PTSD

The Outline I. Introduction A. Should the United States Military increase pre and post deployment mental health screenings to identify mental illness in soldiers?

B. Nearly one in five combat veterans suffers from PTSD and the disorder is currently the most common diagnoses made by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mental health screenings help detect clear physical and psychological symptoms in soldiers suffering from mental illness. Conducting pre and post deployment tests on soldiers allows health professionals to compare, identify and treat mental illness at its earliest stages; allowing the soldier to reintegrate back into the military or society in a timely manner. [2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 17, 20, 25] C. Many people question the effectiveness of the mental health tests currently conducted and their ability to identify mental illness in soldiers due validity and stigmatization. Other issues involve the mental impact of re-deployments and crimes committed by service-members suffering from mental illness. [1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 24, 25] D. I believe the U.S. Military should increase pre and post deployment mental health education and screenings and require every soldier to undergo examinations with a mental health professional to ensure valid diagnosis. The U.S. Military should also limit redeployments and deployment lengths to better ensure a lower risk of contracting PTSD or other mental illness. Such limits can ultimately reduce suicides, substance abuse, and domestic violence committed by mentally ill soldiers returning to society.

II. History and background information A. What events, if any, sparked the need for this legislation, policy or regulation?

1. Research has shown that the likelihood of mental health problems rises with combat exposure. Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) are the deadliest American military conflicts since the Vietnam War, and mental illness of returning veterans is already comparable. [1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 13, 17, 25] 2. Decades of studies on the problems of Vietnam veterans have established links between combat trauma induced mental illness and child abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse and criminality. [4, 17, 19] 3. The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study found that 15 percent of veterans still suffered from full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder more than a decade after the war ended. This raises awareness that OIF and OEF veterans need to be treated early to prevent prolonged illness. [9, 17, 23] B. How has government addressed the issue, or comparable issues, in the past?