Army Col. Michael J. Roy, left, who oversees the exposure therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, conducts a demonstration of a life-like simulator that represents a new form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment with Army Sgt. Lenearo Ashford, Technical Services Branch, Uniformed Services University, on Sept. 16, 2008, in Washington, D.C. Defense Dept. photo by John J. Kruzel via Flickr
The scale of the service and sacrifice that we ask of our Armed Forces is hard to imagine. They work day-in and day-out in a hostile environment to ensure our safety and freedom. And when they return home, we have an obligation and duty to help them recover from their wounds — both visible and invisible.
In his most recent weekly address, President Obama announced a streamlined claims process for our soldiers returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq who are coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
I applaud these changes.
According to a study by the RAND Corp., nearly one-in-five of our veterans show symptoms of PTSD or major depression, but only half seek treatment. For those seeking treatment for PTSD, many of the rules were unfair.
Until now, veterans were required to provide evidence and details about the specific engagements or "stressors" that triggered their PTSD. It can be impossible for veterans to find documented evidence of a firefight or bomb blast. And in battlefields without clearly defined frontlines, facing the threat of an enemy sniper or a roadside bomb, day after day, is more than enough to leave some soldiers traumatized.
The rules have been changed so that now a veteran need only show a diagnosis of PTSD and that it relates to their time in the service. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki wrote this week about how this change will make a difference:
"We're publishing a regulation Monday in the Federal Register that simplifies the process for claiming service connection for PTSD by reducing the documentation needed for veterans to validate the specifics of place, type and circumstance of incident. From this point forward, VA will not require corroboration of a PTSD stressor related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity, if a VA doctor confirms a diagnosis of PTSD and the stressful experience recalled by the veteran adequately supports that diagnosis.
"This decision to simplify the process has been validated by an Institute of Medicine study, which concluded that service in a war zone is inherently linked to increased risk of PTSD."
This straightforward and fair system will help our vets get the help they deserve, while reducing the unnecessary redtape of compiling documentation of specific events. Also, the change applies to all our veterans, not just those serving in Afghanistan and Iraq today.
We've moved a long way toward ending the stigma that soldiers have faced in the past when asking for help with PTSD. Fixing these administrative barriers will make assistance even more accessible.
You can find out more about these changes on the VA website here .
