The US military and suicide

I come from a long line (up to current) of people being in the military in my family and have always been very pro-military.

As my friends started coming home from their many deployments many of them went on to normal life but there was the few that did not adjust so well.

Today marks the 2nd person i know in the military or a vet of long service to die by their own hand.

I know for a fact my friend went to the VA for help and clearly whatever they were doing didnt work.

i know others who had 'self destructed' but only one before now that was my friend.

more US service men and woman die at home than on the battle field they fought on


i dont know what else to say other than the US should be trying harder to avoid this out come.

a reply to: bee1011

The VA has been a horrible mess for decades. My son retired after 20+ years as a Staff Sgt. and it's like pulling hens teeth to get anywhere with the VA.

Our politicians live a privileged life and retire with an income that most Americans could never come close to earning while destroying our country, yet the ones who fight to protect it are treated like garbage once they're no longer of use to the system.

I think all of us USA Veterans are on this forum...vetsbenefits.net...
Lots of stories to be told. As someone that most likely worked around agent orange during the Vietnam War while stationed overseas, I tried to keep up with the news. I believe now the VA is putting out disability payments for the us Veterans. But heck, many are in their 70's now. Lot of good it does.
Question for you Veterans. Does your spouse collect any disability payments once the Veteran dies ?

a reply to: musicismagic

US veterans who contract ALS (AKA: Lou Gerhig's disease) are eligible for monetary benefits paid monthly.

Their spouses will continue to collect the monthly benefit , even after ther veteran passes, for the remainder of their lives.

As yet, their has been no direct causal link identified between military service and subsequent onset of ALS.

a reply to: bee1011

The numbers are horrific and there really looks to be some external causative factor.

Would really recommend this documentary.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: bee1011

i dont know what else to say other than the US should be trying harder to avoid this out come.

Perhaps being proactive would help.
Like give all potential enlistees a psychological
and personality test.
Make them watch real blood and gore movies and
scan their brains and vitals while they're watching.

Then offer enlistment options accordingly.

They may say they want to kill terrorists , but in
actuality they may be suitable only for a desk job.

I remember when I was in boot camp, a guy
actually started crying in fear when it came
time to get jabbed with a needle (vaccination).
I was thinking "WTH ,how's this dude even gonna cope?

My VA experiences were terrible before moving to alaska, here I am actually going to use them as my primary care facility.

Now my issues are all physical, problem with the mental aspect especially for people that did 20 ish years is all those years of sucking it up to get the mission done, you could handle the stress and pressure because the mission was more important.

Then they get out and flounder, no purpose, no mission no reason.

For me, taking care of my family has become my mission, I will suffer anything and everything to take care of them, helps I married someone who crazy issues fit mine comfortably.

But folks need to find that reason to get up every morning and get after it, kids, spouse, volunteer, join some of the vet groups that respond to natural disasters something to replace the purpose and mission the military gave them.

Least thats my uneducated wild arsed guess.

a reply to: bee1011

Because war is not healthy, it's like blaming the plaster that the scar isn't gone.
You know what they say about doing the same and expecting diffrent results.

When you realise that you went to destroy lifes based on lies, you might get a little upset about your own worthless contribution to an already terrible world...

but hey your service is fueling the USAs biggest economy, who cares about the lives destroyed on either side as long as that money keeps flowing, right?

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: bee1011

Because war is not healthy, it's like blaming the plaster that the scar isn't gone.
You know what they say about doing the same and expecting diffrent results.

When you realise that you went to destroy lifes based on lies, you might get a little upset about your own worthless contribution to an already terrible world...

but hey your service is fueling the USAs biggest economy, who cares about the lives destroyed on either side as long as that money keeps flowing, right?

As someone that has served in the US Military, I totally agree with you. But why are not the military on the border of the USA stopping this silent and illegal invasion of America ? I just don't understand that at all.

I am a disabled Vet.

When I die my wife receives approx 700 us dollars a month plus her retirement pay . I know....people on Welfare make so much more!

a reply to: musicismagic

Ever been to war?

Ever kill an enemy combatant?

Ever see small children with missing parts of their bodies?

TALK IS CHEAP.


a reply to: RavenSpeaks

a reply to: bee1011

This is all part of the patriarchy we here so much about..

Many of the men returning from military service after deployments discover how they’ve been betrayed by not only the system that just throws traumatized soldiers away for fresh bodies but also by the spouses they left at home. There are countless stories of soldiers returning to find that their spouses are gone along with their children. The very military service they endured being used against them in family court.

So many soldiers return with scars, physical and mental, leaving them vulnerable to the wrath of a society that cares more about a celebrity’s trial than the 6000+ veterans self deleting every year.

a reply to: Bluntone22

So many soldiers return with scars, physical and mental, leaving them vulnerable to the wrath of a society that cares more about a celebrity’s trial than the 6000+ veterans self deleting every year.

WWII ended shortly before I was born, so I grew up in an era where male role models had survived the war. They seemed to function so much better than the ones coming home from the other wars going forward. That's always puzzled me.

A good friend came back from his tour of Nam pretty messed up. He drank a lot, and if he spotted an Asian looking person in the bar he'd go into attack mode and end up in jail.

Every 6/8 months he'd be put in the VA mental hospital. During those times he was hyper-focused on kids as young as six being chained to the top of trees with a machine gun, forcing a kill-or-be-killed scenario.

Maybe the difference between WWI, WWII and modern war is using the children on the battlefield. My son was in Iraq and Afghanistan; it seems children can pose as great or greater danger than adult fighters when brought into the fight. It sure makes for some traumatic memories, in any case.

Dynamics have also changed; we're not fighting to save people from dying by the millions in concentration camps; we're fighting over resources using the pretext of freeing people from oppressive govs by trying to make them adopt 'the American way'.

It's sad that women in some countries have to wear total body coverings and be treated as less than human, but no country can just give them their rights. Perhaps they need to fight for them and earn the right to be equal.

Things one earns through blood, sweat and tears are cherished far above what is just handed to them.

No other country came to America and freed the slaves; we did that, and we didn't risk going right back to being slave owners once the invading country pulled out.

a reply to: nugget1

But hey let's let all our tax dollars go to Ukraine and the migrants. Or LBGTQRUS whatever it is. We are living in a clown world.

a reply to: bee1011

Today marks the 2nd person i know in the military or a vet of long service to die by their own hand.

First off...I am sorry to hear of this loss...any death for any reason is a difficult thing!

Coming home after deployment is a very difficult transition and for many veterans it is overwhelming! It is very sad to see friends and family members suffer with post deployment effects!

The VA is worthless...they did nothing for me and I refuse to ever go back for anything! I have a list of diagnosis's that makes me ill to even read...and they put me on about a dozen different medications that made it all worse! I don't take any medications today...I don't go to VA counseling (no counseling of any sort)! There are some things I do though that really made a difference.

I am a member of the local VFW and volunteer there often! I am a member of a local non-profit veterans assistance program that helps feed, house, and provide services to veterans! Understanding and living with post deployment issues has enabled me to be part of helping others who have come home to find that the VA and other vet services are ineffective and not good for much of anything!

Sometimes it's okay to not understand things but it sure helps to be around others like me that don't understand either...that seems to be a comradery that all vets share after deployment and returning home!

a reply to: nugget1

I think there is a huge difference between the soldiers of today and a war that ended nearly 80 years ago.
They returned to a hero’s welcome from a society that lived through the Great Depression . Those soldiers grew up during hard times and it made them hard. They also suffered much more than they ever let on.

My dad was in Korea and saw/did a lot of nasty things. He never wanted to talk about it but I can definitely say it effected him for the rest of his life. When I was a little kid he never went to a fireworks show and I didn’t understand why. Later I found out what the big booms did to him.

Today, just being a man is considered toxic.

There is a reason that 22 a Day is a slogan. It was also my license plate tags in CO (worded in a certain way) because I too know of far too many who have taken this route).

The VA is notoriously bad and after being married to the military I have dozens of stories I could tell for months on end.

Add all in, the bad VA with the forced injections and the changed environment of the military and it will only get worse.
They, the deep state, have royally #ed our military and it's members.......on purpose. Things are bad. Very very very very bad.

Two of my personal friends are Matthew Lohmeier (wrote a book, Irresistible Revolution) and Stuart Scheller (wrote the book Crisis of Command). Id suggest getting both and reading them. I get nothing for suggesting these books, as they are friends. The stuff in these books explains the current military environment and who is leading it. It is all disgusting. It has gotten worse since they have been out and wrote the books.

You ever served in the military?

a reply to: Terpene

a reply to: bee1011

Be done w war is how. War is hell. Thank you and God Bless you for your service.

a reply to: Dalamax

I'm not desperate or dumb enough to end up in the military...