MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS IN UK TROOPS

Mental health crisis hits UK troops

Mark Townsend and Jo Revill

The Guardian
May 17, 2006

Thousands of British troops have experienced serious mental health problems following service in Iraq, according to the most authoritative study ever undertaken into the psychological impact of war on UK soldiers.

This week a major government study will reveal how depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder among service personnel in Iraq has increased dramatically since the war was declared over three years ago.

Carried out by a specialist unit at King's College London, the Ministry of Defence-funded research indicates that Iraq has exerted an unforeseen level of psychological illness among British armed forces.

The study will criticise the MoD for not doing enough to support soldiers and their families. In particular, it says the 8,000 Territorial Army recruits who have served in Iraq are most at risk from suffering stress disorders because they receive even less support than regular soldiers following a tour of duty.

According to informed sources, the King's College research detected an incidence of mental health problems far higher than official MoD statistics indicate and above rates recorded from the 1991 Iraq war when thousands of UK troops claimed they suffered so-called Gulf War syndrome.

Current MoD figures reveal that just 1.5 per cent of service personnel - less than 1,400 - have been evacuated from Iraq to Britain with serious psychiatric problems. However, levels of trauma among British troops are said to be nowhere near as high as those recorded among US troops who have served in Iraq. There, official studies reveal that up to a fifth of Iraq veterans have suffered some form of psychiatric illness.

The suicide attacks and relentless bombings, along with a growing disillusionment among soldiers as Iraq shows signs of heading towards civil war, have, medical specialists believe, made Iraq a uniquely troubling combat theatre for soldiers.
This week the MoD will attempt to counter criticism that it has failed to adequately address the issue by announcing that it will offer psychological support for UK reservists up to three years after deployment.

At the moment, TA recruits are required to seek support from the NHS rather than the army if they experience psychological problems following deployment.

The study also monitored the impact on families amid concern Iraq has led to an increase in divorce among service personnel. At least 20 servicemen are believed to have committed suicide following their time in Iraq.

The research, published on Tuesday, screened troops who served in the 2003 Iraq war along with those deployed in the 'peacekeeping period' afterwards and is the largest of its kind ever undertaken among British military personnel.

Lee Skelton, clinical director of Combat Stress, the charity formed by the wives of shell-shocked war veterans in 1919, said: 'Peacekeeping has always created more problems than actual fighting and tends to be more stressful than the normal rules of engagement during a war'.

He added that the number of referrals relating to psychiatric illness that the charity had experienced since the Iraq war began was on a scale normally seen 10 years after a conflict started, suggesting the psychological fallout of Iraq would be considerable.

An MoD spokesman said it would not comment on the findings. http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.cfm/Page/Article/ID/7223