Concern mounts over rising troop suicides

Concern mounts over rising troop suicides

www.cnn.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Every day, five U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves. Before the Iraq war began, that figure was less than one suicide attempt a day.

The dramatic increase is revealed in new U.S. Army figures, which show 2,100 soldiers tried to commit suicide in 2007.

"Suicide attempts are rising and have risen over the last five years," said Col. Elspeth Cameron-Ritchie, an Army psychiatrist.

(visit the link for the full news article)

The article goes on to say relationship issues are the major cause of suicide, and that long deployments cause stress on relationships, raising the suicide attempt rate.

I see the relevance in that analogy, but could it be due to the fact of the horrendous things the troops are seeing on a daily basis.

Possibly what they are having to do as troops with no one to turn to for help? What Say you.

This is just a sad article to read about our troops. My heart and prayers go out to all of them.



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

Of course that's what it is...

I think most people really aren't aware of the true horrors going on over there on a daily basis, because it's not shown in the mainstream media at all...

If you take a look at some of the videos soldiers are posting on sites like break and ogrish, then you'll begin to realise just how bad the situation really is, and why so many of the soldiers are suicidal.

I know a person that was in gulf war 1, and i can tell you no one should ever join the army, from what i seen was done to him in the british army. Those people are just nothing to the leaders. Ican understand, why they would feel they have no place in society and no hope after what they saw.

Sad, but true, my advice to anyone thinking of joining the army, don't, and never commit suicide what ever your situation is. I have seen, from this geezer the thx society has for the people who fight for there socalled freedom, and how brainwashed they are that they are doing the right thing in these wars.

I think this was being discussed here:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by NeuronDivide
Of course that's what it is...

I think most people really aren't aware of the true horrors going on over there on a daily basis, because it's not shown in the mainstream media at all...

If you take a look at some of the videos soldiers are posting on sites like break and ogrish, then you'll begin to realise just how bad the situation really is, and why so many of the soldiers are suicidal.

Well in wars where civilians become soldiers where they never face a situation seeing people blown up into burning meat, then it shocks them, traumatizing them because its unexpected. Kind of like victims seeing their loved ones murdered in front of their eyes at home. People seeing others shot in schools, killed in accidents and they all need counseling.

What kind of will power can these nuckle heads have to kill themselves just because they are faced with hardships....For the first times in there lives they are faced with real serious life and death struggles...They have impossible jobs,...(get Iraq to love you/us),.....These panty waists can't put up with doing a real days work....they think death is better,.yes,.. death..is better,...I don't care if your wifes leaving you,...and with your best friend,...You can always find another better half,...I think the underlying cause is just plane lazy putzs....sleep forever,...after all these lazy people seem like sleeping,......you know better than normal folks)..I will admitt,..I'll be one of those found with a bullet in my head,...by my own had to,...but,...I'll have a real excuse,..terminal "something".....I wish there was better moral over there ...The whole thing is/was a under-handed rip-off...get the control of oil...keep our currency #1...Do Israel's Bidding....what's next ??...the drama continues..

I suggest some do it because they have a quality conscience of being and an ethical and moral dilemma to resolve within the situation they find themselves in. Some assimilate, some find dissonance and oppression.

Some can't set aside the truth they know for "that of the truth of another" and still live with themselves with that knowledge. Stressful? Ultimately and final. All are tragic, this is the most tragic sort.

Vic

oh my majesty......have you ever killed anyone??
have you ever killed a woman or a child??
have you ever seen and smelled whats left after
a strafing run?? have you ever had a child run to
you crying because her arm has been blown off?
have you ever seen a man with half a brain lying
on the ground attempting to move..
have you ever seen a headless corpse shaking because of nerve
reaction.. have you ever smelled the scent of death???

tell me. i am listening..

Please people lets not get this thread off on the wrong foot.

Concern mounts over rising troop suicides


Courtesy Is Mandatory

Courtesy Is Mandatory – Please Review This Link.

Wow such interesting replies to this thread. Thanx to everyone. Curious responses across the board.

I think the last paragraphs state it best.

He said veterans return home to find an "understaffed, under-funded, under-equipped" Veterans Affairs mental health system. "Many just give up trying," he said.

Yes, our VA's are underfunded and crappy. That is one issue no one will argue.

But from the article -



It is still less than the general population...this may be a political move to get more funding for the VA (I hope anyway).

I think I can understand why relationships are so important to them. Family and loved ones are who you are fighting for. The soldiers are fighting for the American people too, but the people seldom thank them or send them love and support; you can put a face on those close to you.

We should remember to send thanks to those who serve in the armed forces, and love whenever possible. They face horrendous circumstances and moral uncertainty.

Having been in the service for many years during my youth it is easy to see what would drive a soldier to this end. Many people enter the service with a very inaccurate concept of what a soldier is. A soldier is a tool to be used at the discretion of the organization employing said soldier. It is not a democracy. It is not a forum for free thought. It is not a place to build a sense of worth and well being. Any delusion that being a soldier will make you a better person is usually dispelled in the first five minutes upon arrival at a Military training facility. The Military feasts on young minds because young minds are easy to digest. The best soldiers have been proven to be children due to their uncanny ability to merge fantasy with reality. The problem is that when young minds begin to question and separate fantasy from reality it is often too overwhelming and subsequently a breakdown occurs. Usually the job of the immediate leaders within the group is to recognize and deal with these breakdowns in order to restore the lost equilibrium. Poor leadership is a death nail in any Military organization. Leadership within the Military is akin to parenthood because when the sh!t hits the fan some one must answer the inevitable "WHY?" questions. If a soldier does not believe mind, body and soul that what he is doing has purpose that soldier will cease to function properly. Combat soldiers face death every single day that they are in a theatre of operation. When death becomes wholesale the inverse is also true. Waking up everyday wondering if it will be your last is the ultimate and unequaled form of true stress. As with all forms of stress one often looks for the easiest way to relieve it.

Good leaders inspire their troops and act as release valves for the stresses that build up during adversity. Soldier suicide is directly linked to bad leadership.

A word on Iraq: If I was a combat soldier in that theatre of operation I would have no choice but to feel some sense of worthlessness. Imagine fighting for months/years watching friends and fellow soldiers die on a daily basis. Now imagine that the news you hear from home is that you shouldn't be there and that your not doing any good. Now after all that time you've been fighting and watching people die around you the only talk in your ears is that a group of politicians want to pull you out in order to boost their ratings. Politicians don't understand combat because the only death they are witness to is political. The average citizen won't understand what it is to be a soldier because they don't understand ultimate sacrifice. A soldier does not care about politics or public opinion, a soldier is only concerned with getting the job done and looking out for the soldiers around them.

Originally posted by Sestias
We should remember to send thanks to those who serve in the armed forces, and love whenever possible. They face horrendous circumstances and moral uncertainty.

You are so right. Here is a few sites that everyone can send letters, care packages things of the sort like that to soldiers.

Im sure it would be a big boost to get a care package from a random Appreciative US Citizen to say "Hey, we are still here rootin for ya and thinkin bout ya and heres some goodies for ya from home"

Adobe US Soldier Package

Adopt a Soldier.org

Soldiers Angels Adopt program

reply to post by S1LV3R4D0

Thanks for those links. I'm glad to see that some people are making the effort for the soldiers.

those deployments are so long. i know a guy thats in the army, he's home now, but was in iraq, that tried to get out, and they laughed at him. he still has another ten years before he can retire from service.
the enlistment rates are so low from where they used to be, that people have to stay a long time, becaue there is no one else to send.

Your welcome MilSpec. There used to be one called adoptasniper.org but i think they become one of those sites.

I was amazed when i wrote my buddy in the Navy and he replied that my letter was the first correspondence he had gotten in 4 months.

I know in todays world we have a tendency to get "busy" and forget things. But an email, a box full of goodies, a hand written letter to a soldier from just anyone could make a world of difference.

Just my 2cents.

Silver

Im gonna go ahead and bump my own thread with a new article.

US Soldier Suicides the highest on record: army

Thread started by imd12c4funn

Yet Another thread about an already ongoing discussion/problem

Since everyone wants to start their own instead of continuing already ongoing ones (i myself am guilty of this with bad searches), im gonna culminate all the old and new links that come up here so you and i dont have to read 15 threads to get the same info.

Capice?

Silver