'You're ripping the phone out of the wall'

An Afghan veteran's rage

Toronto Star: The war in Afghanistan is creating a dangerous new class of offender in Canada... The cost of the war is starting to show in jails, courtrooms and homes broken by booze and rage... The troops are bringing the violence home... These men want to reclaim that feeling of living at the centre of the action. They want back out on the edge...

Retired colonel Pat Strogan... fears that what the Star found may only be the 'tip of the iceberg.' 'A lot of the troops are still serving, doing multiple tours, and perhaps still haven't had time for their pot to boil over.'...

Meanwhile, the military justice system is seeing a steady increase in disciplinary and criminal matters coming before military courts. In the court-martial system, where more serious crimes are typically dealt with, the number of cases has increased each year since the beginning of the war, with a 16 per cent jump in 2007-08 from the year before...

At the Phoenix Centre for Children and Families... the military family caseload has rocketed from 12 in 2005 to 85 today, with 20 on the waiting list.

Director Greg Lubimiv says the families are 'grappling with issues ranging from anxiety-driven child behaviours like bedwetting and agression, to domestic violence, depression and marital breakdown... And when you have people who are feeling depressed, moving into substance abuse is common. And there is a fair tie-in between substance abuse and violence.'...

A defense attorney who represents many military clients based at CFB Petawawa says that shortly after a tour returns from Afghanistan he sees a spike in the number of domestic assault charges, some involving a weapon, along with impaired driving and 'confinement,' which he describes this way:

'It usually takes the form of a complete loss of control, where all hell's breaking loose and a spouse is trying to call the police... and you're blocking the door, you're ripping the phone out of the wall. That's a classic. The phone rip out of the wall. Happens a lot. Can't tell you how many times guys had restitution orders to replace the phone. And the phone is often the weapon.'

Image source here.