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Suicides Reach New Level Among Troops
117 United States Army soldiers committed suicide during 2007!
That statistic was announced today and is the highest number of soldiers to take their own lives in a single year since the army has kept records.
As shocking as that number is, it is probably lower than the actual count would be without the Pentagon and the administration manipulating such statistics.
Just like the PTSD statistics, those two entities make every effort to keep the truth from the American people. The new diagnosis being used to reduce the number diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is "Adjustment Disorder." This ridiculous term was chosen to describe "those having a difficult time adjusting to civilian life after serving in a war zone."
Sound familiar? Our illustrious leadership in the executive branch and the military-industrial complex redefining things so they sound more acceptable to the average American. You know, like "collateral damage" instead of dead human beings.
If there were 117 "official" suicides among army soldiers during 2007, doesn't it make you wonder how many deaths that were actually suicides were attributed to other causes?
George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and the rest of the arrogant, incompetent leadership who lied our country into this shameful war should be forced to look into the eyes of the families of each of these suicide victims before they are allowed to move on with their own lives and forget the horror they created.
117 suicides in 2007 alone! 4083 dead from combat in Iraq! Hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians! Each and every one of the souls who are no longer here for their families are the direct responsibility of the Bush/Cheney cabal.
"We The People" MUST begin to take our country back from the monsters who have stolen our Executive Branch.
Comments (33)
Another way of putting it:
120 suicides per week.
Over 6,000 per year. More suicides per year than total combat deaths to date since the war was begun.
For the length of this illegal war: 30,000+/-
Suicides.
Fewer than 5,000 combat deaths.
I haven't a number for permanently maimed.
May 30, 2008 8:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Or a number for those who will suffer the rest of their lives with PTSD.
May 30, 2008 9:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hi Chuck. I have been working with DOD on healthcare issues and this is a HUGE concern. It requires an enormous cultural and psychosocial shift for these old war horses to realize the implications of this. Thanks so much for sticking with this issue. I am headed into a project in the fall with DOD to see what can be done to ramp up counseling and support services for Active Duty and their families. We can't act fast enough. Keep fighting the fight!
May 30, 2008 9:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's another tragedy:
Total wounded 3/2003-4/2008
Per http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/: 30,329
Per http://icasualties.org/oif/: 29,978
I don't know if any reliable statistics on how many of those wounded head wounds, physically disabling wounds, or, got forbid, "adjustment disorder."
Disgusting. God bless America, huh? It's a good thing I don't think God has much to do with it.
May 30, 2008 9:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hi Eliyah: The biggest problem we are facing right now is traumatic brain injury (in addition to PTSD and severe depression). The new body armor allows troops to withstand blasts but the rattling that occurs withing their skull/helmet is brutal. This is the signal injury of this war, and we don't know how to treat it, although neuroscientists are working as hard as they can. The saddest thing is that the Bush Administration is not doing EVERYTHING it can to help these wounded warriors. It infuriates me.
May 30, 2008 9:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
A lot of the traumatic brain injury could be treated if it's addressed immediately to mitigate brain damage by swelling and bleeding. It's one thing to dress a wound, intubate, get some fluids going and rushing the wounded soldier to the hospital. It's another to identify closed traumatic brain injury and, if you admit it's there, to monitor CSF pressure and reduce it, or, even when the injury is obvious, to get the kind of monitoring you need to prevent permanent damage.
Pisses me off. Can you tell? But according to McBush, it's all a bunch of whining about bumping your head. On the other hand, McCain loves to hate vets:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-humes30-2008may30,0,4850795.story
May 30, 2008 10:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
You sound like you know what you are talking about. The far forward care at the scene is really good--thanks to our heroic military medics. It's when these guys/gals get home that that they get pushed aside, when they need fast and aggressive therapy. I live and work around these issues, and these TBI vets are living in motels in Bethesda, getting substandard care, because if they send them home to Montana or West Virginia, it hurts recruitment. Yeah, and McCain is despicable in his lack of support for vets. I have to give HRC credit--she has worked hard for these issues, but she voted for the war. So go figure.
May 30, 2008 10:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is what I love about Internet discussion boards - sometimes you come across people who really know what they're talking about!
May 31, 2008 6:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
EVERYTHING?! The Bush administration is not doing ANYTHING! Well, that is a small exaggeration... They ARE doing EVERYTHING they can to "spin" the PTSD casualties, stop the new G.I. Bill and keep their policies in place so another administration can take some of the blame.
May 31, 2008 9:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
I stand corrected.
May 31, 2008 10:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
My belief, having worked in a suicide prevention center in the US military more than 25 years ago (the first of its kind, actually), is that there is NO way to get an accurate figure. The military, for various reasons, will move heaven and earth to find a way to describe a suicide as something else. The figure could be 10% higher or 10x higher and you couldn't tell. One clue, however, would be to examine the number of traffic accidents and other "misadventures," as this is the catchall phrase that I saw used to describe what any normal person would have called a suicide, e.g., getting drunk and jumping head first off of the top of a building while screaming "I am an F-111!", or for that matter, somehow managing to disable safety interlocks on a real F-111 and flying only a minimal distance above the North Sea flipping the plane over and hitting the eject button, both of which were rumored to have happened.
I DO know, from personal observation, that a young man in my barracks lost his fiance and drank himself into a 0.48% alcohol-related death that was never reported as such, at least in public.
The base-photographer was a neighbor of mine. According to his roommate, he would often return shaking and crying from photography assignments he was never allowed to talk about...
May 31, 2008 2:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
I can relate to your photographer's situation. Sometimes PTSD does not require being wounded or even firing at an enemy. I was a Corpsman in Vietnam and never fired a weapon there (although I did carry one on certain occasions such as medivac and ambulance duty). But during the TET Offensive in 1968 I saw more blood, body parts, dead from both sides and felt the most intense fear of my life.
The hospital in Danang had an incredible 2177 admissions during the month of February, 1968. Every one of those came through the Receiving Unit where I worked. And that number doesn't count the dead OR parts of dead we carried from the choppers almost non-stop that month.
That kind of thing can change someone who had his 21st birthday during January. And some memories NEVER go away.
May 31, 2008 9:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're absolutely right. Hell, there's some NPR correspondent that was in a Humvee when a bomb blew up something or someone near her and she's still having a hard time dealing with it.
PTSD is a psychiatric condition; the operative word is "trauma." Whether it's a physical injury or a psychic one, a trauma is a trauma is a trauma, and the behavioral symptoms are the same. And damned few of us can get to the other side on our own.
May 31, 2008 3:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Keep up the good work, Chuck!
May 31, 2008 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Please understand that I was in the *peacetime* military overseas. We were under large amounts of stress, much of it deliberately induced to simulate wartime conditions, but none of us were in combat, or in situations remotely similar to it, and the base STILL required the first anonymous suicide prevention center in the US military (I understand it was the model for all subsequent US military suicide prevention centers worldwide). I'd guess that there was a funeral almost bi-weekly on the base, with no publicly stated cause of death, and this on a base with only 4000 people in the UK, where everyone spoke roughly the same language with a comparatively similar culture.
My point is simply that suicide, in the US military, even during peacetime, likely was far higher than a 110 suicides per year (scaled to include each armed service, etc). It is a very closely guarded secret. The official suicides are simply those relatively few that CANNOT be categorized any other way, no matter how creative they are.
Gathering as much hard liquor as you can find and drinking it as fast as you can over a weekend, is not considered suicide, for example.
May 31, 2008 4:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree with you, LDE. The goal of the "Bushies" and their puppet masters is, and has always been, to spin data to their purposes.
If ANY other determination can be used in the place of suicide, it IS used.
If ANY other diagnosis can be used in the place of PTSD, it IS used.
In the final analysis this entire administration and the military industrial complex is interested in ONE thing: MONEY!
May 31, 2008 7:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Friday admitted to an extramarital affair while his wife was battling cancer. He denied fathering the woman's daughter."
What a guy... wife stricken at home with cancer and old Johnny's out screwing the campaign aid.
August 8, 2008 5:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
I bet Karl Rove made Edwards cheat on his wife.
How's that Iraq pullout thing working out for you these days?
Taliban surge in Afghanistan?? probably tomorrow right???
thought I would drop in for a good laugh...
take it easy..
August 8, 2008 5:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Pay speial attention to the credits at the end of this clip..
Sad...
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9e3_1198054073
August 8, 2008 8:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
You take such joy in the agony of others. It's good to know you haven't changed.
At least Edwards isn't responsible for the deaths of over 4,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. And he isn't holding people for life sentences without charging them with anything.
Both parties have affairs. Hell, Clinton even got a blow job! I'd still rather have a president who created budget surplus than the monsters who have nearly bankrupted this country.
Taliban surge?!?! Have you been reading the news lately? They are stronger now than they were pre-9-11! It's going to take another offensive from America to do what should have been done in 2002.
You and your right-wing Messiah, Rush Limbaugh, still talk like Iraq was a good idea. Are you insane? The truth is trickling down from inside the administration. Eventually ALL will be known and the ultimate evil of this group will expose the complete arrogance and incompetence of Bush, Cheney, et.al.
I'm glad you're doing well, Lt. Apparently 11,000 is the bottom of the stock market. Whatever happened to your prediction of new highs from a few months ago? You rich people have managed to keep it artificially inflated even through the failure of banks, bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the mortgage crisis foreclosures brought on by the greed of crooks and liars.
Hang in there... Maybe the negative campaigning of McCain can get you a third Bush administration and the cover-ups can continue.
Good luck.
August 9, 2008 12:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
See you in November. :)
August 9, 2008 3:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Chuck,
The Russians are stealing your lines-
Russians were told over breakfast yesterday what really happened in Georgia: the conflict in South Ossetia was part of a plot by Dick Cheney, the Vice-President, to stop Barak Obama being elected president of the United States......
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4535173.ece
August 14, 2008 10:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
From today's NYT:
The surge, clearly, has worked, at least for now: violence, measured in the number of attacks against Americans and Iraqis each week, has dropped by 80 percent in the country since early 2007, according to figures the general provided. Civilian deaths, which peaked at more than 100 a day in late 2006, have also plunged. Car and suicide bombings, which stoked sectarian violence, have fallen from a total of 130 in March 2007 to fewer than 40 last month. In July, fewer Americans were killed in Iraq — 13 — than in any month since the war began.
The result, now visible in the streets, is a calm unlike any the country has seen since the American invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in April 2003. The signs — Iraqi families flooding into parks at sundown, merchants throwing open long-shuttered shops — are stunning to anyone who witnessed the country’s implosion in 2005 and 2006.
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August 22, 2008 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Al Sadr's "cease fire" is the reason for the drop in violence in Iraq. His army is on R&R allowing Maliki to gain false confidence enough to become as arrogant as Bush and Cheney.
This temporary quiet has given you and all the right wing pundits incentive to relentlessly say "the surge is working."
It's a matter of time before Iraq explodes again.
Afghanistan, as I blogged before the surge, has already exploded. Without another escalation from the US more cities will fall and violence will continue to increase there.
None of this may wind up being of any consequence if Bush, Cheney, Rice et.al. continue the effort to start WWIII with Russia by putting missiles in Poland. Remember 1962? Oh, that's right, you weren't even born when the Soviets attempted to place missile bases 90 miles off our coast.
I think in a year or two, Lt., we will finally know which of us is right. Until then, your moronic gloating is premature.
August 23, 2008 6:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Q2 GDP out today at +3.3%, great depression imminent stand by.....
"Afghanistan has already exploded".. good stuff Chuck..
When is Johnny E's DNC speech? Did I miss it??
Obama, is giving his acceptance speech tonight from the Parthenon, in Denver, don't miss it!!
August 28, 2008 4:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
As always, Lt., you can't see the forest for the trees.
Here's a relevant quote about GDP:
Economies experiencing an economic bubble, such as a housing bubble or stock bubble, or a low private-saving rate tend to appear to grow faster owing to higher consumption, mortgaging their futures for present growth. Economic growth at the expense of environmental degradation can end up costing dearly to clean up; GDP does not account for this.
The government's math is sometimes like Enron's. Let's talk about "NET" domestic product or, even better, let's just remove your rose-colored glasses for a minute and look at the REAL suffering that's happening in this country.
Every time you comment, you show the hateful and arrogant attitude that has become your trademark. Go count your money and let the serious people on this site discuss the world.
I wouldn't miss Obama's speech for anything tonight. I'm looking forward to it. He has disappointed me a few times but he has a long way to fall to get into the gutter where the McBush campaign has been slithering for these weeks since we knew the nominees.
I still hope "they" allow Obama to survive this campaign. If there is an election, I hope the American people look at the two candidates and their records. If they do, they'll realize that McCain sold his soul to the monsters who have stolen our country for the past 8 years.
I hope someday you find your way out of the darkness of right-wing rhetoric and into the light of truth.
Good luck to you.
August 28, 2008 9:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just like your Democratic Congress/Senate they've done so much. Hope/Change just some more BS to raise taxes punish success and reward laziness with more entitlements. See how long a country continues to advance using that model. Take a little drive down route 3 and get back with me.
August 28, 2008 11:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
So the government is using "Enron" math when the numbers don't correlate to a Chuck Keller defined "recession" during an election year benefiting your paper candidate? Is that what your saying?
Just so I'm clear of course...
August 28, 2008 11:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I recommended Palin 8-12 months ago here on your blog.
GAME OVER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFjqZ_vvLNc&feature=related
August 29, 2008 3:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree, she's perfect! Game Over! Obama landslide...
She's an empty shell who was second runner up in the Miss Alaska contest which means she lost to the other two women in that state. And if they had a 100 percent turnout for the vote to pick the winner, why, that's almost 50 people!
Good luck with this insane choice. She's an untried, untested beauty queen who is the antithesis of every Hillary voter McCain thinks he'll draw by picking her. I had no idea McBush was so desperate!
August 29, 2008 10:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Untried,Untested,etc,etc HA!!
"Obama is a US Senator of three years experience, and Palin is a governor of 20 months’ experience. Only Barack Obama has spent two of those three years not in the Senate doing his job but running for President. Before starting his bid, he had a grand total of less than 150 days in session in the Senate. Palin, on the other hand, has run her state for more than triple that time."
Obama's experience is a complete joke. You let MSNBC decide your candidate, and now get the watch the house burn.
Keep listening to Keith, I'm sure he will drum up a conspiracy or 2 between now and November when once again American voters prove that liberal socialism is dead.
"Empty shell"... is this how you feel about all women???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GE11URmmnc&eurl=http://hotair.com/archives/2008/08/29/video-palin-knocks-biden-on-drilling-ties-it-to-national-security/
August 30, 2008 10:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Untried,Untested,etc,etc HA!!
"Obama is a US Senator of three years experience, and Palin is a governor of 20 months’ experience. Only Barack Obama has spent two of those three years not in the Senate doing his job but running for President. Before starting his bid, he had a grand total of less than 150 days in session in the Senate. Palin, on the other hand, has run her state for more than triple that time."
Obama's experience is a complete joke. You let MSNBC decide your candidate, and now get to watch the house burn.
Keep listening to Keith, I'm sure he will drum up a conspiracy or 2 between now and November when once again American voters prove that liberal socialism is dead.
"Empty shell"... is this how you feel about all women???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GE11URmmnc&eurl=http://hotair.com/archives/2008/08/29/video-palin-knocks-biden-on-drilling-ties-it-to-national-security/
August 30, 2008 10:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
No, Lt... This particular woman is unique. Just like you.
Sometimes arguing with you is fun but mostly it's boring. You're a little too predictable.
Keep thinking this is a wise choice. I couldn't be more satisfied with it. I guess we finally agree on something. You think McBush made the right choice to keep you ultra-right-wing, tunnel vision folks happy and I think he gave the Democratic ticket the chance for an electoral landslide.
As usual, we'll see who's right in a while.
August 30, 2008 2:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
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