Damaged goods? Very possible, many are. I know several Iraq vets and of course lots of Vietnam guys too. The Iraq guys are worse off in my experience, younger, more aggressive ... really a seriously ****ed up group of vets. Of course there are many who have come out unscathed. But MANY are not.

The Border Patrol and ICE actively recruit these unskilled, out of work vets with very little vetting.

Don't get me started on US society. But keep in mind what our soldiers are now paid. Not like old days. Now many make over $60K a year and goes up steeply with rank and years.

So really, the military is truly our "new" welfare system. Now they use trained killers who got their asses kicked in Iraq to do border dirty work. Now they deal with Mexican civilians ... and treat them all like terrorists. It's the only way they know.

Granted, we have serious immigration issues here that should have been dealt with 30 years ago when it really started. Now ... nearly impossible. At least 30 million undocumented folks here. Huge swaths of our economy is now dependent on them ... in many ways we are VERY LUCKY to have them here.
(you like Fruits and Vegetables?, cheap tree trimming and a thousand other tasks that young white kids won't do?)

The situation down on the border is now down right scary. Fully militarized zone. These dudes have NO sense of humor.
The damage and humiliation is clearly present in the attitudes of many of these guys. So yes, lots of "damaged goods".

Combine that with various crazy ass vigilante hater groups operating there ... true recipe for disaster. My advice? Get away from the border and USA influence. I love Mexico!