good luck with the interview
here is a helpful website, I picked out some articles that may help
http://www.veteransforamerica.org/http://www.veteransforamerica.org/ArticleID/9143Experts: Iraq Veterans Wrongly Diagnosed
Austin American-Statesman
Dec 24, 2006
snip
Soldiers suffering from the stress of combat in Iraq are being misdiagnosed by military doctors as having a personality disorder, lawyers and psychologists say, which allows them to be quickly and honorably discharged but stigmatizes them with a label that is hard to dislodge and can hurt them financially.
snip
Some of the soldiers at Fort Carson say they had been told by Army psychologists that the Department of Veterans Affairs would take care of them if their troubles persisted. A personality disorder, however, is considered a pre-existing condition, not one related to a soldier's service, and Veterans Affairs can treat but not give disability benefits in these cases.
http://www.veteransforamerica.org/ArticleID/9121More Resources Needed, Panel Is Told
Hartford Courant
Dec 21, 2006
snip
Veterans advocates said some returning troops were waiting months to see mental health specialists, and they called on the military to use civilian health professionals to help meet the demand. Paul Sullivan, director of research and analysis for Veterans for America, warned that as many as 525,000 Iraq war veterans will need mental health care, swamping VA centers.
http://www.veteransforamerica.org/ArticleID/9017Troops Pay Hidden Cost of Multiple Deployments
Diane M. Grassi
Renew America
Dec 13, 2006
..snip
And leaving the care of returning soldiers up to themselves or their families is hardly the way system was set up to work. There are nearly 70 stories of soldiers who have committed suicide either in Iraq, Afghanistan or stateside since the inception of the War on Terror. There could be more since suicides are considered part of non-combat related casualties and such statistics remain sketchy. And in most of these cases, either the families of these soldiers had pleaded for help for their loved ones, fellow soldiers reported abnormal behaviors, or soldiers themselves confided in their superiors about their troubles. Unfortunately, too many never came forward at all, fearing stigmatization.
http://www.veteransforamerica.org/ArticleID/8945$500 Billion and Counting
Dave Montgomery and Kevin G. Hall
McClatchy Newspapers
Dec 06, 2006
Washington D.C. - During a recent visit to a military-family center at Fort Hood, Joyce Raezer was dismayed to find a sign in a stall in the ladies' room. It asked women to clean up because janitorial service had been cut back.
More than 73,000 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and have problems such as drug abuse and depression. That's enough people to fill a typical NFL stadium.
Last month, the length of the Iraq war surpassed the time the nation was involved in World War II. By spring, the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the global fight against terrorism are expected to surpass the $536 billion in inflation-adjusted costs of the Vietnam War. That's more than 10 times President Bush's prewar estimate of $50 billion.
snip
Health: Between Oct. 1, 2001, and June 30, 2006, 35 percent of returning active-duty soldiers and 31 percent of Army reservists and National Guardsmen sought medical care from Veterans Affairs health centers. That figure from the Veterans Health Administration doesn't include treatment at VA hospitals.
In that period, more than 33,000 returning troops received preliminary diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder. Others experienced depression and drug abuse.
More than 1.4 million U.S. soldiers have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since late 2001, and about 26 percent have filed disability claims, according to raw data provided by the Veterans Affairs Department. That percentage could grow as soldiers leave the armed forces.
http://www.veteransforamerica.org/ArticleID/8820Stress Disorders, Drug Abuse, Little Help for Troops
Austin American Statesman
Nov 26, 2006
As of August, more than 184,500 returning veterans had sought care of all kinds through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and about one in six of those had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, a rate expected to climb since it can take months and sometimes years for the condition to manifest itself.
Up to 29 percent of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, predicts Col. Charles Engel, a clinician at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As of August, the VA had diagnosed 63,767 discharged veterans with a mental disorder and 34,380 with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Some statistics show the cases climbing fast. The number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have sought help for readjustment concerns including post-traumatic stress disorder doubled between October 2005 and June 2006, according to a recent survey of 60 VA-run centers by the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.
About 144,000 of the 589,000 veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have already been seen at VA-run Vet Centers for "readjustment concerns" ranging from depression and marital problems to full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder.
http://www.veteransforamerica.org/index.cfm/page/weblog/subpage/display_blog/bid/6688049F-123F-747A-1B30DCCAC0EFEC94Paul Sullivan
Friday, 20 October 2006
Strong Evidence Shows VA Remains in Crisis
"Last month VA referred over twenty vets in one swoop because one of their staff members retired. . .We are busier than ever. I would hate to have to make clinical decisions based on resources, but I do see that day on the horizon."
"We've had a huge increase, about 20-25 percent of our caseload. We have about 400 new clients from OIF/OEF - 3 new therapy groups . . .We would really benefit from some additional funds to help meet the needs of these returning men and women because we're really overwhelmed."
"We are really at capacity. We may have to limit our services soon, or establish a waiting list."
"We have an outreach worker, but do not have enough clinical people."
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