The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-12-15

ingly important part in this most modern, ultra-technological super psychological of all wars.
 Before any soldier is sent over- seas, he is given an N. P. exan1ina- tion. During his induction and training periods, the soldier may get one or two or three previous N. P. examinations. The purpose is to keep the number of nervous and mental casualties to as low a fig- ure as possible.
 Use of psychiatry in the U. s. Army is still far below what the psychiatrists themselves would like to see, and far below the develop msnt of euro-psychiatry in the German army. One reason is that there aren't enough American psy- chiatristS.
 PSYCHIATRIST SHORTAGE
 In the entire United States there are perhaps only 5000 recognized specialists in this field of medicine. And many of these psychiatrists are too old for Army service, while others are essential for staff work in institutions. The result is that the available qualified personnel for the armed services is only around 900.
 How many psychiatrists the Army should have is somewhat of a ques- ton. Army Medical Corps orga1li- zation calls for minimum of one doctor to every 1000 soldiers ill peacetimes. Today the Army has 6.5 doctors for every 1000 men and eventually may have about 4.5 doc tors to every 1000 men. Dr. Hany Steckel, leading authority in the field of psychiatry has recommend ed one psychiatrist for every 5000 soldiers. That would mean 200 psy- chiatrists for every million men. or 1000 psychiatrists for five million men, the approximate strength Of the armed forces today.
 On that basis, there just aren't enough psychiatrists to do the job But there are several hundred psy- chiatrists commissioned as N. P.'s now and more doctors are being brought into the service at rapid rate. Chief of the division today is Col. R. D. Halloran, formerly pro- lessor in psychiatry at Tufts Medi- cal, the man who developed and was head of the Metropolitan State Hospital at Waltham, Mass, center for work in mental and nervous dis eases for the Harvard, Boston Col lege and Tufts schools of medicine.
 Purpose of the War Departments development of psy chiatry is to help the Army fight the war. It is not to take care of the mentally i'll, for a soldier who is nervous wreck is a liability to any Army. Not only is the soldier himself counted out, but there must be disqualification provided, with doctors and nurses to care for him. The big job of psychiatry in wartime is to find these potential psychiatric cases be- fore they become nervous break downs. and to see that they are weeded out before they become pub- lie charges,
 IT'S SOMETHING NEW
 One principal trouble is that psy- chiatry is still such new science that there is no sure test to tell how men who may be getting along all right in civilian life will behave under the changed conditions of &C., tual combat or even in the war training period. There is no test to determine mans courage and endurance. What 1t takes to weed out the mental misfits for war is close checkups on trainees in the pre- combat stages, and that's what the Army's N. P.'s are being devel- oped to do,
 When a young doctor Is commits stoned as an N. P. in the Army Med- ical Corps he Is assigned first to what is known as a neuro-psychia- tric pool at one of the large Army general hospitals. The N. P may spend from several weeks to several months in this pool, getting his in- doctrination as soldier, and receiv- ing his first training in military psy- chiatry, learning how to handle cases in large numbers and how tc run psychiatric clinic, for your Army pSychiatrist must be prepared to handle up to 75 cases a day.
 When the Army N. P. completes this internshiu and is himself con- ditioned to Army life, then he will be ready for assignment with troops in the field, to detect and treat mental and nervous cases.