How About One Website for Combat Stress Info?

That's the take of the Senate Appropriations Committee in its report on the 2012 Defense budget bill, which found the Pentagon and military services have set up a confusing mess of websites that purport to provide support for service members and their families struggling to deal with combat stress.

For example, the report said, the Navy published one pamphlet explaining how to combat

operational stress that listed 16 different websites and phone numbers for outreach.

Yet another Navy pamphlet listed eight additional websites, while an Air Force pamphlet listed 13 sites and points of contact and an Army information sheet on combat stress and mental health assistance listed 19 sites.

But, as the report pointed out, the website descriptions contains little information as to what services the sites will provide, thus requiring users to read through them to find one that meets his or her needs.

Rather than consolidating these efforts and streamlining this information for service members, the Department continues to approve new programs, resulting in a maze of information that poses a significant challenge to navigate, the report added.

The committee believes the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as the Office of the Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, and the Department of Veterans Affairs need to work together with the private sector to consolidate these efforts and develop a single portal.

Getting all these folks into the same room let alone reaching an agreement sounds like a task that could take years.