U.S. military to review combat stress treatment

Source: Xinhua | 05-13-2009 08:55

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military said on Tuesday that it would review efforts to treat its troops' stress after a soldier shot dead five fellows in Iraq.

Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told a press conference that the U.S. military commanders were urged to take "a hard look" at what to do to help troops ease their combat-related stress.

"The best way to deal with these things is early identification and to help people who might be experiencing difficulty to get the help they need," he said.

The soldier, Sergeant John Russell, was charged earlier on Tuesday with murder, one day after he fatally shot five of his fellow soldiers at a counseling clinic in a U.S. military camp in Baghdad.

Commanders in the field said that before the incident, the soldier showed some signs of mental problems so he was confiscated of his weapons and sent for counseling.

The U.S. military has launched a series of programs to help soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, said Whitman.

"It's not as if there isn't recognition already of the stress that's produced by combat," he added. "But certainly this tragic event will give us cause to take a look at this again."

According to the military statistics, nearly a fifth of American soldiers deployed in Iraq suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and suicides among U.S. soldiers in 2008 rose to 143 from 115 in the previous year.

Editor:Zhang Yun