Last month, more U.S. soldiers killed themselves than died in combat in Iraq/Afghan.
 

wow
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/05/arm...des/index.html

thats because they all want to be there.

hmmm, guess I missed it. When did they reinstate the draft?

That's fucked up.

you dont know about the backdoor draft,guys being unable to get out when their time was up? come on I expect you to be smarter than.

thats not suprising

Blame the public school system I guess. They should probably read their enlistment papers before signing.

sad to hear

It takes a brave person to fight for his country but a coward to kill yourself.I could never understand it

too much pressure on these guys - this sucks hardcore

i think it probably takes alot of strength to take your own life. think about how bad things must be and how that this person feels they have no other option. its awful my heart goes to them and their families.

I feel for the families that have to live with a spouse or kid who is in the military

lol


...

It's too psychologically stressful and intense. The things they have to deal with and see are not something the human mind is used to being exposed to, it's sick and twisted. But we all have no idea, the media shelters and censors us from whats really going on

that's not healthy

good point

It also didn't hurt that they tremendously lowered the standards for admittance.

Probably because the military takes in more rejects now more than ever before!

So sad,I hope suicidal thoughts will stay away from me

Guess they can't sleep so good after watching their buddies and innocent men, women and children have their guts blasted out.

wonder if there is any correlation between the drugs they make these guys take and the amount of suicides

I hear they are accepting minorities, women and gays now.

"I don't like words that hide the truth. I don't like words that conceal reality. I don't like euphemisms, or euphemistic language. And American English is loaded with euphemisms. Cause Americans have a lot of trouble dealing with reality. Americans have trouble facing the truth, so they invent the kind of a soft language to protect themselves from it, and it gets worse with every generation. For some reason, it just keeps getting worse. I'll give you an example of that.

There's a condition in combat. Most people know about it. It's when a fighting person's nervous system has been stressed to it's absolute peak and maximum. Can't take anymore input. The nervous system has either (click) snapped or is about to snap.

In the first world war, that condition was called shell shock. Simple, honest, direct language. Two syllables, shell shock. Almost sounds like the guns themselves.

That was seventy years ago. Then a whole generation went by and the second world war came along and very same combat condition was called battle fatigue. Four syllables now. Takes a little longer to say. Doesn't seem to hurt as much. Fatigue is a nicer word than shock. Shell shock! Battle fatigue.

Then we had the war in Korea, 1950. Madison avenue was riding high by that time, and the very same combat condition was called operational exhaustion. Hey, we're up to eight syllables now! And the humanity has been squeezed completely out of the phrase. It's totally sterile now. Operational exhaustion. Sounds like something that might happen to your car.

Then of course, came the war in Viet Nam, which has only been over for about sixteen or seventeen years, and thanks to the lies and deceits surrounding that war, I guess it's no surprise that the very same condition was called post-traumatic stress disorder. Still eight syllables, but we've added a hyphen! And the pain is completely buried under jargon. Post-traumatic stress disorder.

I'll bet you if we'd have still been calling it shell shock, some of those Viet Nam veterans might have gotten the attention they needed at the time. I'll betcha. I'll betcha." - George Carlin

That's a pretty bad thing!

Sad! Poor guys, very young people. Poor them and their families...

Considering the huge business that many american companies made there, someone should help those families. I am talking about money, of course.

:error:error:error

Uhh...
Soldiers always kill themselves during and after wars.

Why you people surprised because of some silly comparative statistic?

explained perfectly by one of the best

That is a contractual obligation which every military person is aware of when they enlist and is not a "backdoor draft". When one enlists they are obligating themselves to 7 years of service.

From the article.

""When people are apart you have infidelity, financial problems, substance abuse and child behavioral problems," Platoni said. "The more deployments, the more it is exacerbated."

This is the cause of suicides during times of peace as well. Combat Arms units are usually deployed about as much as they are at their home base even during peace time.

After 3 tours in Iraq my BIL has PSTD bad. They kicked him out for alcoholism, gee guess why? He's been in a Vet hospital for the past 2 months.

Yeah I knew a guy a couple year ago that came back from Iraq, and his cousin (who grew up with him, knew him since they were little kids) said he had never seen him drink like that before.

That's good - denegrate and belittle the military vets by labeling them "desperate, suckers and morons."

GFY has its share of garden variety assholes and morons - but you surely top the most despicable list.




Go fuck yourself. :321GFY

The depression and trauma disorders they suffer from is totally biochemical over time.

People seem to think if someone loses it and kills themselves, its the same sort of "depression" a little kid experiences when he looks out the window and it's raining so he can't play baseball that day.

They are not cowards. They are ill. They can be treated but the ignorant shit they have to face when trying to do so deters them from getting the help they need. Hopefully one day people will stop with the stigma against a person who's chemistry is thrown off. You wouldn't call someone with cancer "weak" or a "coward".

It's never a rational decision someone makes cuz they're having a less than perfect day. It's an illness that needs to be treated and not mocked.

I'd love to see the people who call them "cowards" trade places with them. I'd love to see how they'd face every shocking aspect and spiraling sense of hopelessness and "just be brave". Not to mention the drugs they could be taking have to be totally monitored by the week. The drugs alone, could have the complete opposite affect and you'd be surprised how quickly a person can feel complete doom when their brain chemistry is adjusted the wrong way. Everyone is different. There has to be room for changing meds and seeing what works for different people.

Walk in someones shoes before you stick a label and judgement on them :2 cents: It's obviously a little more complex than being bummed out one day.

there is such a huge difference between the life as a soldier and the regular politically correct life we live in the western world.
i think once you have been exposed and lived the life outside this "protected" world, things look different, and are not pretty or possible seem fake or un-real.

soon there will be robot soldiers who will carry out most of the dirty work..

RIP. I have had two friends die in the sand another came home and is having some mental probs. He cant sleep and all that shit.


WHEN WILL OBAMA BRING THEM HOME? Sadly just as quick as bush and even worse he will be sending them to Afghanistan to fight the other "good endless war" :mad:

Ya' know...reading this crap you've tossed out almost hurts my head.

You say you only have respect for vets that were drafted or joined to protect the homeland USA. And the example you give is a "true American hero" who joined to "protect his country" and asks to be posted to Afghanistan.

While there's no denying the guy is a hero in every sense - I'm curious about one thing.

Going by your logic (sic) - when did Afghanistan declare war or become a direct threat on "homeland USA"?

Did you hurt my "tiny feelings"?

No.

As a military veteran myself (Artillery - Canadian Armed Forces)...we're obligated to serve and protect everyone including even the ungrateful and disrespectful assholes like you wherever they may be.

Fortunate for you - we don't get to choose.

ok, already mentioned

More Marines die in the US on motorcycles on a yearly basis than died in Iraq. Go figure.

we live an industrial military complex state-of-mind.