[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 9, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2091]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2091]]
   RECOGNIZING ANNE ARUNDEL COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOR ITS ASSISTANCE TO 
                           MILITARY FAMILIES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN P. SARBANES

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 9, 2007

  Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Anne Arundel 
Community College and its efforts to assist the men and women of the 
United States Armed Forces and their families as they return from 
combat overseas.
  Anne Arundel Community College is now offering free counseling for 
military families in a four week course entitled ``Reunited: Family 
Life After Deployment.'' The purpose of this course is to assist the 
men and women returning from service overseas reintegrate into their 
family and civilian life. These four, two-hour classes, which will be 
offered free to all service personnel thanks to the Friends of The 
Parenting Center scholarship program, will help participants identify 
the signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It 
will also help returnees learn how to deal with the emotional responses 
that arise from separation during service, how to adjust parenting 
styles, and to balance disciplinary roles within the family.
  This course is the most recent example of how Anne Arundel Community 
College, and its President, Dr. Smith, continually strive to embrace 
the community that surrounds the campus. Outreach like this does not 
just happen by itself; it takes the time and energy of concerned 
individuals who hear of a community need and take the initiative to 
make a difference. Individuals like Dr. Lou Aymard and his staff at the 
Parenting Center who made this course a reality, as well as Bruce 
Turnquist, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist who will be leading the 
class discussion, are to be commended. To these individuals, and those 
at Fort Meade and the United States Naval Academy who shared their 
insight, I offer my sincere gratitude on behalf of all the returning 
men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces.
  Since 2001, over 1.5 million soldiers have been deployed in Iraq or 
Afghanistan. A 2004 Army survey found that nearly 20 percent of 
soldiers returning home suffered from clinical anxiety, depression, or 
PTSD. More recent surveys show that 27 percent of those who serve 
longer deployments or multiple deployments have some form of mental 
illness or PTSD. I have heard first hand during hearings in the 
Oversight and Government Reform Committee and meetings with veterans' 
groups about how these conditions can often lead to alcohol and drug 
abuse, divorce, and financial and legal problems. It is tragic and 
wrong that these treatable conditions continue to have such a 
devastating impact upon the families of these veterans.
  The sad fact is that almost 80 percent of these returning veterans 
who need assistance to deal with these mental illnesses are not 
referred to treatment. Because of this phenomenon, I have joined as a 
cosponsor of the Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement 
Act of 2007, which would require that all veterans who serve on active 
duty during a period of war receive mental health screening and, when 
necessary, mental health treatment and family counseling. We have 
already passed significant legislation during this Congress to improve 
the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs health 
care delivery system and I hope that we will soon be able to take up 
and pass this legislation as well. This initiative by AACC represents 
how much can be done if we simply take advantage of the resources and 
opportunities within our communities to address this problem and to 
assist a population that has sacrificed so much.
  Madam Speaker, I want to again thank all those at Anne Arundel 
Community College involved in the ``Reunited: Family Life After 
Deployment'' program. Anne Arundel Community College is a first-class 
institution and they have truly stepped up to support our Nation's 
veterans.

                          ____________________