thedrifter
06-23-07, 07:07 AM
Activist Vets Claim Camp Pendleton Discourages PTSD Treatment
Marines Who Seek Help For Condition Sometimes Stigmatized, Group Says
POSTED: 9:10 pm PDT June 22, 2007
UPDATED: 9:30 pm PDT June 22, 2007
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- A pair of investigators from a national veterans advocacy group said U.S. Marines at Camp Pendleton returning from war with post-traumatic stress disorder are reluctant to seek help for their condition.
When they do, their leaders sometimes stigmatize them, the investigators claimed.
Steve Robinson and Andrew Pogany of Washington-based Veterans for America recently spent a week interviewing officers, enlisted Marines, their families and health professionals at the West Coast's largest Marine installation.
They said some Marine leaders blame PTSD on a lack of moral character, instead of seeing it as a normal reaction to the rigors of war.
Camp Pendleton officials rebuffed the claims, saying they take the welfare of Marines and sailors very seriously and offer several programs to address all forms of combat stress.
Ellie
Marines Who Seek Help For Condition Sometimes Stigmatized, Group Says
POSTED: 9:10 pm PDT June 22, 2007
UPDATED: 9:30 pm PDT June 22, 2007
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- A pair of investigators from a national veterans advocacy group said U.S. Marines at Camp Pendleton returning from war with post-traumatic stress disorder are reluctant to seek help for their condition.
When they do, their leaders sometimes stigmatize them, the investigators claimed.
Steve Robinson and Andrew Pogany of Washington-based Veterans for America recently spent a week interviewing officers, enlisted Marines, their families and health professionals at the West Coast's largest Marine installation.
They said some Marine leaders blame PTSD on a lack of moral character, instead of seeing it as a normal reaction to the rigors of war.
Camp Pendleton officials rebuffed the claims, saying they take the welfare of Marines and sailors very seriously and offer several programs to address all forms of combat stress.
Ellie