2006 VFW Magazine - Veterans of Foreign Wars

Society’s Obligation to War Veterans
Confronting the Emotional Toll
THAD ALLENDER / AP WIDE WORLD PHOTO / LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD
VA may not be able to handle the influx of recent vets
with emotional disorders (some 15,000 potential cases
to date), but other options for care are emerging.
By now, it is undisputed that war
can cause psychological problems
for GIs, and has been doing
so surely as long as wars have
been fought. The problem with the current
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (especially
the latter) is that GIs are embroiled
in volatile situations that leave them more
susceptible to these problems.
by Shannon Hanson
A Walter Reed Army Institute of
Research study conducted in 2003 and
published in the New England Journal of
Medicine in July 2004 indicated that
11% of returning Afghanistan vets and
15-17% of returning Iraq vets showed
symptoms of anxiety, depression or
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Concerns were raised early on that VA
Army Reserve Sgt. Jared Myers with his mother, Judy Smith, in January 2005. She admitted
him to Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center in Leavenworth, Kan., where he spent
three weeks being diagnosed and treated for post-traumatic stress disorder.
may not be able to handle the influx of
vets that these rates could produce.
Investigators from the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) in 2004
visited six VA facilities, where staff said
they could handle the PTSD cases they
had then, but might not be able to meet
an increase in demand. The 2005 GAO
study stated that VA “does not have sufficient
capacity to meet the needs of
new combat veterans while still providing
for veterans of past wars.”
An internal study published in October
2005 and conducted by Dr. Han
Kang of the Veterans Health Administration
revealed that 120,000 recent veterans
had been seen at VA, and more
than 30% had a psychological disorder,
mostly depression and PTSD. Some 13%
of those were women. But the study only
covered vets who voluntarily sought
treatment, so the actual numbers of vets
with these symptoms could be higher.
Rep. Lane Evans (D-Ill.), ranking
member of the House VA Committee,
organized a Dec. 9, 2005, panel presentation
on PTSD. The panel’s consensus
was that VA is operating at maximum
capacity and more resources are needed.
Getting Vets the Help They Need
Since it is widely recognized that PTSD
in recent vets has the potential to
become a significant problem, solutions
are coming from every angle.
Most recently, P.L. 109-114, the 2006
Military Quality of Life and Veterans
Affairs Appropriations Act, was signed
Nov. 30, 2005. It provides VA with $2.2
billion for specialty mental health care,
doubles the funding for mental health
research and creates three “centers for
excellence” for mental health/PTSD care.
In February, President Bush announced
that he would be seeking $80.6
billion for next year’s VA budget, a record
increase of more than 12% above the
current budget. $3.2 billion would go
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