Posted : Friday Sep 14, 2012 7:16:24 EDT
The Defense Department will hold a conference next year to discuss issues facing military caregivers, a senior defense official announced Thursday.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Warrior Care Policy John Campbell said the Pentagon will bring together Defense Department caregiver program personnel, military and veteran service organizations, the private sector, and caregivers — spouses, parents, family or friends who help a service member following an illness or injury — to address the caregiver community’s needs.
Campbell made the announcement during the 2012 Warrior and Family Symposium sponsored by the Military Officers Association of American and the National Defense Industrial Association.
“I’ve been worried and concerned for a while about caregivers … the sisters, the brothers, the spouses, who really need our support,” Campbell said.
His remarks came after Annette Slaydon, the wife of a seriously injured Air Force explosive ordnance technician, told an audience of her husband’s struggles with his family, which doesn’t understand his post-traumatic stress disorder and recovery, and their marriage, left in shambles by their changed relationship.
“There’s no instruction booklet on how you move forward. There’s nothing that talks about how your relationship changes from that of a husband and wife to that of a patient and caregiver … and you wake up one morning and you wonder how it happened,” Slaydon said.
More than 49,000 service members have received physical wounds in Iraq or Afghanistan and as many as 300,000 may have personality changes related to multiple concussions or mental health issues such as combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.
During recovery, which often takes months or years — and for some, a lifetime — troops and veterans often rely on family members or friends to assist with tasks ranging from basic needs, such as bathing and feeding, to activities like managing their finances, coordinating medical appointments, securing jobs and regaining independence.
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