Nov 6, 2009 7:16 pm US/Eastern
Many Soldiers Said To Battle Stress
FORT MEADE, Md. (WJZ/AP) ―
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Officials say Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is responsible for an attack on a U.S. military base in Fort Hood.
CBS
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Soldiers from 3rd Brigade "Grey Wolf" 1st Cavalry division from Fort Hood Texas get ready to return to the US after finishing their tour in Iraq at Warhorse base in Baquba, Diyala province, 27 November 2007.
Gianluigi Guercia/Getty Images
The psychological stress of deployment could be to blame for Thursday's shooting rampage at Fort Hood. It's a rampage that left 13 dead and 38 injured.
Jessica Kartalija reports mental health support for soldiers is available, but officials at Fort Meade say they still have a long way to go.
As an army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was supposed to be helping fellow soldiers to deal with their mental health problems. Instead, he may have given in to the same pre-deployment stress.
"We all are responsible for keeping an eye on each other," said Colonel Christopher Castle.
Castle is the medical commander at Ft. Meade.
"We've been learning as the conflict continues how to better deal with these things and support not just soldiers but families," said Castle.
In addition to anxiety felt prior to deployment, 30 percent of soldiers returning from combat suffer from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.
"Having a specified task as a solider on your mission to then tackling all the things, the day to day things, family life and then you juggle the other responsibilities, the bills and going to work," said Captain Ada Rodriguez.
Rodriguez just returned from a year long deployment to Iraq.
After frequent rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers are seeing an increase in the number of suicides and drug and alcohol related problems on and off base.
"The Army is in the process of hiring another 350 substance abuse counselors across the board. We're getting a handful of them here, but every base is getting more substance abuse counselors," said Castle.
Castle says it's crucial that soldiers look out for each other and consider their mental health when they return.
It takes three to six months for post traumatic stress symptoms to appear.
Hasan remains in a coma, and the gun used in the attacks was bought legally, well before the attack.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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