{"id":4604,"date":"2009-05-27T17:07:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-27T23:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/05\/teague-seeks-mandatory-screenings-to-combat-ptsd\/"},"modified":"2009-05-27T17:07:00","modified_gmt":"2009-05-27T23:07:00","slug":"teague-seeks-mandatory-screenings-to-combat-ptsd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/05\/teague-seeks-mandatory-screenings-to-combat-ptsd\/","title":{"rendered":"Teague seeks mandatory screenings to combat PTSD"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Congressman to propose mandatory mental health screenings for military personnel when signing up, before and after deployment and before discharge<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

By Vicki Nisbett<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

To deal with the problem of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder<\/a> (PTSD) in the military, U.S. Rep. Harry Teague<\/a>, D-N.M., unveiled a bill today that would require mandatory mental health assessments for service members upon induction, before and after deployment and before discharge.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Teague announced the legislation, which is named for Las Crucen Kyle Barthel, at a news conference at Veteran\u2019s Memorial Park in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. After serving in Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, Barthel took his own life upon return to civilian life, a victim of PTSD.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The legislation is titled The Kyle Barthel Veterans and Service Member Mental Health Screening Act.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cKyle reached out and sought treatment but was never able to get the mental health help that he needed and deserved. Sadly, Kyle took his own life after suffering from problems associated with PTSD,\u201d Teague said at today\u2019s news conference.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The congressman was joined by Barthel\u2019s mother and Do\u00f1a Ana County Commissioner Scott Krahling<\/a> at the announcement. Krahling, a friend of Barthel, has authored a guest column<\/a> published on this site about Barthel\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I decided to run for public office, it was because I wanted to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem,\u201d Krahling said at the news conference. \u201cToday, I can say I feel that I am a part of the solution. Although he isn\u2019t here with us today, Kyle is here in spirit, and his life has inspired change that will give hope to the many military personnel and veterans currently suffering from PTSD.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s about time\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Undiagnosed and untreated PTSD cases are leading to mental health issues that decrease the quality of life for returning combat veterans, and in some cases, lead to suicide, according to a news release from Teague\u2019s office. Suicide rates for the U.S. Army have risen 60 percent since 2003. The 101st Airborne — Barthel\u2019s unit — has suffered 14 deaths this year that are being investigated as suicides.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The bill aims to increase the providing of mental health treatment to \u201cbegin to stem the tide of tragic incidents associated with PTSD,\u201d the news release states.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A local veteran who served in Vietnam<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, Jim Dickerson, attended the announcement. He said Teague\u2019s legislation \u201cshould have been here 10 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of Congressman Teague for introducing it. I\u2019m a Republican and I think Harry Teague is doing an outstanding job,\u201d Dickerson said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In response, Teague said in an interview, \u201cWe\u2019re doing it for all of the veterans, not just for Democrats, but it\u2019s nice to hear that other people think it\u2019s a good deal, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Another local veteran who served in Vietnam<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, Bob Rogers, said he believes the bill is \u201ca little late.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThey forgot about us before,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about time they started looking after some of these kids. We came back from Vietnam<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> and nobody worried about us, and we went crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Teague plans to introduce the bill when Congress returns from its current recess. The bill is expected to be assigned to the House Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs. Teague has served on that committee since taking office in January.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

If you are or know a veteran suffering from PTSD, call the Las Cruces Veterans\u2019 Center at (575) 523-9826.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Nisbett is a Las Cruces-based freelance writer, and is writing articles for this site while she pursues other opportunities. She can be reached at puncpubs@yahoo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congressman to propose mandatory mental health screenings for military personnel when signing up, before and after deployment and before discharge By Vicki Nisbett To deal with the problem of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the military, U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., unveiled a bill today that would require mandatory mental health assessments for service members […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4604\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}