Stress Disorder, Brain Injury Science Lacking Still

Chiarelli: Stress Disorder, Brain Injury Science Lacking

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 12, 2011 – The therapies used for the treatment of brain injuries lag behind the advanced medical science employed for treating mechanical injuries, such as missing limbs, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli told reporters here today at the Defense Writers Group breakfast.

Chiarelli said more work must be done to properly diagnose and treat service members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and suicidal thoughts.
“There’s a lot of criticism with how we handle PTSD and TBI and other behavioral health issues,” he said. “I think a lot of that is unfair, because if you study this, we don’t know as much about the brain. That is the basis of the problem.”

Meanwhile, Chiarelli said, the stigma that some service members associate with actively seeking treatment for mental health issues is still active.

“Breaking the stigma of mental health issues is the hardest part,” the general acknowledged.
Chiarelli said military medicine has been very successful in replacing injured service members’ lost arms and limbs with high-tech prosthetics in tandem with rehabilitation training.

“None of you has asked what we’re able to do with soldiers who lose arms and legs,” Chiarelli told reporters. “I’ve been using my bully pulpit in the last year or so to say that as an agency we do everything we can to understand the brain as we do the rest of the body.”

Chiarelli said progress has been made in diagnosing and treating PTSD and TBI, though he acknowledged that much work remains.

“We’re beginning to get some traction,” Chiarelli said of new information provided by recent studies of PTSD and TBI issues. The general said he’s “harkened” by the Army and National Mental Health Institute all-soldier study of PTSD and TBI, now into its third month.

“We’re starting to get back some data,” he said. “I feel good about it.”

The study starts with monitoring new trainees -- a process that has never been done before, the general said. The Army study, he added, will track soldiers during their careers to monitor them for potential risks.
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Stress Disorder, Brain Injury Science Lacking

This is one more case of what is still being done wrong.

Family seeks changes to VA treatment rules following soldier's death
Published: Monday, May 09, 2011, 9:00 AM
By Holly Setter
Booth Mid-Michigan

BAY CITY — U.S. Army Pfc. Kyle Brooks didn’t die while serving his country in Iraq, but his family says the experience is what ultimately killed him.

Now, family members are taking action and speaking out about the soldier’s death, hoping to prevent further loss of life.

Brooks, a 23-year-old Bay City native, served in Iraq from November 2008 to June 2009. He returned home suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, a form of anxiety that can occur after a person has seen or experienced a traumatic event.

In February, Brooks committed suicide, leaving behind a wife and 2-year-old son. His family buried him April 25 in St. Patrick Cemetery in Bay City.

Family members say Brooks still would be alive had he received the care and support he needed.
“They were treating him for PTSD while he was still over there (in Iraq),” said Mark Charters of Midland, Brooks’ uncle. “They gave him an honorable discharge, a month’s worth of pills and then told him that he wasn’t eligible for help at the VA hospital because he hadn’t served 24 months of active duty.”

The law regarding benefits for veterans does say that a member of the military “must have 24 months continuous active duty military service,” although there are a number of exceptions, including treatment for service-related conditions.

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Family seeks changes to VA treatment rules following soldier's death

Yesterday when I read this story I couldn't believe it. (It is one of the posts that Blogger lost somehow) How can something like this happen especially after all the DOD has claimed they have learned about PTSD? Who dropped the ball on making sure this honorably discharged wounded soldier got what he not only needed, but what he paid the price for? What is worse, since Brooks was discharged before he committed suicide, his death won't even be counted by the DOD or the VA.