Defence blogs are replete with videos and articles about equipment, formations, strategy, tactics, technology and economics. This blog is really no different. But for one day I just want to show something different that I came across.
As I'm sure you're all aware, wars leave behind scars. Some of these are very visible. We see soldiers returning home with legs or arms missing. We see coffins brought back on C-17s. We see the physical damage done to countries and we understand the economic damage done to them when we look at detailed reports of their economies.
One set of scars that remain hidden though, but are carried by almost every service person who has been to a warzone, are the mental scars. Luckily this is an issue which is receiving increasing amounts of attention both here in the UK and in other countries that have contributed forces to places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
To get something of a better idea of how this issue affects service personnel and what they go through, please just take 13 minutes of your time to watch the video below.
does the military still not do compulsory psychoanalysis of the returning soldiers? and if not do you think they should - say for a year after deployment?
ReplyDeleteNot sure what the formal requirements are, but the Tories did pledge that they would make psychological testing mandatory for service personnel before they were released from their respective service. Not sure what efforts have actually been made to advance this, or indeed any other measures.
DeleteTo me it seems a fairly sensible policy to have everyone initially assessed on return from operations, along with routine assessment following that for a certain period (whatever is deemed needed by Psychologists, within the limits of practicality), as well as using short courses for officers and NCOs to improve their ability to spot the warning signs in their men, then give them an easy method of refering personnel for further checks.
Personnel should also be able to get appointments of their own accord with ease, even if it's just some basic counselling.