Combat stress no longer personal battle Published May 21, 2008 Nellis AFB Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- As today's Air Force sees Airmen constantly deploying to meet wartime taskings, it sees friends lost, loved ones distanced, and tolls taken on mental and emotional health. Fortunately, today's Air Force also sees avenues to combat the stresses placed on personnel and families. May marks Mental Health Month, and military leaders are continually making strides to provide competent health coverage and encourage personnel to seek any help they need. In a speech to Soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas on May 1, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates recognized the importance of getting professional help, without the stigma. "We all know not every Soldier returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is getting the treatment they need," Secretary Gates said. Therefore, he said a number of screening procedures have been put in place to try to make sure no one slips through the cracks. The Department of Defense is also working to get rid of the stigma associated with seeking professional help for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, starting with a new policy that won't prevent anyone from gaining security clearances due to mental-health treatment for PTSD. According to Secretary Gates, the DoD's goal is to encourage Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen who encounter these problems to seek help. "Seeking mental-health care due to post-traumatic stress will no longer be seen as an obstacle to getting a government security clearance," he said. "We hope this will encourage more men and women in uniform to seek help." "We have no higher priority in the Department of Defense, apart from the war itself, than taking care of our men and women in uniform who have been wounded -- who have both visible and unseen wounds," he said. As part of the DoD's initiative to provide proficient care, it sponsors the Mental Health Self-Assessment Program, administered by Screening for Mental Health, Inc. MHSAP offers service members of all branches, to include the National Guard and Reserve, and their families, access to anonymous, self-directed mental health and alcohol education and screening. The program is designed to help individuals identify their own symptoms and get assistance before a problem becomes serious. The self-assessments address PTSD, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, alcohol use, and bipolar disorder, and are offered online, via telephone, and through special events held at installations. After completing a self-assessment, individuals receive referral information including services provided through the DoD and Veterans Affairs. Since the program's launch in 2006, more than 80,000 screenings have been completed. To take a free, anonymous self-assessment, visit www.MilitaryMentalHealth.org or call 1-877-877-3647. To contact a mental health professional at Nellis, call (702) 653-3880. (Information compiled from www.defenselink.mil, www.health.mil, and Screening for Mental Health, Inc.)
