Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker:PTSD Help Not Adequate

MILITARY PTSD CASES SOAR AS ARMY SURGEON GENERAL

SAYS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES "NOT ADEQUATE" --

"As a nation, our mental health capability is not adequate

to the need," and the Army suffers from the same problem.

Wartime PTSD cases jumped nearly 50 pct. in 2007

By PAULINE JELINEK



WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of troops diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder jumped by roughly 50 percent in 2007, the most violent year so far in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon records show.

In the first time the Defense Department has disclosed a number for PTSD cases from the two wars, officials said nearly 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with the illness since 2003, though they believe many more are likely keeping their illness a secret.

"I don't think right now we ... have good numbers," Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker said Tuesday.

That's partly because officials have been encouraging troops to get help even if it means they go to private civilian therapists and don't report it to the military. The 40,000 cases cover only those that the military has tracked.

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