The Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009
Please take just a moment of your time to sign a petition supporting comprehensive mental health screenings for our returning soldiers. The Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009 would implement a series of mental health screenings for our active duty military, requiring face-to-face screening before deployment, upon return home, and then every six months for two years after their return. We cant afford to wait any longer to help our heroes get the care that they so deserve.
We the undersigned ask you to take just a moment of your time for the young men and women who serve our country so bravely by signing this petition supporting comprehensive mental health screenings for our returning soldiers.
Nearly 20% of our returning service men and women (Military, National Guard, and Army Reserves) suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological effects of war. In 2007, some 2,100 US soldiers attempted suicide, compared with 350 in 2002, prior to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a nation, we have become extremely efficient at turning citizens into soldiers. We must be equally good at turning soldiers back into citizens. We owe them at least that much.
Montana Senator Max Baucus has introduced The Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009 to implement a series of mental health screenings for our active duty military. The Act would require face-to-face screening before deployment, upon return home, and then every six months for two years after their return. This Act is supported by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
