Arnon Grunberg

PTSD

A year

A well-written article in today’s Times by James Dao about the employment of the First Battalion, 87th Infantry of the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, N.Y. to Afghanistan: "Capt. Adrian Bonenberger took a drive through the farmland of northern New York to absorb one last view of the St. Lawrence River. To drink one last cup of coffee at the Lyric Bistro in Clayton. To savor one last moment of real peace and quiet before heading to Afghanistan. For a year.
Sgt. Tamara Sullivan pulled out her cellphone charger and braced for a night of tears. She called her children in North Carolina, ages 3 and 1, and told them she would soon be going to work in a place called Afghanistan. For a year. She reminded her husband to send her their artwork. She cried, hung up, called him back and cried some more."

I wonder if the children of Sgt. Sullivan will experience PTSD because of their mother being in a war zone for more than a year.