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Returning Soldiers Overwhelm Mental Health Care System
they may face long waits for psychological counseling
SOLDIERS & PTSD: Soldiers returning home may face problems when trying to seek mental health care for wartime-related issues. Veterans of America released a report in February that revealed soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division 2nd Brigade Combat Team—the most deployed unit—cannot receive timely or effective mental health treatment.
About 300,000 American soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression. That’s about one out of every five of the 1.5 million soldiers deployed during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The military struggles to keep up with the growing number of soldiers seeking mental health treatment.
Soldiers Wait Two Months for Help
About 17,000 soldiers are based at Fort Drum in New York, and 4,000 are currently serving in Iraq. Veterans for America released a report in February about mental health care for soldiers at Fort Drum. It found problems with the base’s services:
- Not enough therapists (counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists) to treat soldiers
- Soldiers wait up to two months for appointments with a therapist
- Group therapy offered more often than more effective one-on-one counseling
- Base does not have its own hospital where soldiers could be treated
- Care disrupted and inconsistent, with waits up to six weeks between therapy appointments
More Deployments Mean More PTSD
Military studies show repeated deployments increase a soldier’s chances of developing PTSD. Currently the most deployed unit in the U.S. Army is the 10th Mountain Division 2nd Brigade Combat Team:
- based at Fort Drum in New York
- deployed more than any other Army brigade since 2001; up to four tours (three years) of duty in some cases
- served two tours in Afghanistan for a total of 11 months
- served two tours in Iraq for a total of 27 months
- lost 52 soldiers during last Iraq deployment; 270 wounded
- increased number of soldiers seeking mental health treatment at the base’s behavioral health clinic:
- 14,000 soldiers in 2001
- 26,000 soldiers expected in 2008
- turned away from treatment as base’s mental health care system unprepared to treat 3,500 soldiers returning from Iraq
Copyright © 2008 Informify
Sources
"Iraq war strains U.S. army mental health system " (Reuters, 5/6/08)
"FACTBOX-U.S. army's 10th Mountain Division, 2nd BCT " (Reuters, 5/6/08)
"US military: 3,500 US troops set to leave Iraq " (AP, 5/6/08)
Question for Readers:
Do you think the military should outsource its mental health care to private companies?
Ten months ago, President Bush ordered 30,000 soldiers to Iraq as part of a troop surge there. Over the next few weeks, the U.S. military plans on bringing around 3,500 of those soldiers home, including the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team. Two other surge brigades will come home by the end of July.
The military cites the following reasons for bringing troops home:
- less violence and loss of life in Iraq now than before the surge
- ceasefire agreement with the Shiite Muslim militia
- help from growing legions of U.S.-aligned Sunni soldiers
During wartime, soldiers may experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when they’re wounded or when they see another person harmed. Repeated deployments increase a soldier’s chances of developing PTSD. Symptoms include
- irritability,
- angry outbursts,
- sleeping difficulties,
- concentration problems,
- vigilance heightened, and
- startle response sensitivity.
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