Rumsfeld leaves DOD revamps mental health policy

[Monkeyman]

http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-mentallyunfit1128.artnov28,o,4622386.story

This could bring half of Iraq home!!!

The U.S. military has issued sweeping new mental-health guidelines that expand screening for troops being sent to war and set limits on when service members with psychiatric problems can be kept in combat.

The changes include a directive that troops who develop mental health problems during deployments should be sent home if their conditions do not improve significantly within two weeks of treatment.

Also, service members who are prescribed psychiatric medications less than three months before deploying will be disqualified from being sent to war unless there is evidence the drugs are working and have no significant side effects.

One out of four in Iraq are on meds and have PTSD if this order is enforced half or maybe more of the troops have to be sent home . HMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[Target_For_Exterm]

1. Also a way to cut costs. With PTSD, if it's not treated right

away (and you can't effectively do that in a combat zone that CAUSED the PTSD), then it becomes permanent and resistant as heck to all treatment options. Think of all the disabled vets drawing big $$$ from the government because of it. If they ignore the problem and force the soldiers back into battle, their long term costs escalate exponentially. Not to mention the long term damage to the military folks involved.

Whoever had the "bright" idea to send troops with PTSD back into combat were off THEIR freaking rocker.

[Monkeyman]

2. Short answer Rumsfeld sent them back

[Bucky]

3. Amazing what happens when there's a change in adminstration

You never know what smart ideas a bad manager (or stupid ideas a good manager) may be keeping bottled up. This was a backstab on the troops that never got publicity. They needed more bodies to rotate thru the meat grinder and so Rummy found this rule inconvenient and kyboshed it. Now some senior career bureaucrat (who's reached a level that he/she can effect real policy "adjustments") who wants to actually protect the troops is out from under Rumsfeld's thumb and places a sane regulation back into play.

Here's the 54,000 dollar question. How many of the recent spate of atrocities, civilian shootings, child rapes, prisoner abuse allegations were perpetrated by stressed out service personnel who should have been kept out of theatre for psychological reasons? Well, all of them, obviously. But how many were carried out by those who might have been protected from deployment under this rule? How many were medicated? How many should've been medicated?

The worst hits to American reputation have come from troops deliberately or carelessly taking civilian lives. If Rummy had simply prized protecting the troops over pushing his way thru the Pentagon's red tape, how many atrocities, suicides, careless mishaps, and severe PTSD cases might have been prevented?

If they're gonna treat the amry as their personal play things, shouldn't they at least learn to take care of their toys?