Armed forces hit by alcoholism
Rajat Pandit
[26 Apr, 2007 l 2316 hrs ISTlTIMES NEWS NETWORK]
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NEW DELHI: Over 350 soldiers, sailors and airmen die in road accidents every year. Another 250 or so die battling terrorists. In addition, stress-related deaths in the form of suicides and 'fragging' claim around 120 lives annually.
And now, the armed forces are reeling under yet another "attack" without going to war. Latest figures show over 500 armed forces personnel are being discharged from service every year due to mental disorders and alcohol dependency.
Admitting to the problem in Lok Sabha on Thursday, defence minister A K Antony said that in 2006 alone, 508 personnel from the Army, 35 from IAF and 15 from Navy were "boarded out" due to "mental disorders".
The minister identified the cases as those of "psychosis, neurosis, personality disorders, adjustment disorders, depression" and, of course, "alcohol dependence syndrome". And the numbers are steadily increasing. If the Army discharged 350 soldiers due to these reasons in 2004, the figure rose to 405 in 2005. And last year, it jumped to 508.
"Earlier, Form-10 (which calls for a psychological investigation of a soldier) was issued by a commanding officer on rare occasions - only in violent cases. But it's becoming common now," said an officer.
The hard lives in the 1.13-million strong Army, with soldiers posted either in remote areas or enmeshed in relentless counter-insurgency operations, far away from their families and social support systems, is certainly exacting a heavy toll on the mental health of soldiers.
This, as reported by TOI earlier, often leads to soldiers either training their guns on themselves or shooting dead their colleagues in the final jump over the brink. Abuse of alcohol, available easily at subsidised rates through CSD canteens, has been identified as a "triggering factor" in several such incidents by internal reports within the armed forces.
"Excessive use of liquor in lonely places by both officers and jawans, already under a lot of stress and strain, has been found to be creating psychological problems," admitted an officer.
Even otherwise, alcohol-dependency is a growing malaise in the ranks. Two to three in every thousand officers and seven to eight in every thousand jawans are reported to be tottering on the brink of alcoholism. Recognising the alarming problem, the defence ministry recently initiated some steps.
For instance, around 50 JCOs (junior commissioned officers) from the Army Medical Corps have been trained as counsellors in the Northern and Eastern Commands, which deal with terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and the north-east.
Religious teachers and JCOs have also been identified as "psychological health mentors" at the battalion-level, apart from better man-management and more liberal leave policies.
Antony, on his part, has even asked civilian district administrations to be more responsive to the problems of soldiers and their families hailing from their areas. But clearly much more needs to be done.
quite common for a mn+ army...
