Army works to prevent combat stress

Psychiatrists have been sent to Iraq to help soldiers cope with stress.
MAHMOUDIYAH, Iraq (AP) -- Doctors call the treatment "three hots and a cot." Soldiers and commanders see it as a much-needed lifeline in the middle of a relentless and bloody war.
The U.S. Army has sent psychiatrists to Iraq to help soldiers showing signs of combat stress since the 2003 invasion. But now it is sending doctors to the country's most intense combat zones to pull soldiers from units for extensive therapy.
The idea is that giving soldiers time to rest and eat well without leaving Iraq reduces stress and quickens the return to duty.
"Every time you evacuate the soldier further from where they work, your chances of getting that soldier back to full duty decrease," said Lt. Col. Elizabeth Bowler, an Army psychiatrist in Iraq. "The closer we can treat to the front, the better our chances."
The shift in treatment comes as military leaders assess what may have led U.S. Marines to allegedly kill civilians in the western town of Haditha on Nov. 19. Realizing that combat stress may have been a factor, commanders in Iraq have asked soldiers to be extra vigilant in identifying signs of combat stress in those around them.
Simple changes
The changes are simple: Burgers and fries instead of prepackaged meals, warm conversations in an air-conditioned tent and nightly movies that soldiers gather to watch. It's entertainment, and it helps them forget the war -- sometimes all they need, Bowler said.
Still, the changes reflect drastic adjustments in the way the military approaches mental health among its soldiers. Commanders now recognize the importance of mental health.
"It used to be that if you went to a combat stress team, you were a loser. Now we expect it," said Lt. Col. Thomas Kunk, a battalion commander with the Army's 502nd Infantry Regiment.
U.S. military commanders in Washington have also acknowledged combat stress as a reality in Iraq.
"When you're in combat theater dealing with enemy combatants who don't abide by the law of war to do acts of indecency, soldiers become stressed," Army Brig. Gen. Donald Campbell, chief of staff for U.S. forces in Iraq, told a Pentagon briefing. "They see their buddies getting blown up on occasion and they could snap."
Sleepless nights, angry outbursts and vivid memories that replay endlessly of horrific bombings make each day a challenge for soldiers showing signs of combat stress. And the stress keep coming, with catastrophic roadside bombs vaporizing soldiers here nearly every week.
Sgt. Jason Redick, 27, of Lapeer, Mich., saw his friends torn apart in an explosion that struck an armored Humvee in his convoy last November.
"It's still vivid, everything about that day," Redick said.
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