thedrifter
07-25-07, 08:42 AM
PTSD requires a surge of its own
By: North County Times Opinion staff -
Our view: Backlog of treatment for combat vets is another front in dire need of resources
How best to "support the troops" during time of controversial war? Americans of noble purpose have long fallen all across the political spectrum in answering that question. But there is one point upon which we all agree: The men and women serving our country in the armed forces deserve to receive proper health care and treatment once they return from battle.
If our promise is to be kept, that care must include mental health treatment. But our armed forces, the Marines and Camp Pendleton in particular, aren't keeping up with the staggering demands of this protracted war, and it's the business of all of us. As we learn more about the backlog of troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, we must demand better treatment for the Americans who have answered the call of their country. There are few priorities more compelling, few duties clearer for a government in the wake of war.
The Pentagon says that up to one-third of Marines who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering some form of post-traumatic stress, about the rate experienced by Vietnam veterans. But Camp Pendleton officials, in response to NCT reporter Mark Walker's requests, record a much lower figure. Pendleton officers said that cases have "stabilized" thanks to various treatment programs, at about one-half of 1 percent.
We wish that the remarkably low rate reported by the brass meant that Camp Pendleton had somehow outflanked PTSD, but those who work in counseling in neighboring communities tell a different story. After all, repeated tours have increased the toll on our military men and women and their families, not decreased it.
Off the base, Marines are seeking help in North County therapy sessions for themselves and their families.
Off the base, Marines are tapping into confidential counseling and anger and stress management programs.
Their symptoms may vary from marital problems to substance abuse to anger issues, but many of these afflicted Marines meet the diagnostic criteria that distinguish post-traumatic stress disorder.
Marines are seeking relief outside the Pendleton gates for the same reasons they always have: Some are too proud. Some escape into intoxication. Some simply don't know what help is available. Some fear that admitting weakness or sickness could jeopardize their relationships with superiors or squadmates. Some worry about career advancement.
A May report by a panel appointed by President Bush found that about half of the Marines returning from Iraq said they believed their commanders would treat them differently if they admitted to suffering combat stress symptoms.
One year after a program was launched to gauge Marines' health three to six months after they returned from a deployment, less than a third of the Marines had received that follow-up assessment. The Marine Corps Times reported this week that the Corps is hustling now to catch up, but that backlog has left too many combat veterans on their own and undiagnosed, precisely when symptoms start kicking in.
That backlog also figured heavily in the major lawsuit filed in San Francisco on Monday on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans and against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The suit characterizes as "shameful failures" the VA's backlog of 600,000 claims and the long waits for troops returned from the battlefields.
If the picture painted by veterans' advocates is horrifying, it is more so because it is familiar. It's the same tyranny so many civilians are used to confronting in their own battles against health care bureaucracies. But accusations of improperly denied claims, "pre-existing condition" dodges and red-tape hurdles curdle the blood even more in the context of caring for combat veterans.
On Monday, retired Marine Col. James Cook held aloft a 23-page standard form awaiting veterans seeking help, veterans already beset by debilitating symptoms.
In this military medical debacle, we have the collision of three calamities -- a terrible war, an inept government bureaucracy and a health care system struggling with new diagnoses, demands and costs. More of our troops are surviving terrible wounds, it's true, and the same health care that makes that possible means more veterans are surviving and requiring expensive treatment.
But the overarching tragedy is that we chose this imperfect storm, going to war without need and without preparation on the homefront. Whatever becomes of the wars we're fighting, we must not betray our promises to take care of the men and women we're sending into harm's way.
Ellie
By: North County Times Opinion staff -
Our view: Backlog of treatment for combat vets is another front in dire need of resources
How best to "support the troops" during time of controversial war? Americans of noble purpose have long fallen all across the political spectrum in answering that question. But there is one point upon which we all agree: The men and women serving our country in the armed forces deserve to receive proper health care and treatment once they return from battle.
If our promise is to be kept, that care must include mental health treatment. But our armed forces, the Marines and Camp Pendleton in particular, aren't keeping up with the staggering demands of this protracted war, and it's the business of all of us. As we learn more about the backlog of troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, we must demand better treatment for the Americans who have answered the call of their country. There are few priorities more compelling, few duties clearer for a government in the wake of war.
The Pentagon says that up to one-third of Marines who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering some form of post-traumatic stress, about the rate experienced by Vietnam veterans. But Camp Pendleton officials, in response to NCT reporter Mark Walker's requests, record a much lower figure. Pendleton officers said that cases have "stabilized" thanks to various treatment programs, at about one-half of 1 percent.
We wish that the remarkably low rate reported by the brass meant that Camp Pendleton had somehow outflanked PTSD, but those who work in counseling in neighboring communities tell a different story. After all, repeated tours have increased the toll on our military men and women and their families, not decreased it.
Off the base, Marines are seeking help in North County therapy sessions for themselves and their families.
Off the base, Marines are tapping into confidential counseling and anger and stress management programs.
Their symptoms may vary from marital problems to substance abuse to anger issues, but many of these afflicted Marines meet the diagnostic criteria that distinguish post-traumatic stress disorder.
Marines are seeking relief outside the Pendleton gates for the same reasons they always have: Some are too proud. Some escape into intoxication. Some simply don't know what help is available. Some fear that admitting weakness or sickness could jeopardize their relationships with superiors or squadmates. Some worry about career advancement.
A May report by a panel appointed by President Bush found that about half of the Marines returning from Iraq said they believed their commanders would treat them differently if they admitted to suffering combat stress symptoms.
One year after a program was launched to gauge Marines' health three to six months after they returned from a deployment, less than a third of the Marines had received that follow-up assessment. The Marine Corps Times reported this week that the Corps is hustling now to catch up, but that backlog has left too many combat veterans on their own and undiagnosed, precisely when symptoms start kicking in.
That backlog also figured heavily in the major lawsuit filed in San Francisco on Monday on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans and against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The suit characterizes as "shameful failures" the VA's backlog of 600,000 claims and the long waits for troops returned from the battlefields.
If the picture painted by veterans' advocates is horrifying, it is more so because it is familiar. It's the same tyranny so many civilians are used to confronting in their own battles against health care bureaucracies. But accusations of improperly denied claims, "pre-existing condition" dodges and red-tape hurdles curdle the blood even more in the context of caring for combat veterans.
On Monday, retired Marine Col. James Cook held aloft a 23-page standard form awaiting veterans seeking help, veterans already beset by debilitating symptoms.
In this military medical debacle, we have the collision of three calamities -- a terrible war, an inept government bureaucracy and a health care system struggling with new diagnoses, demands and costs. More of our troops are surviving terrible wounds, it's true, and the same health care that makes that possible means more veterans are surviving and requiring expensive treatment.
But the overarching tragedy is that we chose this imperfect storm, going to war without need and without preparation on the homefront. Whatever becomes of the wars we're fighting, we must not betray our promises to take care of the men and women we're sending into harm's way.
Ellie