What is Canada doing right for military stress? Special

After 13 people were killed at Fort Hood last week, U.S. officials said they will re-examine the issue of stress on soldiers. So does stress lead to incidents of violence in other countries as well? Do Canadian soldiers endure stress differently?

This is the first in a three-part series. "We have been trying very hard to understand the effects of stress, to understand the causes of everything from domestic violence to suicide to other crimes," Army Secretary John McHugh told reporters at the base yesterday. So does stress lead to problems within the military in Canada as well? To find out more, I spoke with Katie Stock from the Toronto Military Family Resource Centre. Stock deals with family members of the military on a day-to-day basis, and when I asked her opinion on the differences she pointed out the time spent in active combat may be a part of the issue. In the United States, the average tour of duty is up to 18 months compared to the six months that Canadian soldiers spend in a war zone, only high-ranking officers have extended tours lasting to one year. Those officers have also gone through screening prior to those longer tours. Once back on Canadian soil a soldier knows they will not be shipped overseas for at least a year. That is not so for American soldiers who could be shipped back to combat in as little as three months. "In regular forces you are not volunteering your time," Stock said in a phone interview. "If there was someone though that really needed not to serve in combat because of personal issues I suspect that they would be allowed out. I don't know though if this is true, not really sure of the ins and outs of this issue." A recruiter with CFRC-Mississauga spoke to me about this issue off the cuff. "When you sign up you commit a certain time of service," she said. "In some rare cases though a person who can not commit to armed conflict can pay money back for their education." So what is Canada doing with its troops that is different than the United States? There are many different answers that will be discussed throughout this series of articles. During a phone conversation with Janice Summerby of Veteran Affairs Canada, she said the majority of clients getting help for psychological issues are the modern-day veteran. Of the 12,000 clients, 6,200 of the veterans are from modern-day armed forces. These include some members are still serving Canada and two-thirds of the patients (8,000) are dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Summerby told me help is just a phone call away for veterans and as soon as a call is made, a veteran can begin the counseling process. For those who are requiring disability, the process takes longer as it is an application process. "I hope what is happening in the Canadian services is helping," she said. "Still the concern with PTSD is anger management. There will be incidents." As I talked with various members of the military, Veteran's Affairs and community services, I noticed everyone was surprised at the question I was asking: "What is Canada doing right?" The answer hadn't been addressed and the more I discussed it, it became clear there is no one easy answer. It's clear Canadian troops are affected by war. So why then are we the public not hearing about violent incidents on Canadian soil? That question will be answered as we explore what Canada is doing for their troops in the coming weeks. We will explore what is happening on the battle front, the home front and beyond.