Steve Daines: “this Saturday, June 27, marks Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder--or PTSD--Awareness Day. This marks a critical opportunity…”

“this Saturday, June 27, marks Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder--or PTSD--Awareness Day. This marks a critical opportunity to remind people about the prevalence of mental illnesses such as PTSD among our Active-Duty troops and our veterans. By generating more awareness, we can help remove the stigma about PTSD and encourage people to seek treatment and, in turn, save lives. PTSD is a serious problem affecting too many of our country's bravest individuals, and we must do more to help our heroes. According to a study by the RAND Corporation, 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans report symptoms of PTSD and, of those, only about half actually seek treatment. Our Nation made a promise to our men and women in uniform: When they come home from war and their time in service to our country, we will be there for them. We need to have the same concern for our servicemembers' mental health as we do for their physical health. For far too long, we have been focused on the physical wounds of war, but as many of our veterans know too well, the mental wounds also inflict great damage. I am proud to serve as a Senator from a State with a rich legacy of service. I am proud to be the son of a U.S. marine. One in ten Montanans have proudly served in our Armed Forces, making the Treasure State home to more veterans per capita than almost any other State in our Nation.…”