I do not watch Nightline so I thank you for bringing this report to my attention.  I have seen similar accounts and they are disturbing.  As a peacetime navy veteran, I have received excellent care from the VA health services since I became eligible for them.  Surely the men and women who have served and been injured i Iraq and Afghanistan are entitled to the very best care our country can afford them.  If this not the case ot must be an urgent priority of the administration of our new president to remediate the situation at once.

The military’s quotes in this story are somehow given short shrift. There are ample psch clinics available for servicemen and women in all situations and theaters of operation. One guy quoted had drunk as many as 30 beers on a regular basis. The very Rand Corp. report cited attributes one element of PTSD to excess drinking.  ABC does have an anti-military agenda. Finally, Pres. Clinton’s reduction by five divisions of the U.S. Army during his reign placed undue additional burdens on the availability of ready troops in a wartime situation. Call Bill.

I agree with the contention in #2 about ABC news and the MSM in general.  Soldiers to the liberal media are either monsters or victims.  They are often called “heroes” but are seldom treated as anything but hapless souls to feel sorry for.

PTS is reduced by moral clarity on the part of the soldier, and by anything positive he can hang onto surrounding the traumatic events.  Gratitude for a successful mission is our part of the healing (supports the moral clarity), and commemorating the work of colleagues and success for the civilians is what the soldier can do.  Notice the press and politicians talks a lot about “ending the war” but never about winning the war.  This is inexcusable!  Notice too that our soldiers seldom get the credit they deserve for defeating Al Queda in Iraq. This, too, is reprehensible!

What the article didn’t mention, but the previously posted article mentioned, is how chaplains are making a difference.  There are a lot of soldiers under treatment, but many do not pursue treatment because they fear losing their security clearance.  That is a career stopper.  For my part, I would rather work with a soldier under treatment for a disorder than with one having a disorder without the treatment.  Untreated depression is more dangerous than Prozac, and untreated bipolar disorder is more dangerous than Lithium.

Please friends, thank our veterans for taking on the terrorists and keeping them from attacking us!  Pray also for my fellow chaplains who are often the only ones able to intervene for these men deserving support.  This hits close to home because my own cousin had been disabled from untreated PTSD, and my own PTS reactions took about five years to subside after Desert Storm.  Ironically, that makes me “normal”. 

Juandeveras hit it ‘on the head’ when he said,
“Finally, Pres. Clinton’s reduction by five divisions of the U.S. Army during his reign placed undue additional burdens on the availability of ready troops in a wartime situation.”
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But it was President Clinton AND Congress that reduced the Army’s forces. 

Everyone seems to forget Congress’ role in many things.  Maybe its because Congrees is composed of so many people that its easy to forget the culpability of individual members of Congress. 

And its not just Congress, its the people who re-elect Members of Congress.  Its about time that national attention and pressure be focused on districts that re-elect people such as Barney Franks who seems to be so obviously at fault in the ‘home mortgage scandal.’

When those regular Army divisions were eliminated, both President Clinto and key Members of Congress said that their elimination could be compensated for by calling up Reserve forces and the National Guard.  These Members of Congress and President Clinton are directly linked to a whole bunch of problems that our Armed Forces are now suffering.

If you want the facts, access back issues of the Congressional Record for the 1990s.

“There are a lot of soldiers under treatment, but many do not pursue treatment because they fear losing their security clearance.”

This is absolutely true!  Another issue is the likely loss of 2nd Amendment rights, possibly forever.  They also face social stigma from their peers and society.  They also lose the trust and confidence of their fellow service members that they can perform when the life and death pressures of combat occur.  Finally, they face the loss of their own identity as service members.  Men, in general, identify themselves by what they do.  The loss of identity is terrifying.

Virtually everything in their world is at risk and there is extreme disincentive to seek help.

To ” Sick and Tired ” #5 - Wow! These service people are lucky to be able to breath with all all of the potential fears you mention: loss of security clearances, right to bear arms - forever, trust and confidence of peers, self identity ( ’ terrifying’ ), and, finally, ‘everything in their world’. Which branch of the military are we talking about ?  Somehow I recall losing my ‘self-identity’ and miraculously receiving it back at a somewhat more refined level when Marine boot camp came to an end. I seem to recall retaining the confidence of my peers as long as I did my part as a member of a fire team. I do not understand the loss of a security clearance just because you are ill. Sounds like something out of the ordinary.

Juandeveras,

Please note:

Fear of losing security clearance:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=49735
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_mentalhealthpolicy_043008/

Mental illness and the 2nd Amendment:
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=219&issue=018
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2640

Slightly edited - Elf

So these are not issues.

“The Standard Form 86, Questionnaire for National Security Positions, asks the applicant to acknowledge mental health care in the past seven years.”

“Officials said surveys have shown that troops feel if they answer “yes” to the question, they could jeopardize their security clearances, required for many occupations in the military.”

“DoD security officials said no one has been denied a security clearance based solely on the fact they received mental health counseling, but the perception that receiving care would jeopardize a security clearance, combined with the stigma of having to acknowledge the care on the form, may have been preventing some from receiving needed care.”

“But an Army Inspector General’s report last year said soldiers were hesitant to get counseling because of the fear of losing their security clearances. A recent Rand Corporation survey also supported those claims, officials said.”
****************************************
“Key Provisions of H.R. 2640
As a practical matter, the mental health disability is the only firearm disqualifier that can never be removed. Criminal records can be expunged or pardoned, but mental records cannot.”

“Jan 8, 2008: Became Public Law No: 110-180.”
***********************************

Gee, I guess you must be right.  It must not be an issue.  My mistake.  How could I have been so wrong?  I guess my 17 years in the service didn’t teach me a thing.

BTW,
Army/National Guard - Combat Engineer then Aviation
Life Member NRA and former Pistol Instructor

The piece you cite, Mr. Sick-and-Tired, also states quite clearly they are phasing this out as we speak. Regards and Happy Holidays.

“The piece you cite, Mr. Sick-and-Tired, also states quite clearly they are phasing this out as we speak.”

Yes, the article do say they are phasing out the question.  The reason they are phasing out the question is because of the general perception is that there IS a problem with getting/keeping a security clearance if you seek mental health care.  The perception is there, it is pervasive, and it will take time for that to change.  There will need to be a period of building trust with the troops.  That won’t happen overnight.  Trust has been breached on so many levels with soldiers that I believe most will take a “wait and see” attitude.  I can tell you, one of my friends returning from a combat tour in Iraq sought help for PTSD four years ago.  He has since retired.  Now, every time he goes to the VA he is REQUIRED to see the shrink and go through a battery of questions, despite the fact that he has recovered.  He has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation and his wish that he had never spoken up or sought what he thought would be temporary treatment. 

God bless you in this wonderful season.  Thank you for your service to our great nation.  I am sorry for the earlier sarcasm.  Your post struck me as challenging what I was saying, and I confess that I have a weakness of pride.  I am sorry.  Best wishes and PAX.