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It is hard to believe, but fewer than a hundred years ago, European combat soldiers who developed tremors and nightmares were executed as traitors or branded as weaklings.
Thankfully, we have made significant progress since then. We now know that it is normal for servicemembers to develop traumatic reactions when they return from war. We are no longer surprised that some experience difficulty adjusting back in their communities and may even experience mental health problems. We are not shocked that, as a result, divorce rates for returning soldiers have skyrocketed. And we cannot escape headlines about combat veterans involved in acts of violence and even tragic instances of suicide after experiencing the hardship of war.
Yet, despite our greater understanding, our nation still has a long way to go in recognizing the mental health needs of our returning heroes. Furthermore, our military engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan, with its heavy reliance on Reserve and Guard forces, and extended deployments and re-deployments, present uncharted territory for soldiers' mental health.
Currently, there are 140,000 troops in Iraq alone; 40 percent are either Reservists or National Guard troops. And many of these individuals must stay on well beyond their discharge date-sometimes for an additional 18 months. These hard-working soldiers are not full-time military personnel and have not received the level of training and preparation necessary to manage these circumstances. Armed conflict, death of unit members, threat of capture, long stretches away from home, extreme physical conditions and other circumstances all wear on these troops-ultimately putting them at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety or substance abuse.
The statistics are compelling: more than 30 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq report mental health problems, according to government studies. Anxiety, depression, nightmares, anger and inability to concentrate: these problems emerge immediately after soldiers leave the theater. But more serious and dangerous problems often lay dormant, surfacing months-if not years-later, with potentially long-term consequences.
While a servicemember may escape physical injury and appear to return home "safely," he or she remains at high risk of adjustment problems and, in many cases, PTSD, an often debilitating condition that can occur after exposure to...