24 replies to this topic

[jugoso]

"We are deeply concerned about suicide in the military," a Pentagon spokeswoman said, adding it was "one of the most urgent problems" they faced.
While the reasons for the increase are not entirely understood, the Defence department's own data suggest soldiers with multiple combat tours are at greater risk. But a portion of those taking their own life have never deployed, the figures show.
Suicide in the forces had levelled off during 2010 and 2011, but 2012 has seen the fastest pace since the US war in Afghanistan began in 2001.
http://www.bbc.co.uk...canada-18371377

Edited by jugoso, 10 June 2012 - 05:50 AM.

[Cradle of Fish]

The soldiers are the true victims of war. They're told to fight, they watch people die on a daily basis and when they return they're told 'thank for your service, now get over it.'

[Doctor manhattan]

there surposed to kill the enemy not themselves!!

[and then]

I supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I was furious, like most Americans, about 9-11.  I have since repented that sentiment regarding Iraq.  The soldiers did what they thought was right and they should be always treated with highest regard and given the help they now need.  But the ultimate way to honor them is to take away one of the greatest stressors there is in their service, that of multiple re-deployments.  If America needs to employ troops on foreign battlefields for extended periods of time to keep the nation safe then there should be no problem returning to a military draft.  If that reality is too painful for coward politicians to entertain then we shouldn't go to war...period.  We are literally using up the best of ourselves in these wars.  It's time for it to stop unless we are going to spread the burden around to all who are able to serve.  I even think the age limits should be re-examined.  If an older person has a skill that is critical whether in engineering or medicine or ANYTHING and they are in good enough health to serve in support roles for a couple of years then they should serve also.  I'd be willing to be an MRI tech in the service to free up some younger tech to serve closer(just as an example).  My point is that these people are dying because of abandonment and unfair demands being made on them.  If we don't act soon then stories like the one where the soldier murdered the innocents in Afghanistan will probably become more common.... they are human and they are breaking under the stress.

[Babe Ruth]

Also Sprach the Dogs of War.

A suicide rate twice the population at large, and many more thinking about it.

One cannot make a silk purse from a sow's ear, yet so many in our society attempt to do so daily.  Perpetual futility.

Took the nation to war under fraud and deceit, and not even impeached.

[FLOMBIE]

Cradle of Fish, on 10 June 2012 - 06:14 AM, said:

The soldiers are the true victims of war. They're told to fight, they watch people die on a daily basis and when they return they're told 'thank for your service, now get over it.'

They are not told to fight. They choose to fight. That is a significant difference, if you ask me.

[karmakazi]

FLOMBIE, on 10 June 2012 - 06:24 PM, said:

They are not told to fight. They choose to fight. That is a significant difference, if you ask me.

Many choose to fight because in this country a college degree is very important to getting a better job and soldiers are given tuition assistance as well as earning money while in the service.  The way the job/education/consumer system works is bound to push more towards being in the military not because they want to go to war but because they want to support themselves, become skilled, and try to have a better life.

The problem is after the experience of war they come back and do not have the support and care that they need.  Many come back with post traumatic stress that is never treated.  I had a friend who suffered a brain lesion that wasn't discovered until 5 or more years after his 2nd tour in Iraq.  Lucky for him, he didn't have trouble getting taken care of... many veterans are denied care and pushed to the wayside.

[FLOMBIE]

If somebody joins the military, he has to expect to fight, kill, see terrible things, and might even get killed as well. It's the nature of the thing! No matter for why you chose to be a soldier.

The problem is that education became a business in your country. But that's a whole different topic.

Of course I believe that soldiers need psychological support after they have come back from a "tour" somewhere (of course you'll get problems when these kind of euphemisms are used), but how many are going to admit that it was to much for them? Most won't, because they do not want to be labeled a sissy or even worse by their comrades, who most likely suffer from the same problems.

[Charlie Prime]

FLOMBIE, on 10 June 2012 - 06:24 PM, said:

They choose to fight. That is a significant difference, if you ask me.

I agree.  If you take a job and receive the benefits, you own the conseqences.

[Babe Ruth]

A large portion of them choose to fight, Pat Tillman is an example, because he was utterly deceived by the government about the events of 11 September, the danger of Iraq, and the entire Global War On Terror that was pawned off on the american people and the world by the Military Industrial Complex.

[karmakazi]

FLOMBIE, on 11 June 2012 - 11:12 AM, said:

The problem is that education became a business in your country.

Agreed... it's a huge problem.

[Bama13]

Babe Ruth, on 11 June 2012 - 01:28 PM, said:

A large portion of them choose to fight, Pat Tillman is an example, because he was utterly deceived by the government about the events of 11 September, the danger of Iraq, and the entire Global War On Terror that was pawned off on the american people and the world by the Military Industrial Complex.

Are you still passing off opinion as fact, or did you know Pat Tillman personally?

[OverSword]

There is too much stress on the soldiers.  It's not like the days before helicopters when it took much time to move troops to the sight of a battle.  Now they can fly them into one battle right after the other without enough time to recover from what they've been through.

[karmakazi]

Bama13, on 11 June 2012 - 02:53 PM, said:

Are you still passing off opinion as fact, or did you know Pat Tillman personally?

His mom did... http://www.thenation...llman-our-hero#

It doesn't say he was deceived but that he was against the war.

Edited by karmakazi, 11 June 2012 - 07:24 PM.

[Babe Ruth]

Thank you Karma.

One day perhaps Bama13 will become informed of recent historical events.  Pat Tillman quit a lucrative career with the NFL after the attacks of 11 September.  Little did he know they were a false flag operation meant to inflame the passions of the masses.