Printer Friendly Page
MEETINGS TO FOCUS ON HOW COMBAT STRESS AFFECTS
TROOPS AND FAMILIES -- Program is a
long-running and
important supplement to the other efforts the
Army has
in combat and operational stress control.
Story here...
http://www.estripes.com/
article.asp?section=104&article=44884
Story below:
---------------
Meetings to focus on how combat stress affects
family, troops
By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes
ARLINGTON, Va. — This year’s 15th International Civilian and Military
Combat Stress Conference will focus on the effect of combat stress on
families as well as warfighters.
The annual event will be held May 4-10 at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and
was founded by psychologist Bart Billings, a retired Army Reserve
lieutenant colonel.
To emphasize this year’s family theme, all sessions on Saturday and
Sunday will be free to family members of participants who have paid to
attend the conference, Billings said.
Family members also will be invited to attend, for free, Saturday’s
dinner and a variety show.
The conference, subtitled “Supporting Our War Fighters & Their Families,
Terrorism, Combat Stress, Operation Iraqi Freedom Issues, Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder,” will include sessions on military family violence,
readjustment following deployment, combat stress, help for returning
troops and their families, and lessons learned about the mental health
impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Vice Adm. Donald Arthur, surgeon general of the Navy, is scheduled to
deliver the conference’s opening remarks.
Billings said he founded the conference after realizing during the Gulf
War that the military needed to do a better job preparing servicemembers
and their families for the stress of deployment.
The event is not funded by the Department of Defense but is being
organized with support from Psycho-Legal Associates Inc., a
California-based continuing education company for mental health and
legal professionals.
Jaime Cavazos, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Medical Command, while the
Army does not official sponsor the event, the service has at times
funded participants and speakers.
It is “a long-running and important supplement to the other efforts the
Army has in combat and operational stress control,” he said.
For more information on the 15th Annual International Civilian &
Military Combat Stress Conference, go to
www.continuingeducationcentral.com.
---------------
Larry Scott --
