The Do-Nothing Congress has actually done something.
A Hartford Courant article by Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman said that Congressional leaders had signed a piece of legislation last Friday “that would require the U.S. military to expand mental health screenings for combat troops and establish clear mental-fitness standards for deployment to war zones.”
The fact that this situation had to come down to legislation is disturbing, to say the least. Soldiers mentally unfit for duty were being sent back for second and third tours of duty in Iraq, leading to disastrous consequences, including suicides. The legislation stipulates that more through mental health screening reviews must take place before service members are deemed fit for deployment. Standards should be set to determine if a service member needs to be referred for a mental health review, according to the legislation overview provided by the Courant. The legislation also said that mental health minimum standards should be developed for sending troops into combat.
The legislation was an amendment which was attached to the defense authorization bill approved by a conference committee of members of the House and Senate. This was one piece of added legislation that was worthy of being an attachment, rather than the usual diet of Washington pork.
The Courant reported on the lack of oversight with regard to the mental health of U.S. soldiers in a special report series entitled “MENTALLY UNFIT, FORCED TO FIGHT.” The paper reported that, according to Defense Department records, fewer than 1 in 300 troops that were being deployed were referred for evaluations. The Army itself acknowledged in studies that more than 9 percent of deploying troops had serious psychiatric problems, according to the Courant, yet only 0.3 percent of every 300 troops deployed were referred for evaluations.
Some troops were sent back to Iraq despite suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Some soldiers were even retained in combat without any counseling for their mental health issues. The Courant reported that the U.S. comptroller general must evaluate whether the military is following the new law and report to Congress in early 2008 under the new legislation.
While the legislation is certainly a step in the right direction, it must be implemented immediately, regardless of the fact that it’s election season.
SOURCE
Chekedel, Lisa and Matthew Kauffman. “Action Set on Troops’ Health.” Hartford Courant, Oct. 2, 2006.
Kevin D. Roberts 2006 Graduate – University of Connecticut – B.A. Journalism/Political Science Torrington, CT 06790
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kevin_Roberts/35998
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