CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Seventy percent of 1st Combat Camera's missions this year will be in support of the Army. Combat Camera Airmen are embedded with infantry units, documenting house sweeps, convoys and patrols. Their images short-circuit enemy propaganda, ensuring they cannot claim fault where there is none; they highlight enemy tactics; and show the American people their military in action. Along the way, combat camera forces see a lot of awful things which never make it into the commercial media. For most, the images in their minds fade and they get on with military life. Unfortunately for my unit, there was one who could not go on and he will be missed.
Many other Airmen are participating in highly dangerous missions such as convoy operations or providing critical care and evacuation for those seriously wounded. All are returning with their own stories of the horrors of war -- like those physically wounded, they deserve the best the military can give them.
Combat stress frequently begins to manifest three to six months after re-deployment. What can you do?
-- Commanders and first sergeants: know your people and your unit. Ensure your folks are participating in re-integration and assessment programs. Educate your people on the symptoms and the variety of services available. Foster a climate of mutual support.
-- Supervisors: know your people and follow-up with affected members.
-- Airmen who have experienced combat stress: get with those recent returnees and discuss your experiences. Counsel them to seek help if they need it.
-- The individual: take a break, and use your compensatory time. Go to the gym -- exercise is a proven method to reduce stress and improve your mental well-being. Recognize when you are over your head and ask for help. There is no shame in asking for help. We would all rather have you around and healthy.
Requesting help does not mean the end of your career. When the member initiates contact with mental health providers, they only contact your commander if: you are a threat to yourself or others, you are suspected of family or substance abuse or are referred for admission into a mental health facility. Nothing is noted in your official records and medical records are confidential.
Today's military provides a huge variety of ways to get the assistance you need.
-- Chaplains are trained in counseling and can provide advice without religion, if that is your preference. There is an absolute privilege for all information confided in a chaplain or chaplain's assistant as a formal act of conscience or religion.
-- Life Skills offers comprehensive evaluation and treatment for the full spectrum of behavioral health disorders. It also provides a wide range of intervention services, including individual and group therapy.
-- Family Advocacy has professional social workers, nurses and program assistants. They stand ready to offer support to families.
-- Military One Source provides referral services for in-person counseling. When there is a need, a consultant can refer a service member or eligible family member to a licensed professional counselor in the local community for six sessions per issue at no cost to the military or family member. One issue may be grief, another stress, another infidelity and so on. Call 800-342-9647 for more information.
For those members who may be facing potential military justice discipline or who are the subject of an investigation, there is the Limited Privilege Suicide Prevention Program. The objective of the LPSP program is to identify and treat those Air Force members who, because of the stress of impending disciplinary action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice pose a genuine risk of suicide. Members are granted limited protection of information in order to ensure their safety. Remember, you can always seek mental health assistance for factors underlying the criminal act for which you are accused. Talk to your Area Defense Counsel about ways to get help without threatening your case.
Returning to the "the world" and reintegrating into a family can be hard. Often, the only one who will know how a person is coping is their family, friends or co-workers.
The Air Force's most important asset is you! We must all take care of each other so the Air Force can continue to fly, fight and win.