A Caveat to PTSD // December 4, 2006

The story featured a couple soldiers who were suffering from "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." The investigation takes place at Ft Carson. It follows a soldier that is suicidal and has been discharged from the Army. They reference several others both in and out of current service.

The story makes several observances:

1. There are soldiers that are not getting treatment from mental health professionals.
2. There are supervisors that are not allowing soldiers get the help they need even causing them to miss appointments.
3. That the Army's screening process is not being used properly.

To these issues I would make some caveats. I cannot speak to what happens at Ft Carson but I can however speak from my own experience. I trust this provides another side to this story.

1. The fact is: the Army is a huge, bureaucratic institution through whose wide cracks many a soldier has fallen. Usually, given the opportunity, the situation can be fixed. I can't count the times where a soldier come into my office bitter and angry - saying such things as, "the Army hates me or the Army does not care." Reality check - the "Army" is only as good as the people assigned to run it. Every story has two... three.... sometimes four sides!! I would listen patiently to the soldier, allow him to vent a little and the get to the bottom of the issue. MANY times it was a simple misunderstanding and when the soldier was connected to the right people it got solved. This was not always the case, but more times than not, within a few hours and a couple phone calls we were able to get the soldier heading in the right direction.

Sometimes, the soldier was genuinely trying to "work the system" and was attempting to use me to do it. Usually, this was quickly figured out and a solution was found. I suppose the old adage, "take this with a grain of salt" is what is most needed here.

All that said, sometimes, soldiers get a royal screwing. It happens. In that case, I hope they have a good chaplain or health care professional that will take on their cause.

2. Commanders never get a break! I have worked for several and with many on the company, platoon, squad and team level. They are constantly balancing two very important realities:

a. They have to do the mission. Its their job! Its what the President/Congress and the People of the United States expect of them! They are the ones that have the responsibility of going themselves and sending their beloved soldiers in the the jaws of death. They personally bear the responsibility of any harm that might befall their soldiers. They are the ones that send letters the family after a death, they are the ones that have to look at another face of someone they care about, have worked alongside of and tell them to move out. ITS HARD!! I have seen commanders in private just shake and shed tears - wishing they could just go and do the mission themselves. But that is not given to them. They bear the responsibility of life and death for their soldiers. I can tell you this from a Chaplain's Heart - there is no one that bears a death harder in a Battalion, Company, Platoon than the Commanders and leaders of that unit. But, this is the Army, and, as always, its "Mission First."

b. They also have the moral injunction to look out for their soldiers. They are, after all, soldiers themselves. Sometimes this is lost I must admit, however, by and large, Commanders, NCOs and leaders have their soldiers best interests at heart. Its bears noting that the occupation of soldiering itself does not have the soldier's best interests at heart! "Taking care of joe" is a phrase I very often hear at staff meetings. Whether joe believes it or not - their commanders try very hard to take the best care of them.

That said, here is the situation - The Commander/leader is charged with training for the next deployment. It is, at its heart, a matter of life or death - the soldiers need the training! They have to go to the field and they have to train for war. On the other hand, the soldier needs to be taken care of - he needs to have emotional care in the same way he needs physical care.

I believe that both can be accomplished. The leader needs to recognize that he/she needs to "do what it takes" to get their soldiers the care they need. Take the care to the training area. Too often, joe just sits about with nothing to do while they wait for something to happen - give him some training for his heart. Perhaps *gasp* counselors could come to the field to meet the soldiers where they are at. Are they not soldiers too? During our stay at God's gift (ooh, did I say gift, I might have meant something else...) to mankind that is Camp Stryker, a Lt. Chitaphong and I did just that. We did our best to see that the infantry soldier had the care he needed at the time and place he needed it. It didn't always work and some fell through the safety net we laid out - but it can be done. Often, in the Army its not that the program is not there - its that the program is so lock-stepped that the ones who need it most do not have access to it.

3. I would note here that no screening process works perfectly. No safety net can catch everyone. In the end, its the soldier's responsibility to reach out for help. My experience with this same catch-all screening system was this: I was given a choice whether or not I wanted to get some counseling and I chose not to at that time. At any time (and I have soldiers that have been greatly helped here) a soldier can reach out to "Army One Source" and get the care he needs. We as chaplains (Esp those of us who are returning Guard Chaplains) need to work closely with this resource and get our soldiers the help they need.

In the story I heard a complaint that I very often hear from leaders, namely, "I went through the same (enter any expletive you desire) that you did and I don't have issues..." Here, I must encourage the leader to recognize that each of us must walk through this life differently. Show me five soldiers that go through a traumatic experience and I will show you six or seven ways in how a person is affected and deals personally with that experience. Feelings are just that - feelings. They cannot be controlled. Reactions to those feelings can be manipulated but I am telling you that I have seen men who never cry - cry after some experiences. I have seen men who really need to vent frustrations, fears or depression "man up" and "just deal with it" to their own detriment. Life is something we all must face. The least we could do is face it together.

I am not a Mental Health professional. I am not a professional counselor. I am a Chaplain. I consider myself on the Triage line in the mental health world. I have had the privilege to work closely with my brothers in the psychologist world and have found them to be competent, caring and professional in helping my soldiers. Some soldiers don't want to talk to a doctor - they want a pastor - thats where I fit in.

In this story, I heard my own soldiers. I heard my own frustrations. Chaplains, get your soldier the help they need. You may be the only one keeping them from going over the edge.