50,000 British Veterans Of Iraq And Afghanistan 'To Develop Mental Health Problems'

David Cameron says that very few servicemen and women with mental health problems go looking for treatment Picture: PA

Combat Stress: 50,000 British Veterans Of Iraq And Afghanistan 'To Develop Mental Health Problems' -- The Telegraph

More than 50,000 soldiers who have seen fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan could experience some form of mental health problems, a leading veterans' charity is warning.

The estimates are based on official Ministry of Defence figures which show that 191,690 British soldiers have been deployed personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Some 50,000 of these have seen action in both war zones.

Experts have warned of a tidal wave of cases of mental trauma caused by service on the frontline by overworked soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Existing research shows that 27 per cent of veterans are likely to develop mental health problems from their time in the front line.

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My Comment: The psychological wounds that returning vets must endure sometimes takes years to heal .... I should know .... my father was a World war II vet, and I think he found peace only 50 years after the fact.

Leading Cause Of Medical Evacuation Out Of War Zones: Psychiatric Disorders

A U.S. Army soldier from Apache troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division signals the location of a rally point to the soldiers behind him while on patrol in Naray, Afghanistan, on Jan. 4, 2010. DoD photo by Sgt. Jennifer Cohen, U.S. Army. (Released)

Study: Combat Injuries Not The Leading Reason US Soldiers Are Medically Evacuated From Wars -- Canadian Press

LONDON — American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were more likely to be medically evacuated for health problems such as a bad back than for combat injuries, a new study says.

Researchers also found psychiatric disorders rose during the period studied - 2004 to 2007 - despite an increased focus on treating mental health problems.

The research was published Friday in the British medical journal, Lancet.

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More News On Combat Related Injuries For US Soldiers

Psychiatric problems a heavier burden for US combat troops: study -- AFP
US troops 'vulnerable to back pain' -- BBC
U.S. troops and psychiatric disorders -- Ennahar Online
Leading Cause of Medical Evacuation Out of War Zones: It’s Not Combat Injury -- Newswise
Psychiatric disorders spiral among US troops -- Press TV

Mental Stress Training Is Planned For U.S. Soldiers

At a recent training session in Philadelphia, Sgt. First Class James Cole and other soldiers participated in role-playing and learned mental fitness techniques intended to help them in combat. D. Myles Cullen/U.S. Army

From The New York Times:

PHILADELPHIA — The Army plans to require that all 1.1 million of its soldiers take intensive training in emotional resiliency, military officials say.

The training, the first of its kind in the military, is meant to improve performance in combat and head off the mental health problems, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, that plague about one-fifth of troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Active-duty soldiers, reservists and members of the National Guard will receive the training, which will also be available to their family members and to civilian employees.

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My Comment: If this can help in lowering the numbers for post-traumatic stress disorder .... I am all for it.

U.S. Soldier Charged With Killing 5 Fellow Soldiers In Iraq

Soldier Shooting Puts Focus On Combat Stress -- New York Times

BAGHDAD — A 44-year-old Army sergeant was charged with murder and aggravated assault in the fatal shooting of five fellow soldiers at a combat stress clinic at a Baghdad army base, an American military official said Tuesday.

The suspected gunman, Sgt. John M. Russell of the 54th Engineering Battalion based in Bamberg, Germany, was charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault in Monday’s shooting, the official, Maj. Gen. David Perkins, told reporters.

Later in the day, his father detailed the pressures on him and the problems he was having with his superior officers. “I think they broke him,” Wilburn Russell said.

The killings appeared to be the single deadliest episode of soldier-on-soldier violence among American forces since the United States-led invasion of Iraq six years ago.

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More News On The Killing Of 5 American Soldiers By A Fellow Soldier

US soldier charged with murders -- BBC
US Soldier Charged with Killing Colleagues in Iraq -- Voice of America
Suspect in Iraq shootings is on 3rd tour there -- McClatchy News
Soldier Who Killed 5 Was In Counseling -- CBS
Soldier charged in comrades' deaths showed stress -- AP
Soldier rampage hints at stress of repeated deployments -- Christian Science Monitor
Suspect in Iraq attack recently had weapon taken away -- L.A. Times
U.S. Military Identifies Sergeant Charged in Baghdad Shooting -- Washington Post
Why Soldiers (Don’t) Frag -- Danger Room