Nickdfresh
07-20-2005, 03:52 PM
Army: Mental health better for soldiers in Iraq
Majority of soldiers say morale is low, report says
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/HEALTH/07/20/military.health.ap/story.iraq.ap.jpg
Wednesday, July 20, 2005; Posted: 12:41 p.m. EDT (16:41 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The overall mental health of U.S. soldiers in Iraq has improved from the early months of the insurgency, with a significant drop in suicides, but a majority still say morale is low, the Army said Wednesday.
An assessment by the Army surgeon general found that among soldiers interviewed last fall in Iraq and Kuwait, depression, anxiety or acute stress was more prevalent among National Guard and Reserve soldiers, as well as regular Army soldiers in transportation units, than among soldiers in combat units.
The report, dated January 2005 and covering the period from late August to mid-October of 2004, was a follow-up on a similar assessment done a year earlier, when the insurgency was taking hold.
The earlier assessment found that mental health services were not adequately available to soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait and that a significant number of soldiers said they had little or no training in how to handle combat stress.
The follow-up report said mental health services have improved, with a higher ratio of behavioral health personnel to soldiers than in 2003.
The number of suicides for the full year 2004 had declined to nine from 24 in 2003. Three possible suicides from 2004 are still being investigated.
In the most recent assessment, the percentage of soldiers reporting low or very low unit morale in the most recent assessment was 54, with nine percent reporting high or very high morale and the remainder describing it as medium. A year earlier, 72 percent of soldiers in Iraq told Army interviewers that unit morale was low or very low.
www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/07/20/military.health.ap/index.html
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Majority of soldiers say morale is low, report says
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/HEALTH/07/20/military.health.ap/story.iraq.ap.jpg
Wednesday, July 20, 2005; Posted: 12:41 p.m. EDT (16:41 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The overall mental health of U.S. soldiers in Iraq has improved from the early months of the insurgency, with a significant drop in suicides, but a majority still say morale is low, the Army said Wednesday.
An assessment by the Army surgeon general found that among soldiers interviewed last fall in Iraq and Kuwait, depression, anxiety or acute stress was more prevalent among National Guard and Reserve soldiers, as well as regular Army soldiers in transportation units, than among soldiers in combat units.
The report, dated January 2005 and covering the period from late August to mid-October of 2004, was a follow-up on a similar assessment done a year earlier, when the insurgency was taking hold.
The earlier assessment found that mental health services were not adequately available to soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait and that a significant number of soldiers said they had little or no training in how to handle combat stress.
The follow-up report said mental health services have improved, with a higher ratio of behavioral health personnel to soldiers than in 2003.
The number of suicides for the full year 2004 had declined to nine from 24 in 2003. Three possible suicides from 2004 are still being investigated.
In the most recent assessment, the percentage of soldiers reporting low or very low unit morale in the most recent assessment was 54, with nine percent reporting high or very high morale and the remainder describing it as medium. A year earlier, 72 percent of soldiers in Iraq told Army interviewers that unit morale was low or very low.
www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/07/20/military.health.ap/index.html
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.