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Tuesday, March 25, 2008
FIVE YEARS OF WAR TAKING TOLL ON AMERICAN SOLDIERS

Awhile back during a visit to Kearney I met with a young medic from Minden who had suffered horrific injuries when a roadside bomb went off in Iraq. I had to intervene personally to make sure she received proper medical care after she returned to Nebraska.

Injuries like she had emphasized the importance of providing every soldier, sailor, airman and marine with suitable body armor. They didn’t always have that and I had to push the military to make sure that everyone has what they need.

When I later met with a Nebraska National Guardsman in Lincoln the injury he suffered in Iraq was still little known. He had Traumatic Brain Injury from the shock waves of a bomb that went off near him. It led me to push for improved diagnosis of what now has become the signature injury of this war.

Physical injuries like these and like I see during visits to Walter Reed Hospital are easier to diagnosis and treat than another injury that is on the increase among American troops ... Psychological injury.

Psychological Stress on the Climb
Mental health problems are just one of the cascading costs we're seeing after a five-year war. Psychological wounds affect families, both emotionally and financially, just as much as physical wounds.

A study conducted by mental health teams from the Army Surgeon General's Office said that 15 to 20 percent of all soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan show signs of depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. That rate increased to about 30% for soldiers who have been on three or four combat deployments.

Repeated Deployments Contribute
The lengthy and repeated tours of duty also contribute to problems. According to the survey, 27.2% of sergeants who led soldiers into combat in Iraq experienced mental health problems during their third or fourth tours, compared with 18.5% during their second tours and 11.9% during their first tours.

The study also found that the one-year breaks between successive 12 to 15 month tours in Iraq do not provide adequate time for recovery. In addition, symptoms of some mental illnesses can become more intense as soldiers prepare to return to Iraq. The report also found that the mental health issues for troops in Afghanistan have equaled those for soldiers in Iraq.

Repair and Rebuild
News stories have quoted Army Chief of Staff General George Casey as saying, "People aren't designed to experience the horrors of war repeatedly and it wears on them." As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, I know the General's concerns are something we need to be mindful of.

The study should be an eye opener for every American.  Detailing these problems is not enough. We need solutions.  The Administration needs to work with the Pentagon to create a comprehensive plan to repair and rebuild the Army and to cut the length of combat tours and increase time between deployments to make certain that our troops are not only well equipped and well protected, but well cared for.

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