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Long Combat Tours Take Mental Toll

Brit Study: Alcoholism, post traumatic stress soar after 13 months

By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 3, 2007 5:48 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Soldiers who serve extended tours in combat zones have much higher rates of alcoholism, post traumatic stress syndrome and problems at home, a large British study has found. Of those in war zones for more than 13 months over three years, one in four had "severe" alcohol problems, compared to one in 10 who served shorter deployments.

Not knowing when they'd be allowed to go home also contributed significantly to troops' mental stress, the Guardian reports. A government spokesman said only a small percentage of British troops are deployed longer than 13 months and that soldiers can take advantage of "mental health nurses" in war zones.

A British soldier sits with his machine-gun near Habibollah Kalay village in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Thousands of British, Afghan, U.S. and other NATO troops clashed with militants in the lower Sangin Valley, as part of their ongoing anti-Taliban offensive. (AP Photo/Fisnik Abrashi)
A British soldier sits with his machine-gun near Habibollah Kalay village in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Thousands of British, Afghan, U.S. and other NATO troops clashed with...   (Associated Press)
British soldiers of Alpha Company of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment, known as the Vikings, clean their weapons after clashes with the Taliban near Habibollah Kalay village in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Thousands of British, Afghan, U.S. and other NATO troops clashed with...
British soldiers of Alpha Company of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment, known as the Vikings, clean their weapons after clashes with the Taliban near Habibollah Kalay village in Helmand...   (Associated Press)
A British soldier aims his weapon at an opium poppy field in Habibollah Kalay village in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Thousands of British, Afghan, U.S. and other NATO troops clashed with militants in the lower Sangin Valley, as part of their ongoing anti-Taliban offensive. (AP Photo/Fisnik...
A British soldier aims his weapon at an opium poppy field in Habibollah Kalay village in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Thousands of British, Afghan, U.S. and other NATO troops clashed...   (Associated Press)
British soldiers stand guard near a suicide attack site on Kabul-Jalalabad road, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, July 31, 2007. A suicide car bomber blew himself up near a convoy of U.S.-led coalition troops on the outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday, leaving up to seven civilians and three...
British soldiers stand guard near a suicide attack site on Kabul-Jalalabad road, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, July 31, 2007. A suicide car bomber blew himself up near a convoy of U.S.-led coalition...   (Associated Press)
A British soldier part of the NATO forces arrive by a U.S. helicopter at a joint U.S.-Afghan military command center in Andar district of Ghazni province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 24, 2007. A roadside bomb hit a convoy of British troops Sunday, wounding one soldier...
A British soldier part of the NATO forces arrive by a U.S. helicopter at a joint U.S.-Afghan military command center in Andar district of Ghazni province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 24,...   (Associated Press)
Britain soldiers part of the NATO forces arrive by a U.S. helicopter at a joint U.S.-Afghan military command center in Andar district of Ghazni province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 24, 2007. A roadside bomb hit a convoy of British troops Sunday, wounding one soldier and...
Britain soldiers part of the NATO forces arrive by a U.S. helicopter at a joint U.S.-Afghan military command center in Andar district of Ghazni province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 24, 2007....   (Associated Press)
British Chancellor Gordon Brown meets British troops in Bahgdad, Iraq, during a visit to the region, Monday June 11, 2007. Prime minister-in-waiting Brown flew into Baghdad Monday and pledged to learn the lessons of events in the run-up to the conflict. Brown hasn't outlined what his specific policies on Iraq...
British Chancellor Gordon Brown meets British troops in Bahgdad, Iraq, during a visit to the region, Monday June 11, 2007. Prime minister-in-waiting Brown flew into Baghdad Monday and pledged to "learn...   (Associated Press)
British soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment, known as Vikings, put explosives inside caves used by militants during clashes with NATO troops in Habibollah Kalay village in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Thousands of British, Afghan, U.S. and other NATO troops clashed with...
British soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment, known as Vikings, put explosives inside caves used by militants during clashes with NATO troops in Habibollah Kalay village in Helmand...   (Associated Press)
A British soldier lights a fuse for explosives aimed at destroying a cave used by Taliban fighters in Habibollah Kalay village in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Thousands of British, Afghan, U.S. and other NATO troops clashed with militants in the lower Sangin valley, as part of...
A British soldier lights a fuse for explosives aimed at destroying a cave used by Taliban fighters in Habibollah Kalay village in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Thousands of British,...   (Associated Press)
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Iraq • Afghanistan • mental health • alcoholism • war • mental illness • British troops • soldier • PTSD

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