SENTINEL WATCH March 23, 2009 Issue

PROTECT THE RETURNING SOLDIER

JENNY SAWYER

A HANDMADE sign posted on a telephone pole in my neighborhood offers regular updates of those wounded on active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. But according to frequent newspaper reports, some wounds aren't easily tallied. More soldiers are at risk for, or already suffering from, the psychological toll of war. And though many are treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, many suffer in silence.

Still it's encouraging that scientists and researchers are looking for answers. Not just answers for successful treatment of PTSD, but for answers to lessen its effects—or prevent it altogether.

A professor at Stanford University has developed a new model for screening soldiers in hopes that the trauma can be detected—and treated—even before symptoms surface. He also postulates that this model would allow more soldiers who need treatment to be diagnosed and to readily receive the help they need ("Counting the Walking Wounded," The New York Times, January 26, 2009).