Mullen: PTSD Testing is for Generals Too Posted by Ilan Goldenberg

Here is how the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs views the issue of PTSD.

The Pentagon's top uniformed officer is calling for all returning combat troops, from privates to generals, to undergo screening for post-traumatic stress with a mental health professional, a move aimed at stemming an epidemic of psychological issues among veterans.

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there's a reluctance to acknowledge psychological problems for fear of showing weakness. Troops now fill out questionnaires after combat tours that help determine if they have suffered psychological damage. They're examined by medical professionals for physical injuries, but not by mental health experts.

"I'm at a point where I believe we have to give a (mental health) screening to everybody to help remove the stigma of raising your hand," Mullen said. "Leaders must lead on this issue or it will affect us dramatically down the road."

This is exactly the right attitude.  It's what needs to be done to ensure that our veterans are getting the help they need instead of suffering in silence for fear of being embarrassed or stigmatized.  As is often the case with mental conditions, the most important thing is to acknowledge you have a problem so that you can get help and our policies and procedures need to be encouraging vets to acknowledge their problems.  It just puts into a greater context these truly disturbing comments by Cindy McCain.

Q: You met your husband after his POW days. To what extent is that still with you - or is it a part of history?

CINDY McCAIN: My husband will be the first one to tell you that that's in the past. Certainly it's a part of who he is, but he doesn't dwell on it. It's not part of a daily experience that we experience or anything like that. But it has shaped him. It has made him the leader that he is.

Q: But no cold sweats in the middle of the night?

CINDY McCAIN: Oh, no, no, no, no, no. My husband, he'd be the first one to tell you that he was trained to do what he was doing. The guys who had the trouble were the 18-year-olds who were drafted. He was trained, he went to the Naval Academy, he was a trained United States naval officer, and so he knew what he was doing.

Brandon Friedman at Vetvoice breaks down why her comments are so problematic:

Finally, I'm not even sure where to begin with the idea that only young draftees get hit with PTSD.  That statement is so Palin-esque in its breadth of ignorance that if you said it in a room full of soldiers, you'd be able to hear a pin drop at the end of, "so he knew what he was doing."   In two sentences, Cindy McCain manages to insult not only every combat veteran in history who didn't attend the Naval Academy, but also the thousands of veterans who quietly live their lives, tolerating PTSD each and every day.  I really should expand on this as the centerpiece of my post, but it makes my head hurt to really think about the implications of the comment. 

It's good to see that the military is starting to take a proactive approach to a very serious issue.  It's just sad that Cindy McCain's views on this are still so backward.

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