Sgt. Daniel McCarley is sick of war. After three combat tours in Iraq as a medic and one as a cavalry scout, the Schofield Barracks soldier describes anxiety so severe he sometimes throws up when on base. Months of frustrations with a military bureaucracy unable to help him cope with his severe post-traumatic stress disorder left him with no other option, he says, than to go absent without leave.

"Being around a military environment, everyone tells war story after war story, and then I start getting anxiety, which brings on the nausea," said McCarley, 28.

His disappearance several weeks ago left his parents frantic and feeling helpless thousands of miles away in their home in Oviedo, Fla.

John and Lori McCarley, who have not been able to reach their son for three weeks, fear for his safety, and worry that a dishonorable discharge would leave him adrift with little chance of getting the intensive care he needs.

In a desperate quest to find Daniel and get him some help, they contacted his unit, the office of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and several media outlets. They explained that he was treated for anxiety in 2009 after his third deployment, but was redeployed for a fourth tour. On his return last summer, he was diagnosed with severe PTSD and anxiety, they said.

"Daniel has seen the war in Iraq from start to finish and has witnessed the horrors of war firsthand," John McCarley wrote. "Daniel is the bravest of the brave, and he has served his country with honor. We are incredibly proud of him, but we are also very concerned and worried about his current and future health. I wish I could say that the Army was equally concerned and worried, but they appear more interested in punishing Daniel with a misconduct discharge for actions that are clearly driven by his current mental state."

The Star-Advertiser reached the soldier by phone late last week. He said he was staying with friends on Oahu.

He said he was "OK, but things could be better." He went on to confirm his parents’ story about his debilitating PTSD symptoms and the months of delays and setbacks in receiving treatment.

The sergeant said his commander told him twice that he was rejected for what’s known as a Warrior Transition Unit for soldiers receiving medical care. One of the explanations McCarley said he received was that one diagnosis specified severe anxiety and another said severe PTSD, and the Army unit couldn’t reconcile the two, so he was rejected.

He said he talked to medical personnel about getting in the Warrior Transition Unit, "and they said the only way you are going to get in there is you have to go tell them you are going to kill yourself."

He added, "I feel like the system’s overwhelmed. You can’t get anything done. I get the shaft because the system doesn’t work."

The 11-year soldier, who is assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, said he first went AWOL in January, and warned his command he would do so.

"I told them prior to me going AWOL, I was like, ‘I’m going AWOL because you guys are doing nothing (for the PTSD), and if you guys continue to do nothing, I’m not going to come here anymore,’" McCarley said. "I’m not going to continue to be forced to be sick."

Now, after going AWOL a second time, he is not sure how this is going to be resolved.

"There’s nothing I can do," he said. "I feel completely helpless."

McCarley is one among a skyrocketing number of PTSD cases that the U.S. military is struggling to address after more than a decade of war. A recent Army report, "Generating Health and Discipline in the Force Ahead of the Strategic Reset," looks to a post-Iraq and -Afghanistan era and describes a PTSD "epidemic" as a result of the longest wars ever fought by the Army.

"The numbers are alarming," the report states. A 2008 projection estimated 300,000 veterans with PTSD with an estimated care cost pegged between $4 billion and $6.2 billion by early 2010.

Subsequent research estimated that more than 20 percent of the 2 million service members who deployed will develop PTSD, meaning a PTSD population possibly closer to 472,000, according to the report.

The study also made a comparison with World War II and said the average infantryman in the South Pacific saw about 40 days of combat in four years, while the tempo in Iraq and Afghanistan remained persistently high, providing few opportunities for rest, either physical or mental.

The story that McCarley and his parents tell reflects the military’s struggle to deal with the real-life demands behind those statistics.

"These soldiers are backed into a corner through lack of action by the Army until they do something stupid and are less than honorably discharged, meaning they will be denied needed (Veterans Administration) benefits," his parents wrote.

But Lt. Col. Sean Wilson, public affairs officer for the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield, said his command is deeply concerned for McCarley.

"Sgt. McCarley has served on our team, he’s a valued member of our team, and we care about him," Wilson said. He added: "Our No. 1 concern right now is Sgt. McCarley — making sure we can get him back so we can continue to give him the best possible care the Army can give him."

Tripler Army Medical Center, which oversees much of the PTSD care in Hawaii, said in a statement: "We are greatly concerned for the health of this soldier. With no backlog for care in behavioral health, at either Schofield Barracks Health Clinic or Tripler Army Medical Center, we can and will afford him the care he needs. We stand ready to support this soldier’s return to duty and provide him the absolute best care."

McCarley was still AWOL as of Friday. His command has gone to his residence repeatedly, but has not been able to locate him, Wilson said.

The sergeant told the Star-Advertiser that he’s been doing some camping and going to the beach after going AWOL the second time in February.

McCarley said his PTSD isn’t the result of a single event, but rather a culmination of the four Iraq deployments, the last of which was out of Schofield and ended in June. During that tour he was a cavalry scout and squad leader.

He was a medic on the first three deployments, and saw his fair share of bloodshed, he said.

"(The PTSD) was just an accumulation over the years of going over there and being on edge all the time and (feeling) like, ‘I’ll never make it through this one,’" McCarley said. "And just, yeah, it just wears on you."

John McCarley said his son was never one to talk about what he went through, but he learned that Daniel had a couple of close calls with snipers.

The Schofield sergeant said he was told the Army was going to put in paperwork to "chapter" him out for being AWOL and also started a medical review board process that could lead to a PTSD disability determination — but that also will keep him in the Army longer.

"I was supposed to get out in November, and I wouldn’t be getting out until next spring (with the medical board)," he said. "I was like, ‘I have to stay in longer?’"

The soldier’s father wants his son to get an honorable discharge and the continued medical care that he needs.

The best decision would have been to wait out the process, and not go AWOL, but Daniel was becoming anxious and physically ill as a result of PTSD, his father said.

"He is not in the mental state where he’s going to make the best decisions, and yet they seem to want to hold him accountable in a way that says, well, he should be able to make the best decisions for himself, he should be able to make smart decisions. Well, obviously not," said John McCarley.

John and Lori McCarley, who have sent three sons to war for a total of eight deployments, contend their youngest son deserves an honorable discharge.

"He’s done his bit. He’s done four long deployments and seen more crap than most people should have to see in their lifetime," John McCarley said.