We're not just breaking the military, we're also breaking our soldiers

There's been alot of headlines generated by the ethics survey portion of the military's MHAT-IV mental health advisory report.

* Soldiers who deployed longer (greater than six months) or had deployed multiple times were more likely to screen positive for a mental health issue.

* Approximately 10 percent of soldiers reported mistreating non-combatants or damaging their property when it was not necessary.

* Less than half of soldiers and Marines would report a team member for unethical behavior.

* More than one-third of all soldiers and Marines reported that torture should be allowed to save the life of a fellow soldier or Marine.

But, there were several other items in the press conference and press release related to the mental health reporting that I don't think should get lost.

1) 15-17% screened positive for PTSD among combat units.

2) Deployment length was directly linked to morale problems in the Army.

3) Multiple deployers reported higher acute stress than first-time deployers. Deployment length was related to higher rates of mental health problems and marital problems.

4) The general recommendation in the report for all of these problems is that tours should be 1 year or less followed by 18 to 36 months "dwell time" in the United States.

(You may remember that the Bush administration recently authorized 15 month tours (and more multiple tours) with 1 year in the US (which includes wind down and training.))

Later: I think Thomas Ricks has the best article on all this that I've seen. A few additions from that WaPo piece.

"A considerable number of Soldiers and Marines are conducting combat operations everyday of the week, 10-12 hours per day seven days a week for months on end," wrote Col. Carl Castro and Maj. Dennis McGurk, both psychologists. "At no time in our military history have Soldiers or Marines been required to serve on the front line in any war for a period of 6-7 months."....

That was in keeping with findings of past surveys, as was the conclusion that more than 40 percent of soldiers reported low morale in their units....

Strains on military families also are intensifying. About 20 percent of soldiers said they were planning a divorce or separation, up from 15 percent in the previous year's survey.

We're not just breaking the military, we're also breaking our soldiers.