It's early and I haven't had enough coffee so at first I was wondering why vets are so prone to suicide and thought maybe it was guilt associated with putting animals down.

This article is upsetting and you are right, this situation deserves a lot of attention. 18 suicides a day by people that I consider to be heros for their bravery in willingly signing up to fight for our country and our ideals. It's so sad that they feel the only good option they have is killing themselves.

Good find. There isn't a lot we can do as individuals but whenever we see someone in the service we should thank them and let them know that they are GREATLY appreciated. That alone could go a long way.

Jemison

I have friends in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I keep them in mind as I go about my day.

They are away from thier kids...I am with mine.

They are away from thier wives and girlfirends or ..you know don't ask don't tell..lol..most of those guys are in the Navy anyway...lol

They are wondering which of thier colledge bound buddies are going to try and marry thier high school sweetheart.

Then they see colateral damage.

They see things that they cannot talk about.... it .....ever.

They come home and they find that life has went on just fine without them.

In fact, they find that life sort of forgot about them in America or Canada.

Now they feel all alone.....they no longer have thier military buddies, they are all gone home, they no longer have thier old high school buddies, they are finishing off that degree, and they feel completely let down.

Add in some guilt, mix in the booze, can not get a job, do not want to return to the militrary and kabam your training kicks in.

The way to solve a problem is with your rifle.

This is the loop.

This is the cycle that needs to be broken.

With the amount of suicides happening it makes you wonder what exactly is going on over there that isn't being reported on the news. For that amount of soldiers killing themselves they must be seeing or doing some pretty horrible things (guilt). Just look at the Iraqi civilian death count and that's part of the answer. Someday history will look back on the American invasion of Iraq as a genocide, some already do.

Look at it this way...imagine looking into someone's eyes...pointing an m9 to their head...and pulling the trigger...This is a horrible thing that people in the military are commanded to do. Now since most people don't do that on a daily basis, imagine somebody telling you to do something that you hate with a passion over and over again and if you didn't do it, you would be held in dishonor and sent to jail for a long time. No wonder...

It makes me wonder what they knew, and if any of this statistic is government silencing, or criminal silencing to keep information or connections they may have from reaching government. It is too easy to frame suicide, especially when suicide is such an open and closed deal. CSI isn't really going to come around with their little vacum and cross reference findings.

Medical examiners are not going to see anything out of place in a visually and mentally rationed 'clearly suicide' case. Gun in hand. Recent Iraq return. Divorce.

But are so many of our best so weak willed and lost...to end it, after returning?

I hope they are all looked at exceedingly closely. We are at war.
Somethings not right.