Source: By: J.D. Simkins, Military Times
“When I first got back home from Afghanistan, my dad was like, ‘Hey, if you ever want to talk, we’re here for you,'” retired Marine Joe Merritt says in “We Are Not Done Yet,” a new HBO documentary produced by actor Jeffrey Wright (“Westworld,” “Casino Royale,” “Boardwalk Empire”) and directed by Sareen Hairabedian. “But it never made sense to be like, ‘Hey dad, I watched people burn to death. Also, can you pass the mashed potatoes?’ Like, how do I start this conversation?”
Almost 3 million service members have deployed in support of American war operations since 2001. Of those who deployed to operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, approximately 14 percent to 20 percent suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Furthermore, female veterans experience military related sexual trauma at a rate of over 32 percent.