How To Help

http://www.stopsoldiersuicide.org

Suicide VS Combat Deaths

Questions

Why hasn't the army done more  to try and stop these suicides? Especially during training. They should set up better rules about the conduct of their soldiers, even the more senior of their officers. People join the army for the same reasons and they should be bonded by that and not driven to treat each other with such disrespect and hate.

"Death and After in Iraq"

In Cris Hedges article "Death and After in Iraq" he talks about hazing and unfair treatment of some soldier or trainees that leads them to commit suicide. The overweight or less physically capable soldier are often harassed and made to do extra physical task until they collapse of exhaustion. Other soldier may tease them and verbally abuse them day to day. Hedges talks about a marine Jess Goddell whose job it is to collect the dead bodies of soldiers and their possessions and store them until they can be processed and sent back to their homes. She tells stories of harassed soldiers that are driven to the point of shooting themselves in the head during their training because of the abuse they are put under. Some soldiers are sent to do extremely physical difficult tasks until they collapse or throw up due to exhaustion.

Suicide Rate Video

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/6/13/military_suicide_epidemic_more_us_soldiers

This is a new broadcast about the rise in suicide rate among active soldiers. They report a rate of 1 suicide per day. That is an alarming rate and raises the question of why isn't the army taking better steps to help soldiers in need and also why isn't this story better reported in the news.

Cord Jefferson

Cord Jefferson shows in his blog on Good.Is that 468 soldiers killed themselves and only 462 soldiers died in combat during the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, in one year and it was the second year in a row that the number of suicides have been greater than combat deaths. When you first look at the numbers a difference of 8 does not seem to bad, but when you look at look at the number of suicides alone you start to wonder what condition these soldier are put under that makes their suicide rate so high. It makes people wonder if the army in providing adequate counseling to their soldiers and taking the necessary steps to keep our soldier healthy and safe. Also mentioned in Cord Jefferson's blog post is the fact that according to military officials suicides have slowed in 2010 and is proof that the psychological screening that all active soldiers go through is working. This statement is not very believable. Why if these screenings are working, 468 are still committing suicide, and why is that number still higher, or even close to the number of combat related deaths?

My Blog is focusing on the topic of more U.S. soldiers committed suicide than died in combat during the Iraq war.