CBS: 120 U.S. Vet Suicides Per Week

CBS: 120 U.S. Vet Suicides Per Week

www.edmontonsun.com

At least 120 Americans who served in the U.S. military killed themselves per week in 2005, CBS News reported yesterday after a five-month investigation into veteran suicides.

That's 6,256 veteran suicides in one year, in 45 states -- a rate twice that of other Americans, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reported.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.cbsnews.com

[edit on 14-11-2007 by anhinga]

These are just stats from 2005, I wonder what happened w/ this rate since then? We're almost two years removed from '05, this is a national tragedy, and like the article closes w/, "if these numbers don't wake up this country nothing will."

www.edmontonsun.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

If this is accurate - this surpasses the Vietnam War. This is an interesting article that covers some of the Vietnam myths.

Vietnam Myths

Myth: The media have reported that suicides among Vietnam veterans range from 50,000 to 100,000 - 6 to 11 times the non-Vietnam veteran population.

Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. "The CDC Vietnam Experience Study Mortality Assessment showed that during the first 5 years after discharge, deaths from suicide were 1.7 times more likely among Vietnam veterans than non-Vietnam veterans. After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than non-Vietnam veterans. In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans' group." [Houk]

This administration constantly touts the line about "Supporting the Troops". If the troops were "supported", how can this happen???!!!!

reply to post by TruthWithin


After 5 years, all those prone to that route had already exited. But it was almost double there for the first 5. And that doesn't take into account the higher than normal death toll due to extreme risk taking.

War does have a way of staying with people, especially if they cannot feel "right" about the reasons for it.

I think the statistics belie the actual seriousness of this epidemic. 6,500 a year is an astronomical number of deaths and pretty much turns the total official Iraqi and Afghanistan war death toll on it's head. These soldiers must be seeing and experiencing truly horrific and traumatic situations in the "War On Terror" that the press will no longer or is no longer allowed to report on. I think they really need to do a study on "why" these vets are so suicidal and how can they be properly counseled and rehabilitated - and better yet - end this endless war altogether.

It should be pointed out that suicide rates will always be higher among groups exposed to stressful physical and emotional extremes over a long period of time (half of the rest will suffer all the other symptoms of PTSD).

However focusing on Iraq/Afgan, comparing the ratios to Vietnam is very odd. An incalculable greater number of soldiers experienced severely traumatic events in the Vietnam War. Nothing makes your soul rot like masses of children scarred for life by napalm.

That hasn't happened in Iraq/Afgan. The troops, and relatively fewer of them, just see their friends dismembered by roadside bombs or mowed down by small arms fire and suicide bombers. Nothing too crazy.

So why the disproportion? Is the military recruiting a greater number of psychologically unstable individuals than before? Is severe depression a side effect of the often questionable medications and vaccinations soldiers are given? Is something else unknown to the public, or the soldiers, being put in their bodies and affecting their minds?

There was an increase in soldier suicides in 2004. Now we have this report on 2005 numbers. I fear that that 2006 and 2007 will probably have significant numbers too.

These men and women are facing and having to deal with many many pyschological issues and getting back into regular life is difficult for them. Imagine having to do things that you're probably morally against and then have to return to normal life as if it never happened.

I would rather die than live with the thought that I committed an act that directly killed another human being.

I don't have the right to decide when someone else's life ends.

The only situation I can imagine is if that person came up to me personally, at my home, and tried to kill me or someone I love. In defense they might die. Other than that... death makes me sick.


"Thou shalt not kill." (For the religious types)

"What goes around comes around." (For the spiritual types)

"I dare you to try." (For the mafia types)

reply to post by worldwatcher


Yes but why the dramatic disproportion? What is difference? This war pales in comparison to the scale of death and violence in the Vietnam War. Why is the suicide ratio for these troops so much higher?

reply to post by apc


to be honest, I don't know. War is war and you would think that the stats would be around the same average for all of them..

Perhaps it has to do with the Iraqi environment? Instead of lush tropical jungles full of life, it's desolate dry landscapes and desert area. Maybe those affected see it as never ending and having no way out?

Originally posted by apc
So why the disproportion? Is the military recruiting a greater number of psychologically unstable individuals than before? Is severe depression a side effect of the often questionable medications and vaccinations soldiers are given? Is something else unknown to the public, or the soldiers, being put in their bodies and affecting their minds?

This would not surprise me a bit. It looks to me like those who would be most capable of defending this country are being destroyed or disabled. Lots of returning Vets are being denied the right to keep and bear arms as well, based on ‘mental conditions’. Prelude to a takeover/crackdown?

reply to post by apc


My guess, a couple factors not present in Nam; 1) repeated "redeployments,' i.e. "stop loss," and 2) sever injuries that once killed are now survivable due to advances in emergency medicine on the front, yet nonetheless leave the individual crippled facing a life of pain and dependence on the family.

It would be interesting to know, in proportion, how many suicides were related to the above.

it probably doesn't help that many of these national guardsmen and women are coming home to unemployment, even though they susposedly have their old job guarenteed.....


by the way, my dad was a ww2 vet......whatever it was that he experienced, it changed him, if you lived with him, you could see the effects the war had on him even 40 years later. I think the changes are pretty much permanant, they don't just wear off in five years..it's just that if you manage to deal with them that long, you're more likely to be able to go on.

Originally posted by apc
Yes but why the dramatic disproportion? What is difference? This war pales in comparison to the scale of death and violence in the Vietnam War. Why is the suicide ratio for these troops so much higher?

well that should be an easy question to answer.

Most every soldier in Iraq knows that they were sent
into Iraq under a lie. And they were not sent home
after they found out it was a lie. So they realize they are
invaders and occupiers. That's not what they signed up for.
Another sign which shows this to be the case is the strong
support the troops have for Ron Paul's presidential campaign.
They have been the biggest contributers cuz RP has stated
they would all come home if he was elected.

They don't want to be there themselves so in order to keep
from getting sent back, some go AWOL and some commit
suicide as a means to escape a tyrant sending them back
into a situation they don't deserve to be in.

So expect the 2006 and 2007 numbers to increase
cuz they are still there and nothing has changed from
2004 & 2005.

I don't think it has anything to do with the soldiers mental
status when joining. It's what has been placed on their soldiers
by this administration. An unjust war might be alright in the
eyes of politicians in Washington, but when you have to fight
it (as the soldiers do) they can't live with their conscience.

course that's just my opinion

I would agree with the point about the medics being able to cure more of the wounded people and thus more soldiers surviving but being handycapped.

Similarly I would NOT agree with the unjust war cause because
1. For now all the soldiers are still volunteers. During the Vietnam war you actually had draft. People were sent into war who never wanted to go there.
2. The war in Vietnam was VERY strongly opposed back then. More openly than Iraq war is criticized right now.

Edit: It would also seem that it might be more effective for the insurgents to create disturbing images for the soldiers than attack them overtly themselves. 120 per week.. whoa.. thats like... its like one every 90 minutes or so?

[edit on 31-1-2008 by Alphard]

Originally posted by Alphard
For now all the soldiers are still volunteers.

maybe so but most volunteered during peace time or either
they were in the Reserves or National Guard and were not
expecting to fight in a 100 year war. That is basically a draft when
a soldier fills his contract time and then the gubment comes in and
says you got a 2-year clause in your contract that we are enforcing
to keep you here another 2 years. Now who is the volunteer ???

Originally posted by Alphard
The war in Vietnam was VERY strongly opposed back then.

it wasn't at the beginning of the war, it wasn't until the news
broadcast started showing footage of dead Americans then
it started to sway public opinion. Then of course the lies
about the Gulf of Tonkin didn't help either.


[edit on 31-1-2008 by SimonSays]