Deputies To Learn About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Deputies To Learn About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Law Enforcement Often First Professionals To Come In Contact With Ailing Soldiers
Last updated Sunday, September 20, 2009 11:55 PM CDT in News
By Anna Fry
THE MORNING NEWS

Benton County Sheriff's Office deputies will learn about veterans and post-traumatic stress disorder during special training scheduled for October.

"We're not going to turn them into mental health experts," said Vaughn DeCoster, team leader with the Fayetteville Veterans Center. "It's kind of sensitivity training, if you will."

DeCoster and two Veterans Affairs-affiliated nurses are providing the training. The training is mandatory for all deputies in the field, who are the sheriff's office employees most likely to deal with people with the disorder, said Capt. Mike Jones.

Deputies recently responded to a disturbance involving a recently-returned soldier with the disorder, Jones said. The man's family was complimentary of the deputies' handling of the situation but recommended training, he said.

The Sheriff's Office approached the center about the training and it's the first time it's been done, DeCoster said. The purpose is to educate deputies about soldiers returning from war and the community resources to which deputies can refer them.

The area doesn't have any big active-duty bases near, so soldiers returning from war can go unnoticed in public, he said.

"There are people out there that are suffering silently," DeCoster said.

All soldiers returning from war must decompress and adjust, he said. Just because soldiers are returning from combat and show symptoms doesn't mean they have post-traumatic stress disorder
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http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2009/09/21/news/092109bzptsd.txt