Two Afghanistan veterans say the military systems currently in place to help soldiers struggling with mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder are not doing enough.
Last week, Canadians learned of the deaths of three soldiers --Master Cpl. William Elliott, warrant officer Michael McNeil, and Master Bombardier Travis Halmrast – who all died by suicide within days of one another in November.
One of those who served with McNeil, Retired Cpl. John Kendall, knows what a toll combat can take on a soldier's mental health. He was diagnosed with PTSD after three military tours in Afghanistan, serving stints in 2003, 2005 and 2006. He is still dealing with his issues seven years later.
"On my last tour, I knew something was wrong," Kendall told CTV's Canada AM Monday.
"Coming home, we had decompression in Cyprus and I approached senior members of my platoon and told them I was having issues and didn't feel right inside."
He remembers feeling scared to go back to the battalion lines, and felt that he had let everyone down. When he told his supervisors, they were "100 per cent supportive," he says, and told him how to seek help. But Kendall says the system doesn't work for everyone.
"I'm lucky I have a great support network. I just think there needs to be more consistency in the medical system within the military, where they're not throwing you from doctor to doctor," he said.
"You feel run-around and a lot of guys in our situation get overwhelmed by seeing too many people."
Cpl. Chris Dupee says he hears stories like Kendall's all the time. Dupee recently founded Military Minds, a volunteer-based online forum that offers peer-to-peer support for vets struggling with their mental health.
He says if a soldier is willing to come forward and ask for help, that help is often there for them. "But a lot of time, it's just taking that step," Dupee says.
What makes soldiers reluctant to come forward isn't anything that's said to them, Dupee says; it's the soldiers themselves, who have been taught to believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness.
"The military is built on being a tough guy, you're always striving to be better than the next guy and not showing weakness," Dupee says. "It's more self-induced stigma than anything."
Canadian Forces psychiatrist Col. Rakesh Jetly said Friday the army is expecting to see a “steady” increase in the number of Afghan veterans coming forward with mental health care needs, saying they expect the numbers will be highest among soldiers who have served on the frontlines.
According to the latest figures from the Department of National Defence, 22 full-time service members died of suicide in 2011. But critics question the accuracy of those statistics, noting that the numbers don’t include reservists.
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson has consistently said the Conservative government is aware of the problem of PTSD among vets and has spent millions to pay for mental health treatment programs
Meanwhile, the military is investigating the deaths of Elliott, Halmrast and McNeil. Retired Cpl. Kendall will be awaiting those investigations, particularly the one into the death of his former comrade, McNeil.
"(He was) just a really good person -- the last type of person I would have expected to do that," Kendall says.
"It's just kind of scary to see that because you wonder if maybe he wasn't getting the right support wasn't getting support at home or work. It's just really sad."
