WASHINGTON: With a commitment to taking care of Airmen and their families, Air Force officials said they will maintain a focus on the prevention, mitigation and treatment of deployment-related post-traumatic stress disorder.
Air Force officials use a three-pronged approach to promote psychological health and resiliency in its Airmen, said Col. James Favret, the Air Force Medical Support Agency director of psychological health.
“Through psychological training, screening and intervention, we will continue to reinforce our commitment to our Airmen’s total psychological health, collectively and individually,” Colonel Favret said.
Annual suicide prevention training, frontline supervisors’ training and the “Landing Gear” program, which serves as a bridge to care and PTSD resources, are part of the Air Force’s psychological training designed to make Airmen aware of the types of stress they may encounter both in garrison and while deployed.
Following exposure to a traumatic event, it is common for people to experience such symptoms as flashbacks or nightmares, avoidance of event-related thoughts or feelings, poor sleep and irritability. Though the symptoms often decrease over time, occasionally the symptoms worsen and begin to impact day-to-day activities, Colonel Favret said.
Psychological screening, Colonel Favret said, occurs throughout an Airman’s career by way of the annual preventative health assessment, the post-deployment health assessment and the post-deployment health re-assessment.
“These health screenings provide recurrent opportunities for Airmen to share with their healthcare providers concerns they have about common psychological symptoms and they promote early detection and management,” the colonel added.
Psychological intervention is available in multiple venues, including medical options through primary care and mental health clinics, and non-medical options, such as Military OneSource, military and family life counselors and the chaplain’s office.
“We encourage Airmen to consult with their healthcare provider with any concerns about deployment-related health issues,” Colonel Favret said. “Providers will ensure accomplishment thorough and appropriate assessments and will make referrals to specialty care as needed.”
While the colonel acknowledged that some Airmen have hesitated to seek psychological help for fear of its potential adverse impact on their careers, he emphasized the support Airmen and their families can expect to receive.
“Air Force leadership fully supports Airmen who seek help for personal and psychological concerns as soon as possible,” Colonel Favret said. “Addressing concerns early and appropriately improves resiliency and job performance, therefore positively impacting career progression.”
Air Force officials have partnered with the Defense Center of Excellence of Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury to combat stigma associated with seeking help. For more information and stories of servicemembers who sought help for psychological health concerns, visit www.realwarriors.net.
“The site contains examples of real people who were struggling, sought help, were fully supported by leadership and went on to greater success in their careers,” Colonel Favret said.
Senior leaders have designated July 2009 to July 2010 as the Year of the Air Force Family, but they also maintain the need for a long-term commitment of care and attention to the physical and psychological health of Airmen. Health and wellness is one of the four pillars on which YOAFF is built, including Airmen and family support, education, development and employment and Airman and family housing.
Portrait of a PTSD survivor
Several months after he returned from a deployment, Lt. Col. Greg Harbin said he couldn’t wait to get back downrange, even as his headaches set in. Despite six deployments to Iraq and two to Afghanistan between 2003 and 2008, the pangs of guilt became stronger than any physical pain, he said.
“I wanted to be back next to my fellow warfighters,” said the Air Force District of Washington air, space and information operations director of operations. “I wanted to get back to the war.”
In 2004, Colonel Harbin sustained injuries from an improvised explosive device, and a little more than a year later suffered still more injuries from a rocket-propelled grenade. By May 2007, he was back in harm’s way on a dismounted patrol with NATO. As he tried to rescue an Afghan child from crossfire, the colonel suffered a gunshot wound to the back.
“Each time you get hit, you feel like a boxer … just punch drunk,” Colonel Harbin said. “In neither incident did I think I was hurt that badly.”
By the time Colonel Harbin arrived for moderate post-traumatic stress disorder treatment at Fort Jackson, S.C., he said he continued to downplay his ever-intensifying symptoms so that he could resume deploying.
But with a traumatic brain injury, left ear hearing loss and total loss of his left eye, Colonel Harbin could no longer deny the vice grip PTSD had on his life as a result of the injuries. Once a four-ship flight lead at the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus, Miss., Colonel Harbin also trained students and flew air shows on various weekends between deployments.
“I was living the dream and on top of the world,” the colonel said. “I had confidence and skill then all of a sudden I couldn’t do those things anymore.”
The downward spiral led to the deterioration of his finances, personal and social life, as he began to recede from friends and eventually parted ways with his girlfriend.
Though he described himself as “still in recovery,” Colonel Harbin credited a combination of solid medical care, operational support and the Air Force Warrior and Survivor Care Program for sparking the physical and psychological recovery process.
Undeterred by a stutter and occasional lapses in his thoughts, Colonel Harbin is a frequent speaker for the Wounded Warrior Project, an advocacy and outreach program for severely injured servicemembers. He also works with the Department of Defense and Veteran’s Affairs as a voice for thousands of servicemembers who return home in need of psychological and physical rehabilitation.
Colonel Harbin said in addition to relying on co-workers, supervisors, friends and family for support, wounded warriors themselves have a vital role in seeking help.
“I can relate to other wounded service members about physical and mental issues; there is so much help,” Colonel Harbin said. “I would encourage all of us who are wounded to ‘fess up.”
The colonel added that he’s been able to take advantage of assistance from “angels in the program” such as recovery care coordinator and retired Chief Master Sgt. Dennis Fritz.
RCCs work closely with family liaison officers, patient liaison officers, medical case managers, and a host of support agencies to ensure appropriate support and entitlements to recovering Airmen and eligible family members.
“The Air Force has the opportunity to do something we have struggled with as a nation; destigmatize PTSD and get people to talk about it,” Chief Fritz said. “We can energize and allocate resources while recognizing that once a physician has diagnosed an Airman with PTSD, that Airman should be considered injured just as any other.”
Colonel Harbin agreed, adding the importance of wounded warrior care cannot be understated.
“Taking care of our wounded veterans has to be a warfighting priority,” Colonel Harbin said. “It’s going to take everyone working together to treat PTSD.”
