Canadian soldiers suffering from mental illness -- including depression and operational stress injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- are still being sent to Afghanistan, according to a report.
Canadian Forces' chief psychiatrist, Col. Randy Boddam, who is currently in Afghanistan, told The Globe and Mail that the military is addressing the issue head on.
"Let's acknowledge it (mental illness), let's bring it out of the shadows and get people in so they get treatment sooner, and be employable and living their lives the best they can," he said.
"We want to point out that mental illness does exist, that we can pretend it doesn't but it does and, yes, some soldiers (with mental illness) are going to deploy."
Boddam said that some depression and PTSD sufferers can benefit from being deployed to a combat zone. But he cautioned that the military does not knowingly deploy "anybody who is suffering from a mental illness that would impair their ability to function in this environment."
Instead, he said the Forces "deploy people who are on maintenance phases of their treatment or who may have a minor illness that is not really impairing their function," (such as a phobia).
A recently declassified daily briefing delivered to the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier, said that there are 83 soldiers suffering from 'non-battle (NBI) injuries', which includes those deemed not mentally fit for duty, reports The Globe.
Dr. Mark Zamorski, head of the military's deployment health section in Ottawa, told The Globe that soldiers undergoing treatment or who have already been treated generally "do just fine" once deployed.
In November, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor asked Forces' medical authorities to report about the psychological effects the mission in Afghanistan is having on troops.
In response, he received a briefing note that said: "The impact the Afghanistan mission is having on our soldiers is not yet known."
The note was obtained by The Globe under the access to information law.
The Canadian Forces has roughly the same prevalence rate of PTSD as the Canadian public at 2.8 per cent. But a 2002 Statistics Canada survey showed that the Forces have almost twice as high rates of depression.
Zamorski and Boddam both told the newspaper that it is possible for a soldier with excellent mental health to suffer a decline during or after a deployment and to still not be deemed mentally ill.
Boddam said a soldier with mental health issues is deployed only after their "medical employment limitations" are determined by a medical officer.
The military instituted a rigorous screening protocol for mental illness in 2003 after concerns were raised about mentally unfit soldiers being deployed overseas.
More than 5,000 soldiers ready to be deployed to Afghanistan between July 2003 and July 2005 were screened with fewer than one per cent stopped from going.
In Afghanistan, soldiers with mental health issues have access to psychiatrists and mental health care workers. It is not an absolute that those who seek help will be sent home.
"If you can keep people in the game as long as their illness doesn't preclude that, then for them the outcome is substantially better. The risks of longer-term things like PTSD are reduced," said Boddam.
"Assuming all else is equal, to put them in an operational setting may not in any way exacerbate their illness... In fact, depending on their overall condition, the camaraderie in the unit and sense of accomplishment may be at least of some benefit to them."
However, Zamorski did caution that there are some serious risks to consider.
"Is there somebody who's died in Afghanistan because they weren't paying attention because they were mentally ill? It's possible... it is even likely," he said.
"We know these illnesses cause deficits that can realistically interfere with performance while deployed... If I were a commander I'd want to know about that. But wanting to know about it and having a way to know about it are, unfortunately, two separate things."
