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One soldier in 9 exiting Army has mental disorder
US Troop in Iraq
- But what we really need to concentrate on is fraud because our troops are a bunch of liars, say neocons. What’s the ratio for genuine benefits fraud cases to suicides? One/1,000? -
The number of soldiers forced to leave the Army solely because of a mental disorder has increased by 64 percent from 2005 to 2009 and accounts for one in nine medical discharges, according to Army statistics.
Last year, 1,224 soldiers with a mental illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, received a medical discharge. That was an increase from 745 soldiers in 2005 or about 7 percent of medical discharges that year, according to personnel statistics provided to USA Today.
The trend matches other recent indicators that show a growing emotional toll on a military that has been fighting for seven years in Iraq and nine years in Afghanistan, the Army and veterans advocates say.
“These numbers really just validate the mental health communities’ concern about multiple deployments,” says Adrian Atizado, who specializes in health issues as assistant national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans. “Mind and body are both taking a beating.”
Soldiers discharged for having both a mental and a physical disability increased 174 percent during the past five years from 1,397 in 2005 to 3,831 in 2009, according to the statistics.
Army Lt. Col. Rebecca Porter, an Army behavioral health official, says research shows “a clear relationship between multiple deployments and increased symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD.”
Aggressive efforts to identify and treat mental illnesses by medical officials, Porter says, are also why more soldiers are being discharged.
But veterans groups argue that the failure of early detection and treatment allow mental illnesses to fester into problems so severe that a soldier must be discharged from the service.
“The military is excellent at treating visible wounds,” says Joe Davis, a spokesman for Veterans of Foreign Wars. “The military and entire medical community at large still have a long way to go to effectively and reliably screen and treat wounds to the head and mind. Before discharging troops for behavioral reasons, it is absolutely imperative that commanders first ask ‘What caused this?’ ”
A Pentagon analysis in May reported that in 2009, for the first time in 15 years, mental health disorders caused more hospitalizations among U.S. troops than any other medical condition, including battle wounds.
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=41484
Posted by Yanira Farray on Jul 24 2010, With 0 Reads, Filed under Health, PTSD. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Between traumatic amputations, TBI ( Brain Injuries ) and mental health issues,
MILITARY FAMILIES will be facing these challenges that will, in some cases shatter
the fabric that holds them together. The emotional toll and financial burden for helping rehabilitate these military personnel is staggering enough on their families.
Great article Mr. Leon. Where are those celebrities that “Support The Troops”
but forget the families ?
Our Troops are not a bunch of liars. They are dedicated, honorable, brave young men and women. And until you have walked a day in their boots in a combat zone you have no idea what you are talking about.
How many of these have been outted with the chapter 5-13 pd excuse? Like Myself. I was gungho top notch one of the FIVE best of the nation, just to be discarded like trash. I’m pissed off and wish I had orders to kill the whole capital hill gang