. – Mary Roach
2nd set – await the key
0°23'22.4"W Image credited to Roberto Catarinicchia-unsplash