MENTAL HEALTH CRISES are as much a reality for military personnel as for civilians, the officer in charge of managing support services believes, adding that treatment can ensure that soldiers can be brought back to full frontline duties.  

Lieutenant Colonel John Martin is the head of the Defence Forces’ Personnel Support Service (PSS) – essentially a one stop shop for military personnel to get advice on everything from financial matters to help when faced with mental health difficulties.

The unit assists not just serving personnel in the army, navy and air corps but also to civilian Defence Forces staff and offers some limited assistance for veterans. 

In February and March The Journal was embedded with Irish soldiers in the Golan inside Syria. As their deployment neared its end two soldiers from PSS arrived in the camp to help them with the transition back to normal life. 

The sound of exploding ordnance, scenes of visceral combat injuries and death as well as the constant dangerous environment for six months meant that some of those soldiers could struggle with settling back into simple tasks back home. 

We observed a session where soldiers received a briefing from the PSS personnel about how to handle simple activities like going to a supermarket or understanding the calm and non-threatening environment of family life – it inspired us to chat to Martin.

The commanding officer of PSS is a hugely experienced soldier and he has served abroad during some of the most extreme violence ever witnessed by Irish troops. 

He said, among other qualifications, a keen interest in psychology prompted him to obtain a degree in the area – it led him to his current role. 

Martin said the PSS system is about identifying problems early and finding a holistic way to deal with it through trained peer supporters in units across the country and abroad. They can offer advice, guidance and find solutions but also then identify if depression and other mental health issues are developing. 

There is also access to a team of specialist psychologists and psychiatrists as well as social workers – that combined with the soldiers inside the unit, Martin believes, “gives us a very strong team to provide the tools to do the job”.

“The bottom line for the PSS is the effectiveness of the Defense Forces, so that we produce people who are supported, who are happy, who are safe, who have a positive approach, who are able to do the job that is given to us by the Defence Forces. That’s what we do,” he said.

Martin said that mental health crises happen at the same rate as that in society but that incidents such as death and serious injury at home and abroad can lead to incidents of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

He said that while on overseas deployments it tends to be easier to spot problems, given the round the clock interactions with colleagues – issues developing at home can go unchecked. That is where, he believes, training in suicide prevention and mental health interventions to spot the signs of risks before they become unmanageable are hugely important. 

Martin said the ultimate goal must be to treat mental health like any other illness and once help has been successful to return the soldier to full duties.  

“It most certainly is to bring them back. I would say that’s those are clinical decisions but at the same time, the aim is the same as it is with any illness, to identify it, to diagnose it, to treat it, to cure it, and to return the person to full operational effectiveness. That works for them, works with their families, and it works for the organisation,” he said. 

Lt Col John Martin, centre, while on UN Peacekeeping duty abroad. Irish Defence Forces Irish Defence Forces

Family

Martin constantly references the importance of family in helping soldiers and how his team is mindful of keeping them at the forefront of their decision making. 

For many soldiers military unit colleagues are like a second family – Martin said that the natural camaraderie that develops among uniformed service personnel can be a real positive to deal with problems.  

The difficulty is, he said, when the desire to never leave those colleagues down prevents people from seeking help.

“The concept of team is very powerful and like any powerful idea, it has to be managed.

“So if we instill in our people, the idea that we don’t let each other down, which is something that we do instill in each other, in training, and we have to temper that, so that people don’t go beyond their limits, in order not to let the team down.

“And those people have to be able to lay down their tools, when they’re having a difficulty,” he explained. 

Martin said problems don’t have to be trauma issues but outcomes like addiction, gambling and other problems could have their origins in traumatic experiences outside of military life. 

“Some people who are suffering from just normal mental health issues, which may be addiction related, which may be depression relief, which may be into the realms of mental illness, like paranoia, or psychosis or something like that well, then it’s less easy for people to put their hands up and say they need help, because of this concept of team that we have, and not letting other people know,” he added. 

Martin believes that the key to dealing with that aspect is education and the courses and talks they give to personnel in the Irish Army, Naval Service and Air Corps.  

“They have to know that there’s no shame in looking for help,” he said. 

The most serious immediate interventions are when there has been an event on operations particularly a death or serious injury on UN Peacekeeping operations. 

Initially the Defence Forces will utilise the skills of trained “peer responders” who are based with the unit – based on information provided by then an assessment is made if a support team should be sent from Ireland.

“That support team will be tailored depending on the situation, it may involve bringing a clinical psychologist but we will be advised clinically by that and if the clinical psychologist feels that she should be there, then certainly that’s what we would do,” she said. 

The burden of keeping going

Martin said early intervention can be effective to help people process what they’ve experienced. The critical consideration for the personnel at the location where the incident happened is that they cannot down tools entirely.

“Bearing in mind that even after a traumatic incident overseas, we must remain in place, we must continue to do the job that we’ve been tasked with doing and we must remain effective. So it’s not it’s not the easiest thing to do. But where people are properly supported, they can do it in a safe way that ultimately leads to some satisfaction for them in terms of being able to continue with their work,” he added. 

Martin said it is important to understand that most people will go through a traumatic incident and emerge from it without recourse to mental health supports.

His team also assesses the proximity to the tragedy and that family members at home will be seriously affected and that this will last a lifetime. 

He said the support of family at home is critical but that key to achieving a good outcome is enabling supports associated with the camaraderie of colleagues who are deployed together. 

“We are always careful about withdrawing people from the area of operations, because one of the great supports is having with you those people who have endured the incident, and that’s, in the initial phases is as important as say, close friends, or even family in some cases, so we don’t deprive people of that easily,” he added. 

Only in the most difficult of situations do they take someone back home to deal with the trauma in a clinical environment, he said.

Martin said there is a risk that PTSD can develop later but that “it is less likely” – continuing supports, he said, will help with that issue.

The PSS leader said that the way the supports are structured he believes that there is not a reticence to seek help among military personnel. 

He said that they must report disclosures of criminal matters, especially around child safety, but otherwise the team fosters an atmosphere of trust. 

“We place great store and confidentiality, we consider it to be very, very important. At all times.

“We’re all human – there will be times where people will perceive that there are issues with confidentiality, that’s normal in any organization where you are dealing with people.

“We can only intervene with people, if we have their trust, we can only have their trust if they believe the services are confidential. So we see it as a very practical consideration,” he added.