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Congressmen seeks
creation of military
medical centers
(July
2007 Issue)
By Catherine Robertson Souter
Amid growing concern that military personnel are not being treated
for serious mental health issues caused by active duty in Iraq and
Afghanistan, several U.S. Senators, including Connecticut's Joe
Lieberman (I) and Massachusetts' John Kerry (D), have proposed legislation
and requested investigations aimed at ensuring that soldiers are
provided with proper medical care.
In late April, Senators Lieberman and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
put forth a proposal for the establishment of military medical centers
within the Department of Defense. These centers, named "Centers
of Excellence" by the senators, would work to coordinate mental
health services for military personnel and define and disseminate
treatment procedures. The Pentagon would have six months to create
these centers, which would be attached to existing military hospitals.
The bill also proposes that the DoD address the need for more mental
health professionals to work with service members. According to
a February report from the American Psychological Association, there
has been decline of 22% in the number of clinical military psychologists.
The DoD would be required to report back to Congress within 45 days
of the need for funding for recruitment and training of qualified
mental health professionals.
According to Lieberman's office, one in six soldiers returns from
Iraq and Afghanistan with diagnosable PTSD and one in 10 with a
traumatic brain injury. More than one-third of the veterans who
are treated by the Veterans' Administration are diagnosed with mental
health disorders including PTSD, depression and substance abuse.
"We have no greater obligation than to care for our wounded service
members," Lieberman said in a written statement.
In May, partly in response to a story aired on National Public
Radio late last year on how soldiers with mental health concerns
were being treated at one military base, a bipartisan group of senators,
including Lieberman, Boxer, Kerry, Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Hillary
Clinton (D-N.Y.), and Christopher Bond (R-Mo.), asked that the investigative
branch of Congress examine the way the military treats mental illness
in general.
According to the NPR story, soldiers at Fort Carson, in Colorado,
were not granted access to mental health care and, in some cases,
even demoted or dismissed from service. In the story, one soldier
tells how he considered suicide because he was depressed following
his return from Iraq. There were many times, he said, that he wished
he had been killed in combat because then he would have died a hero.
His medical notes included descriptions of crying spells, helplessness
and a sense of worthlessness, all signs of depression, for which
he was not treated. However, when his commanding officers found
he had been using illegal substances, they threatened a dishonorable
discharge.
The senators asked that the Government Accountability Office investigate
issues of mental health care across the entire military. In March,
stories of poor conditions at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington,
D.C., brought greater attention to the issue of how veterans are
treated during recovery. Response to the Walter Reed scandal has
been swift, with the firing of top Army personnel and the hospital's
commanding general.
"It's been clear to me for a long time that America's heroes are
not getting the type of care and attention they deserve," Kerry
said. "This is unacceptable and it disrespects the sacrifice that
our brave troops are making on behalf of every American. All of
us in Congress will be watching closely to ensure the highest level
of care for our soldiers."
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