Afghan war taking psychological toll on troops: Army

By Adam Entous

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fierce combat and multiple deployments are taking a heavy psychological toll on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, where one in five fighters at lower ranks suffer mental health problems, the Army said on Friday.

The findings, released as President Barack Obama inched toward a decision to send up to 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan, underscore the strain the wars there and in Iraq have had on the Army's front-line soldiers.

Rising suicide rates and a shooting spree last week by an Army psychiatrist at a base in Fort Hood, Texas, have raised new questions about the effects of combat stress and the state of the military's mental health system.

According to the Army's latest mental health survey, soldiers said unit morale in Afghanistan had declined as the frequency of fighting had increased, suggesting record combat deaths and injuries were taking a heavy psychological toll.

The survey found that some 21.4 percent of lower-ranking enlisted male soldiers, the group that generally experiences the most combat time, had mental health problems defined by Army medical teams as anxiety, depression or acute stress. That compares to 23.4 percent in 2007 and 10.4 percent in 2005.

Soldiers in Afghanistan with three or more deployments experienced higher rates of mental health and marital problems than those with fewer tours.

In contrast, the mental heath of U.S. forces in Iraq appeared to be improving as violence declined and the military prepared for a gradual withdrawal.