Senators want data on war vets’ mental health

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Senators want data on war vets’ mental health
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 26, 2007 14:31:51 EDT

Two senators pushing for improvements in veterans’ mental health services want a full accounting from the Pentagon of service members suffering psychological injuries in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Sens. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., want to know the total number of cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems found in U.S. troops since October 2001.

In an Oct. 23 letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates., Bond and Obama ask for the total number of PTSD cases among active-duty service members and the total number of other reported psychological injuries. In seeking details, the senators want to know not only how many people have been diagnosed with mental problems, but also whether the diagnoses were made while the members were deployed or after they returned.

Bond and Obama also want details on what kind of counseling is available, especially mental health counseling while still in the combat zone, and how much money the services are spending on mental health care.

All those issues will help determine how to best allocate money for diagnosis and treatment of PTSD and other mental health issues, according to congressional aides who have been working on the issue.

The letter asks the Defense Department to supply the report by Nov. 17, which might be in time to influence the 2008 defense budget that is still pending before Congress.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/military_mentalhealth_gates_071026w/