According to a new report from the Army's Surgeon General, 30% of U.S. troops returning from Iraq suffer some form of mental illness. This is far above what the military was expecting.
The survey of 1,000 troops found problems including anxiety, depression, nightmares, anger and an inability to concentrate, said Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley and other military medical officials. A smaller number of troops, often with more severe symptoms, were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, a serious mental illness.
The 30 percent figure is in contrast to the 3 percent to 5 percent diagnosed with a significant mental health issues immediately after they leave the war theater, according to Col. Elspeth Ritchie, a military psychiatrist on Kiley's staff. A study of troops who were still in the combat zone in 2004 found 13 percent experienced significant mental health problems.
The military is downplaying the significance of findings, but psychologists say that this level of stress may cause problems at home, drug abuse and difficulty in holding a job.
While the military stresses that military morale was higher in 2004 than it was in 2003, even the SCLM cracks are starting to appear. Maybe because it is becoming clear that the Commander in Thief doesn't have any idea what he's doing?
This stress, coupled with long deployments and the isolation of military families from the community, may be part of the reason why a child in a military family is twice as likely to die of extreme abuse, according to a University of North Carolina researcher.
But wait, there's more! The military is cutting soldier's pay this month by hundreds of dollars.
The change, outlined in Marine Administrative Message 315/01 and slated to take effect Monday, shelves a DoD policy enacted nearly five years ago. The old policy allowed servicemembers to retain higher housing allowances even when they moved to cheaper neighborhoods, said Master Sgt. Ervin Ramos, staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge for the Consolidated Personnel Administration Center, Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Base.
An example of the effects of the paycut:
One example of how drastic the slash in income will be: An E-7 with family members currently drawing San Diego BAH will now draw Camp Pendleton BAH -- and stands to forfeit $422 per month.
Staff Sgt. Elliot T. Threat, a substance abuse control officer with Headquarters and Support Battalion, commutes 60 miles one way every day and stands to lose $600, he said.
He was previously stationed at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and received permanent-change-of station orders to Camp Pendleton -- but continues to draw the MCRD rate.
Congress did approve extra funds for the VA yesterday, but we've got a long way to go. I know, we could sell cheesey magnetic ribbons that say "Support the Troops" for people's cars--all proceeds go to actually supporting the troops.
Update [2005-7-29 11:34:8 by Ralph]:Check out his photoessay from GQ (of all places) NOW FIXED.