Fixing the Military’s Broken Mental Heath Care System, Culture, is First Step to Ending Suicide Epidemic

The broken mental health care system within DoD and the VA has contributed to many thousands of deaths by suicide among those who have served during America’s “Global War on Terrorism.” Since war began after 9-11, at least 2.5 million men and women have worn the uniform. Most who subsequently decided to end their own life by suicide did so after witnessing or directly participating in the horrors of war. The Fayetteville Observer’s series of in-depth reports titled “The Last Battle” has focused a new bright light on suicides, psychiatric injuries, maltreatment of wounded soldiers at Fort Bragg and the larger issues contributing to the 18 daily suicides by those serving on active duty and veterans. The below post reports a summary of suggested solutions to ending the needless loss of life from military suicide. (The Oregonian)

THE LAST BATTLE: Efforts to Provide Mental Health Care for War Veterans Falling Short

by Greg Barnes and John Ramsey
The Fayetteville Observer, Sept. 26, 2012

The last battle of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is being fought at home.

And in 2012, the military and the VA have done more than ever to respond to the anguish of men and women who are haunted by war.

This year, the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs rolled out promising new programs and research to identify and treat post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and other lingering effects of combat that afflict as many as one in five service members.

Myriad studies are under way. Budgets for mental health treatment programs are doubling. Thousands of new counselors have been hired.
But there is little evidence that the tide has turned in the battle. Too many service members suffering from mental health problems still are not being identified until they get into trouble.

Suicides are climbing. Commanders struggle with the twin demands of monitoring the mental health of their soldiers while maintaining focus on their core mission of training for war.

Based on extensive interviews with troubled soldiers, military and VA leaders, and mental health advocates – along with evidence from statistical data and civilian and military studies – it is clear that there are things that must be done better if the country is going to win this fight against the “hidden wounds” of war.

THE FIX LIST

The military must do a better job of identifying men and women who are suffering from mental health problems early, before PTSD blossoms into domestic violence, substance abuse or suicide.

The military must make more mental health counselors available – in the field and at home.

The military and VA have to eliminate their communication problems and aggressively address the bureaucratic hurdles that slow the processing of veterans claims.

The country cannot depend on the military and VA to carry the whole burden of addressing the mental health problems of those who went to war. States, local communities, even volunteers must step up.

If the country doesn’t do a better job of helping service members and veterans damaged by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the price will likely be exacted over decades.

— Greg Barnes and John Ramsey, Fayetteville Observer, Sept. 26, 2012

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http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2012/09/26/1205712?sac=fo.home

Powerful Anti-Anxiety Drug Klonopin a Familiar Suspect in Soldiers’ Post Traumatic Stress ‘Disaster’ Cases

THE LAST BATTLE: Joshua Eisenhauer’s Journey From Battlefield to Jail Cell

by Greg Barnes
Fayetteville Observer, Sept. 24, 2012

BLOGBACK: Various studies contradict one another when it comes to assessing the accurate rate of drug and alcohol abuse among soldiers. The rate of substance abuse reported below is about 25 percent among soldiers with PTSD. A recent Army-sponsored report from the Institute of Medicine published Sept. 17, 2012 revealed a much higher rate of substance abuse. It reported 50 percent of ALL active duty soldiers self-identified as binge drinkers. In the same IOM report, half of all problem drinkers Army-wide also reported thoughts of suicide. Binge drinking for any person prescribed benzodiazepines is extremely dangerous and is well-established as a frequent and significant factor in toxic drug overdoses within military populations.

Joshua Eisenhauer couldn’t hold on long enough to get the help the Army knew he needed.

In January, he was holed up in a Fayetteville apartment – alone, wracked with post-traumatic stress disorder and addicted to anti-anxiety medication.

Even though Fort Bragg military doctors said they did not believe Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer had PTSD — despite two violent combat assignments with 82nd Airborne in Iraq and Afghanistan — they still prescribed him powerful psychotropic drugs, including Klonopin. Eisenhauer faces 15 counts of attempted murder from a Jan. 13, 2012 shooting incident involving firemen and police at Eisenhauer’s apartment. Police say Eisenhauer shot at them after they banged on his door investigating a fire alarm. Police entered the apartment and returned fire hitting Eisenhauer at least four times. Eisenhauer’s father says his son was startled during sleep by the banging on his door and experienced a flashback, believing he was under attack. (Fayetteville Observer)

His father said the Army had promised his son, a Fort Bragg staff sergeant, intensive PTSD therapy in the spring.

But by then, he was behind bars, facing charges of trying to kill Fayetteville police officers and firefighters who were just doing their jobs.

Mark Eisenhauer said his son’s actions were the result of a flashback to the war in Afghanistan. Police charged him with 15 counts of attempted murder.

Staff Sgt. Eisenhauer’s journey from the battlefield to a jail cell illustrates in the starkest manner the damage that combat can do to the psyche – and the consequences that can result. It also raises questions about the military’s ability to respond in a timely and effective way to those who most need help.

Mark Eisenhauer said his son began experiencing symptoms of PTSD during his first 15-month deployment to Afghanistan as a member of an 82nd Airborne Division quick-reaction force.

After his return from combat, his father learned, Joshua Eisenhauer began having nightmares, including one in which 500-pound bombs kept exploding around him while he was trapped on a rooftop. Mark Eisenhauer said his son was afraid to go into a Walmart, fearing crowds and loudspeakers.

The Army directives for PTSD were written for a reason. They need to be followed, or we will continue to see events like this, along with the thousands of similar events that happen every day that we don’t hear about.

— Mark Eisenhauer, referring to Fort Bragg military doctors’ alleged violations of Army PTSD treatment regulations while caring for his son, Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer.

The nightmares, aversion to loud noises and the fear of crowds are all classic symptoms of PTSD, a severe anxiety disorder triggered by a horrific event. Left untreated, PTSD can lead to long-term physiological problems.

According to studies, an estimated 25 percent of soldiers suffering from combat-related PTSD abuse drugs or alcohol.

Despite his father’s objections, Joshua Eisenhauer volunteered for a second tour to Afghanistan in 2009 because he wanted to be with the Army buddies he had trained. Like so many soldiers, Joshua Eisenhauer felt safest and happiest around his friends.

More than 30 percent of veterans diagnosed with PTSD in 2009 received a benzodiazepine prescription from VA doctors.

— Department of Veterans Affairs

He wound up at Forward Operating Base Bullard, bunking with his close friend, Staff Sgt. Ryan Mitchell. The two had known each other since 2006.

Mitchell said that on Nov. 19 of that year, an enemy vehicle carrying as much as 1,500 pounds of explosives detonated as it swerved into the base. Mitchell said he and Eisenhauer, a platoon leader, watched two of their friends die in the explosion, and then began collecting their body parts.

They had been talking to one of the dead soldiers just moments before, Mitchell said.

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http://fayobserver.com/articles/2012/09/25/1198849?sac=fo.local

Fort Bragg Soldier Wounded in ‘Firefight’ With Fayettville Police Was in a Flashback, Parents Say

Parents of Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer Say Their Son Thought he was Shooting at Afghan Insurgents When he Fired at Police and Firefighters

By Greg Barnes
Fayettevile Observer, April 13, 2012

The father of a Fort Bragg soldier charged with shooting at Fayetteville police and firefighters from his apartment in January says his son suffered from war-induced mental problems and thought he was firing at Afghan insurgents.

Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer, Fort Bragg soldier had served two tours in Afghanistan

Staff Sgt. Joshua “Ike” Eisenhauer, 30, was wounded by police, who returned fire in the four-hour standoff at Austin Creek apartments.

His father, Mark Eisenhauer, says that although he and his wife are uncertain of the events of Jan. 13, their son told them he was alone in his apartment about 10 p.m. when he awoke to the sound of people running up the front and back stairs of his third-floor apartment and then saw a small fire on his deck.

Joshua Eisenhauer flashed back “to combat in Afghanistan, fired on the ‘insurgents’ who were actually firemen and police officers and was seriously injured with gunshot wounds to his upper chest, right face and right thigh,” his father says.

Mark Eisenhauer described his conversations with his son in a letter to The Fayetteville Observer. Joshua Eisenhauer’s mother, Dawn D. Erickson, wrote a separate letter to the newspaper.

No police or firefighters suffered serious injuries in the exchange of gunfire. Joshua Eisenhauer was taken to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, where he recovered from his wounds. He has been charged with 17 counts of attempted murder, nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and six counts of assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm.

At the hospital, Mark Eisenhauer wrote, a nurse in the intensive care unit told him that when his son regained some mental awareness, he mumbled “whose got the roof.” When asked what he thought had happened, Joshua Eisenhauer was said to have responded: “I was fighting insurgents.”

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http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2012/04/14/1171072?sac=fo.local