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Welcome to the nexus of ethics, psychology, morality, technology, health care, and philosophy
Showing posts with label Military Psycholoy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Military Psycholoy. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Chief of Army message regarding unacceptable behaviour

Published on Jun 12, 2013

Message from the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General David Morrison, AO, to the Australian Army following the announcement on Thursday, 13 June 2013 of civilian police and Defence investigations into allegations of unacceptable behaviour by Army members.





This video was made in response to news reports to the following:
Australian news outlets reported last week that at least 17 soldiers circulated video of themselves having sex with women. The videos were shared without the women's knowledge. Some of the material was distributed over military computer networks, and those under investigation include a lieutenant colonel and a major, Morrison told reporters on Thursday.
The following quote is from a CNN story found here.

Editorial notes: This video is an interesting and thought-provoking way to share unequivocal moral and ethical standards to the military community under his leadership.  Also interesting is the number of comments and the wide variety of responses to this video.

Additionally, compare and contrast this response to the United States military's response to the increased reports of sexual assault in our military community.  The responses are not the same.


Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Pediatricians warned children of military personnel face mental health risks

By Ryan Jaslow
CBS News
Originally posted May 27, 2012

Children of military personnel may be at an increased risk for social, emotional and behavioral problems, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Published May 27, Memorial Day, in the academy's journal Pediatrics, the new clinical report aims to raise awareness among pediatricians for the mental health needs for military children.

Authored by Dr. Ben S. Siegel and Dr. Beth Ellen Davis, who serve as members on the Committee On Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health and Section on Uniformed Services, the report points out about 60 percent of U.S. service members have families while about 2.3 million military members have been deployed since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq about a decade ago.

The entire article is here.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Drones, Ethics and the Armchair Soldier

By John Kaag
The New York Times - Opinionator
Originally published on March 17, 2013

Here are some excerpts:

Ten years later, I’m a philosopher writing a book about the ethics of drone warfare. Some days I fear that I will have either to give up the book or to give up philosophy. I worry that I can’t have both. Some of my colleagues would like me to provide decision procedures for military planners and soldiers, the type that could guide them, automatically, unthinkingly, mechanically, to the right decision about drone use. I try to tell them that this is not how ethics, or philosophy, or humans, work.

I try to tell them that the difference between humans and robots is precisely the ability to think and reflect, in Immanuel Kant’s words, to set and pursue ends for themselves. And these ends cannot be set beforehand in some hard and fast way — even if Kant sometimes thought they could.

What disturbs me is the idea that a book about the moral hazard of military technologies should be written as if it was going to be read by robots: input decision procedure, output decision and correlated action. I know that effective military operations have traditionally been based on the chain of command and that this looks a little like the command and control structure of robots. When someone is shooting at you, I can only imagine that you need to follow orders mechanically. The heat of battle is neither the time nor the place for cool ethical reflection.

Warfare, unlike philosophy, could never be conducted from an armchair. Until now. For the first time in history, some soldiers have this in common with philosophers: they can do their jobs sitting down. They now have what I’ve always enjoyed, namely “leisure,” in the Hobbesian sense of the word, meaning they are not constantly afraid of being killed. Hobbes thought that there are certain not-so-obvious perks to leisure (not being killed is the obvious one). For one, you get to think. This is what he means when he says that “leisure is the mother of philosophy.” I tend to agree with Hobbes: only those who enjoy a certain amount of leisure can be philosophers.

The entire article is here.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

War zone killing: Vets feel 'alone' in their guilt

By PAULINE JELINEK
Associated Press
Originally published February 22, 2013

A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, former Marine Capt. Timothy Kudo thinks of himself as a killer — and he carries the guilt every day.

"I can't forgive myself," he says. "And the people who can forgive me are dead."

With American troops at war for more than a decade, there's been an unprecedented number of studies into war zone psychology and an evolving understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder. Clinicians suspect some troops are suffering from what they call "moral injuries" — wounds from having done something, or failed to stop something, that violates their moral code.

Though there may be some overlap in symptoms, moral injuries aren't what most people think of as PTSD, the nightmares and flashbacks of terrifying, life-threatening combat events. A moral injury tortures the conscience; symptoms include deep shame, guilt and rage. It's not a medical problem, and it's unclear how to treat it, says retired Col. Elspeth Ritchie, former psychiatry consultant to the Army surgeon general.

The entire story is here.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

MU halts administrator search after torture controversy

By Catherine Martin
The Columbia Daily Tribune
Originally posted on February 15, 2013

The University of Missouri is holding off on filling an administrative position that attracted a controversial candidate.

Larry James, who served as the director of behavioral science division at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, was one of two finalists being considered for the job of division executive director at the MU College of Education.

His past experiences, including allegations of involvement in torture, drew criticism from staff and sparked a protest on campus. An on-campus interview last week was open to the public, and questions from community members centered on James' alleged connections to torture.

The entire story is here.

From Guantanamo to Mizzou?

By Colleen Flaherty
Inside HigherEd
Originally published February 12, 2013

Retired Col. Larry James, a former Army psychologist, went into both Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to address and correct known human rights violations – hence the name of his 2008 book, Fixing Hell: An Army Psychologist Confronts Abu Ghraib.

“This is very, very important conversation to have in a variety of venues, and it’s very important to understand what went wrong at these awful places,” said James – now dean of the School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University – of why he wrote the memoir. “If we keep things in secret we’re destined to repeat it again.”

But some of the revelations in Fixing Hell are being levied against him as he tries to secure an administrative post at at the University of Missouri at Columbia. An on-campus protest was held earlier this month as James’s name surfaced as one of two finalists for the position, division executive director in the College of Education. As such, he’d oversee 60 faculty and 29 staff members in three units, including the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology.

Aamer Trambu, a business graduate student and member of the Muslim Student Organization, attended the protest, along with members of the St. Louis Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation, an interfaith peace group. He also attended a Mizzou forum last week at which James answered questions for more than an hour. A petition against James’s candidacy with at least 60 names was turned over to university administrators. (The American-Islamic relations council chapter also launched an online petition. Leaders did not respond to requests for comment.)

The entire article is here.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Panetta announces benefits for military same-sex partners

By Tom Vanden Brook
USA Today
Originally published February 11, 2013


Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Monday that the Pentagon is extending benefits to same-sex partners of military servicemembers, including the right to visit their loved ones in military hospitals.

The announcement falls short of an extension of full benefits, many of them involving health care, because federal law prevents same-sex couples from receiving them. Among the other benefits to be extended: participation in family groups on military bases, issuing dependent identification cards and privileges in commissaries.

"It is a matter of fundamental equity that we provide similar benefits to all of those men and women in uniform who serve their country," Panetta said in a statement.

The entire story is here.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

As Suicides Rise in U.S., Veterans Are Less of Total

By JAMES DAO
The New York Times
Published: February 1, 2013

Suicides among military veterans, though up slightly in recent years, account for a shrinking percentage of the nation’s total number of suicides — a result of steadily rising numbers of suicides in the general population, according to a report released on Friday by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The report, based on the most extensive data the department has ever collected on suicide, found that the number of suicides among veterans reached 22 a day in 2010, the most recent year available.

That was up by 22 percent from 2007, when the daily number was 18. But it is only 10 percent higher than in 1999, according to the report. Department officials described the numbers as “relatively stable” over the decade.

In the same 12-year period, the total number of suicides in the country rose steadily to an estimated 105 a day in 2010, up from 80 in 1999, a 31 percent increase.

As a result, the percentage of the nation’s daily suicides committed by veterans declined to 21 percent in 2010, from 25 percent in 1999.

The entire story is here.

VA report: 22 veterans commit suicide each day

The number of veterans who commit suicide each day is more than 20 percent higher than previously estimated
 
By Kevin Freking
Salon.com
Originally published February 1, 2013

The number of veterans who commit suicide each day is more than 20 percent higher than the Department of Veterans Affairs has previously estimated, but the problem doesn’t appear to be getting worse for veterans compared to the rest of the country, according to a VA study released Friday.

Indeed, the overall percentage of suicides by veterans has declined in recent years. VA researchers say the trend suggests that efforts to reduce suicide among veterans may be having an effect.

About 22 veterans committed suicide each day in 2010. Previous estimates from the VA put the number at 18.

While much attention has been paid to suicides by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, the report indicates the problem is worse among older veterans. About 70 percent of veterans who commit suicide are over age 50.

The latest projections from the VA incorporate data from about two dozen states that recorded the cause of death on death certificates. Previous estimates focused only on those getting care from the VA’s hospitals and clinics. The department described the study as the most comprehensive it has ever taken on the issue. 

“We have more work to do, and we will use this data to continue to strengthen our suicide prevention efforts and ensure all veterans receive the care they have earned and deserve,” said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Tending to Veterans’ Afflictions of the Soul


By Samuel J. Freedman
The New York Times
Originally published January 13, 2013

Here are some excerpts:

Moral injury might best be defined as an affliction of the soul, as distinct from a specific mental health condition like post-traumatic stress disorder. It arises, to speak in a very broad way, from the way a combatant’s actions in war seem to violate and thus undermine the most deeply held moral beliefs.

Ms. Brock did not formulate the concept of moral injury, which is attributed to the clinical psychiatrist Jonathan Shay. In books like “Achilles in Vietnam,” Dr. Shay has traced moral injury back as far as the Trojan War. But for Ms. Brock and her colleagues, the kind of counterinsurgency wars America has fought in Iraq and Afghanistan has left soldiers uniquely vulnerable to moral injury.

“There’s no good choice,” she said. “If you’re looking at a kid on the side of the road with something in his hand, if it’s a grenade and he throws it and kills someone in your unit, you’ve failed your comrade. But if it’s a rock, you’ve just shot a kid with a rock.
“If you’re praying that your company gets out or that your best friend isn’t shot, and it doesn’t turn out that way, it can collapse your whole moral system. It feels like God abandoned you.”

Her description closely matched that of Michael Yandell, 28, a student at the Brite seminary who worked on a bomb disposal team during the Iraq war. “Most deeply, it’s a loss of confidence in one’s own ability to make a moral judgment with any certainty,” he said. “It’s not that you lose your ability to tell right from wrong, but things don’t seem so clear any more. For me, it’s whether or not what I did, did any good.”

Ms. Brock’s affinity for veterans, and her knowledge of their suffering, has long, deep roots. Her father, Roy Brock, was taken prisoner during World War II and underwent electroshock treatments after liberation for his psychological distress. He later served two tours in Vietnam as a medic, enduring the deaths not only of countless soldiers but the local translator he had befriended.

The entire story is here.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Military suicides hit record in 2012, outpace combat deaths

Reuters
Originally published January 14, 2013

The number of U.S. troops committing suicide set a record in 2012, exceeding the number of combat deaths, the Pentagon said on Monday.

The Pentagon said 349 active-duty troops killed themselves in 2012, up more than 15 percent from 2011 despite renewed efforts by the military to stem the suicide rate.

"This is an epidemic that cannot be ignored," said Senator Patty Murray, who championed legislation last year to improve suicide prevention efforts and mental health care for troops and veterans.

"As our newest generation of servicemembers and veterans face unprecedented challenges, today's news shows we must be doing more to ensure they are not slipping through the cracks."

The Army, as the largest service, counted the biggest number of suicides, with 182 soldiers killing themselves in 2012, according to preliminary figures. The Navy had 60 suicides, the Air Force had 59 and the Marines had 48.

The figures were first reported by the Associated Press.

The Pentagon pointed to steps to bolster suicide prevention efforts, including expanding a suicide prevention hotline. Still, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last year acknowledged that the suicides were the most frustrating issue he had faced since taking over the Pentagon in 2011.

"Despite the increased efforts, the increased attention, the trends continue to move in a troubling and tragic direction," Panetta told at a joint Pentagon-Department of Veterans Affairs suicide prevention conference in June.

The entire story is here.

Friday, January 4, 2013

War Tragedies Strike Families Twice


By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS
The Wall Street Journal
Originally published on December 20, 2012

One night in March 2008, William and Christine Koch opened their front door to see two soldiers in green dress uniforms bearing news that their son, Army Cpl. Steven Koch, had been killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.

Two years later, Mr. and Mrs. Koch opened the door to see two police officers in blue. This time, they learned their daughter, Lynne, brokenhearted over her brother's death, had killed herself with an overdose of prescription drugs.

She is a casualty of this war, and I don't care what anybody says," Mrs. Koch said. "If my son was not killed, my daughter would be here."

The military tracks suicides among the troops. The Department of Veterans Affairs studies self-inflicted deaths among people who have left the service. Nobody collects data on suicides among the parents, siblings and spouses of the more than 6,500 Americans killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But anecdotal evidence from military families, support groups and suicide survivors suggests that over the past 11 years of war, the U.S. has experienced a little-recognized suicide outbreak among the bereaved. This second round of tragedy often takes place years after a loved one's death, when the finality of the loss becomes inescapable.

"We've all had the idea of suicide at one time or another," said Nadia McCaffrey of Tracy, Calif., whose son Patrick died in an ambush in Iraq in 2004. She said she personally knows a half dozen military parents who have killed themselves.

To learn more about war grief, researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a federal institution in Bethesda, Md., are recruiting 3,000 people to participate in a first-ever U.S. study of bereavement among families of those killed on active duty.

"We don't know whether or in what ways military-service deaths—combat-related, accidents or suicides—differ from similarly sudden or violent civilian deaths in their impact on bereaved family members," said Stephen Cozza, a psychiatrist involved in the research.

The violent and faraway nature of combat death—often following months of dread—may make it harder to accept for those left behind, said Bonnie Carroll. She founded the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, after her husband, an Army general, died in a 1992 plane crash.

"To have someone come to the house and deliver this devastating information that you'd never see them again is impossible to absorb," Mrs. Carroll said. In her grief after her husband's death, she found herself taking high-speed, late-night drives along the Alaska coast, as if daring herself to join him.

The entire story is here.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Reported sex assaults spike at military academies

By By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press
Originally published Dec 19, 2012

Reported sexual assaults at the nation's three military academies jumped by 23 percent overall this year, but the data signaled a continued reluctance by victims to seek criminal investigations.

According to a report obtained by The Associated Press, the number of assaults rose from 65 in the 2011 academic year to 80 in 2012. However, nearly half the assaults involved victims who sought confidential medical or other care and did not trigger an investigation. There were 41 assaults reported in 2010.

Reported sexual assaults have climbed steadily since the 2009 academic year. The Defense Department has urged the academies to take steps to encourage cadets and midshipmen at the Army, Navy and Air Force academies to report sexual harassment and assaults in order to get care to everyone and hold aggressors accountable. The number of assaults reported by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., increased, while reports at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., declined.

The entire story is here.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Military says it's focusing on suicide prevention

By Mike Urban
The Reading Eagle
Originally published November 12, 2012


Fewer of America's troops are heading into combat with the war in Iraq over and the war in Afghanistan nearing a close.

But the demand for mental health care among active duty personnel is increasing, in part because combat has left many in need of help, and because the military is doing more to treat its mentally ill troops, Department of Defense officials said.

Suicide prevention has become one of the military's most urgent concerns, and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder within the military has come a long way in recent years, said Defense Department spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith.

"We are committed to taking care of our people, and that includes doing everything possible to prevent suicides in the military," she said.

To reduce the long-standing military stigma surrounding mental health problems, the defense department urges commanders to support those in need of care, she said.

The entire story is here.

Army, Navy suicides at record high


By Gregg Zoroya
USA Today
Originally published on November 19, 2012


With six weeks left in the year, the Army and Navy are already reporting record numbers of suicides, with the Air Force and Marine Corps close to doing the same, making 2012 the worst year for military suicides since careful tracking began in 2001.

The deaths are now occurring at a rate faster than one per day. On Nov. 11, confirmed or suspected suicides among active-duty forces across the military reached 323, surpassing the Pentagon's previous high of 310 suicides set in 2009.

Of that total, the Army accounted for 168, surpassing its high last year of 165; 53 sailors took their own lives, one more than last year.

The Air Force and Marine Corps are only a few deaths from record numbers. Fifty-six airmen had committed suicide as of Nov. 11, short of the 60 in 2010. There have been 46 suicides among Marines, whose worst year was 2009 with 52.

The entire story is here.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Army Releases September Suicide Data

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 838-12

October 19, 2012

The Army released suicide data today for the month of September. During September, among active-duty soldiers, there were 15 potential suicides: one has been confirmed as suicide and 14 remain under investigation. For August, the Army reported 16 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, one case was removed for a total of 15 cases: five have been confirmed as suicides and 10 remain under investigation. For 2012, there have been 146 potential active-duty suicides: 91 have been confirmed as suicides and 55 remain under investigation. Active-duty suicide number for 2011: 165 confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation.

During September, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 16 potential suicides (13 Army National Guard and three Army Reserve): one has been confirmed as suicide and 15 remain under investigation. For August, among that same group, the Army reported nine potential suicides. Since the release of that report two cases were added for a total of 11 cases (seven Army National Guard and four Army Reserve): five have been confirmed as suicides and six remain under investigation.

For 2012, there have been 101 potential not on active-duty suicides (67 Army National Guard and 34 Army Reserve): 67 have been confirmed as suicides and 34 remain under investigation. Not on active-duty suicide numbers for 2011: 118 (82 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve) confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation.

"Every suicide in our ranks is a tragic loss for the Army family, adversely affecting the readiness of our Army," said Lt. Gen. Howard B. Bromberg, deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel. "I am asking soldiers, family members, department of the Army civilians, neighbors, and friends to look out for each other and reach out and embrace those who may be struggling. Recognize the warning signs such as substance abuse, relationship problems, and withdrawal from friends and activities and use available resources to help yourself or others. Our actions can save lives."

Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Trained consultants are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and can be contacted by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or by visiting their website at http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Thursday, September 27, 2012

IOM: Military Needs Better Care for Addicts

By David Pittman
MedPage Today
Originally published September 17, 2012


The U.S. Defense Department needs more providers trained in treating substance abuse in the armed forces, according to an Institute of Medicine report.
The prevalence of comorbid behavioral conditions "necessitates access to providers with advanced levels of training rather than certified counselors or peer support by individuals in recovery," the report, released Monday, read.
The Department of Defense (DOD) asked the IOM to assess the way it handles the prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) for service members, National Guard troops, members of the Reserves, and military dependents.
IOM researchers held public information gathering meetings, conducted five site visits to military bases to meet with primary care and behavioral health providers, and received information and data on services from the military.
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Specifically, the IOM found:
  • Shortages of SUDs counselors across all branches
  • Wide variation in training and credentialing requirements for counselors across the branches
  • Outdated training manuals for Air Force and Navy substance abuse counselors
  • A noticeable shortage of a workforce trained in SUD prevention including physicians trained in addiction medicine or psychiatry


Sunday, September 23, 2012

Furor fades a year after military's gay ban lifted

By David Crary
The Associated Press
Originally published on September 16, 2012

They are images Americans had never seen before. Jubilant young men and women in military uniforms marching beneath a rainbow flag in a gay-pride parade. Soldiers and sailors returning from deployment and, in time-honored tradition, embracing their beloved — only this time with same-sex kisses.

It's been a year now since the policy known as "don't ask, don't tell" was repealed, enabling gay and lesbian members of the military to serve openly, no longer forced to lie and keep their personal lives under wraps.

The Pentagon says repeal has gone smoothly, with no adverse effect on morale, recruitment or readiness. President Barack Obama cites it as a signature achievement of his first term, and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, says he would not push to reverse the change if elected in place of Obama.

Some critics persist with complaints that repeal has infringed on service members whose religious faiths condemn homosexuality. Instances of anti-gay harassment have not ended. And activists are frustrated that gay and lesbian military families don't yet enjoy the benefits and services extended to other military families.

Yet the clear consensus is that repeal has produced far more joy and relief than dismay and indignation. There's vivid evidence in photographs that have rocketed across cyberspace, such as the military contingent marching in San Diego's gay pride parade and Marine Sgt. Brandon Morgan leaping into the arms of his boyfriend after returning from six months in Afghanistan.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

President Obama orders VA to expand suicide prevention services

By Rebecca Ruiz
MSNBC.com
Originally published September 1, 2012

President Obama issued an executive order Friday tasking the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand its suicide prevention and mental health services.

Under the order, VA is expected to increase its veteran crisis line by 50 percent by the end of the year; ensure that a veteran in distress is given access to a trained mental health worker in 24 hours or less; and launch a national 12-month suicide prevention campaign to educate veterans about available mental health services.

The order reinforces some initiatives that VA has already undertaken.


In April, VA announced that it would hire 1,600 mental health clinicians to meet surging demand, and the order instructs the agency to use loan repayment programs and scholarships, among other strategies, to recruit those professionals by June 2013.

The entire story is here.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Preventing Suicides in US Service Members and Veterans: Concerns After a Decade of War

By Charles W. Hoge, MD, & Carl A. Castro, PhD
JAMA. 2012;308(7):671-672. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.9955

Before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the incidence of suicide in active duty US service members was consistently 25% lower than that in civilians, attributable to "healthy-worker" effects from career selection factors and universal access to health care.

Between 2005 and 2009, the incidence of suicide in Army and Marine personnel nearly doubled.
From 2009 through the first half of 2012, the incidence of suicide among Army soldiers remained elevated (22 per 100 000 per year), with the number dying of suicide each year exceeding the number killed in action.

High rates of suicide have also been reported for US veterans, although incidence studies in veteran populations have drawn conflicting conclusions.

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"Examining communication strategies is also critical. Stigmatizing attitudes may be unwittingly reflected in cliches, such as 'zero tolerance' or 'one suicide is one too many,' expressed by well-intentioned VA or military leaders.  These slogans convey an implicit message: suicides are different from any other medical condition, the result of a bad 'choice' by the individual or negligence by peers or leaders.  These types of communications would not be used to describe attitudes toward depression, PTSD, or cancer."

The entire article is here.

Thanks to Ken Pope for this information.