Fallen Soldiers | Photo 02

Military personnel who watched their comrades die on battlefields often suffer severe PTSD years after combat. Thousands of veterans who engaged in warfare are now imprisoned for inappropriate behavior caused by PTSD. Many revolve in and out of prison for the rest of their lives, and some are homeless substance abusers. Typically, acute mentally ill persons refuse to seek treatment for their conditions due to the stigma attached to mental illness, and some self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. Mental illness combined with substance abuse in a person trained to kill make for a dangerous combination. Enforced treatment and subsistence assistance programs, called AOTs, like Laura's Law and Kendra's Law, give the vets and society the protection needed.