|
Diplomats need counselling
04/05/2007 14:57 - (SA)
David Millikin
Washington - The US State Department, already struggling to fill its posts in Iraq, must now cope with the problem of diplomats returning from the war zone suffering the same stress-related trauma that has afflicted many US combat troops.
To measure the extent of the problem, the department's medical service will begin sending mental health surveys this month to 1 400 officials who have served in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein, spokesperson Tom Casey said.
Support groups will then be formed beginning in June to help "alumni" from Iraq and other high-stress postings where diplomats must serve without some or all of their family due to the dangers involved, he said.
"Our Foreign Service officers, civil servants, contractors and others are very much a part of the effort in Iraq, in Afghanistan and in other very dangerous places throughout the world," Casey said.
"That means that they run in many ways the kinds of risks that some of our service members are from the Defence Department," he said.
Help needed
"Individuals make sacrifices not only in terms of being away from their families or being in some difficult circumstances, but occasionally it means that when they come back from the service, they do have things that we need to help them with and help them to be able to respond to," he said.
The surveys and support groups will be voluntary, designed to help people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or other ills.
While US diplomats have always served in dangerous and unstable places, the number of these jobs has more than tripled since 2001 to about 750, including 200 posts in Iraq, according to Brenda Greenberg of the department's human resources office.
Other unaccompanied posts - jobs in countries where the risks are so high that diplomats cannot bring their families - include Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, she said.
The State Department has already had to offer additional pay and career incentives to entice foreign service officers to take up the growing number of assignments in Iraq, where most diplomats rarely leave the heavily fortified "Green Zone" in the capital.
Frequent attacks
But even in the zone, living conditions are sparse, with most staff sleeping in small trailers, and rocket and mortar attacks frequent.
The issue has become more acute since President George W Bush launched a new strategy for Iraq at the start of the year which included a plan to double the number of so-called Provincial Reconstruction Teams stationed around the country.
One diplomat, who has served in several hardship postings and spoke on condition of anonymity, played down suggestions there was a surge in post-traumatic stress disorder problems.
"I'd take it with a grain of salt," he said.
The diplomat noted that the State Department already runs a programme of mandatory debriefings for people who spend more than 90 days in dangerous postings and that these provide guidance on dealing with stress-related issues.
|
News
