We are all aware that the rate of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is extremely high among soldiers who have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly among those who have served multiple tours of duty. The constant stress of combat situations among all levels of troops, whether officially designated as combat or not, due to the use of improvised explosive devices as the primary weapon of those who oppose the presence of our forces, does more than cause a “psychological” problem. High levels of stress cause actual physical changes to the brain and the body. Up tuntil recently the military’s primary response to many soldiers with PTSD was to sweep the problem under the rug, which has resulted in devastating consequences, including increased rates of suicide and violent, homicidal incidents by stressed out soldiers after returning home.
So what is the Pentagon’s new response to this deadly epidemic among our military service members? You won’t believe how inadequate it is (or maybe you will):
PHILADELPHIA — The Army plans to require that all 1.1 million of its soldiers take intensive training in emotional resiliency, military officials say.
What the hell does that mean? Read on brothers and sisters, read on.
The training, the first of its kind in the military, is meant to improve performance in combat and head off the mental health problems, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, that plague about one-fifth of troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. […]
The new program is to be introduced at two bases in October and phased in gradually throughout the service, starting in basic training. It is modeled on techniques that have been tested mainly in middle schools.
Usually taught in weekly 90-minute classes, the methods seek to defuse or expose common habits of thinking and flawed beliefs that can lead to anger and frustration — for example, the tendency to assume the worst. (“My wife didn’t answer the phone; she must be with someone else.”) […]
In an open exchange at an early training session here last week, General Casey asked a group of sergeants what they thought of the new training. Did it seem too touchy-feely?
“I believe so, sir,” said one, standing to address the general. He said a formal class would be a hard sell to a young private “who all he wants to do is hang out with his buddies and drink beer.”
Does anyone think that a program designed to work with middle school kids is going to be adequate to prepare soldiers for the severe stresses they will face in Iraq and Afghanistan? And that’s not just my intuitive response to this “program,” that’s the opinion of professional psychologists quoted by the Times’ reporters:
In recent studies, psychologists at Penn and elsewhere have found that the techniques can reduce mental distress in some children and teenagers. But outside experts cautioned that the Army program was more an experiment than a proven solution.
“It’s important to be clear that there’s no evidence that any program makes soldiers more resilient,” said George A. Bonanno, a psychologist at Columbia University. But he and others said the program could settle one of the most important questions in psychology: whether mental toughness can be taught in the classroom.
So, we’re spending 17 million dollars on an experiment? Turning our troops into lab rats? Hoping it works? A program which has perhaps helped “some” children and teenagers “reduce mental distress?” Something tells me this is a woefully inadequate response to a massive problem. And what good does it do to for those troops who already suffer from stress and mental and behavioral disorders as a result of previous deployments? Soldiers we keep sending back into war zones regardless of their “invisible” injuries?
I’d love to see these “techniques” succeed, but count me as someone whose gut is telling him this is just a “cover your ass” response by the brass instituted primarily for their own benefit. Now they can point to this program when questioned by Congress or the media about the high rates of PTSD. I suspect whether it actually works or not is irrelevant to them. In my opinion this is all about creating the perception that they care about the problem and are doing something about it. Considering that sergeants who already distrust “touchy-feely” approaches to stress disorders will be the people providing this training rather than experienced psychologists and counselors, and I think you have little chance that these techniques will provide any benefit to soldiers in the field. At least that’s how it strikes me.
