And How About Them?

With the proposed expansion of troop levels in Iraq (a/k/a The Big Surge), the issue raised by Shaun Mullen of Kiko's House becomes more relevant. In Iraq: The Army Knew He Was a Maniac, Mullen notes:

Three months before he led the rape-murders of an Iraqi family, Steven Green was diagnosed by an Army mental-health team as being a homicidal threat who was desperate to avenge the deaths of his comrades by killing Iraqi civilians.

But instead of being sent stateside for treatment, he was told to take several small doses of Seroquel, a mood-altering drug, and ordered to get more sleep before being returned to his unit in the particularly violent "Triangle of Death" south of Baghdad.

And then there was the story of reservist James Dean, Too Hard to Deal With, who was depressed after receiving his redeployment and was killed last month after a standoff with police.

We, as a society, generally have failed those who suffer from mental illness. We somehow can't get beyond that "buck up" or "just deal with it" view of mental problems. The macho military mindset certainly cannot deal with those issues. As Mullen observed "the way Green's illness was treated is drearily typical of an Army with too few troops and an ingrained disdain for anyone who admits to pain or emotional distress and a system that makes it difficult for them to get adequate help."

I listened to this disturbing NPR broadcast, Soldiers Face Obstacles to Mental Health Services, by Daniel Zwerdling in early December, which describes the woefully inadequate manner in which our military treats those who have the courage to speak up and ask for help. See also, Iraq & The Army's Disdain For the Mentally Ill.

As I hear talk to troop expansion, all I could think about is how many more Greens and Deans will be included in that 21,500 number being sent to Iraq. They are being sent to the front line instead of the help line.

Tags: Bush, Iraq