Last week, NPR reported on the fall-out of a 6 month Fort Carson, Colo., investigation: the Army plans to court-martial of one of the troops who spoke out on soldier intimidation and harrassment directed at those seeking help for PTSD. Sheesh.
Today comes more fall-out as congressional staffers descend upon Fort Carson to do a bit of investigating of their own:
Staffers from the offices of Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL), Barbara Boxer, (D-CA), and Kit Bond, (R-MO) will arrive Thursday morning for the fact-finding tour. Four of Colorado's congressional delegation will also send staffers on the tour. They include representatives from Sens. Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar and Reps. Mark Udall and Doug Lamborn.
Obama, Boxer and Bond voiced concern over the Fort Carson program following a National Public Radio program Dec. 4.
Not officially part of the 100 hour shebang, this is still a good beginning...
Additional details from the Rocky Mountain News:
Fort Carson's top medical officials have insisted that their staff is not mistreating soldiers. "We are seeing the soldiers, treating them well and providing the care they need," said Col. John Cho, a surgeon and commanding officer of Fort Carson's Evans Army Medical Center.
The visit will include briefings and interviews with Fort Carson medical officials and rank-and-file soldiers. ... Several Fort Carson soldiers complained that they were harassed by junior officers and noncommissioned officers after seeking doctor's appointments for mental and emotional problems after coming home from Iraq. Some said they were denied permission to obtain appointments to see Army doctors for PTSD symptoms. Others said they were threatened with disciplinary action, and some said they were given discharges for personality disorders or patterns of misconduct.
Certain discharges can leave soldiers ineligible for veterans medical care and other benefits. Fort Carson had diagnosed 577 cases of PTSD in 2006 through early December and expected the number to surpass 600 for the year. That compares with only 32 cases in 2002, before the Iraq war began.
It's not just the soldiers who have found need for improvement:
A recent General Accountability Office report criticized the Army and other branches of the military for inconsistent diagnosis and treatment of PTSD. The Department of Defense "cannot provide reasonable assurance that service members who need referrals for further mental health or combat operational stress reaction evaluations receive them," the report stated.
Not speaking directly to the Fort Carson fiasco, the VA Chief had this to say yesterday:
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is making a "more affirmative effort" to reach "young combatants" from the war on terror "to treat them early" for post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological effects of serving in combat, the head of the department said in Tucson Wednesday.
Veterans Affairs Secretary R. James Nicholson...said the VA wants to avoid any delay in treatment for soldiers because of lack of awareness of the real effects of PTSD. He cited the 20- and 30-year lag in treatment for Vietnam veterans suffering from PTSD who turned to drugs and alcohol to treat post-combat symptoms of depression and anxiety.
The VA has added 50 full-time "Global War on Terrorism" outreach specialists to vet center staffs around the country to increase the effort to talk to veterans about the unique stress they experience under combat conditions. And the VA announced plans in June to open a second vet center in Phoenix this year to provide outpatient evaluation and counseling. There is one vet center in Tucson, at 3055 N. First Ave., and a total of 207 community-based veteran centers throughout the nation.
Nicholson said if more U.S. troops are deployed to Iraq, he will seek additional medical-care funding for injured veterans. "We will take care of discharged vets as the need arises," he said.
It all sounds good.
Let's make sure they put their $$$ where their mouths are.
Please reward this uncommonly good behavior by our elected and government-appointed officials by sending them a 'thank you':
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