Inside look: Deadly threat for returning Valley soldiers

PHOENIX - There’s an enemy killing off Valley soldiers, and it’s not the Taliban or terrorists -- it’s stress.

Hundreds of thousands of servicemen and women are being affected.

After years in the military, Jeremiah Pulaski, a 24-year-old soldier in the Army came back home from the war in Afghanistan. He may have left the fighting, but the fighting never left him.

Doctors and his family believe Pulaski suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, although he was never officially diagnosed with the condition.

Pulaski shared his depressed feelings on Facebook, writing: “Today has been very depressing.” In another he wrote, "I have to figure out how to undo 5 years of military training, so I can feel a soul again."

The overwhelming emotion and pain came to an end on a cold March night in Glendale. Pulaski got into a shootout with police and was killed.

Doctors say the incredible mental stresses from his time in combat may have pushed Pulaski to snap, leading to his death.

"The stress of being overseas, being in a warzone, and knowing that any day you could be killed, really has an impact on you," Phoenix veteran Brittany Hodge said.

PTSD causes extreme anxiety, depression, and anger, among other symptoms. The condition is an enemy that kills hundreds of military servicemen and women through suicide and other means every year.

Hodge says she developed PTSD fighting in Afghanistan and from her other military experiences. Hodge says the everyday violence and life-threatening situations slowly changed her. She said one particularly horrible event affected her the most.

"There was a fire that killed two little kids,” Hodge remembered. “I was a first responder, I was the first there. Dealing with watching these kids die, it was pretty intense."

Afterwards, Hodge says she was no longer the same person her friends and family knew.

"Small things would set me off and I didn't know why,” she said. “I really didn't know what was going on. I couldn't sleep, and when I did sleep I was having nightmares."

"Currently in the U.S., there are probably about 5.2 millions people who have PTSD," Phoenix VA Healthcare System’s Karen Kattar said. She runs the PTSD clinic.

The Phoenix VA Healthcare System works to help returning military service members dealing with PTSD, but it's an extremely difficult fight. The House Armed Services Committee claims PTSD affects one in every five soldiers; most of whom will never admit it.

"When you're looking at a culture like the military, they are taught that in order to be successful in the military you have to do your job and not let it bother you. So the message or conclusion one might get from that is ‘if I show emotions or admit this is bothering me, it means I'm weak,’" Kattar said.

It's a way of thinking the Phoenix VA Healthcare System says keeps many from seeking help. The VA’s PTSD group therapy sessions are infrequently attended. Considering the large numbers of soldiers PTSD affects, Kattar believes the sessions should be filled.

“There's that stigma that PTSD equals crazy,” Hodge said. “People think you are insane or something because they see [others] with PTSD going off and having shootouts with police, getting themselves killed."

VA doctors say that perhaps if Pulaski had been comfortable enough to seek out help, he would still be alive.

For the troops who won't get help, Hodge says the military needs to go to them and push them to, because even heroes sometimes need a hand.

Key signs of PTSD include irritability, sleeplessness, avoidance, and depression.

A push from a family member or friend to seek help can get those suffering from PTSD on their way to recovery.

The Phoenix VA Medical Center is a great resource for those with questions, or anyone who needs help with PTSD. Their clinic team can be reached at 602-277-5551 ext. 6945, or ext. 7449.