Editorial: Help for combat stress

[unhappycamper]

Editorial: Help for combat stress

At least 172 service members have killed themselves while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan in the past six years.

That means one out of every 26 combat-zone deaths is a suicide — almost 4 percent.

Among nonhostile deaths in the war zones, suicides make up more than 18 percent.

The problem gets worse after troops come home. The Veterans Affairs Department acknowledges vets under its care attempt suicide 1,000 times per month — and 17 of those attempts prove successful.

Combat’s emotional shrapnel takes its toll on troops of every service, race, age and rank. It can strike even the most dedicated high performers, as in the case of Army 1st Sgt. Jeff McKinney, who shot himself in the midst of a patrol in Baghdad last summer.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/community/opinion/army_editorial_stress_060908/

[EV_Ares]

1. Thanks for the post. It is still beyond me how or why the care of our veterans

is in the state it is. Even the fact they can't agree on a GI Bill for them is beyond me. My personal opinion is that just like the Iraq war so many people are not involved in the sacrifices that our fellow soldiers have to make for us. As a result, not high enough up on congress's agenda, they do what they have to do. In years past, a majority of congress had military experience and there was a draft in the country so americans were familiar about the military. Now we have this..........