US Air Force ensures good ‘Landings’ for deployed Airmen
December 10th, 2008
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Posted at http://www.pacafpixels.blogspot.com/, originally written by Lt. Col. Marie Colasanti, Chief of the Behavioral Health Branch at Pacific Air Forces.
A new study by the Institute of Medicine featured in a New York Times article today brings to light the importance of understanding the long-term effects of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) experienced by our combat veterans. This is a great intro to what our military is doing in order to treat our war-injured military, especially those with TBI... PACAF is utilizing the Air Force Surgeon General's standardized pre- and post-deployment education program called "Landing Gear," using the metaphor that, no matter how powerful an aircraft is in the air, functioning landing gear is necessary to safely launch and recover. The focus of Landing Gear is on brief education to hopefully increase the recognition of Airmen suffering from traumatic stress symptoms and connect them with helping resources. Landing Gear has been implemented Air Force-wide and we have sent the training material to all mental health professionals throughout PACAF.In addition to the Landing Gear program, PACAF will also be implementing a Baseline Pre-Deployment Neurocognitive Assessment Testing (NCAT) for our troops planning to deploy. TBI is a condition that is affecting many of our returning warriors. Unfortunately, it is difficult to measure the degree of injury without baseline data. Therefore, DoD is requiring every deployer to be tested with the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) within 12 months prior to deployment. This should help us establish a basis for future comparative review should a suspected TBI occur. The plan is for each Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) to receive one to three computers loaded with the ANAM software from Health Affairs. Our MTFs here at PACAF will be prepared to initiate testing within two weeks of receiving the computers with the ANAM software.
Posted by Captain David Faggard, Air Force Public Affairs
A new study by the Institute of Medicine featured in a New York Times article today brings to light the importance of understanding the long-term effects of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) experienced by our combat veterans. This is a great intro to what our military is doing in order to treat our war-injured military, especially those with TBI... PACAF is utilizing the Air Force Surgeon General's standardized pre- and post-deployment education program called "Landing Gear," using the metaphor that, no matter how powerful an aircraft is in the air, functioning landing gear is necessary to safely launch and recover. The focus of Landing Gear is on brief education to hopefully increase the recognition of Airmen suffering from traumatic stress symptoms and connect them with helping resources. Landing Gear has been implemented Air Force-wide and we have sent the training material to all mental health professionals throughout PACAF.In addition to the Landing Gear program, PACAF will also be implementing a Baseline Pre-Deployment Neurocognitive Assessment Testing (NCAT) for our troops planning to deploy. TBI is a condition that is affecting many of our returning warriors. Unfortunately, it is difficult to measure the degree of injury without baseline data. Therefore, DoD is requiring every deployer to be tested with the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) within 12 months prior to deployment. This should help us establish a basis for future comparative review should a suspected TBI occur. The plan is for each Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) to receive one to three computers loaded with the ANAM software from Health Affairs. Our MTFs here at PACAF will be prepared to initiate testing within two weeks of receiving the computers with the ANAM software.
Posted by Captain David Faggard, Air Force Public Affairs