Posted on 04/28/2010 4:05:35 AM PDT by ResistorSister
When I read your first post, I had a feeling that you were a healer...after reading your second post I realize that you are. God bless you.
My wife also has PTSD and she has depression to go with it. She's a quadriplegic now of 26 years so she's reminded every day no matter what. PTSD works on you when you're tired and usually at night. It's kinda like someone putting in a bad movie you keep watching or a repeated re-think or remembering a traumatic event or traumatic events. With it comes depression also.
1 Corinthians 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit...
I know many people who have been to the Middle East since the war began. I've now asked two or three how many people they know who were there that attempted suicide. Generally, I draw a blank stare.
If the VA can produce people who have, I will want to know what went on at home to cause it.
This kind of nonsense becomes a self perpetuating life form, grist for stage and screen. We went through this once before in my youth. Those reports turned out to be largely nonsense, and the average lad and lass in today's military is tiers above the average ones from those days in training and professionalism.
Call me a doubting Thomas in this case. I'll remain so until I see it in person and in real life.
WASHINGTON, April 23, 2010 – With more than 6,000 veterans committing suicide every year –- and 98 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan taking their own lives during fiscal 2009 alone -- the Department of Veterans Affairs is redoubling its outreach to veterans and promoting its toll-free suicide-prevention hotline.
National statistics show that veterans constitute about 20 percent of the 30,000 to 32,000 U.S. deaths each year from suicide. Of an average of 18 veterans who commit suicide each day, about five receive care through the VA health-care system. More than 60 percent of those five had diagnosed mental-health conditions.
Read the rest of the story at the link below:
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=58879
Bottomline: Skepticism will keep you safe, but it could also keep you from reaching out to 'touch the wound' of America's veterans; skepticism could be a defense to keep you sheltered from the dark side of life.
OK. that is my point. They are trying to use this study to make some big deal connection with wars and suicide rates which is most certainly NOT there. This is what I wanted to point out.
This is like a famous to many never been in the service Freeper who says there was no Gulf War Syndrome because Colin Powell said so. All because the party leadership says there wasn't.
There are troops deployed today who have almost seen more war time duty than the total time of WW2. Some are still on first enlistment. To think that we as a nation can keep this up without serious mental health issues be it combat fatigue to PTSD hitting over deployed troops is insanity. The troops deployed in WW2 didn't have politically correct fools in command of them saying kill, hug, kill, hug, to them. Meaning what? Meaning having to kill at night and help rebuild or police the enemy nation the next day. We didn't see Court Martials of America's Finest in the name of political correctness either.
The politically correct motivated policies of war today is bound to have serious repercussions on the troops. Most people don't even beat their dog for barking the sic them on something and beat them again for barking. You don't tell a child to take out the trash them smack them for doing so either. That would give you what? If you understand that much you understand my point.
This is not wars previous. This is politicians trying to cover their stinking liberal antiwar conscience by punishing troops and their misuse of them thereof with insane policies which lead to issues for the vet. King David in the Old Testament was brought to task for this. His troops to save his life and his kingdom had to kill the enemy. The enemy was his son. King David instead of honoring his troops for doing their job tried to place guilt.
Our troops deserve and need reasonable and realistic deployment policies they can count on including realistic enlistment obligations. Eight years is not realistic. Six year active obligation? Sometimes in special cases where extensive training investment is made like a year plus of special schooling etc. Four years active duty is plenty of service to this nation and we need to return to it.
Eight year obligations on a first time enlistment is not realistic. It is taking advantage of young people who do not understand the demands of military life. For second time and beyond enlistments? Yea eight years is OK. By then it is a career choice eyes fully open. By then they know what they want.
Troops need a set Military Mission based Rules Of Engagement and not PC policies of being Warrior/Peace Corp/Policeman. The three missions can not coexist together in war. Any person can be one of the three but not even two of the three in war. No serious well thought out deployment policies and ROE's have been in place since 1989.
The numbers of suicides and attempts right now in returning combat vets are down mostly because of SCREENING which is good. To say that over deployment is not taking a serious mental health toll on our troops and our military readiness is ridiculous.
BTTT Bump. Save that post and expand it. It’s worthy of being a longer essay.
I'd rather see 3 million on active duty ready to fight and not have too than 1.5 million taking the entire load years on end. Of that 1.5 million a low percentage will actually see the actual combat but will be the same ones called upon again and again under todays policies.
We ask the young soldiers to wage war, conduct diplomacy, engage in social engineering, supervise public projects, enforce law and order and negotiate issues that would stymie our politicians and policy aides.
All on the same day, sometimes!
A failure of our political leadership, the policy elites and the highest ranks of the military.
At the very least, we the public should have demanded an expansion of the Army, an unforgiveable failure.
5-6-7-8 Tours for some of them!
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