If the troops support the war, why are suicides at a 26 year high?

G-Man

Not just the war. Relationships suffer because of the stress of long distance relationships, time apart. Combat gives you PTSS which contributes to suicide too. There are many factors here.

teddi p

yo, have you checked the statistics for ww2 and viet nam ? give it a rest,this a volunteer Army not the boy scouts.

There are suicides in ANY war.

UnaBlogger

Interesting, the highest in 26 years! That would have made it 1981 when the suicide rate was higher.
January 20th of that year was the year Ronald Reagan succeeded Jimmy Carter. The hostages had just been released from Iran.
In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union negotiated intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe.
Interesting!

jmminnc

Asked and answered the question.

Failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems.

But none of this has to do with the troops supporting the war..

Mcgranny

How many people who are NOT in the military commit suicide? If you are constantly under the stress of war, watching friends get killed and being unable to do much to stop it, would you wonder when it was your turn? No, you wouldn't because you would never be in that situation, you'd let someone else go.

open4one

If you've never been in the military, you'll never understand it.

It's not like working at McDonald's, you don't just do your shift and go drink beer and watch movies with your friends. It's not a job, it's a life.

It's not like being a professional athlete either, where even if the fans don't cheer, even if they boo, they all voluntarily came out and paid money to sit there.

Being in the service is a sacrifice, and when you hear the media reporting not just congressmen, but contenders for the Presidency saying some of the absolutely ignorant things they do about the military and their mission, it's pretty depressing.

Now, to put it in terms you might understand... imagine you're working at McDonald's, and your manager keeps telling you you're doing a good job....but your check bounces... you wear a blue uniform, but the company headquarters wants you to wear red... a job applicant for company president talks about how unhealthy fast food is...the media constantly talks about how one would have to be a retard to work at McDonald's....

Wouldn't that depress you? If you say "no" you're either a liar or mentally deficient.

Oh, but you say you support the troops? If you can't remember the last time you broke bread with someone in uniform, you do not support the troops, you don't even know who they are.

Is it Friday yet??

Wow! I didn't know you and Hammerman was so tied into the war? You must have interviewed a lot of soldiers to be able to draw these conclusions. I'm sure you both were very open-minded in the articles you selected to read on this subject.....

bravozulu

There were more in the first Gulf War. War does that to people. They see how fragile life is and the stress of being involved with it can take a toll on many people. It is certainly not a reliable indicator of their dissatisfaction with the policy of the government. Perhaps the negative press has take a toll on many of them.

Sentinel

You seem to be one track minded. The thousands of Suicides are the Islamic Terrorists!.

elmjunburke

The percentage of suicides is very very small. I saw a lot of that in Hawaii two years before the war started. Almost all of it was because of homesickness. And Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Homesickness is a terrible ailment.
I went through the thickest of war in the front-line infantry. In seven and a half years, I never had a three day pass.
We lost thousands per day, not two or three. Were we that tough, or are the guys that soft now ?

1st Buzie

Most of the troops support the war. A suicide rate is high in basic training not just Iraq. I saw 3 guys cut there wrists when I was in San Diego

theonewhoknows

It would be depressing to be out there in Iraq for so long.

bulletbob36

Check the stats of Suicide through out the US and not only one area. it is because of changing times are stressful for everyone. The soldiers (being a Vet) hear daily the BS that is being said about them by the Anti-War community and that ways a big part on the psychology of these soldiers. and the stress of their job is just too much for some of them to handle.

og0925go

Your numbers are horribly off. The suicide rate for troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan is 13.5 per 100,000. This compares to a peace time rate of 10.8 per 100,000. The rate of suicide for American civilians is 10.8 per 100,000. While the overall suicide rate for the military is slightly higher than that of the civilian population, it is 30% lower when compared with those of civilians of the same age, gender, and racial groups. Any suicide is a tragedy and needs to be prevented if possible. To this end, the military is stepping up its suicide prevention programs. Please, check your facts when posting statistics.

Unless you have been there and gone through what the solders have gone through, it is impossible to understand. These men and women have seen such horrible things that has left them to suffer with PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. My uncle was there, and he is one that suffers from this. He watched friends die, one in which died when (as he thinks) he should have. That is one reason I think my uncle wants to die. He feels guilty for "surviving".

Odd Little Animal

You answered your own question. It's called stress, look it up. You'll find that people under great amounts of stress exhibit many of the characteristics here, including suicide attempts.

Support it or not, it's still stressful.

J-in-TX

look up PTSD

Starte Christ

Thank you Hammerman. Many people cannot handle the truth and run and hide from it or just give it a thumbs down.

You would be messed-up too if you were treated like a piece of meat. The answer is in the question: multiple deployments; horrible treatment of injured and returning troops; spouses that are stretched to the limit; troops who see the utter meaninglessness of the horror; VA benefit delays which cause vets to languish and some lose everything; inadequate support from the VA; a limp congress; King George; a retarded Supreme Court; a confused, terrified, and apathetic public; insane war-supporters; the horror itself of KILLING AGAIN AND AGAIN AND WATCHING FELLOW SOLDIERS DIE OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER.

We are insane for allowing this nonsense to continue!!
Where are the men?
We do not deserve to be in space because we'll end up screwing that up too...we act worse than children...no wonder teenagers and younger are misbehaving terribly lately--look at the adults!

God, is creating us your one big mistake?

eldude

maybe the fact that when they get back to the country because they are injured our heathen VA tells them they had a pre existing condition and therefore entitled to no help from the VA, THE VA!
If troops are against the war, why join the military? Is this a problem with people, they make a commitment, like marriage, then realize, it's not that great, then want to leave. Most people make a commitment to the armed services and are dedicated to that because people still have integrity even if our government does not.

Sabrina K

PTS... and there is massive amounts of evidence to support it.
Suicides in every war on both sides.

moon_flower_unicorn_power

enlistment standards have been lowered so much to reach recruiting goals that this doesn't surprise me...can you link me up to the stats?

thanks

.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: