Invisible People

This is something that doesn't get a enough play in the media:

 

According to a January Defense Department report, despite significant efforts, the number of suicides continued to rise. And an earlier report showed us that an increasing number of troops were killing themselves while in Iraq or Afghanistan.

 

There has been one completed suicide here since I arrived (it wasn't at one of my locations). In the last few months, the guys I replaced had responded to one other suicide completion and several attempts and gestures. It is no secret that people here suffer under the stressors associated with combat duty.

 

I sit in on a commander's briefing every morning and one of the reports is a medical situation report on patients seen at medical aid stations in the last 24 hours-- combat stress patients are one category but the number is always zero-- meaning that people are presenting to aid stations with other symptoms like headaches, sleep problems, vague aches and pains, fatigue but they aren't reporting combat stress, or the medics aren't asking.

 

Based on those numbers, no one has combat stress. The commander looks at my numbers once a week, which says to me that it isn't much of a concern. (He gets a daily update on when the next mail delivery is coming).
 

BUT... the Army completed the 2007-2008 MHAT V (Mental Health Assessment Team) report this year and concluded that depressive and acute stress symptoms were worsening in Afghanistan, catching up to rates in Iraq. This was before the death rate in Afghanistan passed Iraq. Post-deployment surveys of service-members consistently confirm that up to 25% of returnees experience significant psychological symptoms, and the VA is under-resourced and overwhelmed with OIF and OEF vets seeking services-- with people looking at the lack of services as being possibly associated with vet suicides.

 

So there are these people out here who are really struggling, but they are mostly invisible to me.

 

A related task for me is to get the NCOs and officers to be able to better recognize Soldiers in distress, but also to get them to do something to help. It's hard in an environment where almost everyone is experiencing some degree of distress, stress, discomfort. Everyone has risk factors so how do you sort out the severe cases? I need to get them to ask that question. No one asks that question.

 

Anyway, word came down this morning from another FOB that they need a psychologist ASAP. So much for prevention.

 

I hear the chow is better over there... KBR food.