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 Bond Announces Millions for Disaster Recovery Bond Blasts Retreat and Defeat Iraq Strategy Bond Works to Protect Military Heroes Bond Votes to Kill Amnesty Bill Bond Clarifies Phase II Report on Prewar Intelligence Bond Announces $3 Billion in Agriculture Assistance Water Resources Bill Passes Senate Bond Continues Tour of Vets Facilities Pentagon's Pre-War Intelligence Legit National Guard Empowerment Legislation |
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May 22, 2007 A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators led by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Barack Obama (D-IL), and Kit Bond (R-MO) today expressed deep concern to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates about the state of mental health care services for soldiers at Ft. Carson, Colorado. In December, the Senators wrote to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs William Winkenwerder after National Public Radio (NPR) aired a story detailing the failure of officials at Ft. Carson to provide adequate treatment for soldiers suffering from service-connected mental health problems, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). And last week, the Senators, along with Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and John Kerry (D-MA), dispatched their staff to Ft. Carson to meet with soldiers and commanding officers to investigate allegations of inadequate mental health care for troops. "When it comes to the poor treatment of some of our soldiers returning from combat, the revelations presented to my staff make Walter Reed look like a minor plot in a greater tragedy," said Senator Bond. "The military's handling of some soldiers suffering from mental health problems is unacceptable. We cannot allow the government to continue to fail these soldiers and their families who have sacrificed so much for this country." The Senators today sent the following letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asking him to ensure that Ft. Carson is given the resources and direction necessary to provide an optimal level of care for our service members: May 22, 2007 The Honorable Robert Gates Dear Secretary Gates: In recent months, troubling allegations have surfaced at Ft. Carson, Colorado, suggesting that soldiers are not receiving adequate care for mental health problems incurred as a result of combat service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Specifically, soldiers have asserted that they are not receiving comprehensive treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and mental health issues, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They have also alleged that the command climate discourages soldiers from seeking help for these problems. As a result, we dispatched members of our staff to Ft. Carson last week to investigate these claims. While Ft. Carson has taken some important steps to improve care for soldiers-including implementing mandatory TBI screening and enhancing the pre- and post-deployment screening process, the reality remains that the base is facing significant challenges in providing mental health care services. The Department of Defense Mental Health Task Force recently found that the stigma of mental illness and injury is pervasive across our Armed Forces-and Ft. Carson is proving to be no exception. After meeting with soldiers as well as commanders at the base, our staff concluded that the stigma of mental illness is a significant barrier to care. They also determined there is a considerable lack of resources to adequately support the psychological needs of our service members and their families, and a lack of training and education regarding mental health problems for leaders from the division level to the unit level. These issues are severely impairing the ability of our Army and the Department of Defense to produce and maintain the best trained and equipped military fighting force in the world. While visiting the base, our staff received a commitment from Major General Jeffrey Hammond, Commander 4th Infantry Division, that he will investigate claims of command intimidation and lack of access to timely mental health services. They also received his commitment to train military personnel on the mental health challenges many of our service members face. While we are pleased at this commitment, it is apparent that the challenges at Ft. Carson cannot be solved by General Hammond alone. Therefore, we urge you to ensure that Ft. Carson and every other military installation facing similar problems are given the resources and direction necessary to provide an optimal level of care for our service members. We will be following up with a more detailed staff report on Ft. Carson in the near future, and we expect the Department of Defense to immediately review those findings and take appropriate action to see that any and all problems are corrected. Congress and the American people have made clear, especially following the revelations at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, that substandard care for injured service members will not be tolerated. These men and women have stood up for our country, and we have no greater obligation than to stand with them and their families in their hours of greatest need. Please respond as soon as possible to indicate your plans to address these issues. Sincerely, Senator Barbara Boxer |
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