the mental cost of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars

An increasing number of soldiers are returning to military bases and their homes with psychological problems.

More than 3,000 of the 15,000 troops returning home, [Dr. Bret Logan, deputy commander for managed care at Fort Campbell], estimated, probably will experience headaches, sleep disorders, irritability, memory loss, relationship strains or other symptoms linked to stress disorder. Medical staff at Fort Campbell say they also worry that there will be a new surge of suicides — an escalating problem in recent years, largely related to the stresses of war. Jon Soltz, an Iraq war veteran and chairman of VoteVets.org, said more soldiers will have stress-related problems, and the military must be vigilant in diagnosing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder to head off more serious issues.