Posted on 09/21/2006 12:51:14 PM PDT by Zakeet
A 4th Infantry Division soldier who lost part of his brain to an explosion in Iraq has trouble looking his children in the eyes.
It should have been him, not his driver, who was cut in half by the blast, he said.
He wanted help with his guilt, but he had to wait weeks to enter a group therapy program. While he waited, he suffered a mental breakdown that required hospitalization.
Sgt. 1st Class Charles Hunt, with the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, broke into tears several times during his 20-minute address Wednesday to a Defense Department panel studying the effectiveness of mental health services.
The delay Hunt experienced is common for military personnel and veterans who need mental health services in the United States, the panel was told.
Ironically, soldiers receive excellent mental health services in Iraq, "better than anything available in the States," said Maj. Roger Duda, the 4th Infantry's psychiatrist. But, they come home to understaffed facilities, long waits for services and documentation problems, the panel was told.
The town hall meeting was called Wednesday at the Plaza Hotel by the panel, co-chaired by the Army's surgeon general and a director of the Purdue University Military Family Research Institute. They sought input for a report being preparing on the military's mental health services for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
The panel visited Fort Hood specifically for information about deploying soldiers and troops recently returned from combat, said Shelley M. MacDermid, the Purdue chairwoman.
The panel had already heard many of the issues raised. Others found themselves thanking those who came forward for their courage.
A specialist in the 13th Sustainment Command said she and others diagnosed with depression after a deployment to Iraq were denied promotions, refused permission to attend therapy appointments and had their medication flushed down the toilet after being labeled "crazy" by their leaders.
Pre- and post-deployment mental health screenings are not held in private, and many soldiers who need help go undiagnosed "because you don't want your sergeant in the next line to hear you" talk about problems, the specialist said.
The mental health stigma is worse for female soldiers, the specialist said. Requests for investigations into the actions of her leaders were "swept under the rug." She guesses that's because her leaders' actions are embarrassing.
Soldiers are afraid to admit they need help because of these types of reactions, she said, and suggested to the panel that more education be required for leaders.
For the soldiers who do come forward for help, documentation problems plague their attempts at therapy, said Kirt P. Love, director of the Desert Storm Battle Registry and a veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Many soldiers or veterans cannot receive services through the Veterans Affairs system until their paperwork reflects they served in Iraq. Changing that paperwork can take months or years, Love said.
Another documentation problem is a lack of compatible computer systems between the United States and Iraq, said Duda, who returned from a yearlong deployment to Iraq just days ago. Notes for soldiers treated in Iraq often are handwritten because of a shortage of computers and because of system incompatibilities, information can be lost or misplaced that should be transferred to the soldier's medical file at his/her home station.
Because of the Army's modular design, which creates self-sustaining brigades that do not necessarily deploy with or support the division to which they are assigned, some soldiers are treated by another division's mental health providers. That can create extra problems for getting the notes to the right place, Duda said.
A lack of providers, both in the military and among civilians who could be credentialed to accept the military's health insurance, creates yet another problem, the panel was told.
The panel has identified shortages at Fort Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center in mental health services for soldier's family members – the substance abuse program for adolescents, in particular.
The medical center's commander, Col. Loree Sutton, said the center has been researching this issue and takes it "very seriously."
"Just like other lines of services, we are continually assessing the situation," said Sutton, who also is a psychiatrist. "We are working with community providers and our Tricare (the military's health insurance) partner" to expand services.
"A specialist in the 13th Sustainment Command said she and others diagnosed with depression after a deployment to Iraq were denied promotions, refused permission to attend therapy appointments and had their medication flushed down the toilet after being labeled "crazy" by their leaders."
I simply have extreme difficulty believing this.
I believe it. They are some real idiots out there in command.
A buddy had a commander who didn't believe officers should go on sick call. He had a rough time until the commander hurt his back and his attitude quickly changed.
I have too many times where a female officer is considered superior because they run very well. When I was in the 25th ID, if a woman ran a 6 minute mile she walked on water and how well she did her job wasn't as important.
My wife ran an 8 minute mile which was passing and her XO did not rank her highly in the beginning. She found this out, because the S3 was her previous boss at the division G2 section. The MI field grades were ranking the MI CPTs in the division and her MI Majors who worked with my defended her as one of the top 3 out of the 30 in the division. After a year, the XO had changed his opinion of my wife.
My wife got out because of stupid actions from the officers of the brigade she was supporting. While she was in Thailand for an exercise, the female showers were put next to a male barracks. There was no overhead cover and the men in the barracks could see the woman showering. My wife worked with the chain of command in the brigade and no one did anything. She stated she never saw so many field grades who couldn't do a thing. She thought it was sad that she had to make a meeting with the Brigade Commander to get something done. After that exercise, she saw no point in being a field grade if you can't get things done.
I think their is a lot more to the story but I could see it happening.
you two just made me even more grateful than I already was that I was lucky enough to have caught the tail end of what was left of the Brown Shoe Army. (that means WWII/Korea Soldiers led it)
Gotta love government efficiency.
Is any of this anything new? From what I've read, some folks in command in the the military have always been this way. It's too bad, though. Especially now, since they all volunteer to be there, we need to do all we can for our folks in the military.
As this goes on, we will be there again.
One thing in that quote sent up a red flag: "A specialist in the 13th Sustainment Command..."
Is this a type of unit that leaves the wire or misses a meal at the KBR chow hall? If not, then why are any Soldiers in this unit suffering from depression?
Before this war, I would have said no. Remember, where are most soldiers being injured and killed. It isn't in direct combat but from IEDs. She may have never busted down a door during a cordon and search but I wonder how many convoys she did.
Me too. I suspect zero, but I don't know. What the heck is a "sustainment command"? I've heard of COSCOM's and ASC's. Never heard of a "sustainment command".
You know how officers need to have comments for their support form, right. Well some officer has come up with the idea of renaming the COSCOM to a sustainment command. I don't why they have changed the name but a lot of terminology is changing and it is difficult to keep straight.
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