Troops' advocate: War-spawned medical issues a growing problem

By John T. Bennett - 12/06/11 05:44 PM ET

The Military Officers Association of America told lawmakers Tuesday that a decade of war has created medical issues that will stretch U.S. health systems “for generations to come.”

René Campos, MOAA Deputy Director of Government Relations told the House Veterans Affairs Health subcommittee that the organization is “particularly concerned about the exponentially growing need to address mental health, behavioral and cognitive conditions in light of rising rates of suicides, alcohol and substance abuse, and other emotional issues playing out after 10 years of war among veterans, service members and their families.

“Eighteen veterans commit suicide every day,” Campos said. “That is one every 80 minutes; 20 percent of all suicides in the U.S. are former service members.”

MOAA believes a “sustained national commitment at all levels of government to help veterans cope with the psychological and traumatic conditions that threaten their well-being and that of their families.”

The organization offered several recommendations to remedy current problems, including setting up a single suicide-prevention office that would report directly to the Veterans Affairs (VA) and Defense Department secretaries.

MOAA also called for the VA to expand its mental health capacity to “improve access and delivery of quality and timely care and information.” The group also called to expand VA health care to include “all eligible veterans ... especially those in the Guard and Reserve, rural areas and high-risk populations by communicating better to reach them and help them understand how to use available services.”

The organization feels “the VA and DOD must improve how they work together to achieve recommended actions and reduce the shocking suicide statistics of those who have served our nation,” Campos said.

Pentagon leaders have increasingly talked about the need to get a better handle on the medical issues — especially mental-health problems — that are popping up among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. Medical professionals expect those issues to get more widespread.