ON THE FRONT LINES AGAINST PTSD
READY FOR THE NEXT MISSION
Airman 1st Class Alexandra Powell, a security member assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, scans an airfield for potential threats on Camp Shorabak, Afghanistan, in March 2016. With studies indicating that a sizable percentage of warfighters are returning from deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq with PTSD, USAMRMC is working on new approaches to ensure that service members get the diagnosis and treatment they need and can return to duty with confidence. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Robert Cloys)
In addition to the human cost that PTSD extracts from those who suffer from it, many Soldiers who have PTSD are unable to do their military jobs and either leave service voluntarily or are medically retired. Gen. Mark A. Mil- ley, chief of staff of the Army, has been clear that operational units must focus on readiness as their No. 1 priority. Te loss of trained, combat-experienced Soldiers directly impacts unit readiness and puts greater pressure on the Army to rapidly train new Soldiers.
USAMRMC and its subordinate units continue to conduct research to mitigate service members’ risk of and vulnerabil- ity to traumatic exposures that can cause PTSD. Additionally, extensive research focuses on developing rapid diagnostic procedures and tools, and on ensuring that care providers are armed with evidence- based treatment to facilitate recovery and fully prepare service members to return to duty with confidence in their ability to perform effectively.
Within the command, the Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP) is responsible for develop- ing effective medical
countermeasures 70 Army AL&T Magazine
against operational stressors and for preventing physical and psychological injuries during training and operations in order to maximize the health, readiness and performance of service members and their families. Te MOMRP manages Army Medicine and Defense Health Pro- gram funding that supports the planning, programming and budgeting of psycho- logical and behavioral health research.
MOMRP actively collaborates with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) as part of the National Research Action Plan. Te national plan is a coordinated, multiagency response to the 2012 White House call for increased access to behavioral health care for vet- erans, service members and military families. All three agencies serve the same population, although usually at different times during and after their military ser- vice or affiliation.
In response to precipitously increas- ing numbers of behavioral health issues among service members, Congress ini- tiated significant increases in research funding in 2007. Since then, MOMRP has managed more than $500 million
and funded more than 300 projects to better understand PTSD and to help pre- vent and treat it. MOMRP also plays an integral role in developing and support- ing implementation of PTSD care across the military health system, in VA hospi- tals and in community behavioral health care facilities that treat service members and veterans.
SUPPORTING PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH MOMRP has four major areas of empha- sis on Soldiers’ and veterans’ psychological health that affect readiness directly:
1. Promoting the psychological adapt- ability of service members in the face of operational demands by improv- ing their resilience, which in turn promotes readiness.
Research in this area includes the development and testing of train- ing methods that enhance resilience. Examples include developing empow- erment skills that build on inherent psychological strengths, training approaches that leverage leadership for better learning, and small-group cohe- sion building. Training in mindfulness
October-December 2017
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