I was reading about the military experiences of Robin Horsfall, a former SAS sniper, in a newspaper article yesterday in which he recounted his involvement in the storming of the Iranian embassy on May 5 1980. That particular event predated my arrival to London but I can still recall the dramatic live TV pictures at the time when I lived in Dublin. Actually, I subsequently worked in the building next door, 14 Princes Gate, in the 1990s, (the then location of the Royal College of GPs, from where the SAS troops planned and launched their attack on the embassy). The walls contained hanging pictures of the state of the offices in the aftermath of the attack.
I was struck reading the article about the (non) accessibility of psychological services for servicemen after encountering such experiences. Indeed, I have the same thoughts for the French policemen who dealt with the final end game in the Paris attacks (January, 2015). I recall watching a documentary about the secret service agents protecting President Kennedy’s entourage on that fateful day in November 1963 in Dallas when the then retired secret agents told the programme makers that no psychological support services had been offered at the time of their active service or in the aftermath of that traumatic event. (Co-incidentally 14 Princes Gate was the private residence of American ambassadors from the 1920s to the 1950s including Joseph Kennedy, where JFK rambled around as a kid). Debriefing, when appropriate, is now commonplace as well as ongoing psychological support services but not then. Indeed, times have changed for the better in terms of access to psychological services for serving members of the armed forces in the UK and USA and servicemen now have far greater access to specially trained therapists in the area of trauma and psychological well-being.
However, many ex-servicemen end up in prison, the exact figures vary but various research shows the incidence could be as high as one in ten of the prison population. Indeed, a lot of infantrymen leave the Army without trades or civilian qualifications which perhaps makes them more susceptible to getting into trouble with law enforcement. Those with early attachment development issues are particularly vulnerable to addictions after leaving the Army.
What might prevent ex-servicemen from accessing psychological help is an attitude that the counsellor doesn’t know exactly what it was like and that they would prefer to speak to their former comrades. This can be similar to addicts who wish to know that the counsellor/therapist has had their own history of addiction treatment and recovery before engaging in the building of trust and in the building of rapport.
What is for sure is that ex-servicemen will need increasing access to psychological support services following recent conflicts in order to cope with readjusting to civilian life. This will require greater resources and specialist training.
Robin Horsfall’s book Fighting Scared was published in 2006 and is now available on Kindle. He recounts the traumatic experiences he encountered after leaving the armed forces and working as a mercenary in places where civil wars were raging such as in Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Mozambique. He has said that the scenes he witnessed there were far more traumatic than when he was employed in the armed forces.
If you are affected by anything in this article please refer to the links below for help.
Resources
Combat Stress – Mental health charity for veterans