Sunday, June 25, 2006

Mental Health Task Force for Armed Forces

The Department of Defense announced a few days ago the formation of a Mental Health Task Force, congressionally directed, to examine aspects of mental health and our members in the armed forces.

The Mental Health Task Force is to be made up of of seven members of the Department of Defense, and seven others who are not members of the Department of Defense. According to the Department of Defense Press Release, the task force will assess the efficacy of mental health services provided to members of the military by the Department of Defense, and submit a report to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in May 2007 with recommendations for improving upon these services.

The first business meeting is set for next month (mid-July).
Congress directed the establishment of this task force as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2006. It is being co-chaired by Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, MD, Army Surgeon General, and a non-DoD person to be elected by the task force membership.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

this is really so important for our troops. they sometimes have so much trouble coming back home because it is so different and because of the horrible things they have been through.

Anonymous said...

Bravo your blog,they are risking life and limb in the defense of our country.Back in the early 1970’s i worked with a crew of Vietnam vets many who were deeply troubled with PTSD.

It’s about time the mental health concerns of military personnel and their dependents gets priority.–Daniel Haszard