Gates acknowledges stress on families

Gates acknowledges stress on families

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Oct 23, 2008 17:25:43 EDT

Defense Secretary Robert Gates today acknowledged the stress that the extended wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are placing on military families, saying the Pentagon is concerned and monitoring “very closely” the domestic violence that can result.

“We’re obviously very concerned about stress on the force, and particularly those [troops] that have deployed multiple times,” Gates told reporters following a day of briefings during his first-ever visit to Fort Bragg, N.C. “We obviously want to stop all kinds of violence among our soldiers and their families.”

Three Fort Bragg female soldiers and one Marine have been killed off post in the past year. While no definite link has been established between those deaths and combat stress, many experts and analysts point to numerous incidents nationwide in concluding that the wars’ long deployments and shorter recuperation times are increasing levels of alcohol and drug abuse, and the domestic violence that can result.

Gates said he receives a monthly report from the Army, the most heavily deployed force, on levels of domestic violence, alcohol-related incidents and divorce rates.

“We and the Army are monitoring it very carefully,” he said. “We have a lot of programs in place to try and deal with this.”

Those programs, he said, seek ways to better identify and treat post-traumatic stress disorder, which “often can lead to some of these problems.”

Gates said the Pentagon is committed to better understanding PTSD as well as traumatic brain injury — both hallmark injuries of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan due to insurgent attacks with roadside bombs. A total of $900 million has been budgeted in the new fiscal year to combat and treat PTSD and TBI, with $300 million of that devoted to research, he said.
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