Rogers / 4 Senator Lamoureux

S.W._____

A BILL
To mandate reintegration counseling for all soldiers returning from deployment.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the G.I. Reintegration Program Act of 2015.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) 300,000 veterans, out of 1.7 million (20 percent), who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) or major depression, and 7.1 percent of all veterans, 1.8 million, meet the criteria for a
substance abuse disorder.
2) Since the attack on September 11, 2001, 43 percent of soldiers had an experience that was emotionally traumatic or
distressing, 16 percent suffered a serious injury, 56 percent of veterans who experienced a traumatic event stated they
have flashbacks, and 46 percent say they suffer from PTSD.
3) Once home, soldiers feel unneeded, and have a hard time fitting into family life because their spouses have learned
to manage on their own, and because their children act reserved and shy due to the feeling of their parent being a
stranger.
4) Many veterans do not seek treatment for their mental health disorders because they are concerned over being seen
as weak, concerned over being treated differently, concerned that others will lose confidence in them, and they are
concerned about privacy.
5) Veterans have trouble keeping jobs and completing school, with 31 percent of veterans reporting an increase in
alcohol and drug use, and with 57 percent of veterans reporting a loss of anger control.
6) Many soldiers view combat as a safe place because the military is a highly regimented institution where soldiers
develop identities that give them a sense of order, obedience, and collectivism.
7) When soldiers return home, behavior suddenly voluntary and the lack of regimentation is a basis of distress.
8) When soldiers are involved in combat, the life threatening situations shape who they are and give them a purpose,
but when they return home, that identity is no longer existent and soldiers struggle to create a new one.
9) Statistics show that the suicide rate among our military community is at its highest rate in ten years of war;
traumatic brain injuries are present in 8 percent to 20 percent of military personnel, and 300,000 veterans of the Iraq
and Afghanistan war have been diagnosed with PTSD.
10) When a soldier is deployed, he has to shut down all emotions that do not directly assist in survival (sweetness,
humor, grief, etc), so when they return home, this adaptation of shutting down those emotions that dont directly
serve survival in combat is persisting.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) The term deployment is hereby defined as the assigning of people, or troops, who served in war zones for the
United States military. All service members who have served in combat or in a war zone returning from deployment
are required to reside at their home-base for two weeks, or as recommended by their therapists, prior to being reunited
with their families. During this time period, the returned military personnel shall take tests to be screened for PTSD
and other possible mental health issues, shall attend daily therapy sessions, and shall attend classes on what to expect,
and how to cope with their feelings, when reintegrating into society. Further therapy sessions after returning from
deployment shall be mandated as needed by the veterans therapists and can be given in the service members
hometown, after being reunited with their families.
B) This law shall be enforced and upheld by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and all branches of the
United States Armed Forces. Funding for the salaries of therapists, and for the soldiers cost of living (meals, housing,
etc.) shall be evaluated by the Department of Veterans Affairs and shall come directly from the budget allotted by
Congress for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
C) Any service member found disobeying this law will be prosecuted according to statutes in the Uniform Code of
Military Justice. This bill shall be enacted on April 1, 2016. There is no expiration date for this bill. When soldiers or
troops are back from the military, the soldiers families shall be allowed visitation at the home-base.