ORLANDO, Fla.,None — With more than 40,000 troops withdrawing from Iraq, many soldiers will face a new war at home, as more soldiers are returning with post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Eyewitness News reporter Renee Stoll got a look at a brand new simulation program available that officials hope will save soldiers lives.
Amidst the sound of yelling and gunfire, a soldier prepares for war in a simulation.
"How are you doing, what do you got? Checking the tourniquet," says the soldier in training.
In simulations like these, soldiers are graded on speed, communication and technique.
Only now, after 10 years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, is a new simulator available for the families of soldiers preparing them for what home life will be like living with a wounded warrior.
"He was a completely different person when I met him," said Karen Lopez, the wife of a retired Marine.
Karen is the wife of retired Marine Corps Sgt. Luis Lopez, and now his caregiver.
In 2005, Luis was part of the team of snipers that tracked and killed Saddam Hussein's sons. He was later injured, and now suffers from PTSD and traumatic brain injury.
"He got the nightmares and everything, but I try and give him as much quality of time that I can," said Karen.
Karen quit her two jobs to take care of Luis.
"Families are frequently very nervous, scared in fact, about saying to wrong things or not saying anything at all," said Glenn Albright, simulator co-founder.
Albright, co-founder of Kognito, invented a simulator that teaches families how to maneuver the pit falls of post-war home life.
"They come back to a family that thinks everything is going to be normal and it's not," said Albright.
"It's more like a maze to me, because you have to understand what he's thinking," said Karen.
It is gaming technology, combined with free-thinking avatars acting and responding like real veterans at risk.
"They really want to see you, they're our family, she's your sister," said a voice from the simulator.
PTSD soldiers have a different thought process. They often forget and get highly agitated.
"It gives you, like looking in your mirror, how you react when something happens," said Luis.
"But when it comes to the real life, that's when it kind of shakes you. Because you're like, how can I really do this myself, in my scenario," said Karen.
The purpose is simple.
"To refer the veteran for help can be a life saving event," said Albright.
PTSD experts and hundreds of veterans had input on the program and it's already been used by 60,000 family members and veterans.
Conveniently, the simulator program is available over the Internet.