the worst kind of news
following up on my post from awhile back on armed forces suicides--
the army's reported numbers (i got them via the AP) from january are quite possibly going to surpass the total number of combat deaths from ALL branches of the service for the month.
i suppose it's good news that there were fewer than 24 army combat deaths this past month. (24 being the number of suspected suicides currently being investigated, as compared with 16 combat deaths from all branches of the armed services in january). however, the suicide rate for the army represents a stunning number, considering they had only 4 suicides from the same period last year. (there were 128 army suicides confirmed over the course of 2008, which was exactly double the number from as recently as 2004, and that doesn't even include the additional 15 cases still pending investigation, or those from any other branch of the armed services).
altogether the wrong kind of surge.
people who first sent our forces into this swamp with insufficient vehicle and personal armor, and then further ignored the factors which have led to this horrible, tragic and continuing loss of life through mandatory reenlistments and other pressures (sorry if i don't have correct the technical term on the re-ups, but i'm too riled up to go look it up) ought to be made more fully accountable for their craven abuse of power. it makes me blind with frustration that politics would have had us believe that somehow these were the people who were "supporting our troops".
we have a huge debt to pay here, and our insufficiently funded VA hospitals are only one tip of a gargantuan iceberg.
the army's reported numbers (i got them via the AP) from january are quite possibly going to surpass the total number of combat deaths from ALL branches of the service for the month.
i suppose it's good news that there were fewer than 24 army combat deaths this past month. (24 being the number of suspected suicides currently being investigated, as compared with 16 combat deaths from all branches of the armed services in january). however, the suicide rate for the army represents a stunning number, considering they had only 4 suicides from the same period last year. (there were 128 army suicides confirmed over the course of 2008, which was exactly double the number from as recently as 2004, and that doesn't even include the additional 15 cases still pending investigation, or those from any other branch of the armed services).
altogether the wrong kind of surge.
people who first sent our forces into this swamp with insufficient vehicle and personal armor, and then further ignored the factors which have led to this horrible, tragic and continuing loss of life through mandatory reenlistments and other pressures (sorry if i don't have correct the technical term on the re-ups, but i'm too riled up to go look it up) ought to be made more fully accountable for their craven abuse of power. it makes me blind with frustration that politics would have had us believe that somehow these were the people who were "supporting our troops".
we have a huge debt to pay here, and our insufficiently funded VA hospitals are only one tip of a gargantuan iceberg.
posted by kad barma at 1:52 PM
3 Comments:
Kad,
Did the piece you saw mention how many Army suicides were committed on bases in Iraq vs. those committed here in the states? For the ones committed in Iraq, I would be curious to see how many were committed beyond month 6 of the deployment (of course, because I'm wondering if it's the extended LENGTHY deployments that have the effect on mental health...almost any military person you ask will tell you they'd rather do, say, 2 six month deployments spread over a two-year period than try to do a single full year pump (or, even worse a 15-month pump in the sandbox with just two weeks R and R).
Also, this may seem counterintuitive, but I wonder if anyone is trying to connect the operational slowdown (in effect as of the New Year) to the problem. The Navy has known for hundreds of years that painting ships and swabbing decks may suck, but keeping sailors busy (and complaining) is way better than having them be idle...and brooding.
The combination of young people at a turbulent period in life having too much downtime, access to weapons, and extended time away might make something like a Dear John letter even more potent (and potentially tragic) than it would in a period of higher optempo.
-gp
the vice chief of staff of the army, general peter chiarelli, was quoted that roughly 1/3 of the suicides were among those deployed, 1/3 among those returned from deployment, and 1/3 among soldiers with no history of deployment. "there is no doubt in my mind that stress is a factor in this trend we are seeing".
one part that sobers me right good is that when they increased the tour lengths to 15 months they amped up resources devoted to trying to head off the problem. one can only imagine what the problem is like in historical terms, since in the past there was no effort whatsoever to manage the problem.
interesting will be the results of the recently commissioned NIMH study that's due to run over the next five years. they're including the guard and reserve, so maybe you'll have a chance to tell 'em the antidote is moving to shangri-lowell. ;-)
One of the hot spots in this area is a recruiting organization down Texas way. There is a lot of pressure in a recruiting job. Thus, good leadership is required. At the same time, the suicide rate is only now approaching the national average. The good news is that the folks in the five sided puzzle palace recognized the problem and are looking into it.
I think GP's comment about keeping folks appropriately busy is a good one. Part of the problem comes when people think they have reached an impossible situation and have no way out.
Regards -- Cliff
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