Vance Air Force Base taking on PTSD work

Vance officials learn to deal with stress in a time of war

By Jeff Mullin

Senior Writer



In 2007 the number of U.S. service men and women diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder climbed 47 percent.

Nearly 14,000 cases were diagnosed in 2007 in all the services combined, up from around 9,500 in 2006.

The rising numbers have focused increased attention on the military’s mental health system and the way it deals with PTSD, defined by National Institute of Mental Health as “an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.”

Vance Air Force Base’s primary mission is pilot training, but that doesn’t mean Vance personnel aren’t being deployed. In fact, in 2007 approximately 115 Vance airmen were deployed to various parts of the world, including Iraq and Afghani-stan. At present, 25 troops are deployed from Vance.

Some of these deployments involve what are called “in lieu of” taskings, meaning airmen are sent to do jobs usually done by the Army, such as base security.

The men and women of Vance’s mental health clinic don’t see many cases of PTSD, but it is an issue they deal with.

“Sometimes they are not sleeping well, sometimes they are having difficulty re-integrating with their family,” said Maj. Ronald Johnson, Vance’s chief of mental health services.

“It’s been happening,” said Capt. Christy Cruz, a social worker with the Vance mental health clinic. “I can’t say there’s no PTSD here.”

Cruz recently returned from a two-week Depart-ment of Defense PTSD conference in Washington, D.C.
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