Press Releases

Today, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, made the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the Subcommittee's hearing titled "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury – Clinical and Research Program Assessment."

"Good afternoon and welcome. Today the subcommittee will hear from the Department of Defense and the military departments on their efforts to address the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) on our service members. For far too long, the real and proven effects of PTSD and TBI largely were ignored. Even worse, service members who demonstrated symptoms of PTSD were sometimes deemed weak or mentally unstable. Thankfully, we know better today and are taking aggressive steps to help those who have endured traumatic stress.

As a nation, we've endured an extraordinarily long period of conflict, with thousands of American troops deployed in harm's way. Some, as a result of their combat experiences, suffer from post traumatic stress or TBI. But PTSD and TBI are not limited to combat injuries. PTSD can arise from any traumatic event, such as sexual assault. We expect the Department to treat all those suffering from PTSD or TBI equally, providing the best appropriate care for each.

For more than a decade, Congress has provided funding and legislative direction for the Department's PTSD and TBI research and clinical approaches. In fact, relevant provisions of law are found in each of the last four NDAAs. Today, our intent is to review our progress and determine where we need to go from here. Our witnesses are experts in the field of mental health, and I look forward to hearing their views of our clinical and research progress. If they have any suggestions for the subcommittee, I welcome them.

We will give each witness the opportunity to present his or her testimony and each member an opportunity to question the witnesses for 5 minutes. We would also respectfully remind the witnesses to summarize, to the greatest extent possible, the high points of your written testimony in 5 minutes or less. Your written comments and statements will be made part of the hearing record.
Let me welcome our panel.

Our witnesses are the mental health experts for the Department of Defense and the military services and are intimately involved in these issues across their respective organizations and the Department of Defense.

They are:
Captain Mike Colston, US Navy
Director, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

Colonel Steven Pflanz, US Air Force
Deputy Director of Psychological Health
Office of the Air Force Surgeon General

Lieutenant Colonel Chris Ivany, US Army
Chief, Behavioral Health Division
Office of the Army Surgeon General

Captain Thomas Johnson, US Navy
Site Director
Intrepid Spirit Concussion Recovery Center
Camp Lejeune, NC"