Today's Officer - Winter 2007 - (Page 5) LEGISLATIVE FRONT Wounded Warrior Priorities THE PROBLEMS OUR WOUNDED WARRIORS and their families have experienced have been scrutinized by no fewer than 11 special task forces, commissions, and committees. These groups have produced dozens of recommendations to help address those problems. But the details of sorting out fixes to the snafus among multiple departments can be mind-numbing. MOAA thinks the key to success is to focus on these priorities: Tr a u m a t i c brain injury/posttraumatic stress disorder affects 30 are reluctant to disclose mental health conditions, for fear of negative effect on their careers. In some cases, model servicemembers develop disciplinary problems after multiple deployments and face discharges that bar VA treatment — and threaten to create a new class with homelessness. We need crash efforts to destigmatize mental health conditions and improve testing, diagnosis, and treatment. Baseline pre- and post-deployment testing is a start. THUMBS UP The House and the Senate approved significant manpower increases for the Army and Marine Corps in the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill. THUMBS DOWN The Senate Armed Services Committee said the larger forces “may not remain” in the future, despite past bad experience with underestimating threats. Fiscal and personnel resources. percent of returnees. But many servicemembers (especially officers) TOP IMAGE: ROBIN BARTHOLICK/GETTY IMAGES There must be a commitment to recruiting, training, and contracting needed levels of qualified medical Winter 2007/08 TODAY’S OFFICER 5
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