Troops face mental health risks
- From: The Australian
- April 19, 2012
A "PROFOUND" number of Diggers returning from operational deployment
in Afghanistan will be afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder, a
senior former army commander has warned.
Major General John Cantwell, who in 2010 served as commander of Australian forces in the Middle East, told the ABC he was concerned the majority of home-bound troops would try to hide the affliction.
The Department of Defence needed to do more to encourage potential sufferers to seek treatment, he told ABC1's Lateline on Tuesday.
His comments followed the announcement on Tuesday by Julia Gillard advancing the timetable for the withdrawal of Australia's 1550 Afghanistan-based troops over the next 18 months.
A total of 26,000 Australian Defence Force personnel have served in Afghanistan since 2004. Since 2001, more than 200 have been wounded in action and 32 killed, most victims of insurgent roadside bombs.
PTSD cases will be most prevalent among troops directly exposed to combat, General Cantwell said.
"We will have a lot of soldiers who have seen a lot of things that they probably wish they'd never seen.
"It's going to mean that you have more people suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and other disorders as a result.
"So it stands to reason we just need to be ready to pick up the pieces and help them get back to a normal life."
The ADF, slow in the past to acknowledge the scope of the problem, is now much better equipped to identify PTSD, said David Forbes, director of the Melbourne-based Centre for Post Traumatic Mental Health.
"The closer you are to the point of threat and the longer it goes on for, there's an increased risk," Professor Forbes said.
"If you are in a combat troop and have had one experience in the course of your deployment, you are probably at the lower risk than a special forces trooper exposed (to combat) on a frequent basis."
However, the closely knit special forces fraternity and their specialised training would help mitigate against PTSD, he added.
