Suicide rate in US Army at highest in 26 years

[suchandra]

Might be a better solution than to get implicated in too many sinful karmas.

 

Suicide rate in US Army at highest in 26 years

<author>By Leonard Doyle in Washington</author>

29 August 2007

 

American soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a military report.

<!--proximic_content_off--> <!--proximic_content_on--> The suicides are occurring at a time when many soldiers are reporting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including repeated flashbacks of combat experiences and other severe reactions.

But, with President George Bush demanding results and insurgents striking with greater success, an overstretched US Army has been extending the combat tours of soldiers in Iraq. It is also sending units back into action on a far more regular basis than was the case in the past.

The report found that there were 99 confirmed suicides among active-duty soldiers during 2006, up from 88 the previous year and the highest since 102 suicides in 1991.

The suicides included 28 soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. About twice as many women serving in the wars committed suicide as those not sent to war, the report said.

The Army said "occupational/operational issues" as well as failed relationships, and legal and financial issues had led to the suicides. Not surprisingly, it did not speculate about the falling morale of US combat troops in the face of ongoing military failure in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon said there was "limited evidence" that repeated deployments were putting more of its soldiers at risk from suicide. Stretched thinly by nearly six years of fighting two wars, the Pentagon has extended normal tours of duty this year to 15 months from 12 and has sent some troops back to the wars several times.

The Army recorded 17.3 suicides per 100,000 soldiers in 2006, including two deaths still pending confirmation, up from 12.8 suicides per 100,000 soldiers the year before.

Last year, 30 of the 99 confirmed suicides occurred in war zones and, so far this year, 44 soldiers have committed suicide, including 17 in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

The number of suicides in 2006 marked the highest level since 1991, the time of the Gulf War, when the Army recorded 102 soldier suicides.

More than 1.5 million US troops have taken part in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. And the Army, the largest branch of the American military, frequently complains of being overstretched by multiple and extended deployments for its combat troops.

The suicide figures follow a string of studies showing an increase in mental-health problems among soldiers and other American troops. According to those studies, including an assessment by the Pentagon, the military has not provided adequate mental-health resources to its service members.

About 35 per cent of soldiers are seeking some kind of mental-health treatment a year after returning home and the Army routinely sends medical teams to the battlefront in Iraq to survey troops, their morale and related issues.

The Army, which has been heavily criticised for the poor facilities it provides returning soldiers, says it has revised training programs and bolstered suicide prevention. It has added some 25 per cent more psychiatrists and other mental-health professionals to its staff. It is also trying to teach all soldiers how to recognise mental-health problems in themselves and their comrades - and encourage them to seek help.

[Samia]

Seems the rate is still lower than than that of the Swiss or the French so I guess they are more scared of Karma in those countries.

 

People who choose to wear the uniform even in a time of peace have to work under greater pressure than people like you can ever imagine. At 18 when most people are at school, going to ball games and parties, these fine men and women are doing jobs where one slip could kill their friends. Of course more of these brave souls will be unable to deal with the pressure compaired to their counterparts at school or working fast food.

Sometimes in your glee about American misery your lack of life experience shines through.

[suchandra]

 

Seems the rate is still lower than than that of the Swiss or the French so I guess they are more scared of Karma in those countries.

 

People who choose to wear the uniform even in a time of peace have to work under greater pressure than people like you can ever imagine. At 18 when most people are at school, going to ball games and parties, these fine men and women are doing jobs where one slip could kill their friends. Of course more of these brave souls will be unable to deal with the pressure compaired to their counterparts at school or working fast food.

Sometimes in your glee about American misery your lack of life experience shines through.

Leonard Doyle, Washington

Good points but I'm not Leonard Doyle in Washington who wrote article above.

source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/suicide-rate-in-us-army-at-highest-in-26-years-461933.html

[Samia]

 

Leonard Doyle, Washington

Good points but I'm not Leonard Doyle in Washington who wrote article above.

source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/suicide-rate-in-us-army-at-highest-in-26-years-461933.html

 

 

Might be a better solution than to get implicated in too many sinful karmas.

 

But you did write the above correct ? So my question is since you seem to gleefully assume that they are killing themselves as opposed to doing a questionable duty ( in your eyes ). Why are many more civilian Swiss and French ending themselves ?

 

[suchandra]

 

But you did write the above correct ? So my question is since you seem to gleefully assume that they are killing themselves as opposed to doing a questionable duty ( in your eyes ). Why are many more civilian Swiss and French ending themselves ?

 

This is rather irrelevant since the US army is an elite of the best men of the leading nation of the world. France and Swiss to compare with an elite troupe of the best soldiers is like comparing tigers with rabbits.

[primate]

 

Seems the rate is still lower than than that of the Swiss or the French so I guess they are more scared of Karma in those countries.

 

People who choose to wear the uniform even in a time of peace have to work under greater pressure than people like you can ever imagine. At 18 when most people are at school, going to ball games and parties, these fine men and women are doing jobs where one slip could kill their friends. Of course more of these brave souls will be unable to deal with the pressure compaired to their counterparts at school or working fast food.

Sometimes in your glee about American misery your lack of life experience shines through.

A good soldier is a well trained soldier. As such he is able to automatically perform complex actions in combat situations without much thinking. A good soldier deals with his friends being killed by simply blocking out any thoughts of responsibility for the death of his friends. This is easier when he knows that he just did what he was trained to do. This mode of functioning doesn’t necessarily need to be more stressful than working fast food, although it may take a special kind of individual to begin with.

 

Regards

[Samia]

 

This is rather irrelevant since the US army is an elite of the best men of the leading nation of the world. France and Swiss to compare with an elite troupe of the best soldiers is like comparing tigers with rabbits.

 

Not even a good attempt to dodge the question.

 

The men and women are not elite in any way they are the same men and women that can be passed by on any street in any American town. The only difference between us and the guy at the local Target is that we decided that the way of life we enjoyed needs defenders. Just like that guy at Target and his fellow workers there is quite a cross section of people and with that cross section there will be people with issues and people who crack. So again I have to wonder if other than the glee you felt reading it what reason did you have in posting that since you choose not to defend your half baked point about dodging Karma.

[suchandra]

 

Not even a good attempt to dodge the question.

 

The men and women are not elite in any way they are the same men and women that can be passed by on any street in any American town. The only difference between us and the guy at the local Target is that we decided that the way of life we enjoyed needs defenders. Just like that guy at Target and his fellow workers there is quite a cross section of people and with that cross section there will be people with issues and people who crack. So again I have to wonder if other than the glee you felt reading it what reason did you have in posting that since you choose not to defend your half baked point about dodging Karma.

 

Seems like you're very intelligent why don't you write more and use this global platform to spread real knowledge for enlightening humanity?

[Samia]

 

Seems like you're very intelligent why don't you write more and use this global platform to spread real knowledge for enlightening humanity?

 

The same could be said for yourself as well.

 

I am a very active poster on a couple of high profile sites this site however it is difficult to get past some of the negative posts so I chose to address those and try to call out the intent of the authors.

A nice example is this post here.

What is the real knowledge or enlightenment that is gained from it ?

What is the purpose behind it ?

Is it simply a self serving enjoyment whenever anything negative is printed about America ?

I could post hundreds of stories a day on any number of dark events in every country on this globe but to what end ?

 

So as I stated earlier since you blame fear of Karma for these men and women killing themselves what do you blame for the even higher rates among the Swiss and French ?

[suchandra]

 

The same could be said for yourself as well.

 

I am a very active poster on a couple of high profile sites this site however it is difficult to get past some of the negative posts so I chose to address those and try to call out the intent of the authors.

A nice example is this post here.

What is the real knowledge or enlightenment that is gained from it ?

What is the purpose behind it ?

Is it simply a self serving enjoyment whenever anything negative is printed about America ?

I could post hundreds of stories a day on any number of dark events in every country on this globe but to what end ?

 

So as I stated earlier since you blame fear of Karma for these men and women killing themselves what do you blame for the even higher rates among the Swiss and French ?

No, I don't agree with you, and since you state that you're an "active poster on a couple of high profile sites", I would say that your recherche in this case is poor and insufficient.

 

Basically a soldier is of young age and a board of impartial senior officers and noncommissioned officers reviews the soldier's overall performance during the acceptance test.

 

It makes the final determination as to whether the soldier is suitable for Special Forces training and identifies the specific Special Forces military occupational specialty for which he will be trained. After successfully completing the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course the soldier is then eligible to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course.

 

When it comes to the high suicide rate in France and Switzerland, the competent government agency says, that half of the suicides are people above the age of 65, those who are disabled and diseased.

 

As already stated above, to compare a young selected team of America's best young men and women with the diseased elderly people of France and Switzerland, is this an intelligent argument?

 

No, it isnt and you knew it already right from the start. But anyway, go on monitoring audarya but avoiding to provide any content, usually there're always interesting aspects emerging when people put some pressure on issues.