Repeated Iraq deployments raise mental health risks for soldiers

By Peter Spiegel,
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON -- More than a quarter of high-ranking enlisted soldiers showed signs of having mental health problems after being sent to war zones for the third or fourth time, a sharp increase over those on their first or second deployments.

The findings, contained in a new report on the behavioral health of soldiers in Iraq issued by the Army on Thursday, are the first to quantify the stress of repeated deployments on combat soldiers. The data are likely to increase calls by senior Army leaders to cut down the length of combat tours and increase the length of time soldiers have in between deployments.

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