The myriad of documents and proof that the VA requires to prove service connection in a combat zones at times is a nightmare not worth the time and hassle.
Guy Albert Guyton III can’t shake the harrowing memory that led to more than 35 years of post-traumatic stress from his short-lived service in the Air Force.
The Augusta veteran has had nightmares and flashbacks of a head-on vehicle collision he witnessed outside the Upper Heyford Royal Air Force station in northern England before exiting the military in 1979 after two years as a police officer.
Often, he recalls rescuing and comforting a mother and her two girls after their father and another couple were decapitated in the crash. In his dreams, he sees dead animals along the highway.
Guyton, 57, said the Department of Veterans Affairs originally claimed the visions, which at times have been so violent they’ve led to injuries, were the result of “battle fatigue” or “shellshock.”
In 2000, the agency diagnosed him as having PTSD, but the New York native said the VA didn’t start treatment until March, when he began meeting a psychologist at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center weekly to unlock decades of dormant stress.
“I’m doing well with her. I trust her very much,” Guyton said of his psychologist. “She acts as an intermediary between me and the staff.”
Guyton’s difficulty finding collaborative care is not uncommon, particularly those diagnosed with PTSD, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine.
The report, released Friday, found the VA and Defense Department do not encourage the use of best practices in programs and services for preventing, screening for, diagnosing and treating PTSD. In the DOD, leaders at all levels are not regularly held accountable for implementing policies and plans to manage the disorder, the institute observed in its study, the second of a two-phase assessment of PTSD services.