News Analysis: May 13, 2009
The deadly shooting incident at a mental health clinic on a US base outside of Baghdad prompted the military to announce a major probe into shortcomings in the mental health treatment system. For years, VFA has warned that sending our troops repeatedly into combat has a corrosive psychological effect, piling strain and trauma on our troops. And yet serious gaps in health screenings and treatment persist. The Army sergeant accused of killing five fellow service members Monday was on his third tour to Iraq; his father says the military “broke him.” He had been ordered to counseling by a superior troubled by his behavior. One of his victims, also seeking help for combat-related stress, saw the warning signs days earlier. “If we’ve learned anything from this war, it’s that not all injuries are physical,” said Maj. Gen. Daniel P. Bolger, the commander of the division responsible for Baghdad. Might the shootings open a new chapter in PTSD treatment?
The stress accumulating on our troops was made painfully clear when the Army set a grim record in 2008 with at least 140 suicides in the ranks. The pace for 2009 is set to nearly double last year’s number. Most of our troops suffering combat-related stress don’t kill themselves, but many suffer painfully nonetheless: “You start drinking and then you start thinking about things that you shouldn’t think about,” said one Iraq War veteran. “You end up wanting to hurt somebody else or just give up on life, you have nothing else to live for.”
Welcome to Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The war still rages; innovations are welcome.
Do some of our troops in Iraq lack for enough potable water?
If true, the allegations against a former doctor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center warrant full prosecution and lengthy prison time. He’s accused of lying about treating injured soldiers, falsifying test data and promoting an ineffective drug treatment for financial gain.
Tainted medical equipment at VA centers leads to patients contracting dangerous diseases in three states. The VA says: “[w]e truly, truly are on it…We’ve really, really, really expended every effort possible to make sure that this is an isolated situation.”