Charles C. Engel, MD, MPH

Given that rates of military suicide have risen to unprecedented levels, the burden of empirical proof in support of weak military mental health confidentiality standards is squarely on the military.

The privacy and security of our offices-the therapeutic bunkers within which our wounded patient-warriors hunker down against an unseen enemy-is the fundamental first barricade between private sufferings and the potential for public humiliation.

Military veterans are ubiquitous in our practices and in our lives. The impact of the past several years of armed conflict is greater than many think-and much greater than simply the number of veterans in your practice or your community.