thedrifter
06-15-07, 06:02 AM
Study: Military mental health system poor
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The military's mental health system has "fallen significantly short" of meeting the needs of troops and their families, according to a year-long task force study released Thursday.
Dire circumstances worsened by more than four years of war in Iraq require urgent action, the report says. "The current operational tempo has exposed fundamental weaknesses in the U.S. military's approach to psychological health."
The Pentagon must immediately start recruiting to fill a mental health staff "woefully inadequate" to deal with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, the report says. The Associated Press reported Thursday that the Army plans to hire more than 25% additional psychiatrists and other medical workers, or about 200 people.
Created by Congress last year, the task force consists of leading medical and mental health military and civilian officials, including Navy Surgeon General Donald Arthur. It gathered research and took testimony at 38 military installations.
Pentagon health officials will respond to the study in a press conference today, spokesman Terry Jones says.
More than 1 million troops have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001, many of them more than once, and mental health problems are on the rise, the task force says.
One out of five married soldiers say their marriages are falling apart. Health screenings show 31% of Marines, 38% of soldiers and nearly half of National Guard troops have psychological symptoms. Of nearly 230,000 new veterans who have applied for help from the Veterans Affairs Department, more than a third suffer mental disorders.
The study found a widespread lack of mental health resources for children in military families. "Outpatient and partial-hospitalization treatment for substance abuse are virtually non-existent in many geographical regions," the study says.
Such findings are "groundbreaking," says Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who pushed for the task force's creation.
The report recommends a variety of costly measures, such as hiring more caregivers, developing new research and increasing coverage under the military's health care system, Tricare. However, the report doesn't specify how much money should be spent or how many people should be hired.
Boxer and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said in a press conference Thursday that they will move quickly to find money to pay for the task force's recommendations. Both said they would also seek an immediate meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates to push for changes that do not require Congress to approve spending.
That may not be fast enough, says David Autry, a spokesman for the Disabled American Veterans. He and Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, questioned why it takes a year to address pressing casualty needs in the middle of a war.
Ellie
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The military's mental health system has "fallen significantly short" of meeting the needs of troops and their families, according to a year-long task force study released Thursday.
Dire circumstances worsened by more than four years of war in Iraq require urgent action, the report says. "The current operational tempo has exposed fundamental weaknesses in the U.S. military's approach to psychological health."
The Pentagon must immediately start recruiting to fill a mental health staff "woefully inadequate" to deal with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, the report says. The Associated Press reported Thursday that the Army plans to hire more than 25% additional psychiatrists and other medical workers, or about 200 people.
Created by Congress last year, the task force consists of leading medical and mental health military and civilian officials, including Navy Surgeon General Donald Arthur. It gathered research and took testimony at 38 military installations.
Pentagon health officials will respond to the study in a press conference today, spokesman Terry Jones says.
More than 1 million troops have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001, many of them more than once, and mental health problems are on the rise, the task force says.
One out of five married soldiers say their marriages are falling apart. Health screenings show 31% of Marines, 38% of soldiers and nearly half of National Guard troops have psychological symptoms. Of nearly 230,000 new veterans who have applied for help from the Veterans Affairs Department, more than a third suffer mental disorders.
The study found a widespread lack of mental health resources for children in military families. "Outpatient and partial-hospitalization treatment for substance abuse are virtually non-existent in many geographical regions," the study says.
Such findings are "groundbreaking," says Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who pushed for the task force's creation.
The report recommends a variety of costly measures, such as hiring more caregivers, developing new research and increasing coverage under the military's health care system, Tricare. However, the report doesn't specify how much money should be spent or how many people should be hired.
Boxer and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said in a press conference Thursday that they will move quickly to find money to pay for the task force's recommendations. Both said they would also seek an immediate meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates to push for changes that do not require Congress to approve spending.
That may not be fast enough, says David Autry, a spokesman for the Disabled American Veterans. He and Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, questioned why it takes a year to address pressing casualty needs in the middle of a war.
Ellie