National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARSON of Indiana. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment seeks to address shortfalls in the current Department of Defense mental health assessment process.

Currently, our servicemembers only receive mental health assessments prior to deployment and after returning home. My amendment simply requires the Department of Defense to provide mental health assessments to our troops during deployment, improving chances that post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression, and other mental health issues are detected and treated early.

The amendment also requires that medical records from past unit assignments and the VA be reviewed whenever possible. Currently, these records are rarely considered. As we all well know, our troops are under a constant threat while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many are injured or see their friends injured or killed. And throughout it all, they perform amazingly and should be commended.

But these are the exact experiences that lead to serious mental health issues. Yet, despite this ongoing exposure, Mr. Chairman, most do not receive a mental health assessment until they return home from combat, often coping with PTSD, TBI, or depression for months without receiving treatment.

By the time they return home, the stigma attached to mental illness keeps many away from pursuing treatment at all. And among those that do, many still fall into drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, and suicide.

Tragically, the oversights addressed by this amendment have impacted my congressional district. In 2009, Army Specialist Chancellor Keesling committed suicide while deployed in Iraq. His commanders never knew that he had been placed on suicide watch by a previous unit and had been treated for a mental illness by the VA.

Upon reassignment to a new unit and redeployment to Iraq, records from his past tour and from the VA were never reviewed. During deployment, he was never reassessed. Chance's father, Gregg, has recently reviewed my amendment and he believes that it could have saved his son's life had it been in place in 2009.

This is just one example of the tragic implications of mental health issues in the military. There are countless examples from my district and across this great Nation that I could provide as evidence of why this amendment is so critical and necessary. Some of these terrible problems can be avoided, and I believe lives can be saved by comprehensively addressing mental illness in our military at its source during deployment.

Mr. Chairman, I encourage all of my colleagues to support improved mental health for our troops by voting ``yes'' on the Carson amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, I believe the case for my amendment is very clear. Many of our men and women in uniform are living through months of deployment with mental health issues like PTSD, TBI, and depression going completely undiagnosed.

My amendment simply calls on the DOD to help our servicemembers catch and treat these issues through early assessments during deployment. This is a very important step that will save lives and help our men and women in uniform build productive lives for themselves on returning to civilian lives.

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