Australia says veterans may face problems from Iraq, Afghan tours

Australia says veterans may face problems from Iraq, Afghan tours


SYDNEY (AFP) — More Australian soldiers are likely to have health problems in the future as a result of being deployed to war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan, Veterans' Affairs Minister Alan Griffin said Sunday.

Griffin said officials were beginning to deal with the relatively new dilemma of mental health issues posed by troops who had served in not only one, but multiple, war zones.

He said one of the problems with psychological illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, was that it tended not to present itself immediately but years down the track.

"So we can look at it now and say, 'There are x number of veterans who are coming back on a regular basis from Afghanistan. We can look at the figures and say, 'Well, there aren't that many at the moment that are presenting with problems," he said.

"But what we can say with some confidence is that over the coming five to 10 years a lot more of those people will have problems."

Griffin said that coming home was always difficult for soldiers who had experienced war, but this was now compounded by the fact that many Australians had served on multiple fronts, including in East Timor, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Solomon Islands.
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Australia's Senate report criticises care of peacekeeper veterans

Senate report criticises care of peacekeeper veterans
Sarah Smiles
August 2, 2008
HUNDREDS of mental health disability claims are being made by peacekeepers who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan and East Timor, a report reveals.

One hundred and five mental health claims have been made from personnel who have served in Iraq; 163 claims from Afghanistan and 1469 from East Timor, Department of Veterans Affairs figures show. The Australian Federal Police has paid out more than $1,300,000 in compensation for claims relating to post-traumatic stress disorder from service in Timor.

The data is contained in a Senate inquiry report into Australia's involvement in peacekeeping operations. It details the increasing complexity and dangers of peacekeeping missions and calls for a white paper to determine government policy in the area.

The report is critical of the Department of Defence and Veterans Affairs' handling of veterans with health problems. It highlights poor medical record-keeping by both departments, which complicates veterans' claims for disability pensions.

Veterans Affairs can provide figures on mental health disability claims from Iraq, Afghanistan, Timor and the Solomons but could not specify to which mental health problems they relate. The report calls for better medical record-keeping and an education program on post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health issues for peacekeepers before deployment. It says peacekeepers are often thrust into complex situations for which they are not well trained. Post-deployment care of personnel can be cursory.
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Australia Veterans getting shafted too

Vet Affairs under fire over compo
By Melissa Jenkins
July 21, 2008 02:56pm

VETERANS Affairs has been sharply criticised for its "sloppy, ill-considered" handling of compensation claims from sick air force maintenance workers.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) has so far paid out almost $68 million to servicemen who became ill from working inside fuel tanks of the RAAF's strike bombers.

Acting Commonwealth Ombudsman Vivienne Thom said her office received 102 complaints about the way the department had handled compensation claims.

Seven of the claims were still to be finalised, she told a parliamentary committee inquiry in Canberra today.

The department kept "insufficient documentation" and did not have guidelines on how to deal with claims, she said.

Emails and notes were not kept on file about how the department considered evidence in each case and similar evidence appeared to be treated inconsistently, Dr Thom said.

Claims, especially complex matters, were often delayed and claimants were not always informed of progress.
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