Military Suicides

[Kyle Spalla]

So its more of an issue of disingenuous recruiting methods?

Was PTSD really not an issue pre Vietnam? My grandpa is like a Wyoming version of cotton hill, so I don't really follow his rants as truth

World War 2 vets just come from a generation where you don't talk about things like that. Back in their time no one really understood PTSD and having it was seen more as a liability than a diagnosed disorder. The combat tours were up 3-4 years!!! at a times and only the most debilitating cases of PTSD which was commonly refered to as Operational Exhaustion or Shell Shock were addressed. They saw it more as a temporary issue of the mind "adjusting" to combat. The truth is it can't and many of those vets my grandfather and grandfather-in-law were both full fledged alcoholics to worse degree upon returning until their deaths. I have sat down with Korean, Vietnam, WWII vets and they tell absolute horror stories with a profound sense of duty because they honestly believed in their causes and believed they would be seen as heroes how horrible for them (most Vietnam vets) to come home and be spat on and called baby killers by the people the swore to protect. Just because you can justify in your mind taking another mans life does change the fact that you yourself committed such an act. Watching another man die is something you dream about for the rest of your life. It's not that he isn't bothered by it, he just doesn't chose to talk to people about who don't truly understand.

[Kyle Spalla]

This is some if not most really feel. Not because want to but because we have to keep our sanity.
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[christopher brindle]

For the most part, people signing up for service within this global climate, at the very least, understand the ongoing battles against terrorism and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have an idea what they're getting into. All you need to do is watch the news for five minutes, and I doubt there is a recruiter alive who can tell someone otherwise. Most returning for combat eventually adjust back to a "normal" life and are able to both emotionally and mentally process what they went through during their tour. However, there are some, and now a days we find more and more, come back still hurting from the mental and physical trauma undergone during combat. There are several factors that contribute to this...

1. With this war lasting over ten years, you find MANY Soldiers with several deployments within short amounts of time. There a number of guys in my platoon here in Afghanistan that this is their 3rd deployment in 5 years. Guys will come back and will redeploy within 12 months. This is not uncommon for many Army, and I'm sure other branches as well, units. They are not given the adequate time to recover from the combat stress they underwent.

2. For many years, the Army's mental health service were lacking in resources and quality. They have improved by leaps and bounds over recent year, but for some its too little, too late.

3. Combined with the reason stated above, many Soldiers feel a stigma towards reaching out for mental health assistance. They feel it makes them look weak, like they should be able to "Ranger up" and just push though it, when in fact it can compound problems and drive some to taking their own lives.

PTSD and other combat stress issues have been around since well before the War on Terror. It is only now in this day and age are we able to recognize it and get those vets who need help the proper care they need. There is an interesting article on this for anyone who may be interested.

http://progressivehistorians.wordpre...myth-of-ww-ii/

[K Madden]

You guys rock. I'm glad to see that you are so informed. Although, I disagree on one part. No amount of YouTube videos or stories can actually help someone FULLY understand what they are getting themselves into in terms of Combat.
We try, damn it anyway do we try, but its not the same.

I just went into the VA today and they told me that they have had such a large influx of "youngins" that they really dont know what to do with all of them. People feel abandoned and trapped by situations, and without PROPER care- meaning medications, mental physical and spiritual rehab, people do feel "broken".
I don't know about you guys, but my back pain has got so BLINDING painful at times, I'd do just about anything to make it stop.
When the VA offers ONLY Pain Meds (what they call Pain Management) as a solution, you get discouraged.

What I personally believe needs to happen is a look into how we do things now.
We need them to treat the problem, not mask it with medications that can potentially cause more internal problems.
When it can take 6-9 months to get a Provider in your area, especially when battling PTSD and other Combat injuries...its just TOO long. You can't expect us to walk into the ER. Most of us just wont do it. Again comes the battle of "weakness".

[Kyle Spalla]

You guys rock. I'm glad to see that you are so informed. Although, I disagree on one part. No amount of YouTube videos or stories can actually help someone FULLY understand what they are getting themselves into in terms of Combat.
We try, damn it anyway do we try, but its not the same.

I just went into the VA today and they told me that they have had such a large influx of "youngins" that they really dont know what to do with all of them. People feel abandoned and trapped by situations, and without PROPER care- meaning medications, mental physical and spiritual rehab, people do feel "broken".
I don't know about you guys, but my back pain has got so BLINDING painful at times, I'd do just about anything to make it stop.
When the VA offers ONLY Pain Meds (what they call Pain Management) as a solution, you get discouraged.

What I personally believe needs to happen is a look into how we do things now.
We need them to treat the problem, not mask it with medications that can potentially cause more internal problems.
When it can take 6-9 months to get a Provider in your area, especially when battling PTSD and other Combat injuries...its just TOO long. You can't expect us to walk into the ER. Most of us just wont do it. Again comes the battle of "weakness".

God I feel like every service member suffers from crippling back pain, or knee injuries on top of PTSD. I have a friend that is getting discharged because he tried to commi suicide three times! The Marine Corps was all he had, he is not an Academic guy and won't make it in school and he is married. It was all he had and because of the economy and the downsizing they bared him from reenlisting, instead of getting him the help he needed. His unit turned his back on him. He isn't the only one they have done this too.