“Thirty-one guys of 100 were on anti-depressants by the end,” Charlie Company

“Thirty-one guys of 100 were on anti-depressants by the end,” Hoffman said. “We kind of pushed it a little. We stretched it because that’s what they’re doing in the civilian world.”

The meds, he said, helped. After seeing five men killed and 22 wounded in one day, Hoffman himself went on Celexa after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. When he stops taking it, he said, his own anger bubbles to the top. But with it, he feels calm.

Getting the pain out in the open

Debriefings, therapy help soldiers grieve

Posted : Sunday Dec 2, 2007 16:44:43 EST

After an improvised explosive device demolished a 30-ton Bradley, killing six men, Chaplain (Capt.) Ed Choi gathered the men of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, for a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing.

When a unit experiences a catastrophic event, a chaplain or mental health professional talks them through what they’ve experienced in the belief that reliving the event right away will help them deal with it better later. The debriefings also help chaplains discern which soldiers may need more attention.

“At first they’re hesitant, and then everyone starts talking,” said Maj. Scott Riedel, brigade chaplain for 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, to whom Charlie Company was attached when the June 21 tragedy occurred. “It may seem cruel, but in all honesty, they’re all thinking about it anyway. We are the healthy way of getting this out.”

Chaplains perform the debriefing, but Riedel said it’s more of an additional duty than part of their religious duties.

“We don’t pray before and we don’t pray after,” he said. “It’s just the chaplain who does the CISD.”

Some chaplains perform an immediate “diffusing” session — within hours of an incident — that consists of just a quick “what happened,” with no major detail.

“I don’t think diffusings work as well,” he said. “Their minds are not there — they’re not ready. You have to give them one day to grieve.”

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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/12/bloodbrothersside2/