Legislation for Returning Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Veterans

[Name of the institute]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I acknowledge, with gratitude, my debt of thanks to Prof. ___________ for his advice and encouragement and to all my colleagues and friends who supported me and helped me make this dissertation possible.

ABSTRACT

The need for the Department of Defense (DOD) via the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to formulate viable legislation that effectively addresses the increased level of substance abuse and mental health disorders of veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) have never been more urgent. This select group faces challenges that in past wars have never presented such devastation; primarily due to the rapid influx of veterans returning without universal guidelines in place to effectively address their current and future needs. Thus, in order to meet the growing demand with utmost effectiveness and minimum cost, it is imperative that a cost effective measure should implemented. For this purpose, it has been analyzed that the implementation of 12 step programs in the process of DoD can radically help increase the effectiveness of overcoming mental health problems at the least cost possible, so that the financial constraint on the DoD is reduced as much as possible.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

ABSTRACTIII

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study2

Purpose Statement6

Research Questions6

Definitions7

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW9

Operation Enduring Freedom/ Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF)10

Depression in OIF/OEF Veterans10

Diagnosis of mental illness in OIF/OEF veterans11

VA and DoD Programs12

Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy Treatment13

Evidence-Based Treatment14

Medication Therapy Treatment15

Complementary and Alternative Treatment16

Relationship Oriented Treatment17

CHAPTER 03: METHODOLOGY19

Qualitative Grounded Phenomenology Research19

Secondary Research21

CHAPTER 04: DISCUSSION22

Budget Constraints for Effective Healthcare programs22

Incorporating 12 Step Program in DoD24

CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSION26

Future Research26

REFERENCES27

APPENDICES34

Annotated Bibliography34

Chapter 01: INTRODUCTION

Traces of mental illness exist in every community. Wide array of condition encompass this baseline, some of the more renowned conditions include bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and major depression (Bliese et. al., 2007) . Apart from these conditions, another condition called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is a common condition which involves the victim receiving flashbacks, troubling reminders and various behavioural changes which occur even months after a traumatic event takes place. Those who are a part of the war face a bunch of traumatic events, whereas those who have not served in the military may also face such traumatic events (Browne et al., 2007). These events may be faced as a result of a horrifying accident, being exposed to a life threatening event or even an assault.

Among the active military serving men as well as veterans, alcohol abuse and depression tend to remain one of the primary most health related problem. However, conflicts which take place in ongoing wars such as that in Iraq and Afghanistan expose thousands of military men to traumatic events on a daily and a persistent basis (Hoge et. al., 2006). Also, in some cases, the military men get exposed to traumatic events again as they might be faced with such events prior to their joining the army. This particular aspect increases the possibility of PTSD in a given community as the number of military ...