Pilot project to help service veterans readjust to civilian life

Embargoed until Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Military personnel exiting war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan could soon be helped to kick behaviour - including heavy drinking and dangerous driving – which keeps them alive in the theatre of war, but is not conducive to civilian life.

Surgeon Commander Dr Neil Greenberg, senior lecturer in psychiatry at the Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health in London, told the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Annual Meeting in London that a pilot scheme due to start later this year will help ex-service men and women to recognise that life skills appropriate to the war zone could cause problems at home.   

He said: “In the theatre of war, erratic driving and risky behaviour are part of survival. You wouldn’t wear a seat belt in the streets of Kabul or Kandaha and driving erratically can save your life. Yet too many ex-troops carry on the same behaviour back home. This explains the high rates of dangerous driving convictions in the year following discharge, and the higher than average rates of involvement with both the criminal and military disciplinary authorities.’  

Dr Greenberg said heavy drinking was frequently part of the military ‘buddy culture’ instilled in new recruits to keep them physically safe. He told the Annual Meeting delegates: “Soldiers learn to look after each other, check their buddies’ kit and cover their backs. Having a few beers with the lads at the end of the day is part of that culture. Back at home, a life where the priority is drinking with army pals undermines marriages and can lead to alcohol abuse.”

Dr Greenberg said the Ministry of Defence is now preparing to address the need for service personnel to translate military skills into acceptable civilian behaviour. A short but hard-hitting video, The Grim Reaper, is being shown to troops to warn that ‘the toughest troops are still vulnerable to car crashes’. An educational briefing is also being tested on the 4,000 troops discharged from active service every six months, using a ‘wellness model’ that encouraged resilience and adaptability.

Later, College members were challenged to take a greater interest in the mental health needs of veterans of the Iraqi and Afghanistan conflicts who will be seeking help from general mental health services in increasing numbers. Dr Martin Deahl of South Staffordshire and Shopshire Mental Health Trust said there is ‘an iceberg of mental health morbidity’ among the five million plus military veterans – including 25 per cent of homeless people in the UK and a high proportion of the prison population.  

He said a newly-established NHS Veterans’ Agency pilot project in South Staffordshire had shown that alcohol-related problems and adjustment disorder are among the most common mental health problems. “The needs of army veterans are not simply clinical. Many veterans need to feel that they are still part of the military “family’. We must ensure that service people leave the military with a sense that they have been thanked and that their value is appreciated.”

But Dr Greenberg said mentally ill veterans frequently do not seek help from military psychiatrists, and many do not seek help for 14 years after discharge on average. “There is no scientific evidence for the widely held view that veterans will only talk to other soldiers. It is essential that general psychiatrists and GPs learn to look beyond the ‘horrors of war’ and begin to feel comfortable about talking to military veterans about everyday issues including resettlement and family problems,’” he concluded.

References:

Annual Meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Imperial College, London, 1 - 4 July 2008