WASHINGTON — An Army task force has found that a growing number of soldiers serving in Afghanistan are suffering from some kind of mental stress and is urging the military to double the number of mental health professionals deployed there.
The study, conducted by the Army Mental Health Advisory Team, found that soldiers' morale in Afghanistan is "significantly lower" than it was in 2005 and 2007 studies, as soldiers face a resurgent Taliban and the highest levels of violence of the war. Junior officers are under greater stress than senior commanders are, the study found.
In 2009, 21.4 percent of the soldiers in Afghanistan were suffering from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress, compared with 10.4 percent in 2005. In Iraq, the figure was 13 percent in 2009, the lowest level of that war.
<snip>
The study found that the biggest factors contributing to mental illness are repeated combat tours, shorter times between tours and the amount of combat a soldier sees during his or her tour. The study also found that the effectiveness of a soldier's leaders was one of the biggest factors in mitigating the threat of depression or other mental illness.
The study also found that soldiers complained that they have a difficult time finding mental health workers, and access to mental health care is particularly difficult in Afghanistan because the terrain and weather limit travel. In addition, because the military is fighting the Taliban by spreading forces throughout the country, soldiers are often sent to remote bases.
There are 40 Army mental health workers in Afghanistan, and roughly 200 in Iraq, which has 120,000 U.S. troops.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/78894.htmlGet them all out NOW! What are we doing??? This is unacceptable on so many levels.
Are they trying to ruin a generation? This is not worth it.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
