Katie Drummond - AOL News:
(Sept. 30) -- After four apparent suicides in a single weekend, troops and their families are reeling -- but they need to be braced for more.
That was the warning from Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a conference this morning.
"The emergency issue right now is suicides,'' Mullen told reporters. "I think we are going to see a growth in that before we see a decline."
What's Behind the Increase?
In part, it's the fact so many troops have been fighting for so long. The risk of developing mental health problems, most notably post-traumatic stress disorder, increases with repeated deployments.
A 2007 Army-funded survey warned that rates of PTSD and depression soared to 27 percent among troops deployed three or more times.
Of the 2 million troops deployed since 2002, an estimated two-thirds suffer from PTSD. Far fewer -- around 14,000 since 2008 -- have actually been diagnosed.
And as thousands of troops start coming home from Iraq -- the largest numbers since 2003 are expected to flood bases across the country -- the military needs to be prepared for the myriad challenges of their reintegration into civilian life.
But by all accounts, they aren't.
What's Being Done to Help the Troops?
Pentagon-backed efforts to aggressively tackle PTSD and suicides are ongoing and ambitious in scope, but they won't be making any major strides as troops return in the mere weeks and months ahead.
A three-year, $50 million collaborative research project by the Army and the National Institutes of Mental Health anticipates making dozens of recommendations on changes to the military's management of mental health.
"It's a comprehensive examination of the Army's programs, policies, procedures," Col. Chris Philbrick, director of the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force, said in a YouTube video. "Do we have the right resources? Are there gaps in our policies, for example?"
What Are the Challenges?
But a dearth of resources, combined with policy gaps and mismanagement, have already affected today's troops. And while many are going undiagnosed, others are relying on cocktails of psychiatric medications -- still the Pentagon's go-to treatment of choice.
More effective treatment approaches, from comprehensive monitoring and counseling to out-there ideas like ecstasy therapy, are showing promise.
But the implementation of any revolutionary innovation could be years off. Which makes Mullen's prediction for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan seem more like a statement of the grim, obvious and altogether predictable truth.
Follow Surge Desk on Twitter.
(Sept. 30) -- After four apparent suicides in a single weekend, troops and their families are reeling -- but they need to be braced for more.
That was the warning from Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a conference this morning.
"The emergency issue right now is suicides,'' Mullen told reporters. "I think we are going to see a growth in that before we see a decline."
What's Behind the Increase?
In part, it's the fact so many troops have been fighting for so long. The risk of developing mental health problems, most notably post-traumatic stress disorder, increases with repeated deployments.
A 2007 Army-funded survey warned that rates of PTSD and depression soared to 27 percent among troops deployed three or more times.
Of the 2 million troops deployed since 2002, an estimated two-thirds suffer from PTSD. Far fewer -- around 14,000 since 2008 -- have actually been diagnosed.
And as thousands of troops start coming home from Iraq -- the largest numbers since 2003 are expected to flood bases across the country -- the military needs to be prepared for the myriad challenges of their reintegration into civilian life.
But by all accounts, they aren't.
What's Being Done to Help the Troops?
Pentagon-backed efforts to aggressively tackle PTSD and suicides are ongoing and ambitious in scope, but they won't be making any major strides as troops return in the mere weeks and months ahead.
A three-year, $50 million collaborative research project by the Army and the National Institutes of Mental Health anticipates making dozens of recommendations on changes to the military's management of mental health.
"It's a comprehensive examination of the Army's programs, policies, procedures," Col. Chris Philbrick, director of the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force, said in a YouTube video. "Do we have the right resources? Are there gaps in our policies, for example?"
What Are the Challenges?
But a dearth of resources, combined with policy gaps and mismanagement, have already affected today's troops. And while many are going undiagnosed, others are relying on cocktails of psychiatric medications -- still the Pentagon's go-to treatment of choice.
More effective treatment approaches, from comprehensive monitoring and counseling to out-there ideas like ecstasy therapy, are showing promise.
But the implementation of any revolutionary innovation could be years off. Which makes Mullen's prediction for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan seem more like a statement of the grim, obvious and altogether predictable truth.
Follow Surge Desk on Twitter.
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