Shinseki Cites Collaboration in Mental Health Care
Shinseki Cites Collaboration in Mental Health Care, 27 October 2009, American Forces Press Service
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
Psychological war wounds are nothing new to U.S. service members, but the support of the nation to care for their injuries, until recent years, was somewhat uncharted territory.
The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs are committed to advancing that care because it’s the right thing to do as a nation, VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said yesterday when he and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates launched a joint National Mental Health Summit here.
Improving mental health care has become a top priority for both departments, which have made great strides in mental health research, treatment and overall care, respectively. And through this week’s summit, they hope to advance their expertise and resources even further.
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=56404
VA, DOD officials host national mental health summit
VA, DOD officials host national mental health summit, 26 October 2009, US Air Force
Officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense are hosting a first-of-its-kind national summit to address the mental health care needs of America’s military personnel, families and veterans, harnessing the programs, resources and expertise of both departments to deal with the aftermath of the battlefield.
“This is about doing what is best for those who serve this country and using every federal, state and community asset to do it,” said VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. “We’re proud of the people and the organizations who have stepped up today to make sure everyone who fought for this country gets a fighting chance for a sound mind and an independent life.”
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123174510
VA, DoD Coming to Grips with the Mental Health Costs of War
VA, DoD Coming to Grips with the Mental Health Costs of War, 29 October 2009, White House Blog
Posted by Brandon Friedman
When troops leave the active military after service in Iraq and Afghanistan, many find themselves lost in a blur of reality shows and superficiality—in a world where nothing explodes but tempers, and in a place where the rush of combat is soon dulled by the slow drip of alcohol. The symptoms of most Veterans might not be so pronounced, but there’s always someone living through this.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/10/28/va-dod-coming-grips-with-mental-health-costs-war
Military Suicides Up Among Soldiers in Repeat Army Tours
Military Suicides Up Among Soldiers in Repeat Army Tours, 13 Apr 2010, Time
By MARK THOMPSON / WASHINGTON
From the invasion of Afghanistan until last summer, the U.S. military had lost 761 soldiers in combat there. But a higher number in the service – 817 – had taken their own lives over the same period. The surge in suicides, which have risen five years in a row, has become a vexing problem for which the Army’s highest levels of command have yet to find a solution despite deploying hundreds of mental-health experts and investing millions of dollars. And the elephant in the room in much of the formal discussion of the problem is the burden of repeated tours of combat duty on a soldier’s battered psyche.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100413/us_time/08599198128400
Revolving door of wars tied to severe PTSD – Shortage of troops means some traumatized soldiers do multiple tours
Revolving door of wars tied to severe PTSD – Shortage of troops means some traumatized soldiers do multiple tours, 12 April 2010, Associated Press
Sharon Cohen
It wasn’t his first tour in Iraq, but his second and third when Joe Callan began wondering how long his luck would last — how many more months he could swerve around bombs buried in the dirt and duck mortars raining from the skies.
It was only natural, considering the horrors he’d seen: One buddy killed when a mortar engulfed his tent in flames. A fresh-faced Marine sniper dead (also a mortar) on his first day in Iraq. A 9-year-old Iraqi boy, blood trickling from his head, after he was mistakenly shot by U.S. troops. An Iraqi grandmother collapsing from a heart attack after her home was searched (she later died).
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36197461/ns/health-mental_health/
Army’s mental health treatment plan woefully inadequate
Army’s mental health treatment plan woefully inadequate, 12 April 2010, The News Tribune
JESSE ALLEN
As a licensed mental health counselor and certified expert in traumatic stress, I am appalled that a 20-minute one-on-one session or a group meeting of 30 soldiers with a behavioral health provider is the Army’s answer to providing more care for returning vets. I’ve worked with multiple law enforcement agencies over the past 15 years; my work has included sessions with officers who shot suspects or had been shot themselves, and, occasionally, I worked with their families as well.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/04/09/1141102/armys-mental-health-treatment.html
