Bringing the Battle Home

Critics charge that the U.S. government is failing psychologically wounded vets by first screening them for trauma on their way home from their tours. The screening consists of the Post-Deployment Health Assessment, a two-page form of fill-in-the-bubble questions. Only five questions—including "Did you ever feel you were in great danger of being killed?"—address mental health. A mental health expert reviews each questionnaire. "If you ask me, it's a joke," Pickett says of the survey. Soldiers have little incentive to tell the truth because an admission of emotional trouble could delay reunification with their families.

Unless a soldier asks for help, there's a good chance he'll never receive it. Although postwar emotional problems are more widely understood than ever before, only a third of troubled Iraq veterans seek care. And early intervention is critical for treatment.

Another barrier to seeking help is veterans' fears that mental health information will become part of their permanent personnel file and keep them from being promoted in the future. Such concerns aren't entirely unfounded, says Colonel Joyce Adkins, program manager for operational stress and deployment mental health at the Department of Defense (DOD). "If you have a health concern that's going to prevent you from deploying again and carrying out your job—from firing a rifle, for instance—we want to know about that," she says.

After answering her exit questionnaire truthfully, Pickett was tentatively diagnosed with PTSD and told to make an appointment with a therapist at her local veterans hospital. She phoned a service called Tricare, listed in DOD pamphlets, but the number had been disconnected. In Wisconsin, she waited two months to see a psychologist and another two months to see a psychiatrist, who prescribed medication. While she meets regularly with a therapist, she is still plagued by nightmares.

Stephen Robinson, executive director of the National Center for Gulf War Resources, an advocacy group for veterans, says the military needs to be proactive about mental health. He cites the suicides of nearly 50 active soldiers in the conflict in the Middle East. Another 30 have killed themselves since returning home. While the government is doing something, Robinson says it's not nearly enough.