On a recent Friday, James Webb awoke without having had a dream about Iraq.

It was an exceptional day for the former Army specialist because when Webb dreams, he sees himself with his son, Christian, at his side being swallowed by infinite desert drabness. Suddenly they come under fire from a bus parked on the side of the road.

Webb whips out his handgun, passes it to Christian, and together father and son "light up the bus."

"I woke up and thought, Whoa, that's a disturbing dream," Webb said. "My son is 6 years old."

Webb is part of a new generation of American soldiers returning home from the battlefield with scars --- some physical and some emotional --- that can create havoc as they try to pick up the personal lives they left behind.

And like thousands of injured soldiers, Webb is waiting for help from the Department of Veterans Affairs. But by its own admission, the VA is severely backlogged.

The average wait time for a disability check in Georgia is 5 1/2 months, said Larry Burks, director of the regional VA office in Decatur. For some veterans, it could take even longer.

"That's too long for me," Burks said. "And we are desperately trying to change that."

For Webb, who was discharged for medical reasons, the struggle has been more about sleep-busting dreams at night, popping painkillers during the day and constant anxiety about how to pay next month's rent.

The weight of his troubles led him to contemplate suicide after he returned from Iraq last fall.

"I didn't feel like I had reason to live anymore," he said. "Sometimes I'd cry myself to sleep. I'd lie down at night and all I'd see was Iraq."

Some combat wounds are obvious --- mangled flesh and broken bones.

Soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan are surviving severe injuries at higher rates than in any previous war because of sophisticated body armor and mobile medical units.

Many of the more severely wounded are facing lifelong rehabilitation for multiple amputations and brain trauma caused by suicide bombings and roadside blasts that have come to define the insurgency in Iraq.

Because of that, Congress passed new legislation last month that gives immediate financial relief to soldiers with traumatic injuries. The law entitles soldiers to receive $25,000 to $100,000, depending on the severity of the injury.

'Iraq poses unique risk'

But some battle scars are not so obvious --- unseen wounds that lurk deep within the minds of soldiers who have seen the worst of war.

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine reports that one in every six soldiers in Iraq will suffer post-traumatic stress disorder. Known as PTSD, it is a debilitating psychological condition that can surface as a response to combat trauma, said Dr. David Ready, a psychologist at the Decatur VA hospital's PTSD clinic.

The journal study was done a year ago. Some experts argue that the worsening situation in Iraq has led to even higher rates of PTSD.

"Iraq poses unique risk," Ready said. "There's much more unpredictability there."

Not since Vietnam has America had to cope with daily announcements of wartime casualties. Soldiers are filling military hospitals and VA clinics across the nation at an unexpected rate.

In Georgia, officials say first-time disability claims spiked 16 percent in 2004, partly because of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The VA hospital in Decatur has seen about 5,400 vets who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, said Chester Papineau, who coordinates services for this newest generation of veterans.

The most common need among them has been physical therapy for arm and leg injuries, though some have also required care for traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and post-traumatic stress, Papineau said.

Hospital officials say they added Papineau's position in April as part of their effort to provide a "seamless transition" from military to civilian life.

But advocates for veterans said the VA, which serves 5 million veterans every year, was underfunded and that at this rate, an already stressed system would see tremendous shortfalls in the near future, especially if the Iraq war continues to take such a toll.

"Our government is saying, We don't really value your service," said James Sursely, national commander of the Disabled Veterans of America. "Otherwise we would be providing health care and benefits in a more timely manner."

The VA managed to trim the backlog of disability claims during fiscal years 2002 and 2003 but has lost ground since then, according to a Government Accountability Office report released in March.

The report found that the average wait time for processing disability claims was 119 days at the end of March 2005, an average of eight days longer than at the end of fiscal year 2003.

During that period, the number of cases waiting for review grew by about 86,000 to about 340,000 --- an increase of about one-third.

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said resources for veterans were adequate to take care of their needs.

"Of course there is a growing concern for the new veterans coming in," said Craig, sponsor of the bill for severely injured soldiers. "It is clearly our responsibility to deal with those upfront --- both the physical side and mental side."

Veterans groups lobbied Congress for an amendment to the $80 billion supplemental appropriations bill that would have provided an extra $2 billion to cover what they call a shortfall in funding for veterans medical care. But the measure failed to pass.

While the funding debate continues in Washington, James Webb waits for help in his apartment in Covington.

"I am disappointed at the way I was treated after I got back," said Webb, who lives every day surrounded by hints of the soldier he used to be.

There are the certificates of achievement on the wall and the honorable discharge, the piece of paper of which Webb is most proud. And there is still the glint in his eye of a man determined to fight.

Body, marriage strained

Webb completed a tour in Iraq that lasted a year and a week with the 4th Cavalry Regiment's Delta Troop. He and his buddies provided escorts for convoys traveling dangerous roads.

A pre-existing hip injury got much worse when an explosion threw him back against the steel of a gunner's turret. His medical records indicate an injury to his sacroiliac joint.

Webb, who grew up playing football, ran seven-minute miles and passed the Army's most rigorous physical endurance tests, can't stand up straight anymore. He hobbles around on legs that wasted away from months of inactivity.

"Some people wake up and listen to the birds sing," Webb said. "We got to hear mortar rounds going off."

Even in Iraq, Webb was having difficulties coping. His medical records show that his weapon was taken from him for a week when he was sent to a combat stress clinic.

Webb got married a few weeks after he returned home last September to Michelle, whom he met on the Internet. But when he went back to Fort Riley, Kan., she remained in Georgia.

At Fort Riley, Webb drifted in and out of the military hospital. He was treated for his hip pain, seizures and severe depression. Alone in a one-bedroom apartment off base, he said he entertained thoughts of ending his life.

The Army gave Webb a medical discharge on Feb. 4, the day before his 29th birthday. He returned to Georgia and applied for disability benefits.

He could receive $2,299 a month if the VA determines he is entitled to 100 percent disability. Webb will be happy with 30 percent of that.

"They said they'd get back to me in six or eight months," Webb said. "I think the VA is totally swamped. I know there's people a lot worse off than me. I would wait forever to see my buddies who really got messed up over there to go in front of me," he said, tears welling in his eyes.

Webb occasionally goes to a local hospital for physical therapy. His wife's health insurance policy helps pay the bills.

Michelle is now fighting to stop the foreclosure on her Covington house, but with one income, medical bills and three children from other marriages, "it has been tough," she said.

Hard now to 'suck it up'

The stress has taken a toll on their marriage, he said, and there have been frequent arguments, something not uncommon in the families of returning veterans.

A few weeks ago, Webb's mother, Jackie Gibson, called a local veterans group desperately pleading for help for her son. She said the group first agreed to help, then reneged.

"The VA rep told us we would have to wait," Gibson said. "Army people are poor people. We are not high on any totem pole."

Two other organizations --- Military Families Speak Out and Veterans for Peace --- have been trying to help the Webbs sort through their tangled life.

"We should ask America how we can send someone to war and let this happen," said Steve Robinson, executive director of the Washington-based National Gulf War Resource Center, who is familiar with the case.

When he was hurting in Iraq, Webb did what his officers told him to do: "Suck it up. Pain is for the weak."

Now it's hard to suppress that pain, either physical or emotional.

"Life is good," Webb said. "It's just different. Over there, there's no time to be scared --- your adrenaline's pumping. I came back home and I have a lot of time to think."

--- Staff writer Anna Varela contributed to this article.