In 2011 the US military lost 165 soldiers to suicide, a record that narrowly beat the 2009 level of 160. This year things have gotten much, much worse, and up to the end of November the suicide deaths are up to 303.
Putting this in perspective, that’s actually quite a bit more than the number of US troops slain in combat so far in 2012. That figure is 212, though the overall US death toll in Afghanistan is 307, including non-combat deaths.
The military has been desperate to get a handle on the rising suicide rate, making several very public efforts, none of which seems to have accomplished much of anything.
The latest on that is a number of Congressmen pushing for a new law allowing the military to ask “unstable” troops whether they own any personal guns, though as with most of the legislative “solutions” to this problem it seems focused more on adding to the stigma of being considered “at risk” than actually encouraging people to seek help.
Great!
That's good news; one can only regret that there are not more of them.
The military doesn't give a crap about the soldier that commits suicide. They only care that soldiers' suicides make them look bad. Notice the military wants to prosecute soldiers who attempt suicide. Soldiers that die by suicide are not politically useful!
You're absolutely right.
Urban War is not like any wars of the past, front lines are not established and casualties do not wear uniforms, they are like your nieghbors, wifes ,kids , grandmas, whole families wiped out at one blast or your buddys are blown up from an IED right in front of you . When you are not sure who is the enemy how can you defend yourself and your unit, the answer is you kill everyone around you .
It's you or them and it never leaves your mind, never leaves you wondering and that changes you forever. I fought in V.N. in the delta region and always in free fire zones, if it moved we killed it , and you always wonder who was that guy and what was his life. And then at the same time we were boarding and searching sampans and fishing boats from the same villiages and joking with them. WIERD………………..Coming back to the U.S. was the worst experience of my life ,and I have never felt that I belong here eversince. Masterchief………………………
That's what happens when your mind writes a check that your soul can't cash.
This comes also as a result of the same reason why there are more "mass shootings" in America. That being the indiscriminate use of psychotropic medications. As written on the included warnings, they induce feelings up to and including suicidal tendencies. As Rich stated above, the military could care less. We need to either get these troops home or out of the military.