Posted on 04/15/2012 7:18:33 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
HERE’S a window into a tragedy within the American military: For every soldier killed on the battlefield this year, about 25 veterans are dying by their own hands.
An American soldier dies every day and a half, on average, in Iraq or Afghanistan. Veterans kill themselves at a rate of one every 80 minutes. More than 6,500 veteran suicides are logged every year — more than the total number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq combined since those wars began.
These unnoticed killing fields are places like New Middletown, Ohio, where Cheryl DeBow raised two sons, Michael and Ryan Yurchison, and saw them depart for Iraq. Michael, then 22, signed up soon after the 9/11 attacks.
“I can’t just sit back and do nothing,” he told his mom. Two years later, Ryan followed his beloved older brother to the Army.
When Michael was discharged, DeBow picked him up at the airport — and was staggered. “When he got off the plane and I picked him up, it was like he was an empty shell,” she told me. “His body was shaking.” Michael began drinking and abusing drugs, his mother says, and he terrified her by buying the same kind of gun he had carried in Iraq. “He said he slept with his gun over there, and he needed it here,” she recalls.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The demoralization of our military by Obama. Very sad
Isn’t it touching that Kristof cares so deeply for these 6 - 7 thousand military folks who commit suicide yet cares not at all about the thousands and thousands of unborn his fellow lefties abort each year.
“A Veteran’s Death, the Nation’s Shame”
Wrong.
This nation’s shame is that Obama is the CIC. This nation’s shame is that the New York Times is still published. This nation’s shame is that Nicholas D. Kristof, Leftist scum, has any readership at all.
So Kristof is sympathetic to the military, and shows it by bashing it and portraying veterans as crazed or mentally ill killing machines?
(Disclaimer: I try to avoid clicking on links that go to the NY Times because I don't believe in financially supporting the enemy, so I have not actually read the entire article.)
Prayers offered up.
Somehow, I seriously doubt that it really was the same kind of gun.
The same sort of hysteria about veterans was published widely for years after of the Vietnam War. To see how accurate those accounts were, see the book "Stolen Valor" by B.G. Burkett. Same BS, different war.
The Iraq wars and the Afghanistan war are taking a huge toll because of suicide. The problem is finding these guys and finding out why.
One thing they just found out is that the drug they were using for malaria, mefloquine, was causing mental problems in 1/3, 1/3, of the users.
The military just switched drugs.
I want to know if this drug stays in the system like LSD.
Suicide and depression can be treated, if you know anyone who needs help, call any of the phone numbers found at all the military branch sites.
So many of the vets at risk are in hiding. We need to find them.
The NYT article links to the article at the DoD website and that article mentions the recently released report at CNAS, so bypass all that and go to CNAS, Center for a New American Security.
I hope someone, somewhere looks at the stats in this piece to see if they are accurate or not.
http://archive.redstate.com/stories/war/a_suicide_epidemic_among_veterans
The Army Suicide Event Report, which tracks suicide attempts and completions and the factors involved, showed that in 2006 there were 99 suicides within the Army, 30 of which occurred in Iraq or Afghanistan. This is an increase from 87 suicides in 2005 and 67 in 2004. According to the report, the Army’s suicide rate for 2006 was 17.3 suicides per 100,000 soldiers. This compares to the overall U.S. population rate, for the same age and gender group, of roughly 19 suicides per 100,000 people.
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47074
IF THIS DOD report was correct, then I have a VERY hard time accepting Kristof's numbers, unless I shouldn't be comparing the numbers I am.
OK- who are these veterans they are talking about? The implication is they are WOT vets, but I don’t buy it. I think they may be including anyone whoever served, which is probably much older and sicker physically than average WOT vets. Are they including elderly vets of war decades ago who may be killing themselves? I don’t buy the numbers, and I despise the phony compassion from leftists like Kristof.
Horse manure.
I know. I remember when Bush 41 tossed some of the guys out after they came home from Desert Storm. Clinton was a disgrace and both of the Bush’s share the blame for the treatment of our veterans.
I call Bravo Sierra on the above post. I have worked in a VA hospital for 25 years. If a vet comes into our hospital ER with the symptoms describe he will immediately be considered a risk to himself or others. He will be immediately admitted and given care.
I took the same drug for years in Nigeria. I call Bravo Sierra on the above post.
From VETERANS TODAY Website:
“The VA estimates that about 18 veterans commit suicide every day, but this statistic is based on limited data. Only 16 states submit the cause of death among veterans and the VA relies on 3-year-old data for its reports.”
More often than not Kristof and the Times are full of sh*t. So is the Army Times which is owned by Gannett.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/11/02/a-veteran-commits-suicide-every-80-minutes/
“Army Times which is owned by Gannett” Thanks Brad. Was not aware of that very relevant item.
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