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Jed Boal ReportingA new report shows one in three US troops returning from Iraq use mental health services within the first year back home. Combat has long-term effects on our soldiers, but the authors of the study are encouraged by what they found.
The military knows it members often struggle with mental health issues when they return from war, so Army researchers wanted to find out if our troops are getting the treatment they need.
War is Hell; it takes a toll on soldiers in the form of depression, family disputes, post-traumatic stress and alcohol or substance abuse. Army psychiatrist Geoffrey Grammer served in Iraq and helped soldiers cope with combat. He also dodged enemy assaults.
Maj. Geoffrey Grammer, M.D., Army Psychiatrist: "It was one of those times when you sit there and you say, 'I can't believe this is happening to me, and I have no other choice but to wall this off, and move on, and attend to the mission at hand.'"
Eventually, soldiers must deal with their combat experiences. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research studied 300-thousand troops returned from Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations between 2003 and 2004. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports what they found.
Col. Charles Hoge, M.D., Walter Reed Army Institute of Research: "Soldiers who are returning from Iraq, a higher percentage of those soldiers report mental health concerns and use mental health services."
More than those serving elsewhere, because soldiers in Iraq face more frequent and intense combat. About 20-percent reported mental health concerns. About one-third received mental health evaluation or counseling in the first year home. 12-percent were diagnosed with a mental health problem. Researchers are encouraged by the number who seek treatment.
Col. Charles Hoge, M.D., Walter Reed Army Institute of Research: "They're coming in to get car early, within the first two months."
Here in Utah at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, doctors are seeing more Iraq War veterans screened for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in each of the past three years. They encourage local vets to take advantage of their VA benefits.
The national study also shows, the majority of service members referred for mental health treatment, got that treatment.
