Marine Darkhorse battalion gets additional mental health support

Darkhorse battalion gets additional support
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday May 15, 2011 8:17:09 EDT
SAN DIEGO — The men of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, returned home in mid-April to joyous reunions with families and friends — and under the close watch of medical and mental health experts.

That extra attention is by design, part of an ongoing effort by 1st Marine Division to cushion the transition home for a hard-hit battalion that spent seven months locked in bloody battles against Taliban forces.

Along with extra mental health support, 3/5 Marines will stay together at Camp Pendleton, Calif., for the first 90 days. That means no moves to other duty stations. The plan, top commanders said, is meant to keep squads and platoons together to decompress through the critical transition.

The infantry battalion suffered two dozen deaths by the time it returned home, with scores of men wounded, many still recovering from severe combat injuries.

The men of the battalion, nicknamed “Darkhorse,” arrived in Afghanistan by October 2010 and soon were mired in combat in Sangin district, at one point losing nine men over a four-day period from improvised explosive devices and small arms fire.

The pace of combat remained high in those first few months at war, which prompted Commandant Gen. Jim Amos to direct more support for the battalion, as well as their families, through the rest of the deployment and particularly the return home. The initial weeks and months after combat troops return home is when medical experts say they begin to see cases of post-traumatic stress, alcohol and substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, misconduct and risky behaviors.

“I’ve got to get across that it’s OK to look for help. That’s very hard to do for a 20-year-old,” said Maj. Gen. Mike Regner, 1st MARDIV’s commander, speaking during a break at the Navy-Marine Corps Combat and Operational Stress Conference meeting in San Diego.
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Darkhorse battalion gets additional support