US soldiers are committing suicide at an alarming rate in 2012, according to new Pentagon statistics reported by the Associated Press. The rate was roughly one per day, with 154 suicides in 155 days. The rate is the highest since the latest round of wars began in 2001.
After hitting a record of 160 for all of 2009, the suicide rate was reportedly “leveling out” in 2010 and 2011. Official studies have struggled to explain the latest rise, attributing it to non-military causes like drug abuse and financial problems.
The military made very public its efforts to get the problem under control, particularly after reports showed that half of the soldiers had sought professional help beforehand, emphasizing programs aimed at eliminating reluctance to seek help. It seems however that those programs have had very little effect.
The soaring rate of deaths actually put the number of US soldiers killed in suicides so far this year slightly ahead of the number killed in the occupation of Afghanistan.
So? They know they're guilty of participating in a war criminal invasion of Afghanistan. They know they must be punished by eternal damnation. It's not my fault, so don't get angry with me. Get angry with the human garbage that rule.
Exactly, I'd say…realizing you are with the real 'bad guys' is a much more difficult pill to swallow then having signed up to begin with realizing you had no other viable options available anyhow.
Young men and women are asked to witness and participate in horrible acts of violence against
other human beings, seeing there buddies blow to bits,in a war of aggression, a criminal war.
That can affect anyone's conscience and cause despair, to the point of killing yourself.
I'd kill myself, too, if I had willingly agreed to kill complete strangers on command.
Suicide — A self-preservation problem
The human conscience is a natural instinct that has nothing to do with religion, morality or a spiritual world. For it is the natural instinct for survival and an uncontrollable urge to jump out of harm’s way.
Comes now an U.S. Army officer of the stuck-up intelligent middle to command, “360 degree fire if a planted bomb explodes — kill every man, women and child in sight!” Comes then his laboring-class enlisted men, men of slow and careful thought, and they to be hit in the emotional guts with the realization that if they can kill the innocent Afghan population, then any and all of the Afghan population can and will kill them if given half a chance. A quantum leap into harm’s way surely.
For you never want to start killing innocent people, as forever thereafter it will be impossible to experience this thing called peace, the pursuit happiness free of all harm.
"Soldiers do not go home and kill themselves because they've been helping Iraqis and Afghans. They go home and kill themselves because they've committed atrocities they cannot live with." ex-Marine Ross Caputi
I am like everyone here trying to speculate, but until I know where the soldiers are who are killing themselves, I don't have a good picture of the story. Constant anxiety about IED's and the possibility of living the rest of your life as a basket case has got to prey on the mind. I know it would mine.
And then, once I came home, being stuck in traffic would immediately plunge me into that anxiety state. I have to pretend to be normal, but I am jumping at everything. PTSD is a lifelong injury, and it is going to come out at all the wrong times and shame the person who has it. Sometimes, a person will die of shame. Plus, if he went into the military to deal with the crappy economy, he can't enjoy what he has on offer when he returns. It's even crappier.
It's obvious that soldiers don't like the war–at least those who killed themselves didn't. There's noting more valuable than one's life, and if a soldier is ready to sacrifice his life by killing himself, it stands to reason that they should unite together and do……something about it.
Yep. Time to declare war on imperialism. Just you wait till they decide to start doing to their fellow Americans what they did to the women and children in those countries they invaded.
We must realize that the soldiers who are killing themselves are allied with Al Queda. They are in league with the enemy. They must be stopped! We cannot allow Al Queda to overrun the minds of our brave young fighting men, women and drones with their "72 virgins propaganda".
Certainly if there are 72 virgins waiting for us, we should all consider suicide. I assume their are 72 male virgins waiting for the women. It may be that this is true. Millions believe this so we must consider the possibility that sexual encounters with very young, fertile, innocent, nubile, soft skinned, curly haired, sweet submissive girls is a possibility.
Most of us believe that Jesus is his own son and therefore his own uncle. Why wouldn't there be 72 virgins waiting for true believers?
In any case maybe it is a good idea to kill oneself if your doing it for a good reason.
Killing people, good or evil, is suicide
Kill innocent people, and for the rest of your life you will live in mortal fear of all innocent people wanting to kill you. The root cause of why so many of our troops commit suicide.
Kill an Empire builder, and the devil with his drones will come looking for you, as the purpose of this world is to give that super natural creature enough rope to hang himself.