Army leaders look at force's mental and physical health - Medical Tips

FORT RILEY, Kan. A top Army general said the military remains focused on meeting the physical and mental health needs of soldiers and families, including providing additional behavioral health programs. /ppAfter touring Fort Riley in northeast Kansas, Gen. Lloyd Austin said Friday that leaders were focused on putting services and support structures in place to build resilience in a force that has been at war for more than a decade. /ppAustin and other top Army officials spent the week touring Army posts in Georgia, North Carolina and Texas to review programs that include suicide prevention, care of wounded soldiers, prevention of sexual assault and evaluation of disabilities. /ppThe Armys behavioral health services have come under question after incidents in Iraq, Afghanistan and Fort Hood, Texas, in which soldiers have been charged with killing fellow soldiers and civilians. Austin said, however, that any reviews initiated in response to those incidents were outside his current survey. /ppAustin discussed the suicide rate among soldiers, saying reducing it would require continued efforts by Army behavioral health professionals and community resources./ppSuicide is the toughest enemy Ive faced. It is an enemy because we are losing soldiers to this fight, Austin said. /ppAustin said that the war in Afghanistan was the Armys mission but that maintaining the health of the force mentally and physically was as important./ppThis is absolutely central to the readiness of our Army, not only with respect to the current fight, but the next fight, he said. /ppAt Fort Riley, Austin visited with post and 1st Infantry Division leaders about what is being done to meet the health care needs of 18,000 soldiers and their families assigned to the Kansas post. The divisions headquarters and one brigade are deployed over the next year to Afghanistan. /ppThe general said part of the purpose of touring the posts was to figure out how Army headquarters can eliminate friction points by changing policies or providing additional resources. /ppLt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, surgeon general of the Army, said the number of behavioral health providers has increased by 83 percent since 2007. She said the Army is placing behavioral health services in each brigade and integrating it in primary care services for soldiers and families.

Article source: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/28/3729376/army-leaders-look-at-forces-mental.html

Source: http://medicaltips.org/2012/07/29/army-leaders-look-at-forces-mental-and-physical-health/

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