WASHINGTON — Mental health disorders caused more hospitalizations among U.S. troops in 2009 than any other reason, according to medical data released recently by the Pentagon. This historic high reflects the growing toll of nearly nine years of war.
Last year was the first in which hospitalizations for mental disorders outpaced those for injuries or pregnancies in the 15 years of tracking by the Pentagon's Medical Surveillance Monthly report.
Hospitalizations for mental disorders have increased significantly among troops since 2005, said Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, surgeon general for the Army. "War is difficult. It takes a toll," he said.
Mental health treatment expenses are helping drive up the overall cost of military health care, USA TODAY reported last month. Last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a speech that "health care costs are eating the Defense Department alive." Schoomaker said the Army's increased attention to mental health issues is another reason for the rise in hospital admittances.
In 2009, there were 17,538 hospitalizations for mental health issues throughout the military, the study shows. That compares with 17,354 for pregnancy and childbirth reasons, and 11,156 for injuries and battle wounds.
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In 2007, there were 18,201 pregnancy and childbirth hospitalizations, 13,703 for mental health and 12,531 for injury and battle wounds, statistics show. In 2005, mental health was the third leading cause with 11,335.
Mental health care accounted for almost 40% of all days spent in hospitals by servicemembers last year, the report said. Of those hospitalizations, 5% lasted longer than 33 days. For most other conditions, fewer than 5% of hospitalizations exceeded 12 days, the report said.
Psychological issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder exact a toll in lost manpower, the study said. Four mental health issues — depression, substance abuse, anxiety and adjustment problems such as PTSD — cost the Pentagon 488 years of lost duty in 2009.
That's "the equivalent of 488 soldiers spending an entire year in the hospital for mental disorders," said Army Col. Robert DeFraites, director of the office which produced the study.
The Pentagon is learning that mental health issues can take months or years to develop, he said. "Mental disorders are a trailing indicator of health issues to a prolonged period of war fighting, and these figures reflect that," DeFraites said.
"Our troops are facing multiple deployments and experiencing psychological stress due to prolonged exposure to combat," said Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.
The Army, which has 138,000 soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, had 10,222 mental health hospitalizations last year. They accounted for almost 19% of all Army hospitalizations.
Ten percent of Marine hospitalizations were for mental health reasons, while they were about 8% for the Navy and 7% for the Air Force.
The costs of treating mental disorders will only grow, said Christine Eibner, an economist with the RAND Corp. A night in a military hospital cost $3,000 in 2009, said Austin Camacho, a spokesman for the military health care program. When the Pentagon pays for private hospital care, the average daily cost is about $1,300, he said.
Reprinted from USAToday
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Battlefield stress and the overall stress of war
Whether you wear a medal on your chest or just courage in your heart, the effects of war are real. Service members should never be ashamed to seek mental health counseling. There is no shame in recognizing that you are having problems dealing with the effects of your combat deployment. In fact, it is honorable and shows a great deal of courage for you to seek out and get the treatment you need, deserve and have earned to succeed. In the past seeking mental health counselling may have affected your ability to obtain or keep a security clearance or even certain jobs in the military. Recently there have been changes on security clearance application procedures. You are now allowed to check the "no" block when asked if you have any mental health issues as long as you are seeking and undergoing treatment with a mental health provider.
As l look back over the two years I spent deployed to the Iraq war theater of operations, I am amazed at the many experiences I have had. I have held positions that helped service members return home for much needed Rest and Recuperation (R&R) as the Deputy Chief of USARCENT's R&R Program. The R&R program, with nearly a billion dollar per year budget, did just that. I also on a more relevant note to this book held the position of S1/Adjutant. However for me by the end of my deployment I learned that the truly most important thing in life was the connection you have with family and friends. Remember when you serve, your entire family serves with you. When you are under stress so is your family. It took a combat deployment for some to realize this fact.
If you are suffer from stress associated to your deployment contact your base mental health provider or the Veterans Administration. They are well equipped to assist you as you navigate on your road to recovery and mental health bliss.
As l look back over the two years I spent deployed to the Iraq war theater of operations, I am amazed at the many experiences I have had. I have held positions that helped service members return home for much needed Rest and Recuperation (R&R) as the Deputy Chief of USARCENT's R&R Program. The R&R program, with nearly a billion dollar per year budget, did just that. I also on a more relevant note to this book held the position of S1/Adjutant. However for me by the end of my deployment I learned that the truly most important thing in life was the connection you have with family and friends. Remember when you serve, your entire family serves with you. When you are under stress so is your family. It took a combat deployment for some to realize this fact.
If you are suffer from stress associated to your deployment contact your base mental health provider or the Veterans Administration. They are well equipped to assist you as you navigate on your road to recovery and mental health bliss.
Monday, May 3, 2010
What happens IF you die while serving in a combat zone...
Once the word got out that I was a licensed attorney in the state of Michigan it seemed that I was appointed to any assignment that remotely dealt with law, investigations or legal matters. One such appointment dealt with being selected and appointed as a Casualty Officer. That required attendance to a week long training seminar located at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait were I learned the ends and outs of notification of the death of service members to families as well as the death benefits that are provided to the surviving family. During my deployment, I was was assigned to investigate the death of a soldier and make "a line of duty" or LOD determination as to cause of death. My investigation could have resulted in a recommendation that the deceased service member did not die "in the line of duty" and as such was not entitled to the benefits afforded to service members who are killed or die while serving. My findings could have resulted in the non-payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the surviving families. However, as a result of my investigation, I recommended and my recommendation was accepted that death benefits should be paid to the beneficiary.
So what happens if you die while serving in a combat zone? Well if that happens, all I can say is it sucks to be you! However, if you prepared adequately, your loved ones will be better prepared to move on with their lives. One of the first things you should be aware of is that within 72 hours of your death in a combat zone your family will receive check sent via electronic funds transfer to the their bank account in the amount of $100,000. That money should be used to take care of the survivors affairs until the Service Member's Group Life Insurance or SGLI is paid usually that take place within 30 days. Unless otherwise selected, the policy will pay $400,000. (This amount is in addition to the $100,000 already received in the first 24 hours) In addition to those money paid to the beneficiary or beneficiaries, there are more entitlements that would be paid upon your death. In my book, I go into detail about those other death benefits.
Upon your death, your next of kin must be notified within within 24 hours of your death. The notification is made by someone of the same or higher rank and usually that person is accompanied with a Chaplin. The sole purpose of the notification is to inform the next of kin and let them know that a family military advisor will be appointed to assist with the rest of the process in addition to the explanation of other benefits to assist the family.
As it relates to the cause of death, there will be no speculation given. The lessons learned from the death of famed football player turned soldier Pat Tillman are many. Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire. However, much of the information was put out early on was wrong and some have even claimed intentionally distorted to make the military "look good".
With regard to property, you should know that all of your property will inventoried and shipped to the next of kin. A little known fact, if you have a computer, that computer will be shipped to a location were it will be scanned for anything that may be offensive to the next of kin, such as a spouse. The rational for this is simple. If something like a love letter to anyone other then the spouse is discovered that letter will be deleted from the system. This is said to be done to protect the entrust of all concerned. For more information surrounding the events that take place upon your death in a combat zone refer to my new book. "The Service Member's Guide to Deployment."
So what happens if you die while serving in a combat zone? Well if that happens, all I can say is it sucks to be you! However, if you prepared adequately, your loved ones will be better prepared to move on with their lives. One of the first things you should be aware of is that within 72 hours of your death in a combat zone your family will receive check sent via electronic funds transfer to the their bank account in the amount of $100,000. That money should be used to take care of the survivors affairs until the Service Member's Group Life Insurance or SGLI is paid usually that take place within 30 days. Unless otherwise selected, the policy will pay $400,000. (This amount is in addition to the $100,000 already received in the first 24 hours) In addition to those money paid to the beneficiary or beneficiaries, there are more entitlements that would be paid upon your death. In my book, I go into detail about those other death benefits.
Upon your death, your next of kin must be notified within within 24 hours of your death. The notification is made by someone of the same or higher rank and usually that person is accompanied with a Chaplin. The sole purpose of the notification is to inform the next of kin and let them know that a family military advisor will be appointed to assist with the rest of the process in addition to the explanation of other benefits to assist the family.
As it relates to the cause of death, there will be no speculation given. The lessons learned from the death of famed football player turned soldier Pat Tillman are many. Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire. However, much of the information was put out early on was wrong and some have even claimed intentionally distorted to make the military "look good".
With regard to property, you should know that all of your property will inventoried and shipped to the next of kin. A little known fact, if you have a computer, that computer will be shipped to a location were it will be scanned for anything that may be offensive to the next of kin, such as a spouse. The rational for this is simple. If something like a love letter to anyone other then the spouse is discovered that letter will be deleted from the system. This is said to be done to protect the entrust of all concerned. For more information surrounding the events that take place upon your death in a combat zone refer to my new book. "The Service Member's Guide to Deployment."
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