Screening is urged on return from Iraq

Massachusetts officials are considering mandatory mental health screening for National Guardsmen returning from Iraq, a move that could affect as many as 100 soldiers in the state, a mental health specialist said yesterday.

''I don't think there is any doubt that it's necessary," said Tom Hannon, team leader at the Boston Vet Center in Kenmore Square. ''It's a healthy acknowledgment of our commitment to care for our soldiers. We're looking at it as a normal, systematic response to taking care of our soldiers."

The change is modeled after a New Hampshire program that went into effect earlier this year, he said.

Still, other officials and specialists say that greater treatment options and resources are needed, as more and more soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan check into veterans' clinics for counseling.

Nationwide, mandatory mental-health screening currently applies only to service members in the Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps and usually involves only answering a questionnaire, said US Representative Martin T. Meehan, a Lowell Democrat.

''Not all the wounds sustained by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are physical," he said. ''The current system is not paying adequate attention to the mental health of our soldiers."

The key concern is post-traumatic stress disorder, which occurs following the witnessing of a life-threatening experience such as military combat. Symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks, depression, estrangement, and difficulty sleeping. Specialists say the side effects are so debilitating that they can ruin marriages and jobs and lead to substance abuse.

''These symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the person's daily life," said Jacob Romo, a social worker at the Lowell Vet Center. Doctors say the disorder can appear months or even years later.

That's why Meehan has filed legislation that would increase funding for veterans' counseling and require more stringent testing for soldiers. Under Meehan's proposal, troops would be interviewed by a mental health professional before leaving the battlefield and after returning home.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, as the condition is commonly known, is one of the theories being weighed in the case of Daniel Cotnoir, the 33-year-old Marine sergeant charged with attempted murder in Lawrence in firing a shotgun into a crowd of partiers outside his home Saturday.

Meehan also said the government needs to fight the stigma of mental illness and combat-related stress among troops.

''The first step is recognition of the problem," he said. ''The next step is to make sure the Department of Veterans Affairs gives the services. There's not nearly enough being done."