SAN DIEGO -- The armed forces are falling short in caring for service members suffering adverse psychological effects from their combat experiences, two military psychologists told a Pentagon panel of mental health experts Thursday .

Cmdr. Mark Russell, a Navy psychologist, spent almost an hour before the panel detailing how the military could improve ways mental illnesses are diagnosed and treated.

Ltr. Cmdr. Shannon Johnson, another Navy psychologist, delivered a similar plea to the group at San Diego Marriott Mission Valley. Both speakers blamed indifference and hostility toward mental health issues as a key factor in the weakness of the current system.

Johnson and Russell were invited guests at the two-day meeting. Much of today's meeting will be devoted to listening to members of the public, especially members of the military and their families. A written statement announcing the meeting said task force members want to hear firsthand testimony about accessibility and quality of mental health care in the military. They'll also be listening to testimony about care received from civilian providers and the effects of multiple deployments on children and spouses of service members, the announcement said.

The meeting continues today from noon to 5 p.m.at the Marriott Mission Valley, 8757 Rio San Diego Drive. Members of the public will be invited to speak from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. and veterans and military organizations from 3 to 5 p.m.

The 14-member task force was created last year under legislation written by U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, who met in closed session with its members for an hour on Thursday. Boxer said afterward that she attended the meeting to impress on panel members the importance of their assignment -- making recommendations to the Secretary of Defense about redesigning the military health care system in ways that reflect a deeper commitment to treatment.

"I told them they have an opportunity to make a tremendous contribution to the nation," she said.

Russell told the panel that a revamped mental health care system should stress better training for mental health workers, especially those without medical degrees. He also called for more commitment to research and data gathering, as well as tracking records of patients, designating money for regional mental health care centers and promoting more respect for the mental health field.

A refusal to acknowledge the importance of mental health in the military underlies the current problems in the system, he said. Russell said the lack of qualified mental health workers puts a heavy burden on many who, like himself, end up exhausted and demoralized.

"We don't value mental health as a society and in DOD," Russell said, using the acronym for the Department of the Defense.

Johnson said she was one of two child psychiatrists -- Russell is the other -- available to serve military members and their families stationed on seven bases in Japan. She is set to join the staff at Naval Medical Center San Diego, or Balboa Hospital, in the next few days.

She said many overworked mental health care workers who treat combat veterans from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are suffering from the same kinds of mental stress as the veterans they serve. Many of those she knows are unprepared for the rigors of battle, she said.

"I don't think people understand before they go over there just how gruesome, just how horrible and just how difficult it is," Johnson said.

The panel, which is co-chaired by Lt. Gen Kevin Kiley, the Army Surgeon General, includes several other high-ranking officers. They responded favorably to the comments from Johnson and Russell.

"I thought your presentation was very refreshing and quite compelling," Col. Angela Pereira told Russell.

One note of disappointment came at the end of the day from Shelley MacDermind, director of the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University. She said she had hoped to see more people from the public than the three or four she counted among the 25 or so in the room. MacDermind said she hoped for a better turnout today.

Contact Joe Beck at (760) 740-3516 or jbeck@nctimes.com.