Patrick Kennedy: “I'd like to commend the leadership and hard work of Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Skelton in producing this Defense…”

“I'd like to commend the leadership and hard work of Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Skelton in producing this Defense Authorization. I'd also like to thank my distinguished colleague from Washington, Congressman Baird, for offering this amendment with me. In March, we heard about a higher suicide rate for our troops in Iraq than elsewhere. We've heard about problems with morale. We're all committed to maximizing our troops' effectiveness. To keep them in fighting shape, we've got to safeguard their psychological resiliency. We know from past experience, articles in the press, and meeting personally with our returning troops the difficulties of readjusting to civilian life after duty in a combat area. They're troubled by anxiety and sleeplessness bred by the hyper-vigilance required in combat. At its utmost worst, the ravages of war on a person's psyche may change them completely from those who knew them before, manifesting itself in depression, drug abuse, domestic violence, or suicide--we need to protect our troops from that. The intensity and nature of ground combat and urban warfare our troops face may produce some of the most lingering scars of war, those that lie beneath the skin: The emotional and the psychological. And the stress and emotional hardship our military families cope with may not necessarily end with the return of their loved ones.”