The Defense Department and Veterans Affairs Department established two consortia to research the diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injury over a five-year period, announced the Pentagon. The Consortium to Alleviate PTSD is a collaborative effort between the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, San Antonio Military Medical Center, and Boston VA Medical Center. This group aims to develop strategies “to treat acute PTSD and prevent chronic PTSD,” states the Pentagon’s mid-August release. The Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium includes Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., and the Richmond Medical Center. It seeks to improve diagnostic and treatment options for mTBI and “further the understanding of the relationship between mTBI and neurodegenerative disease,” states the release. The combined investment for these two groups is $107 million, according to the release. This action comes in response to a 2012 Presidential executive order directing federal agencies to develop a coordinated national research action plan for dealing with mental health issues.
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department needs to upgrade its electronic warfare capability and its EW training ranges; just as his predecessor said at his own confirmation hearing.