Pentagon plans national mental health campaign

Pentagon plans national mental health campaign
By PAULINE JELINEK and LOLITA BALDOR (Associated Press Writers)
From Associated Press
May 02, 2008 8:28 AM EDT
WASHINGTON - Senior military officers could be talking about their emotional struggles on YouTube and MySpace this year, in a Pentagon campaign to urge troops into counseling for wartime mental problems.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Thursday that getting therapy "is not going to count against" troops when they apply for national security clearances.

A new policy on security clearances and the idea of a planned national awareness campaign on mental illness are efforts by a Defense Department struggling to care for the many thousands of troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with emotional wounds.

Part of the problem is changing a military culture that equates such problems with weakness and so stigmatizes those getting treatment.

"It's time for leaders of all stripes to step forward and lead by example, when it comes to mental health issues," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen told a Pentagon press conference.

"You can't expect a private or a specialist to be willing to seek counseling when his or her captain or colonel or general won't do it," he said.

"I've talked with a number of (senior leaders) already and we already have folks who are standing up and ready to come forward and tell their story," said Col. Lorree Sutton, an Army psychiatrist who heads a new center for psychological health and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

"We can talk about how important it is," she said. "Ultimately, troops and families - they want to see leaders walking that talk."

The two spoke at a Pentagon press conference after Gates announced at Fort Bliss, Texas, that uniformed and civilian Pentagon employees would no longer be forced to reveal all previous mental health treatment when applying for national security clearances.

Visiting a recovery center for PTSD, Gates called the illness one of the "unseen wounds" of war. He said there are two issues in dealing with it, the first is the task of developing care and treatment.

"The second, and in some ways perhaps equally challenging, is to remove the stigma that is associated with PTSD and to encourage soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen who encounter these problems to seek help," he said.

Gates later told a gathering of nearly 900 command sergeants major and instructors at Fort Bliss that they have a special role in encouraging soldiers to seek help.

"Let them know that doing so is a sign of strength and maturity," Gates said, shortly after he toured the base's mental health treatment facility. "I urge all of you to talk with those below you to find out where we can continue to improve."

Up to 20 percent of the more than 1.6 million troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are estimated to have anxiety, depression, PTSD and other mental problems.

Yet officials say roughly half don't get help because they fear it will keep them from getting security clearances, will stifle their careers, or embarrass them before their commanders and buddies.

"It's way past time, some seven years into this war, that we recognize the toll it's taking inside our minds, as well as outside our bodies, and to deal with that reality in a measured, mature and thoughtful manner," Mullen said.

Sutton said a national campaign to discuss treatment, seek solutions, develop support networks and so on later is still in the planning stages.

Asked how many leaders might come forward and what forum they might use, she said a campaign could use print and broadcast media. "We also want to use the modalities that our warriors, our troops and our families use, so we're planning to harness the power of YouTube, MySpace, Second Life, podcasting, all manner of ways, because it's so important to get this message out."

Officials also are considering setting up a Web site "linking up mentors, families perhaps that may be living across the country from each other but who have similar interest, maybe similar concerns, similar backgrounds who would like to support each other," Sutton said.
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