Columbia's 1st Sgt. Will Roberts, a U.S. Army paratrooper, has been deployed into combat seven times with the elite 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.
Kosovo. Bosnia. Two deployments to Iraq. Three to Afghanistan.
Each of those deployments involved intense, front-line fighting with Roberts leading some of the nation's most hardened soldiers: Army Rangers.
"I lived for that war stuff," said Roberts, 45.
Today, Roberts is one of the estimated 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And with the Iraq war winding down - the last U.S. troops are leaving that country this month - more and more service members are returning home. Many are returning with injuries, including psychological trauma, and many are in the Midlands.
By JEFF WILKINSON
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/12/19/2860381/trained-dogs-help-soldiers-with.html
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