More than a million US troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since the War on Terror began.  Tens of thousands have shown some signs of serious stress upon their return.  Throughout this book you will not only read about some of these stress reactions, but you will also learn how to deal with and recognize many of the symptoms as they arise. 

  Warriors may or may not return home with what is diagnosed as “post-traumatic stress disorder” (PTSD).  Many of the signs of PTSD can be construed for what military stress teams now call Combat Operational Stress (COS).  It has been determined that every participant in a war zone will manifest some aspects of COS (i.e. hyper-alertness, anxiety, frustration, anger, confusion, intolerance of “stupid” behavior, sleep disruption, etc.).  Some readjustment issues can be commonly expected but this does not confirm that an individual has PTSD.  If these symptoms continue to worsen and interfere with the quality of your life, we urge you to take proper steps to get some advice, diagnosis, and support.

  A primary goal of Once a Warrior: Wired for life is to help veterans recognize any issues that may have resulted from their tours of duty – and to know that they are not alone on their journey home.