Psychological Sustainability

Last week 13 people were killed and 30 wounded by a military psychiatrist at Fort Hood.













I was unsure on whether or not I would address this in my blog. It's a sensitive and tragic topic and I wish to do it tastefully. To begin with, my sincere and deep sympathy goes out to the families that have lost loved ones. I can only imagine the pain that is being felt. Many Soldiers and Families consider their military installation Home; a connection needed for those who are always moving. The Soldiers and Families deal with constant stress and worry while the Soldiers are deployed and it seems so unfair that they now will have the same stress at Home. Home is supposed to be a safe haven.

While my blog title, GreenGov, implies that I will speak about environmental issues, I'm really inquiring about sustainability issues. This is such an issue.

I would primarily like to address in this post the responsibility of the government to take care of their Soldiers mental and emotional well being. After all, sustainability cannot be addressed when basic needs are not being met.

More and more evidence is accumulating that suggests that the Fort Hood gunman was linked to Al-Quaida. This is not a case of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) gone too far. For me though, it brings to light the need for a psychological screening process for all Soldiers. The current screening process that Soldiers go through concerns me. It's very easy to play the system and get through the screening with a "pass". Just tell them what they want to hear. This screening does not happen to all Soldiers and when it does, it only happens upon redeployment. They are encouraged to seek help if needed and to keep an eye out for psychological warning signs in their buddies. But going for help is seen as a sign of weakness and is often avoided. Also, they are often encouraged to seek help from their chaplain, not a trained psychiatrist. I believe that this is a huge gap in the military system and it's the government's responsibility to ensure that this gap is closed. Suicide and violence rates have accelerated in the last few years and while surface level actions are being taken (i.e. PowerPoint presentations and video on not being suicidal and helping your friends not be suicidal) there is no real system set in place to offer the psychological support that these Soldiers need.

There is a need for a system to be put in place that helps our Soldiers reintegrate into their lives at home. This system should be comprehensive, including regular therapy sessions, stress management classes, and family therapy sessions to help them reconnect with their home lives. In addition, group sessions should occur; we can't even imagine the horrors that they have seen during their deployments and it's important for some, to seek solace among others who have shared experiences. Perhaps if these communication lines are open, warning signs can be spotted earlier to either help those that can still be helped and to take the necessary actions needed to defuse others.

My husband recently became a civilian after being in the Army. During the six years of his enlistment as a medic and after two deployments to Iraq, he never had psychological screening. I'm thankful that he has a strong mind and hasn't had issues but not everyone deals with emotional stress as well.

There does not seem to be an end in sight for deployments and our Soldiers and their families are getting tired. There needs to be a support structure to ensure the psychological sustainability of our Soldiers.