Report: Half of all Iraq and Afghanistan vets report inadequate care from Veterans Affairs

Almost half of the 2.2 million troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan report difficulties on their return home, but many receive inadequate care from the US Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs, according to a new study published on Tuesday.

The Institute of Medicine report, requested by Congress and funded by the Pentagon, expressed “serious misgivings” about methods used to treat the “significant numbers” of returning veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and substance use disorder. It cited tools and treatments used by the DOD which had “no clear scientific evidence base” and said more needed to be done to evaluate their effectiveness.

The study, aimed at examining lingering problems of veterans returning from both conflicts, also called into question a Defense Department policy which bans restricting access to private weapons “even if a service member is at risk from suicide”.

It examined veteran suicides, high unemployment rates and also the ramifications of the “high rates” of military sexual assault, all issues that have attracted recent congressional attention.

George Rutherford, the report’s co-author, said DOD had been slow to address the needs of returning veterans.

“Although several federal agencies are actively trying to address the support needs of current and former service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as well as their families, the response has been slow and has not matched the magnitude of this population’s requirements as many cope with a complex set of health, economic, and other challenges” said Rutherfold, chair of the IOM’s committee on the assessment of readjustment needs of military personnel, veterans, and their families.

More at: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/26/report-half-of-all-iraq-and-afghanistan-vets-report-inadequate-care-from-veterans-affairs/