Canadian Military:Mental toll on soldiers skyrockets

Mental toll on soldiers skyrockets
More than 1 in 5 returning from Afghanistan suffer psychiatric problems, documents show

Apr 14, 2009 04:30 AM
Allan Woods
OTTAWA BUREAU

OTTAWA – More than one in five Canadian soldiers and police officers deployed to Afghanistan leave the force with post-traumatic stress or other psychiatric problems, and that figure is rapidly rising, the Toronto Star has learned.

By the end of last month, the number of soldiers and police officers discharged from the military and RCMP for psychological strain after tours in Afghanistan had reached 1,053, representing an increase of more than 50 per cent from 2008, a spokesperson for Veterans Affairs Canada told the Star.

The increase had been predicted in documents released under the Access to Information Act.

They had revealed that as of April 2008, 700 Canadian soldiers and Mounties who had served on the Afghan front lines – 19 per cent of all forces deployed – had qualified for medical release from the Canadian Forces or RCMP with a "pensionable psychiatric condition," but warned of a dramatic hike in those numbers.
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