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The Army has started to screen all soldiers, Army civilian employees and contractors for swine flu before they deploy to Iraq, Afghanistan, or anywhere else in U.S. Central Command's region.

Photos New PTSD Clinic uses virtual reality Dr. Alan Maiers (left), the assistant chief of the Warrior Resiliancy Program at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, simulates a virtual reality city patrol Aug. 26 for Maj. Monty Baker, the Warrior Resiliancy Program director of research. The virtual reality program is designed to treat servicemembers who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder after returning from combat operations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Amber Bressler) Download HiRes Wilford Hall opens new PTSD Clinic Posted 9/17/2009 Email story Print story by Linda Frost 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs 9/17/2009 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Wilford Hall Medical Center has a new clinic to treat patients who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. The PTSD Clinic offers evidence-based treatments and a virtual reality program to help Airmen returning from combat operations. PTSD is an anxiety disorder which can occur after a person has been through a traumatic event, according to the National Center for PTSD. "We want to provide the highest quality care possible for patients experiencing PTSD," said Col. (Dr.) Gerald Talcott, 59th Medical Wing Mental Health Squadron commander. As part of the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, the PTSD Clinic was created in response to the increasing number of service and family members with PTSD. It is timely in that it coincides with the establishment of the Air Force's new Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, a pilot program initiated at eight Air Force bases. The Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, using a computer-simulated Virtual Iraq and Virtual Afghanistan, allows Airmen to interact and recreate a traumatic scene and recall sights, sounds, smells, thoughts and feelings. Still in its preliminary stages, the clinic staff started seeing patients Aug. 3, and is led by Dr. Kellie Crowe, staff psychologist. "We are very excited about providing evidence-based treat

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, more and more of our service men and women are experiencing both physical and emotional wounds. The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine and the Tug McGraw Foundation know that the pace at which scientific advancements are made can be accelerated through increased civilian/military partnerships. With the support of co-chairs Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Country United is a two-day event comprised of the Partnership for Military Medicine Symposium and the Country United Gala taking place on November 6 & 7, 2009 in Washington, DC. The symposium will highlight discoveries in military medicine and foster collaborations among military and civilian partners to further advance research and clinical care. The Country United Gala will recognize the efforts of medical researchers, clinicians, and educators, as well as friends of military medicine.

For the past year, almost 7,000 sensors mounted on helmets in Iraq and Afghanistan have been collecting data on blast trauma from improvised explosive devices.

A new study has found that more than one-third of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who enrolled in the veterans health system after 2001 received a diagnosis of a mental health problem, most often post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.

CHARLOTTE COUNTY -- A $200,000 grant will help provide medical care in Charlotte County for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Charlotte Behavioral Health Care received the grant from the Florida BRAIVE Fund at Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice. The grant will be used over the next 18 months to address mental health, substance abuse and related psychological needs of 75 to 100 veterans and family members.

Traumatic brain injury, one of the signature injuries suffered by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, demands a "sense of urgency," the U.S. military's top officer said today.

Treatment for servicemembers suffering from psychological trauma really is a brave new world. Before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there was little research on effective treatments and not much pressure to add to what existed, said Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. Sutton, at a Warrior Resilience Conference here, said her office has been working with the services to develop treatment programs and is researching best medical practices. But the effort isn't a simple matter of an open checkbook; results count.

This week marks the sixth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, and there is a growing awareness of the stresses faced by Iraq veterans, families and the Army, which along with the Marine Corps, has borne the weight of the war.

White, 37, of Cromwell, is an outreach counselor at the Hartford Vet Center in Rocky Hill. He is a member of a new breed of counselors hired by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in an attempt to avoid the Vietnam-era mistake of ignoring post-traumatic stress disorder and other readjustment problems experienced by soldiers returning from war zones. He was hired in 2004, one of about 50 counselors recruited because they had served in Iraq.

More than 80 U.S. military personnel contracted malaria last year despite all the medications and precautions made available to the forces, according to a recent Pentagon study.

A new study shows that while active-duty service members have lower rates of cancer overall than civilians, they have higher rates of breast cancer and double the rates of prostate cancer.

A handful of lawmakers are gearing up for a fight to largely exempt military and veterans benefits from the broader health care reform movement.

DENVER - Air Force Academy officials say 30 more freshman cadets have tested positive for swine flu, bringing the total to 97.