By GREGORY D. KESICH
MaineToday Media, Inc. Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Iraq veterans reported having trouble concentrating, controlling their anger and said they felt cut off from family and co-workers at a significantly higher rate than male or female Guard members who were not deployed, according to results of the survey. It was a cooperative effort of the Maine Army National Guard and Community Counseling of Maine, a nonprofit provider of mental health services based in Portland.

The study was the first of its kind on Maine's Iraq war veterans, and will be used as the statistical basis for a treatment program for servicemen and women and their families, said Maj. Gen. John W. Libby, adjutant general of the Maine National Guard. "This validates what we have been saying all along," Libby said. "Seeking counseling is not a sign of weakness, not an impediment to future success. It's just something that needs to be dealt with."

There are currently about 2,100 men and women in the Maine National Guard, including more than 1,700 who have been deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The survey was circulated to all of them, and 532 responded. Of those, 292 were Iraq veterans, most of whom had been home for a year before completing the survey.

That was a big enough sample to provide an accurate picture, said Laura Gottfried, Community Counseling's vice president for program services.

Of the Iraq veterans who responded to the survey:

n 84 percent went on combat patrol or other dangerous duty.

n 80 percent had been under enemy fire.

n 72 percent saw dead bodies or body parts.

n 70 percent knew someone who was killed or seriously injured.

About 13 percent of respondents fit the clinical definition of post-traumatic stress disorder, which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs defines as an anxiety disorder that occurs following a traumatic event. But more reported some symptoms.

Almost half the respondents reported feeling jumpy or irritable. More than a third reported feeling "super alert" or on guard. The stress of those experiences can make it difficult to step back into home and work, Libby said. Families can also find it difficult to adjust to the returning soldier. "We tell everybody, things change, especially when there are young children," he said.

Gottfried said the structure of the National Guard can make re-entry more difficult. Unlike an active duty serviceman who returns to military life, a guard member is expected to step back into his or her old life and job.

"You're not part of that unit anymore and you don't have that immediate circle that shared your experience," she said.

The government offers counseling to servicemen and their families through the Veterans Administration. Libby said they do a good job, but some people prefer to go outside the military for help. Community Counseling will offer services to returning guard members and their families, through individual, couples and family counseling.

"Community Counseling will be part of the resource team," Libby said. "There are a number of people who are more comfortable talking to someone who is not part of the government."

Libby said he was not surprised by the survey results, but he was troubled by some of the findings. For instance, the rate of people seeking alcohol counseling was about the same among Iraq veterans and other guard members, even though the Iraq veterans reported problems with excessive drinking at more than twice the rate of those who were not deployed.

Libby said that means that there are people who need help who are not asking for it.

"We tell them, 'You owe it to yourself to get help,'" Libby said.