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KY Lawmaker Says Local Veterans Need More Mental Health Support

LRC Media Relations

  A Kentucky legislator who lives near Fort Campbell says some soldiers returning from the War on Terror are experiencing mental health problems and are not asking for help. State Representative John Tilley says most believe doing so would end their military careers.

The Hopkinsville-based democrat says while Fort Campbell invites soldiers struggling with post traumatic stress or other disorders to seek assistance, unforeseen pressure keeps them away.

"None of them dare go to that booth and be identified as someone who is having a problem. And so we wonder why they’re committing suicide in record numbers, well that’s why. We have to do better by those men and women."

Tilley says anyone who has been deployed in a war zone may have an increased chance for mental issues after the fact. He says the stigma attached to getting help is a disservice to the sacrifice soldiers make on a regular basis.

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