Army: PTSD treatable; some diagnosed return to war [View all]

[xchrom]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AFGHANISTAN_SUSPECT_PTSD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-03-23-04-07-25

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- It is still not known if the soldier accused of killing 17 Afghans was ever diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder - but even if he had been, that alone would not have prevented him from being sent back to war.

The Army diagnosed 76,176 soldiers with PTSD between 2000 and 2011. Of those 65,236 soldiers were diagnosed at some stage of their deployment.

Many returned to the battlefield after mental health providers determined their treatment worked and their symptoms had gone into remission, Army officials and mental health professionals who treat troops say. The Army does not track the exact number in combat diagnosed with PTSD nor those who are in combat and taking medicine for PTSD.

The case of Sgt. Robert Bales has sparked debate about whether the Army failed in detecting a soldier's mental instability or pushed him too far. The Army is reviewing all its mental health programs and its screening process in light of the March 11 shooting spree in two slumbering Afghan villages that killed families, including nine children.


*** i think it's unclear how treatable PTSD is -- i think there is a matter of degrees.
and it might be difficult to determine person X is fine -- when in fact they are not.
also army screeners for this -- there have been complaints they finding in favor of the army.