Boxer, Obama, and Bond Remain Troubled by State of Mental Health Care Services for Soldiers at Ft. Carson
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Printable FormatFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Natalie Ravitz (Boxer) Shana Marchio (Bond)
Ben LaBolt (Obama) Rob Sawicki (Lieberman)
Clinton press office
Amy Brundage/Vincent Morris (Kerry)
Washington, D.C.—A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators led by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Barack Obama (D-IL), and Kit Bond (R-MO) today expressed deep concern to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates about the state of mental health care services for soldiers at Ft. Carson, Colorado.
In December, the Senators wrote to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs William Winkenwerder after National Public Radio (NPR) aired a story detailing the failure of officials at Ft. Carson to provide adequate treatment for soldiers suffering from service-connected mental health problems, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
And last week, the Senators, along with Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and John Kerry (D-MA), dispatched their staff to Ft. Carson to meet with soldiers and commanding officers to investigate allegations of inadequate mental health care for troops.
“Our troops are risking their lives for this country, and the sad reality is they are not being given the mental health care services they need and deserve to stay healthy and strong,” Senator Boxer said. “This problem is not unique to Ft. Carson—clearly we need to be doing more across the board to improve mental health services for our Armed Forces, and to do that we need a strong commitment from the Secretary of Defense. The health and well being of our service members must be a priority for the Pentagon and for all Americans."
“A growing number of service members at Ft. Carson and throughout our military hospitals are returning from war with serious psychological injuries that must not go untreated, to say nothing of those who are going undiagnosed and falling between the cracks,” said Senator Obama. “We must implement comprehensive reforms that boost mental health resources and training at our military bases, reduce the strain on our troops and provide early detection, treatment and counseling for those who are affected. That's why I've called for individual, face-to-face mental health screenings for all returning service members and for important new pre and post-deployment screenings for traumatic brain injuries.”
“When it comes to the poor treatment of some of our soldiers returning from combat, the revelations presented to my staff make Walter Reed look like a minor plot in a greater tragedy,” said Senator Bond. “The military’s handling of some soldiers suffering from mental health problems is unacceptable. We cannot allow the government to continue to fail these soldiers and their families who have sacrificed so much for this country.”
“We have no greater moral obligation than to provide the best care to our soldiers,” Senator Lieberman said. “Many of them are facing mental health issues and we must provide them with timely and state-of-the-art care. I was pleased by the commitment of the leadership at Ft. Carson to investigate any mishandling of service members’ cases and I am committed to working with them and my Senate colleagues to ensure that our soldiers and military leadership have the resources they need to cope with the signature injuries of this war.”
“We have a duty to our wounded warriors to reform and ready the military for the increasing number of veterans suffering from complex injuries like traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Senator Clinton. “After a recent Congressional staff delegation visit to Fort Carson, it is clear that much more remains to be done to improve access to mental health care for our wounded service members, to address the stigma that surrounds mental health issues, and to educate commanders on how to deal with soldiers suffering from these types of injuries.”
“We must address all the wounds of war of our heroes when they return home – including the less visible ones, PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. I’m optimistic that this was a productive meeting. Major General Hammond and the leadership at the meeting listened intently to our concerns about access to mental health services for our soldiers,” Senator Kerry said. “This was an important step forward, and we feel strongly the military knows we mean business and they’ll work with Congress to make sure we are doing everything possible to support our soldiers and veterans. We urge the Secretary of Defense to listen and get our troops the care they need and deserve.”
The Senators today sent the following letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asking him to ensure that Ft. Carson is given the resources and direction necessary to provide an optimal level of care for our service members:
May 22, 2007
The Honorable Robert Gates
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301
Dear Secretary Gates:
In recent months, troubling allegations have surfaced at Ft. Carson, Colorado, suggesting that soldiers are not receiving adequate care for mental health problems incurred as a result of combat service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Specifically, soldiers have asserted that they are not receiving comprehensive treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and mental health issues, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They have also alleged that the command climate discourages soldiers from seeking help for these problems. As a result, we dispatched members of our staff to Ft. Carson last week to investigate these claims.
While Ft. Carson has taken some important steps to improve care for soldiers—including implementing mandatory TBI screening and enhancing the pre- and post-deployment screening process, the reality remains that the base is facing significant challenges in providing mental health care services. The Department of Defense Mental Health Task Force recently found that the stigma of mental illness and injury is pervasive across our Armed Forces—and Ft. Carson is proving to be no exception.
After meeting with soldiers as well as commanders at the base, our staff concluded that the stigma of mental illness is a significant barrier to care. They also determined there is a considerable lack of resources to adequately support the psychological needs of our service members and their families, and a lack of training and education regarding mental health problems for leaders from the division level to the unit level. These issues are severely impairing the ability of our Army and the Department of Defense to produce and maintain the best trained and equipped military fighting force in the world.
While visiting the base, our staff received a commitment from Major General Jeffrey Hammond, Commander 4th Infantry Division, that he will investigate claims of command intimidation and lack of access to timely mental health services. They also received his commitment to train military personnel on the mental health challenges many of our service members face.
While we are pleased at this commitment, it is apparent that the challenges at Ft. Carson cannot be solved by General Hammond alone. Therefore, we urge you to ensure that Ft. Carson and every other military installation facing similar problems are given the resources and direction necessary to provide an optimal level of care for our service members. We will be following up with a more detailed staff report on Ft. Carson in the near future, and we expect the Department of Defense to immediately review those findings and take appropriate action to see that any and all problems are corrected.
Congress and the American people have made clear, especially following the revelations at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, that substandard care for injured service members will not be tolerated. These men and women have stood up for our country, and we have no greater obligation than to stand with them and their families in their hours of greatest need.
Please respond as soon as possible to indicate your plans to address these issues.
Sincerely,
Senator Barbara Boxer
Senator Barack Obama
Senator Christopher Bond
Senator Joseph Lieberman
Senator Hillary Clinton
Senator John Kerry