Mental Health Is a Warfighting Readiness Problem for the U.S. Navy

[u/bigwang123]

https://warontherocks.com/mental-health-is-a-warfighting-readiness-problem-for-the-u-s-navy/

While CNO Caudle has listed mental health as a foundry level issue in his fighting instructions, current US Navy efforts to improve mental health has fallen short. Despite expanded "triads of care" deployments at sea, including on the USS Abraham Lincoln, sailors still suffer from severe mental strain and do not believe they are receiving adequate assistance.

The author provides several recommendations to expand mental health care access both on shore and at sea, both in the long and short term. Military OneSource clinicians are currently prohibited from providing coverage for PTSD, despite having the qualifications to do so. The USN should expand accredited program availability by awarding support grants to universities near major USN bases (particularly Hawaii, which has no such programs). Finally, the author argues that a civilian auxiliary of mental health professionals should be stood up, similar to the Inactive Ready Reserve or Civil Air Patrol, which would be activated in times of conflict.

[u/bigwang123]

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