After A Decade, Finally?

We'll see, as us older Vets know full well, but it isn't only within the Military Branches nor the Veterans Community, It's The Country That Needs The Wakeup Call!!

Army Strives to Reduce Suicide, Mental-health Issues

Aug. 8, 2010 – The Army is striving to reduce soldier suicides and mental-health problems by giving troops more dwell time between deployments, identifying tell-tale symptoms more quickly and eliminating the stigma of seeking help, the Army vice chief of staff said today.

Army Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli recapped findings of a task force he commissioned to reduce soldier suicides and mental-health problems during an interview with Christiane Amanpour on ABC’s “This Week.”

The task force offered 250 recommendations, including establishing health promotion councils at each installation, expanding behavioral health screenings and recruiting additional behavioral health counselors.

“We have a force that has been stressed after almost a decade of war,” Chiarelli said today, with many that have been home for just 12 to 16 months between 12- to 15-month deployments.

In some cases, this stress has led to problems with alcohol and drug abuse, legal troubles, mental-health issues and, in the most extreme cases, suicide. Continued