Jobs Combat Stress

Re “Marines Take Up Fight on Postwar Stress,” April 2: There are any number of catch phrases to describe psychological treatment for war veterans, such as Chaplain Smith’s “You need to take out the garbage before it lowers the property values.” The one I like best is from Dr. Richard Mollica at Harvard who said, “The best antidepressant is a job.”

Whatever short-term “warrior transition” approach is used, it had better be followed up by longer-range programs to assure that combat veterans get good jobs after leaving the service.

James Freed

Santa Monica