PTSD cases surged in 2007: US military

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Newly diagnosed cases of post traumatic stress disorders surged among US troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007, a peak year for US fighting and casualties, US military figures released Wednesday show.

The statistics show there was a nearly 50 percent jump in new cases last year when 13,951 service members were diagnosed with combat stress compared to 9,549 in 2006.

The increase was probably the result of "the high operations tempo, if you look at what was going on last -- the fierce fighting and high casualties," said Lieutenant Colonel Anne Edgecomb, an army spokeswoman.

The US surge strategy in Iraq peaked last year with more than 160,000 troops in country and major offensives against al-Qaeda and other Sunni insurgents that...