Senate Defence Committee visits CFB Petawawa
Posted By ANTHONY DIXON
Updated 2 months ago
CFB PETAWAWA - The Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence kicked off its latest tour of Canadian Forces bases with a visit to CFB Petawawa on Tuesday.
The purpose of the visit to Petawawa was to receive a briefing on the treatment of wounded soldiers, including the process of caring for casualties right from the injury through recovery.
The delegation included committee chairman Senator Colin Kenny, Senator Michael Meighen and Senator Wilfred Moore among others.
"It's sort of a way of keeping grounded and keeping in touch with the Canadian Forces," Senator Kenny said. "We get one story in Ottawa which is sort of how the generals see it but when you come out and talk to people on the bases you get a very different story and it's a valuable addition to our understanding of what's going on."
The day began with a pair of briefings from 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group commanding officer Col. Wayne Eyre and base surgeon Maj. Erin Savage after which the senators could ask questions of the military officials.
The senators then moved on to a private lunch with injured Petawawa soldiers.
"A lunch like that will tell us so much more than a briefing will. We visit soldiers in hospital and you get a far better understanding when you get out and get around," Senator Kenny said.
He said soldiers are quite honest in their responses and their spouses show no fear in offering their opinions.
"By the end of lunch people are pretty much telling us what's on their mind. They realize there's no point in holding back. This is their chance to get in their two cents worth," Senator Kenny said.
According to Senator Kenny, after lunch, the committee asks the officers to leave the room so committee members can meet with the enlisted men alone or, in the case of the visit to Petawawa, meet with the wounded soldiers alone.
He explained that after this meeting, the committee members get together and discuss what they've heard.
"We'll see what's common and what's unusual, and then usually we'll come back and end up asking questions. (We don't use names but we'll ask the officers)... we're hearing this, why don't you explain it to us a bit," he said.
In the afternoon, the committee toured the Joint Personnel Support Unit, talking to medical professionals.
During the visit, the subject of soldiers' mental health and occupational stress injuries was brought up by the panel a number of time.
Base surgeon, Maj. Erin Savage of 2 Field Ambulance, told the committee that Canadian troops have suffered more injuries since moving into Kandahar province and that approximately five to eight per cent of troops suffer some form of operational stress injury. This can include mental illnesses such as depression/anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Often these mental illnesses don't manifest until the soldier has been home for several months.
Col. Eyre said the military is working on a "psychological resilience package" which he described as a sort of psychological inoculation against the stresses of combat.
"We know that combat is an abnormal set of circumstances and a normal reaction, for many, results in some sort of stress injury, so if we can find a way of inoculating our soldiers against these types of stresses, they'll be better off afterwards," Col. Eyre said.
He added that the military is doing a much better job of addressing the mental health issues that accompany combat operations.
"We're heads and shoulders above where we were a decade or even a half decade ago but there's still improvements to be made and every day we're looking at what can be done," he said. "We need to reinforce a lot of the good work that's happening now and a lot of the programs need to continue with the same sort of support or maybe even more support then they have now."
Senator Kenny said in the past, it was expected that soldiers could just tough out stress-related injuries but now there is a growing recognition that mental injuries are just as real as physical ones.
"The institution is adjusting and trying to train its upcoming leaders to recognize this is part of war and we shouldn't treat it as anything other than that. It's as serious a wound as being part of an explosion," Senator Kenny said.
Senator Kenny said the system worked quite well in terms of getting the soldiers from their point of injury to the Kandahar Airfield (KAF), to the U. S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, then back to Canada. He said, however, there are problems once the soldiers return home.
"The problem in the system is the different levels of health care in the different provinces, and that's why were very much in favour of getting our soldiers into military facilities," he said.
He said one centralized hospital was not the solution. He pointed out that the committee had recommended in its last report delivered about 14 months ago, that 10 hospital centres across the country be developed. He said there has been some action on this front.
The committee's tour continues with visits to CFB Kingston, CFB Trenton, and CFB Borden. The topics it expects to cover include the capabilities of 1 Air Wing in Afghanistan, the lessons learned from land combat, the training and academic programs delivered at the Royal Military College, and the capabilities of the air transport fleet.
Anthony Dixon is a Daily Observer reporter
