Soldiers Don’t Cry

The lead article in today’s New York Times is titled, “Army to Require Training Course in Mental Stress.” It describes a new program designed to prevent future mental problems including depression, suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It will eventually become available to all members of the military including active duty, reservists and the National Guard.

The article goes on to describe the process of implementation, starting with training 1,500 sargaents in the techniques so they can then teach others. The program will be introduced in two bases in October and then expanded. It will consist of weekly 90-minute sessions.

While some military leaders question the ultimate effectiveness of the program, especially given the Army’s culture of suppressing emotions, in my opinion, it is long overdue. Even if one suicide is prevented, doesn’t that justify the cost (estimated at $117 million)?

Just as we are now promoting preventative measures in the new healthcare program to avoid unnecesssary and much larger expenses later on, so the military is now acting to decrease an estimated 20 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with some sort of a mental problem. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

The military will evaluate the program with a 170-question analysis for each participant. Then, it will tweak the program as necessary.