Posted on 03/04/2014 1:20:57 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. soldiers had a common mental illness, such as depression, panic disorder or ADHD, before enlisting in the Army, according to a new study that raises questions about the military's assessment and screening of recruits.
More than 8% of soldiers had thought about killing themselves and 1.1% had a past suicide attempt, researchers found from confidential surveys and interviews with 5,428 soldiers at Army installations across the country.
The findings, published online Monday in two papers in JAMA Psychiatry, point to a weakness in the recruiting process, experts said. Applicants are asked about their psychiatric histories, and those with certain disorders or past suicide attempts are generally barred from service.
"The question becomes, 'How did these guys get in the Army?'" said Ronald Kessler, a Harvard University sociologist who led one of the studies.
A third study looked at the increased suicide rate among soldiers from 2004 to 2009. The study, which tracked nearly 1 million soldiers, found that those who had been deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq had an increased rate of suicide....
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Yeah, now you have to be gay.
Seems to me that the ADHD type would make good NCO and second lieutenant material.
I went to my officer basic course with an heir to the Gatorade fortune. True to WEB Griffin’s wealthier characters, he had a bit of devil-may-care attitude. What are they going to do? Throw me out? That didn’t keep him from being a conscientious and focused officer, but it did give him a little more levity to do things his way. I can understand why Griffin creates such characters.
Geez, Winston Churchill had depression and he was a military badass..... although on the other hand many of his comrades did suggest that he enjoyed battle a bit too much, so maybe he was slightly unhinged.
And homos have been declared normal.
ADHD is the diagnosis used to excuse stupefying our kids as the substitute for parenting.
Parenting which is nearly impossible with either both working or one parent families.
I know how they sucked this one out of their thumb.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/adhd.htm
Percent of boys 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD: 13.5%
Number of children 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD: 5.9 million
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression-in-children-and-adolescents/index.shtml
About 11% of adolescents have a depressive disorder by age 18 according to the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A).
*Yep, add them together and that’s around 1 in 5 recruits.*
This meme will then be used to deny guns to those most capable to use them responsibly.
After all, what dictator wants trained, disciplined and armed men in the populace?
Bad for the Dear Leader's health, don't cha' know.
“Yes Doc, I have considered committing suicide. Can I get back to the rifle range now?”
“For example 2 in 5 FReepers appear to be unstable on any given thread.”
Ha, ha!
This.
http://www.amazon.com/Master-War-Blackwater-Prince-Business/dp/B005IUY3VO
I would sign up again today, if it wasn’t for age and them making it a queer military :/
I’ve already been through 2 branches, I would make it a third and fourth branch if needed.... But. today, no way.
I have been in several conversations with young peeps (usually between 18-29 years old in the last 3 or so years. I told them straight up, “don’t go in now, things are about to get real nasty, real fast” (and it had nothing to do with Boot-Camp).
How can ADD be a mental disorder? There are no set guidelines for diagnosis. A child having difficulty paying attention in a boring class does not have a psychiatric problem. The cattle car overseers with their cookie cutter classrooms on the other hand may have a need for psychiatric intervention. Give a child who cannot pay attention to an English teacher an engine to repair, and you will see their attention span go way up. So what kind of person do you want repairing fighter aircraft engines? The one who reads Beowulf or the one who can take apart and put together any piece of machinery in front of them?
The military is being run by some real nut jobs these days. That is not to say there are not good people in the military. But they are in a bad spot and need prayers to keep up the good fight.
That stat will increase what with homosexuals being actively recruited!
Guess I was one who didn’t slip through the cracks.
“In 2015-2016, the requirements will tighten as the war begin to whine down”
As long as we are in Afganistan and Iraq the war will not “wind down”. Every day an American soldier dies in Iraq or Afganistan and the deaths are now ignored. They will continue to die until every last soldier has left those two countries, and since we will never leave, the deaths will continue to hell freezes over.
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