Hundreds of thousands of U.S. veterans are unable to leave the horrors of war on the battlefield. Many soldiers tend to bring the combat home and therefore re-experience it in their everyday lives. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event. A large number of PTSD veterans live a life filled with unemployment, divorce, homelessness and loneliness because they are unable to form a long lasting social and civilian life when they come home from war. An example of someone who suffered from PTSD was Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL marksman. After reading American Sniper, one can see through Kyle’s traumatic experiences that veterans today are lacking the help they need in order to properly recover mentally from the war. 

From 1999 to 2009 U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle fought in the Iraq war were he was credited with the most sniper kills in U.S. military history, 160. Iraqi’s were so terrified of Kyle that they called him “al-Shaitan” which means “the devil.” Kyle’s deadly shot, got him a $20,000 bounty on his head by his enemies which gained him respect amongst his fellow marines, while fighting alongside and protecting them. Kyle’s combat deployment years from 2003 to 2009 he was awarded seven medals for bravery, two Silver Stars and five awards for the Bronze Star. Sadly, enough all of Kyle’s heroic effort he throughout his ten years of being in the military left him shaken up by the traumatic events he faced. An example of a traumatic event Kyle couldn’t overlook was when he saw a woman with her child pull a grenade from under her clothes just as several Marines were approaching her. Kyle knew his job was to protect and watch out for his fellow soldiers, so to prevent enemy fighters from ambushing his troops he had to kill the young woman and her child. Another horrific event that took a toll on Kyle mentally was when he witnessed one of his friends die. An enemy’s bullet entered his friend’s mouth and exited through the back of his head. These and countless other events led to many sleepless nights for Kyle when he returned home, along with days filled with non-stop drinking to numb his pain.

According to the Mayo Clinic, military soldiers with PTSD have went through or witnessed traumatic event(s) and their symptoms can start within the first three months of the event. Symptoms are normally grouped into 4 categories: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood and changes in emotional reactions. Intrusive memories constants of reoccurring traumatic memories, flashbacks, nightmares and severe reactions to triggers that remind a person of the horrific event they encountered. An example of avoidance might be a troop coming home from war who avoids thinking and talking about the horrific event; as well as avoiding places, people and activities that remind he or she of their traumatic event. Negative changes in one’s thinking and mood is when a solider has negative feelings about themselves or others which triggers their inability to feel any sort of emotion. They can also suffer from a lack of interest in previous hobbies they once enjoyed like, hopelessness about their future therefore making it difficult for them to maintain relationships with their loved ones. Lastly, the changes in a veteran’s emotional reactions might make he or she have aggressive, irritable or angry outbursts that could lead to paranoia, guilt, destructive behavior, trouble sleeping and can be easily frightened. Ultimately the intensity of these symptoms vary depending on the person’s traumatic event he or she encountered. (Mayo Clinic staff 1998-2016)

Although there are many effective treatment methods for veterans suffering from PTSD, many of them tend to wait years or even decades before they actually seek professional help, that is if they seek it at all. (Sayer, Clothier, Spoont, & Nelson, 2007; Sayer, Spoont, & Nelson, 2004; Wang, Lane, Olfson, Pincus, Wells, & Kessler, 2005). The various treatments that are offered for PTSD sufferers are medication, psychotherapy or in more severe cases both. One specific type of therapy that has been found to be the most successful is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is broken into several parts: exposure therapy, cognitive restructuring and stress inoculation training. 

Exposure therapy helps people face their fears. During this therapy a war veteran is exposed to the trauma he or she faced while at war in a safe environment by using techniques like mental imagery and writing. The more exposed an individual with PTSD is to the horrific events they faced the easier it will be for them to recognize them. For example, by Kyle revisiting the shooting range, he was able to realize he was at a shooting range in the U.S. not Iraq. Cognitive restructuring helps a veteran make sense of their bad memories and look at them in a realistic manner. A solider may feel guilty or a shamed about a certain life or death memory that is ultimately not their fault. For instance, Kyle watched many of his former marines (friends) die right before his eyes on the battlefield and the one thing that he said that haunted him the most was all the guys he couldn’t save (Kyle, McEwen & DeFelice 2012). Lastly, stress inoculation training teaches vets how to reduce their anxiety by becoming more familiar with specific triggers that cue his or her trauma related fear. All three of these treatments have been found to be successful according to Dr. Matthew Tull who has extensive clinical and research experience in disorder likes PTSD (Tull 2016).

Many people tend to forget the toll loved ones of PTSD sufferers take. Mainly, PTSD can make somebody hard to live with. Living with someone who is easily startled by their own nightmares, thoughts and social situations can be very stressful for that person’s family. One may ask how does PTSD have such a negative effect on families? It is because those suffering with PTSD have a hard time feeling emotions therefore they become detached from others. This type of behavior can cause problems in the victim’s personal relationships with his or her family and friends and can even lead to behavioral problems in their children. Some common reactions family members may have to their loved ones suffering are sympathy, negative feelings, avoidance, depression and anger/guilt (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs 1976). 

Taya Kyle, Chris’ wife said that she felt sympathy for Chris and everything he was going through but also anger because he would constantly turn to alcohol to solve his problems, rather than counseling (Kyle, DeFelice & McEwen 2012). This left Taya angry towards Chris because morning, noon and night all he would do was drink. Eventually they managed to get passed the anger and guilt each one felt and understood that the feelings they were both having were neither one of their faults. Taya told Rebecca Wagner from The Greenville News that Chris used to wake up in the middle of the night punching the air or would grab her arm. In American Sniper Kyle wrote about when he returned from his first deployment and dove underneath his desk after his home security alarm accidentally went off. The alarm triggered a flashback of a scud attack in Kuwait. Kyle said in his book, “Before we deployed, Taya and I chose to get married. The decision surprised both of us. We both knew that there was an extremely high divorce rate in SEAL marriages” (Kyle, DeFelice & McEwen 2012 pg. 54). Kyle being in the military for ten years made Taya an emotional wreck because she was constantly worrying about him dying that she eventually told Chris that she would leave him if he didn’t leave the SEALs. This hit home from Kyle, and knew it was time to come home after ten years in order to save his marriage, and be a father figure in his children life. 

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for PTSD, family members may feel hurt, alienated or discouraged because their loved one has not been able to overcome the effects of the trauma he or she faced (U.S. DVA 1976). According to Taya she explains in her book, American Wife that this is exactly how she felt when Chris returned home from Iraq. Taya told Robin Roberts from ABC News in their interview that she felt sympathy towards Chris’ suffering and that the PTSD changed Chris into a completely different person. Taya felt that Chris was losing the traits she once fell in love with like his sense of humor and big heart. But, Kyle gradually made a successful transition by reaching out to other veterans in his community, starting his own company called Craft International and devoting more time to his family. 

The start of Craft International was the birth of a new beginning in Kyle’s civilian life. After almost a decade of being in the military Kyle retired to help soldiers struggling with the fight to overcome the symptoms of PTSD. Their motto is “Despite what your momma told you, violence does solve problems.” He designed the company in a way that military veterans would feel respected and honored when they arrived for lessons in shooting. He would take vets up to Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, Texas, a luxury resort with an extended shooting range. He would also take wounded veterans up there when they were feeling down or just wanted to unwind away from home. Kyle’s company saved countless amounts of veterans lives throughout his time alive and still even to this day. An example of a life Kyle saved was one of his former SEALS who now has a 2-year-old daughter who claims that his daughter would have never been born if it wasn’t for Kyle rescuing him in Iraq. Even though Kyle may have died his company and their love for helping veterans never did. Years from now, men will still be telling stories about moments when they were seconds away from death on the battlefield and minutes away from throwing their relationships away with their loved ones because they thought it was all over -only to have Chris Kyle take out their enemies. 

Kyle’s death was a tragic loss to this country but, one great cause that came out of it was the making of the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation. Kyle started working building this foundation to provide services for military families to help them work through many similar issues he and Taya experienced after he was deployed. Today Taya and the CKFF Team dedicate their lives to fulfilling out Chris’ dream of helping military families build a stronger and more empowered marriage and family. This foundation was built on loyalty, empowerment, integrity and excellence all that which perfectly describes Kyle and his way of doing things. Kyle knew how bad his family life was suffering when he was away and at home, so he thought it would be beneficial to create a network for military frontline and first responders to help them strength their damaged relationships with their families. The foundation offers retreats for service couples with experiences that provide new common ground and the additional support resources designed to empower married couples to improve their communication skills and reduce conflict and tension throughout their household. Kyles’s good works reflect on the PTSD issue at hand today because the foundation offers a safe place for veterans to face their problems. Today, Taya keeps Chris’ legacy of service to God, family and country alive through the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation. 

2.7 million service men and women have been to the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 and over half of them have deployed more than once. Many of these returning soldiers face a life of disability due to physical and psychological injuries they sustain from these wars. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have raised more questions about the mental health effects it has had on military service members who have been deployed there than the troops who have severed in the Vietnam War. Soldiers and Marines who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan were significantly more likely to report that they were currently suffering from PTSD rather than other troops coming home from other countries. In Dr. Matthew J. Friedman’s article about his personal experience with PTSD that he obtained from Iraq he explains how much of a higher risk people have of getting PTSD from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The article presents several kinds of war zone stressors that troops have experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan like the feeling of being helpless during lethal events they have witnessed, ambushes, handling dead bodies and observing devastated communities destroyed by combat. Many soldiers that come out of the Iraq and Afghanistan suffer more than other veterans because of the chaotic nature of combat that goes on over there. According to Friedman terrorist strikes, urban warfare and extended combat operations particular happen more often in these countries. That is why many Iraqi War and Afghan War veterans are diagnosed with PTSD. (Friedman 2006)

The number of veterans receiving Veteran Affair disability payments for PTSD is troubling, because it has increased 79.5% from 1999-2004. Many treatment seeking veterans, especially those seeking disability compensation when they come out of the war show clear psychological problems, yet the VA still refuses to help. This is because many VA clinicians doubt the sincerity of veterans’ PTSD complaints because they suspect that they are only trying to maintain their disability payments, so they cut them off. Therefore, the VA doesn’t offer rehabilitation services for veterans suffering from PTSD. The VA’s excuse for not providing veterans with the proper help they need is because they want to “ensure that veterans receive the best possible services they need in order to recover properly, but we currently don’t have the proper resources to do so.” However, CKFF does help with this gap in veteran affairs because Kyle was once in struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table for his family. Ultimately the VA needs to reconsider their disability policies to help veterans through their tough times. 

American Sniper provides not only Chris Kyle’s heroic war career but, it also showed the negative effects it could have on someone and their family from being at war for a prolonged period of time. Kyle sought out for counseling for combat stress after being deployed for the third time in a row. It was hard for him to fully return to civilian life because he was leaving the world that he knew best. But, sure enough Kyle occupied himself with various activities like hunting and fishing. Later on Kyle was approached by a mother of a distressed 25-year old Iraqi War veteran like himself, Eddie Ray Routh, who also was suffering from PTSD. Kyle told the mother that he would gladly help her son face the traumatic events he faced head on. On February 2, 2013 at the Rough Creek Lodge and Resort shooting range in Glen Rose, Texas Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield took Routh gun range thinking it could provide him with some therapy. Instead on that day Routh placed six bullets in Kyle’s back along with killing his friend, Littlefield with a semiautomatic handgun. Routh told the police that his reason for shooting Kyle was because he didn’t trust him. Kyle, an American soldier that served ten years overseas only to be gunned down in the country he served to protect. 

According to Routh’s attorney he said that the former Marine suffers from psychosis, paranoia and schizophrenia, all in which are symptoms of post war PTSD. Routh said when they arrived at the gun range and Kyle and Littlefield started shooting he saw it as a showdown therefore he panicked and killed both of them. Before all this happened Routh was working at a local cabinet shop while struggling with his PTSD disorder. He suffered such severe anxiety that he was unable to go to work because he believed his colleagues were cannibals who were planning to eat him. Two years before Routh killed Kyle he suffered a series of psychotic breakdowns. Dr. Amam Saleh, a forensic psychiatrist who reviewed Routh’s medical records said that the VA should have been more careful when diagnosing Routh because he clearly needed more psychological help. By the VA miss diagnosing Routh this caused not just one life to be lost but two simply because Routh lacked the help he needed in order to stay sane.  

Overall one can understand after reading American Sniper and articles about the symptoms, treatment options, and statistics about Iraqi and Afghan war veterans that suffer from PTSD that they risk their lives for us day in and day out to result in them struggling to adjust to their everyday lives when they return. Hopefully now one can truly see that the VA is not providing war veterans with the proper help they need when they return home from war, hence a former marine killing one of America’s greatest war heroes due to PTSD. Even though Kyle was tragically killed he will always be remembered for all the lives he saved on and off the battlefield. 
