Congressional Caucus Holds Briefing On Psychiatric Problems in Military



Col. Gregory Gadson is director of the

U.S. Army Wounded Warrior program,

which helps injured Army soldiers

move back to active duty or civilian life.

Psychiatric News attended a briefing today where Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-Calif.), Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), and the Congressional Mental Health Caucus hosted top military mental health officials and military spouses to update congressional members and staff on posttraumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, and suicide prevention in military members, veterans, and their families. Speakers included Navy Capt. Paul Hammer, MC, director of the Defense Center of Excellence; Gen. Peter Chiarelli, vice chief of staff for the Army; and Army Col. Gregory Gadson, director of the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior program. Army Sgt. Maj. Robert Gallagher detailed his ongoing recovery from his “wounds above the shoulders.”


Gadson’s legs had to be amputated after a roadside bomb blast in Iraq, but that was not the end of his career. “The Army recognized that even with my injury I still had worth and allowed me to continue to serve,” said Gadson, who played football at West Point.

Recently, the Institute of Medicine announced that it is undertaking a huge study to identify the most effective ways to assess and treat military members for posttraumatic stress. More information is posted in Psychiatric News at http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/46/7/4.1.full. And NIMH is studying Army data on suicide to understand its causes and prevent it. See http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/44/16/1.1.full.