Mr. Chairman, ranking member and distinguished members of the committee, on behalf of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and our thousands of members nationwide, I thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the mental health needs of military families.  I would like to point out that my testimony today does not reflect the views of the United States Marine Corps.  I am here testifying today in my civilian capacity as the Director of Government Affairs for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

In my ten-year career as a Marine reservist, I have had the honor of serving in Iraq twice.  When I returned home from my tours, I realized that combat deployments are hard on members of the Armed Services, but they are even more difficult for military families. 

My family was no different.    During my second tour in Iraq, I was wounded when a sniper’s bullet impacted the scope on top of my rifle.  Fragments of the bullet are still lodged in my face today, a constant reminder of how lucky I was on that hot October day in Fallujah.  The circumstances surrounding my injury were so fantastic that I knew my parents would eventually hear about the incident.  My command, and myself, felt it was important that I contact my family via satellite phone to inform them of what had happened.  While this was the correct decision, I knew the impact on my loved ones would be tremendous.  Over the phone I told my mother, “You can hear my voice.  I’m alright.”   

But the incident that physically wounded me wounded my mother much worse.  She had a difficult time understanding what had happened.  In her own words: “I never knew why someone would want to shoot my Todd.”   While I was completing my tour in Iraq, my mother needed help at home.  My family lives far from  the reserve center that I deployed from, and was not involved with any formal family counseling groups.  Her only contact with fellow military families was via email or phone.  As she struggled to cope with the knowledge of my injury, my mother was more than alone, she was lost.  She sought assistance through the only means she was aware of, the mental health counseling covered by her own health coverage. 

For the 1.6 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, the stresses of deployment hit home.  As the committee knows, rates of psychological injuries among new veterans are high and rising.  According to the VA Special Committee on PTSD, at least 30 to 40% of Iraq veterans, or about half a million people, will face a serious psychological injury, including depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Data from the military’s own Mental Health Advisory Team shows that multiple tours and inadequate time at home between deployments increase rates of combat stress by 50%.  These deployments, the Mental Health Advisory Team has concluded, also put families under tremendous strain; 27% of soldiers and Marines in Iraq are reporting marital problems.

Marital Problems Among Soldiers in Iraq

It is not only marriages that are being tested; more than 155,000 children have parents currently deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 700,000 children have had a parent deployed at some point during the conflicts, according the American Psychological Association.  According to the Pentagon, almost 19,000 children have had a parent wounded, and 2,200 children have lost a parent in Afghanistan or Iraq.

There are not yet conclusive numbers on divorce rates among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.  But the signs of family strain resulting from mental health injuries are clear.  In a recent VA study of new veterans referred to VA specialty care for a behavioral health evaluation, two-thirds of married or cohabiting veterans reported some kind of family or adjustment problem.  22% of these veterans were concerned that their children “did not act warmly” towards them or “were afraid” of them.  Among those veterans with current or recently-separated partners, 56% reported conflicts involving “shouting, pushing or shoving.”  Moreover, a May 2007 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology has suggested that deployments have also led to a dramatic increase in the rates of child abuse in military families. 

For all of these reasons, concrete action is necessary to ensure that troops, veterans, and their families have access to mental health care.  In the media and in Congress, IAVA has been at the forefront of efforts to improve military and veteran families’ access to treatment for psychological injuries.

This year, I am proud to announce that IAVA has partnered with the Ad Council, the nonprofit organization responsible for some of America’s most effective and memorable public service campaigns, including “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste,” “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires,” and “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.”  This summer, the Ad Council and IAVA will launch a multi-year campaign to destigmatize mental health care for servicemembers and their families.  The broadcast, print, web and outdoor ads will encourage those who need it to seek mental health care and inform all Americans that seeking help is a sign of strength rather than weakness.  We are very excited to partner with Ad Council to help get troops, veterans, and their families the care they need and deserve.

Mental health and support for veterans’ families are also key components of IAVA’s 2008 Legislative Agenda.  One of IAVA’s six legislative priorities this year is new funding to combat the shortage of mental health professionals.  The VA must be authorized to bolster its mental health workforce with adequate psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers to meet the demands of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, including funding for Vet Centers to alleviate staffing shortfalls.   While IAVA applauds the VA initiative to hire new Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as “Outreach Coordinators,” as of April 2007, VA numbers show that more than half of the 200-plus Vet Centers need at least one more psychologist or therapist.   IAVA also supports the creation of new VA programs to provide family and marital counseling for veterans receiving VA mental health treatment.  For the many military and veteran families who, unlike my family, are among the 47 million uninsured Americans, this may be their only access to the mental health care that they need to cope with the effect of the wars on their families. 

I thank you for providing me the opportunity to testify before you this afternoon.  All the data and IAVA recommendations I have cited are available in our Mental Health report and our Legislative Agenda.  I have brought copies of our Legislative Agenda, and our report on Mental Health with me today for your convenience.  It would be my pleasure to answer any questions you may have for me at this time.

[The IAVA report entitled, "Mental Health Injuries, the Invisible Wounds of War," January 2008, will be retained in the Committee files.  The report can be downloaded from the IAVA website at:  http://www.iava.org/documents/Mental_Health.pdf.]