U.S. Army Stressed After Nearly a Decade of War

The number of soldiers committing suicide has increased since 2004, surpassing civilian rates in 2008. Use of prescription drugs has tripled in the past five years; prescription amphetamines use has doubled between 2006 and 2009. One third of soldiers take at least one prescription drug and 14 percent of soldiers are on some form of powerful painkiller.

While you read this, please take a moment to pray for the innocent on both sides of this conflict. As officials break laws our children are sent to die under false pretenses and this is no fault of theirs.

Crime is rising every year as well. Each year has seen an increase of 5,000 misdemeanors over the previous year, meaning soldiers are expected to commit around 55,000 such crimes in 2010. Sexual offenses have tripled since 2003. Domestic abuse is up 177 percent in the past six years.

What are we losing at home? This war is for what again? I can't imagine it was to breed terrorism at home.

The report suggests that the increasing suicide rates in the Army are due in part to inadequate attention from leaders and fellow soldiers. Nearly a third are the result of drug or alcohol abuse.

U.S. Death Toll Tops 1,000 Of 1,038 non-combat soldier deaths between 2006 and 2009, the report found that 88 percent were due to high-risk behavior. Of that figure, 46 percent involved drug or alcohol use at the time of death and 20 percent were due to overdose.

Is it really that hard to see that a real human will turn to drugs and alcohol to kill the pain of the conscience?

However, it's what it calls the "pervasive climate of prescription medication use in the Army" that is of most concern to the study's authors.

I've read as high as 17% of all Army soldiers are prescribed some pharacom these days.

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Why did I post this?

1) We must support our troops. The young are the treasure America holds dear. Our greatest strength is being abused and we are brainwashed to believe it is for some cause that cannot be articulated to justify these horrors.

2) We must protest and resist further occupation. Only the corporations are making gains from this occupation.

3) When confronted with too much data, remember one thing. Murder is wrong, period.


Source

reply to post by zroth

We must protest and resist further occupation. Only the corporations are making gains from this occupation.

I couldnt agree more. As I have said before, those in my line of work are neither the head which controls the hand, nor the hand which holds the sword...We are the sword set to purpose. Government is the hand. The People are the head.

For a deeper look at "what it's like" for us, a certain song comes to mind. A few years old now, titled MIA by avenged sevenfold. From what I understand, they wrote this for some friends who were serving...

"The fighting rages on and on, to challenge me you must be strong. I walk your land; but dont belong. Two million soldiers cant be wrong!

Its never fun, but i've been here before; Im far from home and fighting your war. (Not the way i'd pictured it, I wanted better things...) Some are scared, others killing for fun; I shot a mother right in front of her son! (Take this from my consciousness and please erase my dreams...)

Fight for honor, fight for your life. Pray to god that our side is right, and though we've won I still may loose until I make it home to you.

I see your mothers filled with tears; grew up so fast! Where did those years go?

Memories wont let you cry, unless I dont return tonight... "

With no clearly defined mission or purpose from the top down to the bottom, morale is extremely low. No mail call, free phone card, or German chocolate cake in the chow hall can make up for it.

Our troops know that they are surrounded on all sides by the 'enemy' on a daily basis, but there is no soft or hard target to attack. These sustained missions are NOT what our military was trained for. Our military is trained, armed, and equipped to strike hard and fast, get the job done, and come home. The politicians think that everyone should be a politician now. That's how full of themselves they really are.

The civilian suits that are obviously in charge have absolutely no clue how to use military forces correctly. Ask Stanley McChrystal what he thinks. He'll tell you what he thinks. He's so god damn fed up with the bullsh!t that he put his entire career on the line for the truth.

We either need to give these troops the green light to put some serious lead downrange or get them the hell out of there.

I say let the sore fester as we consolidate and reorganize, let the 'enemies' of our country reach a mass great enough to discern, and THEN take the fight to them. There's no point in chasing 400 Jihadists around a city and country with 11 million people in it. Our leaders are stupid.

It is devastating to think about the generations to come who are going to be affected on all sides of this stupid war. Those who have lost family and friends, the injured, the ones who will suffer with the hauntings and their spouses and children who will suffer along with them. War just sucks.

Peace.

reply to post by ~Lucidity


Indeed. We are still living the result of Viet nam and that war was nowhere near the psychological war we have been in the past 10 years.

when has a military never been used in history for successful gains(corporate?) for the parent nation.

Unless Americans have a family member in Iraq or Afghanistan they will never know what our soldiers are going through out there. I'm pretty sure that even some family members don't know the whole truth. I have never told anybody about anything that I did or seen out there.

Now for the Americans that don't know what's going on out there will never understand. The fact that the MSM is too busy following Lebron James and Lindsey Lohan to show the truths about our wars.

And us Americans are so stupid that most would probably prefer to watch TMZ even if the MSM showed the truth.

Then we have this thing with Iran. Why is it that everybody thinks that the US is the only country with the right to have nukes? Why is it unacceptable for Iran to have some? The US just wants to keep these countries on their knees.

Look at that Wikileaks 90something thousand page report. Supposedly Pakistan is helping out the Taliban. Why haven't we attacked Pakistan.

The US didn't think twice about invading Afghanistan. Why? Because they have no nukes. Why did the US jump so confidently into Iraq? Because it was already known that they had no WMDs. Why hasn't the US hit North Korea? Because they are a loud mouthed country that the US hasn't been able to call their bluff.

Al-QAEDA of the US (CIA) has an obsession with the middle east. Why is it that America hasn't realized that these wars are being ran by private companies in the US? Has anyone noticed where these multimillion dollar contracts are going to? They are not going to the Armed Forces. They aren't necessarily going to the rebuilding of Iraq. They are going to these companies developing new weapons, to contractors running everything in Iraq, from fueling to dining facilities. They are paying theses contractors to do what soldiers are perfectly capable of doing and have done so in past wars.

Ok, enough complaining. Just wanted to get it out of my system. You guys have a good one!!!

we could have had schools or repaired the dams that are breaking , what about the power grid that needs to be rebuilt, the mines collapsing, the rigs leaking.. we could have had hospitals or spent the money solving problems not making more.

I wonder if Russia had the exact same problems during their longterm occupation of Afghanistan?

Insanity = repeating the exact same process and expecting different results.

Originally posted by Tnewguy
Why haven't we attacked Pakistan.

cuz if we did they would reveal to all Americans
just what role the CIA and Fed Gov had in 9/11.

Pakistan is the key to unlocking 9/11
and the US and CIA know it so they
pacify their whims.

_rich_ and P51mustang are both correct. We will be out there for ever or until we run out of money (Russia) and we will be in the same position that we're in now.

Originally posted by ~Lucidity
It is devastating to think about the generations to come who are going to be affected on all sides of this stupid war. Those who have lost family and friends, the injured, the ones who will suffer with the hauntings and their spouses and children who will suffer along with them. War just sucks.

Peace.

Stupid, to us may be, but have you seen the money some corps and co's are making out of this sh!tstorm.

Just want to add some more info to this important thread.

More soldiers killed themselves last month than any other month on record. There were 21 active-duty and 11 reserve soldier suicides in June, including seven in Iraq or Afghanistan, the Army reported on Thursday.

The news came just weeks after Gen. Peter Chiarelli told Congress that the Army was encouraged by a 30 percent drop in suicides among active-duty soldiers this year compared to last year at this time. Although he said there was more to do, he thought the decrease showed the Army's prevention efforts were working.

www.stripes.com...

Army Suicide Prevention Video. Sorry I can't give a rundown. My volume doesn't work. Video is 18 Minutes.

www.armyg1.army.mil...

I find the following very stunning.

For Immediate Concerns

The Army Suicide Prevention Office is not a crisis center and does not provide counseling services. If you are feeling distressed or hopeless, thinking about death or wanting to die, or, if you are concerned about someone who may be suicidal, please contact Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

www.armyg1.army.mil...

I just imagine it would be better to have counselors on hand rather than relying on a phone call. :shk:

reply to post by zroth


Has anyone thought that the reason the suicide rate is raising is because they took those things? Also, seeing as Rome effectively fought the same type of war for over 150 years in Germany, I doubt it is war that is causing it. I sure don't see high suicide rates in places far worse like Sudan or Mexico.

They are either simply weak men with weak training from a weakening nation, or it just proves that anti depressants cause suicide and more problems then they help.

[edit on 29-7-2010 by Gorman91]

reply to post by zroth


This is no surprise at all! We had more then two troops in our brigade kill themselves when block leave was delayed until everyone came back from Iraq. There was even one soldier in my platoon that went nuts and tried to go AWOL because he couldn't deal with the b***s*** anymore. Although we are tools of war we are still human beings god damn it! Anyways It's only going to get worse as long as they send us on 12 month or longer deployments without proper R&R time, best believe.

[edit on 29-7-2010 by Stop-loss!]

reply to post by Stop-loss!


Like I said. Rome was in the same situation for over 150 years in Germany and there was no real reports of depression or anything.

It has to be either that they felt kind of sad, which is understandable, and then took these drugs that made it worse, or the US simply has had such a degradation in training that the soldiers are crap with morale.

reply to post by zroth

Yep. My dad and aunt are still living with nightmares from WWII. It haunts forever. For the rest of your life.

reply to post by Gorman91


They do tend to shell out lots of pills if they bust their knee or go to sick call to be sick call rangers but even without the pills morale was crap since the very beginning. Nothing lowers your morale faster then getting sent to the same damn country for a 3rd or 4th time knowing that it can be your last day alive fighting for corporate crooks.

Edit: In the end, I guess suicide was their only option when they are constantly abused by the system.

[edit on 29-7-2010 by Stop-loss!]

Whether there are vets in trouble or young people in trouble, or even old people in trouble. No one cares.

I'm ok with the idea we should take care of vets, but the special importance placed on them should be given to all people. It's so easy to parade slogans around "Support our vets" but problems with all our youth have been increasing over the years. We should care equally about our young soldiers and young citizens who need support.

We invest money into education and expect profit in the form of productive citizens, but where's the investment into health? Sick people can't work as effectively if they are sick...

[edit on 29-7-2010 by ghaleon12]

reply to post by ghaleon12


They will never care because we are just bodies to them waiting to get sent to another third world country that can hardly defend itself. Let them try and send us to tropical beaches or some super power country, its not gonna happen! Sand and death is the path TPTB have taken this to.