I suspect that many who lost friends in battle to win the war in Iraq are depressed that our current Muslim Illegal President has relinquished the victory and made their sacrifices meaningless. Just a guess.
So is the Obama economy and the Nanny state to blame for creating a bleak socialist land of little opportunity?
I suspect the frustration of the ridiculous Rules of Engagement..........
To what extent does the suicide rate of veterans differ from that of non-veterans in their demographic group?
What about the WWII Veterans? Did the Soldiers who saw awful things on the battlefield at the start of the war then kill themselves four years later on a different battlefield?
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That’s they key question. Answer that and you’ll see WHY 22 veterans are killing themselves each day.
Allow me to answer.
Previously men went to war and had the stability and grounding that came from God, family, a good education, moral values and more.
Now? Now we send boys who grew up without a father in broken homes, who are barely educated by unionist educrats, who know how to play Game of Thrones but know nothing of what it means to be a man.
Then you put them in an Obama-ized military?
I’m surprised the suicide rates are not higher.
But I'm a whack job conspiracy theorist
I'm the guy that thinks Viet Nam was invented to kill off (politically) educated guys that might come home and get elected
Seeing blindness ... many surrender based upon knowing dhs wants to kill them anyways ... How often do you die knowing your government is worse than nazis? Where does one know 'truth' stand or not stand?
Is that number any higher than the suicide rate for demographically similar non-veterans? What is the suicide rate, for example, of non-veteran males in America?
Most of the veterans who commit suicide are older (I think average age for a veteran suicide is 59 yrs old), so we are talking mostly about post-Vietnam to Gulf War I era veterans.
These numbers are staggering. It is beyond sad, it’s an outrage. And a travesty the way they’re treated - or not treated - as the case may be.
I know for a fact that in China when people serve in the military they are given good, well paying jobs when they get out. The government and people at large treat them with respect. This is COMMUNIST China.
I’m sure the problem goes deeper than just the WH, but the buck has to stop with the Commander in Chief, even if he is a child-man.
Subtext: “BUSH”S FAULT!!!””.
Where did you git yer info? I’m callin’ BS on this one.
The disvharge process these days is too quick to label veterans with this condition, too quick to medicate with drugs way to powerful to get off of when the side effects change their mood, behavior and overall demeanor...
The isolation, regrets and other factors in the transition back to civilian life are quite a shock to some...
And unfortunately there are not enough “real” counselors to handle the entire workload of Vets out here in the world...
And by “real”, I mean other Vets...Not some goatskin hanging quacks who have never been in combat, never seen some of the crap some have dealt with...
Granted, there are a few Vets who are able to put these stresses in the appropriate file, and are able to deal with it the rest of their lives...That’s a good thing, and those are the guys/gals who are able to relate, listen, and help other Vets directly with their troubles...but not enough of us are volunteering to be that sounding board...
Chris Kyle was one of those guys...
That is a template that would do this issue some good if we can harness and encourage those Vets who are willing, to step up and be the kind of personal, relatable counselor to these folks who are having a little trouble turning the switch off...
And not just accept the drugs, and feckless namby-pamby therapy the VA or other support services offer...
Obviously those efforts are failing to the tune of 22 deaths a day...
Just my opinion...
I suspect their spouses have filed for divorce, got restraining orders, have denied contact with their children, and not allowed them to have access to their belongings, vehicles etc...
Standard procedures in the divorce rape of men these days.
According to the study referenced in the linked Military Times article below civilian and military veteran suicide rates are about the same. Combat deployment does not appear to be a differentiating factor. The study found that the military group at highest risk for suicide are those who served in the military for less than a full enlistment.
Who’s figures are these?
I was scared out of my socks in Vietnam, and saw some pretty horrible things in combat up to my ears, as did everyone I was with over there. But they didn’t show any signs of PTSD then, and I never did either, and have been just fine for 46 years now.
I found out a few years ago that one of my best friends in-country had scammed the system to get on 100% disability, but he’s a fake because he never went through anything that I didn’t go through. Knowing that can be done, I’m sure a lot of others have done it too, but that just means that they’re fakes as well and that the system can be too easily snaked out.
Physical disability is one thing, but even in such cases, lives can be recovered. An infantry medic and myself once worked on a guy who’d stepped on an AP mine and lost both legs, an arm and an eye. We thought at the time that he’d had it, but had come to learn several years after the war that he was married with a family and was raising horses out near Palmdale CA. That sounds pretty productive to me.
So I ask again where this figure comes from, and wonder if we’re being played in this thing by the likes of islamocommunist bastards like hussein and his ilk.
Granted, it seems to me the recruiting standards might have been lowered somewhat, as reflected by the likes of Bergdahl and that asshole that blew away Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield. How these characters ever even got into the service raises red flags for me. But even there, I’m still reluctant to accept that 22 guys a day just can’t take it and are offing themselves.
Something seems skewed in that to me.
I’m coming up on my 20 year retirement from the army. Spent several years deployed in combat zones. Flown over 150 hours of combat time as a UH-60 pilot.
I’m sick and tired of the constant mandatory suicide prevention briefings, resiliency training, sexual assault prevention, consideration of others training...it’s all bullshit.
Life is tough all over. Grab some sack and drive on. Very happy to be leaving this PC crap sandwich Army. 8 more months...
The current figures from the DAV {Disabled American Veterans Org.] is closer to 1 or more every hour now.
I just retired from the Army National Guard after a lot of years and three deployments including two in Iraq (Infantry, outside the wire just for the record). I’ve had to deal with a number of these cases.
One thing that I found striking was the number of suicides who had never deployed, and of those who did, the number who never went outside the wire.
On each of the cases I am familiar with, there were other major issues:
One (deployed, combat vet) was a school teacher who had just been charged with inappropriate contact with a (teen) student;
One (never deployed) was a ‘golden child’ from a prominent family background who had just been arrested for shoplifting;
One (deployed, no combat) had just had a very noisy argument with his wife;
One (never deployed, just back from basic training) hung himself in his parents’ basement;
One (deployed, combat vet) shot himself after getting his 3rd DWI;
One (deployed, no combat) attempted – long term alcoholic whose body started breaking down so he decided to end it (That was one that I got there in time).
There are very complex reasons that generally contain a lot more than ‘served in the military’ or ‘served in combat’.
I don’t discount the idea that we have moved steadily away from belief in a higher power that 1) we are accountable to (suicide is a sin), and 2) that can help us through our problems through prayer and guidance.
I also agree with the poster above who is sick of and sees little use in the constant barrage of suicide briefs.
That qualifies as an epidemic.
I can't even wrap my mind around it, it just seems impossible that the figure could be that high.
I wonder how long this trend has existed.
Did the Soldiers who saw awful things on the battlefield at the start of the war then kill themselves four years later on a different battlefield?
No, but many of them came back home and killed themselves later.
While you are on the job you are on the job. It is only later when you try to forget the job and find that it is not possible that you begin to despair.