Montana Model for Assessing Returning Vets for PTSD and TBI

Before Barack Obama became President, he met with Matt Kuntz because he heard about the great work the Montana National Guard was doing to prevent suicides and address PTSD. President Obama gave me the most hope I've ever had the PTSD will be taken seriously, finally, and that the DOD and the VA will be given what they need to address it. Readers of this blog know this is one of the biggest reasons I supported him and still do.

We talk a lot about the death count when wars are going on but we hardly mention the true tally when they come home wounded by what they went through. So far, no other president has taken any of this untold price paid seriously enough. Had any of them been as involved in PTSD, there would be very few suicides of veterans, no veteran being discharged under Personality Disorder or other misdiagnoses, no veteran turned away when they seek help and total public awareness of what PTSD is. PTSD is a killer and it is time it was treated like the enemy instead of the men and women it wounds.

Barack Talks to Vets in Billings
By Zach in Helena - Aug 28th, 2008 at 1:52 pm EDT
Senator Obama spoke to a group of veterans and military families yesterday at Riverfront Park in Billings. He spoke at length on the failures of the current administration to take care of the nation’s veterans, before taking questions from the audience on a variety of issues. You can watch his remarks about veterans, energy, and the VA system here.
What's going on right now, the simple fact is we're not doing right by our veterans. Not here in Montana, and not anywhere in the United States, and I want you to know that one of the reasons I'm running for president of the United States is because I want to make sure that today's veterans are treated like my grandfather was, when he came home, he got the GI Bill and was able to go to college and got FHA loans to go to school and was treated with honor. As President I'm going to make sure that the VA system in Montana gets the oversight, direction, and resources it needs to do the job. [Watch the video]

Before he spoke, Senator Obama talked privately with the family of Spc. Chris Dana, a Montana National Guard veteran who suffered from Posttraumatic stress disorder and committed suicide in 2007, shortly after returning from Iraq. His stepbrother, Matt Kuntz, has became an advocate for better treatment of PTSD.

Montana Model for Assessing Returning Vets for PTSD and TBI
Wednesday 18 February 2009
by: Eric Newhouse, t r u t h o u t Perspective
Montana is becoming a model state for assessing its returning combat vets for PTSD and TBI.

Following the suicide two years ago of a recently deployed combat vet, Montana has become a model for accessing and assisting veterans who show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). While the plan doesn't go nearly far enough, it's one that I understand the Obama administration is seriously considering for nationwide implementation - and it would be an excellent first step.

Montana's reforms started after Chris Dana, a specialist with the 163rd Infantry of the Montana National Guard, returned from combat, began isolating himself from family and friends, and quit attending Guard drills. His commanders told him to get his act together or they'd run him out of the Guard. Dana received a less-than-honorable discharge a few months later and put a bullet through his brain on March 4, 2007. That occurred as I was flying to New York City to help judge the Pulitzer Prizes at Columbia University; after I got back to Montana, I've covered this story ever since.

In a highly patriotic state - Montana has the second-highest ratio of vets in its population, trailing only Alaska - Dana's suicide was an outrage. His stepbrother Matt Kuntz, a former Army officer and attorney in Helena, stirred the pot with angry guest editorials in Montana's newspapers.

"I may sound pretty damn angry and bitter, and I am," Kuntz told me at the time. "We should have fixed this before. And the clock is ticking. If you think there aren't people out there right now staring at their guns, you're wrong."

Stung by the public reaction, Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Adjutant General Randy Mosley convened a panel, solicited suggestions for reform, and adopted them all within about 15 months. Many of the reforms broke new ground within the National Guard Bureau because they set a new standard. They also cost more money to implement.

Probably most important was that soldiers returning from deployment receive a mental health assessment every six months for the first two years after their return. Counselors probe for signs of stress, including anxieties, sleep disorders, family problems and excessive alcohol use. It's a mandatory requirement, so it reduces the stigma of a soldier reaching out for help with an emotional disorder. And it recognizes that many soldiers don't begin to experience the symptoms of PTSD or TBI until they've been home for six months to a year.

Second was the creation of crisis response teams made up of unit officers, NCOs, personnel officers and a chaplain. When a soldier quits coming to drill, they're activated to find out why and provide help. They can also respond to concerns voiced by family members of other soldiers.

In addition to that, TriWest Healthcare has provided the funding to station counselors with the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard during their drill weekends. They're on hand to talk with personnel and observe. The theory is that soldiers feel more comfortable talking with counselors in a less formal setting, and it seems to be working because TriWest has recently renewed its one-year pilot program.
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