From the President

While many opinions exist concerning the war in Iraq, Cadence strongly supports our troops who are in harm’s way battling on foreign soil. We know the price tag is high for this battle.

An internet Google search reveals a monetary price tag of $275 million per day and rising at an approximate rate of $10,000 per second. The price to the Iraqi people is even more staggering – over 700,000 killed and around 4 million refugees.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is affecting thousands of our American soldiers returning from Iraq and their families as well. Since this war began, over 4,000 soldiers have been killed in action, and over 60,000 have sustained significant injury.

Those returning from the battlefield with, or without, physical injury often carry hidden wounds in their hearts and souls. Medical literature states that to be diagnosed with PTSD, an individual must experience all the following criteria:
 

1. Have experienced at least one trauma or life-threatening event that had potential for bodily harm, to which the individual responded with fear, helplessness, or horror.
2. Continue to relive the trauma (nightmares, flashbacks, etc.).
3. Evidence persistent avoidance of situations reminiscent of the incident and a numbing of emotions.
4. Evidence persistent symptoms of hyper-arousal (startle response, irritability, difficulty falling asleep, etc.).
5. Criteria 2, 3, and 4 must persist for at least one month after the incident.
6. The traumatic event caused significant distress and dysfunction.

To put it another way, many soldiers with post-traumatic stress experience huge amounts of anxiety and anger and struggle significantly with alienation.

On one military installation I know, the chaplains report over 1700 appointments every month at the psychiatric clinics on base and that their counseling load has skyrocketed. Since the beginning of this war, the divorce rate in the army has doubled. Suicides are on the increase. Many families are hurting and in trouble.

In the midst of this suffering, there continue to be numerous opportunities for ministry and the advancement of the gospel. While we pray for a satisfactory end to the war, we meanwhile press on in caring for our soldiers and their families. A number of Cadence staff are ministering on and near military installations that are deploying troops regularly to Iraq.

We deeply appreciate and need your faithful prayers for our Cadence staff and especially for our men and women in uniform and their families who daily pay a price in these stress-filled days of war.

David Schroeder
President