Analysis: War stress may hit part-time soldiers the hardest

WASHINGTON — The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan appear to be taking a greater toll on the mental health of the so-called weekend warriors than on that of active-duty troops, the Army's leading expert on combat stress said during a congressional hearing Thursday.

Army Col. Charles Hoge testified that 41% of National Guardsmen and reservists raised concerns about their mental health in answers to a survey taken three to six months after they returned from combat.

That compares with 32% of active-duty troops who responded to the survey, says Hoge, a psychiatrist with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and an expert in post-traumatic stress disorder.

In addition, a third of the citizen soldiers complained of problems serious enough that they were referred for mental health counseling; only 13% of active-duty soldiers were referred.

The findings come as the Army, under enormous strain from fighting on two war fronts at once, considers greater use of its part-time soldiers in combat.

The program to screen soldiers for health problems began earlier this year. More than 70,000 troops have been screened. Soldiers are asked whether they have suffered depression, abused alcohol, had relationship problems or felt suicidal.

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