U.S Soldiers and Suicide

[FriedrichSeneca]

More U.S. Soldiers Killed Themselves Than Died in Combat in 2010

I laughed out really loud. Is it wrong?

[Primum non nocere]

This new data, that American soldiers are now more dangerous to themselves than the insurgents, flies right in the face of any suggestion that things are "working."

[Empahsis mine]

IMO there is something darkly comical about this statement right here, but of course this is still a very serious matter.

My first instinct was to say that obviously the turmoil, violence, loneliness, and sometimes even unbearable boredom that is experienced by soldiers in war was to blame here, but then I read this:

Of the 112 guardsmen who committed suicide last year, more than half had never even left American soil.

How are we to explain this? Perhaps the correlation here does not equal causation? Do the deaths here correspond with normal annual deaths by suicide or is this a particularly special case? It seems perfectly possible that this many soldiers were simply having personal problems not related to their involvement in the military.

[grandpa]

[Empahsis mine] IMO there is something darkly comical
about this statement right here, but of course this is
still a very serious matter.
My first instinct was to say that obviously the turmoil,
violence, loneliness, and sometimes even unbearable boredom that is experienced
by soldiers in war was to blame here, but then
I read this:How are we to explain this?

It's not so hard to explain. How can humanity be regained when you're trained for usage as a killing machine? As an avid newsreader, I've learned that much of this turmoil has to come from within.

The repeal of DADT might help in some cases. We live in a bizarrely heterosexual male-dominated world.

On the bright side, homophobia gives us some interesting, sometimes even hilarious literature.

Errors to avoid to keep your baby from becoming homosexual:
"When bad weather keeps children indoors, you can suggest some
interesting pastimes. Starting at age four or five, children love
cutting out, even if only pictures in a catalogue. They also enjoy
folding paper to make soldier's caps, pots, boats, paper chains, and
so forth."
The cause of homosexuality

Anyway:
One wonders how many psychologically damaged American soldiers could invade and "liberate" Sudan.

Grandpa h.

[Muckraker]

Perhaps the correlation here does not equal causation? Do the deaths here correspond with normal annual deaths by suicide or is this a particularly special case? It seems perfectly possible that this many soldiers were simply having personal problems not related to their involvement in the military.

Did some looking and it appears active military suicides are over double the national rate. And veteran suicides account for 20% of all US suicides.

" + artTitle.replace("-","") + " - " + "The Daily O'Collegian" + " - " + "News" + "

Since troops were deployed to the Middle East in 2001, military suicide rates have risen exponentially each year. Suicides have accounted for more than 2,100 deaths since 2001, almost triple the number of troops who have died in Afghanistan and almost half of all deaths in Iraq. In 2009, for the first time, more military personnel took their lives than died at the hands of enemy combatants

Veterans account for 20 percent of total U.S. suicides, and an average of 18 veterans take their lives each day, according to The Department of Veterans Affairs Suicide Prevention Program fact sheet. From October 2008 to present, 950 veterans attempted suicide each month. These numbers include only veterans who receive care in the Veterans Health Administration. Only 25 percent of veterans utilize programs through the VA.

The Army listed the three main reasons for soldiers committing suicide as failed relationships, legal or financial issues and occupational or operational issues.

"We are seeing rates of unemployment among veterans double that of national rates," Philbrick said. "For the 18 to 24-year-old population, we have seen 20 to 21 percent unemployment."

I'm seeing a bunch of possible explanations. Either being in the military, and/or active military conflicts, causes collateral emotional damage that can result in difficulty adapting to civilian life.

Or the personality type of a person who chooses to join the military is more likely to cause issues that may result in suicide.

Also we may have additional variables now that didn't exist in earlier armed conflicts: mass desensitization to violence, media coverage of everything, loads of personal choice about direction of life, lack of support for government actions. Maybe the soldier today is, on average, more educated than soldiers of old. Maybe the soldier of today, on average, has more to lose than in the past.

Here's another one. Maybe the soldiers in conflicts today are less likely to die and/or see major combat action. Maybe the soldiers in the past that were least likely to successfully meld with civilian life and "deal" with their trauma were also least successful at surviving the war in general.

I think it's probably a mix of all these variables, and more, that has caused increased suicide rates among troops recently and high suicide rates for all veterans.

[grandpa]

Did some looking and it appears active military suicides are
over double the national rate.
And veteran suicides account for 20% of all US suicides.

The truth is, the government encourages people to die -- one way or another.

Grandpa h.

[Muckraker]

The truth is, the government encourages people to die -- one way or another.

Grandpa h.

Especially if you've just retired, paid off your mortgage, and had your quadruple bypass already.

[Dan74]

I had a thread about this a few weeks ago. My District's Representative, Rush D. Holt, proposed an earmark to the Defense Appropriations Bill that would help prevent veteran suicides. Senator McCain blocked it.

[FriedrichSeneca]

I had a thread about this a few weeks ago. My District's Representative, Rush D. Holt, proposed an earmark to the Defense Appropriations Bill that would help prevent veteran suicides. Senator McCain blocked it.

Hire them as expandable killing machines and try to make them feel good about it? Neato.

[Dan74]

Hire them as expandable killing machines and try to make them feel good about it? Neato.

So you say subsidizing psychological treatment for veterans is a bad thing? I don't understand your position.

[FriedrichSeneca]

So you say subsidizing psychological treatment for veterans is a bad thing? I don't understand your position.

I have no empathy for any military personel whatsoever; exept for resistance movements fighting for their own freedom. Is that an answer?

[Dan74]

I have no empathy for any military personel whatsoever; exept for resistance movements fighting for their own freedom. Is that an answer?

So you don't have a problem with veterans killing themselves.

Hey, I don't like the military either, I think don't thing anybody should have to go die to "protect our freedom". Unfortunately, we are stuck with a Cmdr. in Chief who refuses to end the war in Afghanistan. This means that there are going to be veterans coming home suffering from PTSD and considering suicide. The Government caused it, therefore the Government should have to help cure it.

[FriedrichSeneca]

So you don't have a problem with veterans killing themselves.

Hey, I don't like the military either, I think don't thing anybody should have to go die to "protect our freedom". Unfortunately, we are stuck with a Cmdr. in Chief who refuses to end the war in Afghanistan. This means that there are going to be veterans coming home suffering from PTSD and considering suicide. The Government caused it, therefore the Government should have to help cure it.

The government didn't force anybody to join the army. If you want to talk about the draft during the Vietnam War, the only ones for which I have any respect are those draft-dodgers who swam across Lake Champlain by night and those who had the guts to spend up to 5 years in prison.