Blaming the troops is easy way out

Blaming the troops is easy way out
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 6, 2014

How did this headline "Nearly 1 in 5 had mental illness before enlisting in Army, study says The study raises questions about the military's screening of recruits. Another study looks at rising suicide rates among soldiers" end up being all that is reported? Because they didn't care about what the rest of the story was. It was just a lot easier to leave people thinking a large percentage of the troops were already mentally ill than it was to discover the truth.

Description
The Pre-Deployment Health Assessment (Pre-DHA), DD 2795, is a two-part comprehensive health screening required by all Soldiers and Department of the Army (DA) Civilians deploying in support of any contingency operation to a location outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) without a fixed Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) for a period of 30 days or more. This assessment is comprised of physical and mental health questions aimed at determining the medical readiness of any individual scheduled for an upcoming deployment.

The Pre-DHA must be completed within 60 days prior to deployment. Part 1 of the Pre-DHA consists of a self-assessment questionnaire and can be accessed online through the My Medical portion of AKO under the Self Service tab. Part 2 is completed through a one-on-one confidential interview with a qualified health care provider. The Pre-DHA is not complete until it is signed by a health care provider.

For OCONUS deployments of less than 30 days, OCONUS deployments to areas with fixed U.S. MTFs, and CONUS deployments, it is the operational commander’s decision whether a DD 2795 is required. USCENTCOM encourages personnel traveling to the theater for 15 or more days to complete a DD 2795 and those who travel frequently to complete at least one DD 2795 each year.

DD 2795, Pre-Deployment Health Assessment, May 1999

Department of Defense
INSTRUCTION
NUMBER 6490.12 February 26, 2013 Incorporating Change 1, Effective October 2, 2013 USD(P and R)
Mental Health Assessments for Service Members Deployed in Connection with a Contingency Operation See Enclosure 1

1. PURPOSE. This instruction, in accordance with the authority in DoD Directive 5124.02 (Reference (a)):

a. Establishes the policy for person-to-person deployment mental health assessments for each member of the Military Services deployed in connection with a contingency operation according to Section 1074m of Title 10, United States Code (Reference (b)).
b. Implements policy for serial deployment mental health assessments in accordance with the Secretary of Defense Memorandum (Reference (c)).
c. Incorporates and cancels Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (ASD(HA)) Memorandum (Reference (d)) and Directive-type Memorandum 11-011 (Reference (e)).

2. APPLICABILITY. This instruction applies to OSD, the Military Departments, (including the Coast Guard at all times, including when it is a Service in the Department of Homeland Security by agreement with that Department), the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff, the combatant commands, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, the Defense Agencies, the DoD Field Activities, and all other organizational entities within the DoD.

3. POLICY. It is DoD policy that person-to-person deployment mental health assessments be conducted for each Service member deployed in connection with a contingency operation, subject to the limited exceptions provided in this instruction. The mental health assessments will be conducted during four time frames in a consistent manner across the Military Services and will be administered at least 90 days apart:

a. Within 120 days before the estimated date of deployment.
b. Between 90 and 180 days after return from deployment.
c. Between 181 days and 18 months after return from deployment.
d. Between 18 and 30 months after return from deployment.

4. RESPONSIBILITIES. See Enclosure 2. 5. PROCEDURES. See Enclosure 3.
6. RELEASABILITY. Unlimited. This instruction is approved for public release and is available on the Internet from the DoD Issuances Website at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives.
7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This instruction:

a. Is effective February 26, 2013.
b. Must be reissued, cancelled, or certified current within 5 years of its publication to be considered current in accordance with DoD Instruction (DoDI) 5025.01 (Reference (f)).
c. If not, it wWill expire effective February 26, 2023 and be removed from the DoD Issuances Website if it hasn’t been reissued or cancelled in accordance with Reference (f).

The truth is, they were tested and retested and retested. The truth is billions have been spent on "prevention" "mental health" and the list goes on but in the end, suicides increased and they can't explain any of this because they will hold no one accountable for any of this. Blaming the troops is just easier than investigating what the truth is.