becoming the unseen victims of the unpopular war.

"I don't know one military family that is still together or anything like they were before the soldier in the family went to war," Mylinda, 30, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday, September 6.

Mylinda's husband was among the first US troops deployed in Iraq following the 2003 invasion.

Last year, he came home.

"We both decided then that he should leave the military because otherwise he would have had to go back," Mylinda said.

"We did pretty well when he first got back, but he never spoke about Iraq.

"I could see he was unhappy and he lost self-confidence when he left the military and couldn't find a job."

Mylinda said that the combat-induced disorders have brought a tragic end to her life.

"In March, he said he didn't want to be married any more."

A recent US study revealed that troops returning from Iraq have the highest rate of mental health consultation and psychological problems compared to other troops returning from other trouble spots.

One third of the returning troops needed at least one mental health consultation and one in five has been diagnosed with combat-induced psychological problems.

An army report last month said the number of suicide cases among soldiers in 2006 was the highest in 26 years, with nearly a third taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Child Abuse

The psychological scars of the war are taking their toll not only on the servicemen but their families as well.

"About three-quarters of the veterans acknowledged having some family problem at least once a week," said Dr. Steven Sayers of the Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center in Philadelphia.

"About half were unsure of their role or responsibility in the household."

He said all the veterans sampled for their recent study had shown signs of depression or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

"It could be that being depressed, they are too self-critical and that may complicate the task of being reintegrated into the family."

Children are also paying the price.

"Child neglect and abuse are often the result of stress and the absence of social support," said Dr Wendy Lane, head of the child protection team at the University of Maryland.

A recent Pentagon study showed that child abuse rose 42 percent and neglect doubled when a parent is deployed to a combat zone.

"Having a spouse deployed is bound to be stressful, and it also removes that social support -- having someone to help with childcare responsibilities, to talk to about life's stress so that you don't take it out on your children," said Lane.

Mylinda admitted she was not in control of her family when her husband was serving in Iraq.

"I remember thinking I was in control of everything, but now I look back at events and things that happened, and I think maybe I wasn't," she said.

"The kids had a really hard time with it. My oldest was mad about it.

"But I don't think they associated it with Iraq ... They pretty much blamed themselves," said Mylinda.

Her mother -- herself the wife of a veteran of the 1990s' Desert Storm campaign in Iraq -- blasted the military for failing to adequately train soldiers for combat and life after the war.

"When an army recruiter came to the school where I taught, I did everything I could to keep kids from joining," she told AFP.

"Now, you have boy scouts fighting over there. They get kids out of high school, put them in boot camp and then send them to fight.

"When they get out, all they know how to do is kill someone."

AMSI Net- Islamonline