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President George W. Bush established the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in April 2002 as part of his commitment to eliminate inequality for Americans with disabilities. The President directed the Commission to identify policies that could be implemented by Federal, State and local governments to maximize the utility of existing resources, improve coordination of treatments and services, and promote successful community integration for adults with a serious mental illness and children with a serious emotional disturbance...

The mission of the MHAT (IV) was to assess Soldier and Marine mental health and well-being...

The office of The Surgeon General (OTSG) established the Mental Health Advisory Team at the request of the Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq...

Military Families have experienced the emotional trauma of deployment on an unprecedented scale since the end of the Gulf War. Humanitarian missions and peace enforcement have sent our troops to Somalia, Cuba, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo. In the last decade, military downsizing has increased the likelihood that each Soldier will eventually participate on an extended mission. The impact of these long separations is of increasing concern with two-thirds of Soldiers now married and deployments to the Former Yugoslavia entering a fifth year. Differing coping strategies are needed through five stages of deployment. Education of health care providers, military leaders, Soldiers and Family members to anticipate these stages is crucial to ensure the Soldier's safe return and to minimize familial trauma...

The alarming number of suicides earlier this year among U.S. troops serving in Iraq has raised a red flag about the mental strain on our service men and women as they face grueling battles and a conflict with no clear end in sight. These suicides are only the most visible manifestation of the rising mental health toll from the Iraq war and other U.S. combat operations abroad. Studies indicate that troops who served in Iraq are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and other problems brought on by their experiences on a scale not seen since Vietnam.

The Iraq War Clinician Guide was developed by members of the National Center for PTSD and the Department of Defense. It was developed specifically for clinicians and addresses the unique needs of veterans of the Iraq war.

It is safe to assume that all soldiers are impacted by their experiences in war. For many, surviving the challenges of war can be rewarding, maturing, and growth-promoting (e.g., greater self efficacy,enhanced identity and sense of purposefulness, pride, camaraderie, etc.). The demands, stressors, and conflicts of participation in war can also be traumatizing, spiritually and morally devastating, and transformative in potentially damaging ways, the impact of which can be manifest across the lifespan...

Human history is replete with accomplishments that conventional wisdom, at one time or another, declared impossible. In 1156 BC, when Egyptian pharaoh Ramses V died of smallpox (plus a possible blow to the head by detractors), the idea that smallpox might someday be driven from the earth was the stuff of fantasy. Throughout the centuries, as smallpox killed millions of people, physicians used many techniques to try to control the disease...

The Department of Defense (DoD) Task Force on Mental Health, established by Section 723 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, delivered its report of findings on June 12. That report contained 95 recommendations and a strong, positive vision that called for a cultural change to improve and enhance the psychological health and fitness of all our Active and Reserve component Service members as well as their families. The DoD has embraced the vision and the spirit embodied in the recommendations...

The Department of Defense (DoD) announced the formation of a congressionally directed task force to examine matters relating to mental health and the Armed Forces. "This is an extremely important effort involving a collaboration of DoD, federal and private sector experts in mental health," said Dr. William Winkenwerder, Jr., assistant secretary of Defense for health affairs (ASD-HA). "The assessment and recommendations of this group will help to frame the course of the Department's mental health services well into the future..."