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Tag(s): Military Active-Duty; Military Conractor Corruption; Military Contractors; Military Defeat; Military Deployment; Military Failure; Military Suicides
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September 6, 2008 at 09:36:30

The growing suicide rate in our military

by Rabbi Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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I recently read an article that states suicide by our men and women in uniform is reaching alarming levels and one has to wonder why and more importantly how can these service members be reached before they make that fateful decision.

When I was in the Army, the standard combat tour was one year. Alcohol, and for those so inclined, drugs, were widely available to help dull the coping mechanisms. We never really heard of anyone taking themselves out. And, having said that, soldiers committing suicide is an alien concept to me. However, we did hear of guys shooting themselves in the foot, leg, etc. so as to be rotated back to the US and eventually discharged for medical reasons. Alcoholism and drug addiction were wide spread too.

Today a combat tour is 15 months and one can be rotated back into combat after a period as short as 180 days "" I met a soldier the other day who had just received orders to start his third tour in Iraq. He was a front line troop and he was again going to see combat. He was old long before his time and the look in his eyes was like peering into a hollow space.

I started an informal discovery about suicide in the military and the only records I could actually find were that of the Einsatzgruppen during World War Two. These were the men of the SS who were the mobile killing squads sent into the field to execute in mass the Jews. Suicide and alcoholism were both prevalent and these were driven and motivated men who had a tangible goal assigned to them.

Perhaps we might want to ask ourselves if we are expecting too much from our service members--too much combat, too much killing, and fighting without clear obtainable objectives. Shades of Viet Nam all over again.

Since the selective service was mothballed and we rely on a volunteer military our troop levels are not being refreshed as they were in Viet Nam. Enlistment standards have been drastically reduced and the use of waivers for a myriad of transgressions has become the norm rather than the exception. The decline in the number of people in uniform has, in all probability, led to the growing use of private Armies such as Blackwater and other such. There is no explainable reason for the drastic rise in the use of private armies.

Perhaps rather than searching for an answer as to the growing suicides in the military it might be more prudent to ask what are we really using our military for and why. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq but the suggestion that there were such weapons served as our justification for going into Iraq.

And, we continue on in Iraq caught between what might appear as a civil war. The Shiites and Sunnis are fighting each other and we are stepping into the middle of it all calling it insurgency. Shades of Viet Nam all over again. If it is a religious civil war then the citizens of Iraq must decide their own fate without our intervention. We should withdraw our troops from the brunt of it.

Afghanistan is not about Bin laden anymore, it is about a fundamentalist Islamic fight with growing collateral damage.

With the mounting American suicides, and the typical combat deaths, we must ask whether there are higher American casualties that are not being reported. The US military likes to keep the bad news out of sight.

Is the prevention of suicide in the military a simple solution--yes, if we care about our sons and daughters. If enriching private armies and contractors is our goal, then we need not ask what can be done except that of putting a band-aid on a deep sucking chest wound where our hearts were.

I have a degree in theology and a Masters in Holocaust History.

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3 comments

Supporter of all Constitutional Rights

If there is really an interest, here you go.

I am a 54 year old retired Army officer. My family has a history of military service to the United States going back to the American Revolution. Few have made the military a career but most have served. This country is worth defending even with its faults. I now work in the civilian world in medical informatics.

I hold a Bachelors and Masters degree in Ps...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Mike KimballSupporter of all Constitutional Rights

If there is really an interest, here you go.

I am a 54 year old retired Army officer. My family has a history of military service to the United States going back to the American Revolution. Few have made the military a career but most have served. This country is worth defending even with its faults. I now work in the civilian world in medical informatics.

I hold a Bachelors and Masters degree in Ps...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Hello Rabbi

As an Army retiree your post caught my attention.

The issue is serious, no doubt, as it is the highest suicide rate since 1980 when statistics began being maintained. That being said, it may still be lower than the general population:

The 115 deaths in 2007 amount to an 18.5-per-100,000 rate, the highest rate since 1980, the Army said.

The civilian suicide rate was 19.5 per 100,000 in 2005, according to the latest statistics available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

I do not mean to underplay the issue. The stresses of active duty are high, particularly in combat theaters. My son-in-law is facing his third tour in Iraq. I am blessed that he seems to be coping well.

Military service is not an easy occupation. Let's be thankful the voluntary enlistment system still works today. The Selective Service continues but volunteers continue to be sufficient in order to avoid an involuntary draft.

by Mike Kimball (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 65 comments) on Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 11:12:42 PM

Former Lawyer, current Business Consultant,history buff, Christian, father of 2 sons and a supporter of democratic government.
ArchieFormer Lawyer, current Business Consultant,history buff, Christian, father of 2 sons and a supporter of democratic government.

suicide

A very sad article because it doesn't put forward a solution and maybe there isn't one. Self defence will psychologically allow anyone to kill without severe moral or ethical ramifications. However where soldiers are sent to foreign countries and told to kill everything that moves it is bound to have terrible repercussions, psychologically and physically. A soldier brought up in America where life is treasured cannot kill little children without having severe emotional and sociological problems. This is what is happening. Maybe the US military's current policy of signing up criminals and psychotics is a good one at least these kind of people will have no compuction about killing.

by Archie (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1283 comments) on Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 11:28:46 AM

I am a soldier in the war against my children and their children. The enemies preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed. I may not win, in fact I probably won't, but neither will I be silenced by those who wish to do so. Intellect is my weapon, the written word my bullets.
jeff pragerI am a soldier in the war against my children and their children. The enemies preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed. I may not win, in fact I probably won't, but neither will I be silenced by those who wish to do so. Intellect is my weapon, the written word my bullets.

Military Suicides

Are the result of sending young men to kill people and allowing them to see one another killed.

While the sham press attempts to hypnotize the masses with untruths, lies and propaganda, which is working by the way, the elitist leaders are plundering earths resources. While we argue non-issue political ideology the elitist corporations and bankers control the strings on the puppets of government. While the deceitful Democratic and Republican parties attempt to fool the masses into believing they are different the government moves towards a police state without addressing the issues of poverty, economics, energy and monetary policy.

"Military men are just dumb stupid animals used to promote foreign policy" Henry Kissinger

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Perhaps this attitude explains the shameful way returning military personnel are treated by the VA when they have an illness or injury. Well, not perhaps...

by jeff prager (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 184 comments) on Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 11:37:56 PM