yourviews
MILITARY
members needs to be kept in mind.
Providing counseling for them must
OFFICER
“Our coun-
try must
be part of budget allocations as a di-
JUNE 2008 $4.50 THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF MOAA | ONE POWERFUL VOICE®
WWW.MOAA.ORG
adequately
rect benefi t to servicemembers.
Second, counseling skills are not
fund the enough. … We must take time to train
Coast Guard
counselors to consider the military
so [it] can
environment, culture, and family
continue to
lifestyle as essential factors in treat-
ment. Understanding the stress of the
be semper
combat experience is improved when
Making
paratus.”
counselors are able to identify with,
—CWO3 David Ponstein,
for example, the military’s role in im-
Waves
Coast Guard Commandant USCG-Ret.
plementing national policy without
Adm. Thad W. Allen is on a
mission to modernize
question, the intense group loyalty
54
one has toward comrades, and the
10.6% CUT COMING?
July 1 deadline looms for
pride felt in completing the mission.
Medicare/TRICARE payments 33
WORLD WAR WEB
underappreciated and Third, increasing health care ca-
Has the Internet become our
Achilles’ heel? 60
extremely underfunded pacity won’t cut it. … RAND’s study
PLUS: Learn to stay fit
at many levels of gov- found that only 50 percent of those
and fight infection 65
ernment. … Our country with PTSD sought help, with some
June
cover.indd 1 5/8/08 8:17:07 PM must adequately fund fearing it would impair their careers.
Semper Paratus the Coast Guard so [it] can continue Treatment was often late, and then
I could not be more proud of today’s to be semper paratus [always pre- only 25 percent felt they improved.
Coast Guard men and women [“Mis- pared]. I certainly hope and pray [The RAND study] concluded that,
sion to Modernize,” June 2008]. It that [Coast Guard Commandant “addressing personal attitudes of ser-
goes without saying that taking into Adm. Thad W.] Allen gets the sup- vicemembers about the use of mental
account the tragic events of Sept. 11, port he needs to continue to mod- health services, although important,
2001, and the aftermath, they have ernize our Coast Guard. is not likely to be suffi cient if the in-
been tasked with vastly increased —CWO3 David Ponstein, USCG-Ret. stitutional barriers remain in place.”
missions and responsibilities. Add via e-mail The most obvious barrier that
in the Hurricane Katrina and Gulf must change is the military regulation
Coast disasters, and you have a ser- Prescription for PTSD that specifi cally prohibits awarding
vice that has been stretched to and MOAA joined RAND Corp. in rec- the Purple Heart to combat service-
probably beyond [its] capabilities. ommending increased in-house and members suffering from PTSD as a
Yet, the Coast Guard took the bull external health care capacity to help legitimate war injury in itself. … It is
by the horns … and got the job done a growing number of servicemembers unrealistic to expect servicemembers
in a fi rst-rate manner. They didn’t and veterans deal with PTSD [“Men- to seek help for PTSD in the face of
stand around and wait to be told tal Health Care Shortfall,” “Washing- attitudes that discourage and stigma-
what to do, they knew what had to be ton Scene,” June 2008]. As a career tize their efforts without changing the
done … and they did it. Perform the Army clinical social work [Medical very barriers that support and con-
mission, sort out the paperwork later. Service Corps] offi cer, ex-Pentagon tribute to those attitudes.
I can’t even begin to imagine how behavioral science consultant and ac- —Lt. Col. Frank F. Montalvo, USA-Ret.
many lives would have been lost had tion offi cer during the Vietnam era, San Antonio
the Coast Guard not been there. I and emeritus mental health practitio-
believe that in far too many years ner and educator, I have a few caveats. Filipino Scout Benefits
that have passed, the true needs First, PTSD is a family affair. … [MOAA] might want to reconsider
of the Coast Guard have gone very The impact of this illness on family [its] position on opposing [compen-
14 MILITARY OFFICER AUGUST 2008
AAug_letters.indd
14ug_letters.indd 14 77/9/08 10:31:51 PM/9/08 10:31:51 PM
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