Military Officer - October 2007 - (Page 48)

H IS PAST F E B RUA RY, a series of articles in The Washington Post titled “The Other Walter Reed” proﬁled shocking cases of wounded servicemembers who became lost in military health care and administrative systems upon being transferred to outpatient rehabilitative care. The details of the multiple overlapping proposals to ﬁx the bureaucratic snafus among multiple federal departments can be mind-numbing, whether you’re a legislator, lobbyist, federal administrator, or average government and other studies. The percentage increases with prolonged and repeated exposure to traumatic and stressful events through multiple and extended deployments. But reluctance to disclose mental health conditions deters many servicemembers and families from seeking testing and treatment. Traditional military can-do and tough-it-out attitudes — the pride of the warrior ethos — actually work against the future well-being of the servicemember who doesn’t understand the potential long-term consequences of not ﬁnding someone to talk to. Ofﬁcers and senior NCOs who fear that acknowledging mental health conditions might affect their security clearances or future leadership opportunities are particularly vulnerable. Even less visible — and more likely to go unidentiﬁed — are the secondary effects on family members, who suffer the long-term effects of living with victims of warrelated stress. The services must get a better handle on cause and effect, starting with accelerated efforts to destigmatize mental health conditions and publicize opportunities for conﬁdential discussion. We also must dramatically improve diagnosis and treatment capacity and methodology. One key is There were interviews with family members — spouses, children, and parents — who quit their jobs and basically lived at military hospitals to become caregivers to seriously wounded troops. Left with diminishing resources and unfamiliar with military beneﬁt and disability rules, they were severely disadvantaged in trying to represent the interests of their wounded spouses or children who couldn’t stand up for themselves. Fair or not, the articles got the attention of service and Defense leaders. Newly conﬁrmed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has made it a personal mission to correct the situation, relieving the secretary of the Army and the Army surgeon general in the course of emphasizing a new leadership focus putting top priority on the care of the wounded and their families. They also got the attention of President George W. Bush and Congress, leading to the appointment of no fewer than six special task forces and commissions (see sidebar, page 71), plus round upon round of congressional hearings to investigate the problems and identify needed solutions. All of these efforts have produced dozens of recommendations and reams of draft legislation aimed at addressing the problems. 48 MILITARY OFFICER OCTOBER 2007 We must not shirk our national responsibility to ensure our wounded warriors receive the best treatment. citizen. The key to success will be to focus on the top priorities and recognize that the government must bear responsibility for these long-term costs of war. MOAA thinks those priorities include: Traumatic brain injury (TBI)/PTSD These conditions affect between 25 percent and 50 percent of returning veterans, according to a number of

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Military Officer - October 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: A Hero's Welcome? Partners in Patriotism Tales from Beyond the Battlefield Financial Results of MOAA Pages of History Information Exchange Faces of MOAA Member Books MOAA Scholarship Donors Advertising Index MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - October 2007

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