The Hidden Cost of War

"The cost of war on the human side is expensive -- and much of it comes after the war."
"Calling it an 'operational stress injury', not a 'mental health problem', has been important -- it broke the code for a lot of troops in giving them a sense they were not suffering from a dishonorable injury but a recognized injury that could have fatal consequences -- suicide."
Senator (General) Romeo Dallaire

Four of Canada's military men have taken their own lives in the last week, a tremendous shock to the military, to the government, to the public. Members of the military so afflicted by after-conflict trauma that they are simply incapable of functioning, of taking their place as they normally would do, in the service, let alone within society at large. Some seek treatment, some do not.

There is the concern of being identified with a mental illness. There is the worry that they will be viewed as unfit for duty. That they will be dismissed from a profession they desperately want to remain with. They see no other work-life combination that appeals to their sense of self-worth and aspirations for achievement.

It has been reported that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been so traumatized himself by the telephone calls he personally made to families of soldiers who lost their lives on the battlefield, that it resulted in his unwillingness to further commit to Canadian troop engagement abroad. He was so deeply affected that he turned to a few measures to meet an anticipated rise in PTSD sufferers.

Increased funding for mental health treatment in the military. And new legislation meant to extend the time frame during which veterans have priority entitlement to public service positions as they come open. Matters have progressed in the past five years, they have measurably improved from the situation that existed in 2008 for those veterans suffering operational stress injuries.

Former General, now Senator Romeo Dallaire found himself given fairly short shrift on his return from his Rwanda United Nations mission in 1990, when he was himself suffering from the debilitating mental effects of the dreadful genocide that occurred under his UN peacekeeping watch, and the deaths of some of the men under his command.

While there has been a funding increase for programs, a "persistent shortage" of qualified mental health care personnel exists, as pointed out by ombudsman Pierre Daigle. His report emphasizes that at least 447 mental health practitioners should be in the employ of the Canadian Forces, but there have never been more than 380. The number of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists within the mental health staff is inadequate by far.

The lack of ability to track and report on the effectiveness of the mental health system means "it is not possible to evaluate the appropriateness of the overall funding allocated to the operational stress injury imperative", Mr. Daigle reported. That, despite Defence Minister Rob Nicholson's boast that Canada has the highest number of mental health practitioners of all NATO allies.

The current hiring freeze in the public service has held back the potential numbers of priority listed veterans from finding work. Of 8,702 medically released soldiers in the past seven years 2,017 were hired in the public service, most of them within the Department of National Defence itself. The plight of returning veterans facing future difficulties has not been lost on the public.

There is an abundance of concern expressed over the need to do more for military veterans. The Prime Minister insists "it is the responsibility of all of us to encourage those who need help to get help". Canada's top general, Tom Lawson, has produced a video message to his members: "We are with you".

And while Senator Dallaire is critical of the culture in the Canadian Forces where high performance is expected: "They can be quite ruthless on people who don't meet those levels", he also says there has been a "massive cultural shift" for the better.