Colorado’s U.S. senators asked the Army on Tuesday to consider adding Fort Carson to a pilot program designed to reduce the stigma soldiers face when seeking treatment for alcohol abuse.

The request by Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet came in response to a report that drug or alcohol abuse problems may have been a factor in most of the cases of Fort Carson soldiers alleged to have been involved in homicides after returning from combat. Of those 12 soldiers, fewer than half had received treatment, the report said.

The report said some soldiers do not seek treatment because they fear ridicule by their peers or supervisors.

A pilot program getting under way at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Fort Richardson, Alaska; and Fort Lewis, Wash., would waive the requirement that soldiers notify their commanders if they refer themselves for treatment. Udall and Bennet urged the Army surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, to move quickly to evaluate whether Fort Carson could be added to the program.

Executive Chef Ryan Blanchard from Plate World Cuisine showed off a popular lunch entree in April 2007. Photo by Carol Lawrence, The Gazette File

Carol Lawrence