Many thanks for the comments, all. My thinking is actually more complex than a single post can reveal, and I apologize if I left anyone with an impression that I preclude any line of thought. My goal in any analysis is to assess the impact of childhood trauma through inquiry and observation, and suggest a way to heal.
Darby, I actually believe that an ACE burden can make one more vulnerable to PTSD, whether caused by war or not. And ACE burden's vary in both quantity and intensity as do individual responses. As we move through life, we reach to our own circumstances with varying types of responses. And as Briana points out, our societal reaction varies depending on the race and other circumstances of the victim. Systemically speaking, ACE's and trauma can accumulate over a lifetime, and individual reaction varies according to a host in variables, including combat. I use what scientific data is available, including research from scientists who are studying Vets, because I prefer data to intuition. I certainly believe that the data can always be improved. So while the young man I discussed may have PTSD (and most who reacted publicly don't think he does), my point was that we could see signs of a trauma burden early in his life. The same is true with his siblings given their behaviors, and with his parents, given their behaviors.
Although I haven't found it written in an article, one ACE expert told me that many Viet Nam Vets studied adopted a host of protective habits when they were deployed, including extensive alcohol and drug use, smoking and promiscuity (among others). When exposed to the traumatic stimuli of war, many contracted PTSD. One noted difference among returning Vets saw those with ACE's having more persistent cases while those with a lesser burden of ACE's resolved their PTSD much faster. PTSD is a symptom, one of many that derive from ACE's, which I call a root cause. In systemic thinking, when I see the root cause present, it causes me to look for symptoms. Those symptoms can be singular or multiple.
So I hope I make no presuppositions about contracting PTSD by ACE victims. If we know that an individual has a high ACE burden, we can assess a soldier's (and others who are at risk and are not soldiers) potential for contracting PTSD and not only teach protective factors prior to deployment, but have a greater ability to monitor that soldier and work with them during deployment. There is no reason we should just assess when they return. A colleague of mine has put together training for deploying soldiers that apparently has reduced the incidence of PTSD among those trained. Prevention is better than treatment and intervention at the earlier identified signs is a great goal.