Stress Benefits Urged for Gulf Veterans’ Families

WASHINGTON —  Benefits aimed at helping U.S. troops overcome the stress of the Persian Gulf War and its aftermath should be extended to veterans’ families, a Senate panel was told Tuesday.

“I truthfully feel our families are the other heroes,” Air Force Lt. Col. Darlene Anderson told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “If you want to help me, you have to help my family.”

Anderson and other witnesses told the committee that problems plaguing the families of returning troops include financial hardship, alcohol and drug abuse and divorce. Also, some children of servicemen and women are having behavioral problems.

The witnesses said that increased mental health benefits are necessary because many of the problems experienced by military families can be averted by beginning counseling as quickly as possible and by advising families how they can best help a loved one returning from the Persian Gulf.

Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.), chairman of the committee, said that he will push Congress to pass legislation ordering the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand eligibility to allow family members of Gulf War veterans to seek counseling on their own.

Federal law permits spouses and children of servicemen and women to seek counseling from the department only if the veteran is also participating in therapy. Under Cranston’s plan, family members could seek assistance alone.

Seven Gulf War veterans testified about the kinds of problems families have encountered since the United States began sending troops to Saudi Arabia last August.