What is Digg?143 Comments
- AmyVernon, on 02/03/2009, -3/+36Four years in a row. It's really a damn shame.
- BingoPower, on 02/03/2009, -12/+37Mission Accomplished! (tm)
- hymneforthedead, on 02/03/2009, -3/+24Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerers of deaths construction
In the fields the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds, oh lord yeah!
Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to the poor
Time will tell on their power minds
Making war just for fun
Treating people just like pawns in chess
Wait till their judgement day comes, yeah!
Now in darkness, world stops turning
As the war machine keeps burning
No more war pigs of the power
Hand of God has sturck the hour
Day of judgement, God is calling
On their knees, the war pigs crawling
Begging mercy for their sins
Satan, laughing, spreads his wings
All right now! - induren, on 02/03/2009, -3/+23I think the writer of this article is surely working for Al Qaida. Why else would the article malign our troops, give comfort to our enemy, and even vaguely insult the brilliance of our former president?
We are winning the war on terror, no thanks to this vermin! - RunDiggMC, on 02/03/2009, -2/+19I hope these men and women are offered every resource available. The stress and horror they -- and soldiers from all counties -- endure is beyond anything I can imagine, and it would be a shame to give them the weapons to combat enemies without the tools to handle their internal battles.
- robinthehood, on 02/03/2009, -8/+21Thus proving that old white men do not care about the children that fight their wars.
- ramilehti, on 02/03/2009, -0/+12.. because it is not their children that are dying over there.
Their children are safe behind a desk in some army office if in the army at all. - Batfishy, on 02/03/2009, -2/+11Jachyan - just making up ways to blame the anti-war folks for this, huh?
I'm with humanerror - I smell a lie. - ShyGuy91284, on 02/03/2009, -0/+9Give it a year, as more and more people loose their jobs, the civilian rate will probably meet that. Maybe some men and women will even decide to join the military since they cannot find normal work.
- Supasatsuma, on 02/03/2009, -3/+12These guys need as much help as possible. Period.
The job they do is far from an easy or comfortable one. They don't choose where they go to fight - that's up to the politicians. And whatever your politics may happen to be, they deserve support from their people wherever in the world they are.
My great grandfather died on the Somme in 1916. He was younger than I am now. Whether I agree or disagree with whether he should have been there in the first place is immaterial - the fact that he gave his life to protect the freedoms I currently enjoy is what is important.These guys deserve the same respect - and consequently the highest level of care available. - fireburner23, on 02/03/2009, -7/+15Like the military forces are going to do anything about their own soldiers killing themselves. Hell, they are the ones who gave cancer to all those vietnam vets and nothing really was done except a membership at the VA hospital.
Remember kids, the government does not care about you! - humanerror, on 02/03/2009, -3/+11Yup. I'm going to go out on a limb and say jackyan is a liar.
Hey jackyan, you're a liar. - darkz77, on 02/03/2009, -0/+7screw it up ??????????? were you in a cave for the last 5 years
- bagadoritos, on 02/03/2009, -0/+7I'm an Army platoon leader and I promise you, we do everything we can to prevent this at the command level and above. We have suicide awareness & prevention briefings twice a year and have chaplains and free psychological assistance through militaryonesource or its free through Tricare.
We had a suicide in our company this year. A teenage girl who had just come back from Basic Training. Folks, the "rate" is going up because the standards are going down. Most of these poor souls should not have ever been allowed to "waiver" in to the military in the first place.
You want to knock the military, go ahead. But you should really get you facts straight. Its the irresponsible pursuit of recruitment numbers that lower the threshold and pressure recruiters into allowing mentally unstable, and at times mentally challenged, people through that should be called to task.
If you really care about soldiers, and not just looking for another opportunity to go hyperbolic on the former Bush administration, call your Congressman about THAT. - darkz77, on 02/03/2009, -0/+7You have to admit a lot of those kids have no idea what they are getting into until it is too late. They follow slogans and the bull they are fed by recruiters. They follow dreams of education for free and good living.
- MacEnvy, on 02/03/2009, -3/+10I don't know where you live, but where I'm from, even the most strident anti-war protesters don't hold it against the troops. In fact, they usually cite troop welfare as a primary reason for their involvement, and hold great respect for those that serve.
I'm of the age where I have friends and old classmates currently serving, and I've never heard anyone my age say word one against them. - ramilehti, on 02/03/2009, -1/+8Please use /sarcasm or /s when using sarcasm.
- theaceoffire, on 02/03/2009, -0/+6Its not just the horror of what they are going through, its the horror of what they get when they return. They are over there for so long, their lives fall apart over here... girlfriends/boyfriends leave, jobs get destroyed by bankruptcy, families have major changes...
- sylvanpine, on 02/03/2009, -0/+6@ dildoolielly
couldnt agree more... before you go out and put your life on the line, you should first evaluate the values you are betting your most precious gift on (life).
i dont care what country you're fighting for, same goes for my own peeps here in iran. if iran decides to fight a war with ambiguous ambitions and far-fetched ideals, i wouldnt give a flying rats ass for those who blindly follow through with it. - oldhick, on 02/03/2009, -1/+7Listen up! I love the people that dedicate their lives to serving this country and the fact that you look so casually on the fact that they are taking their lives in record numbers is disgusting. If you're patriotic and you support the troops than how can you not be concerned about their health and well being.
Spending some time and effort to study this and to identify what's going on might save the lives of some of our service men and women. This a positive thing. - inactive, on 02/03/2009, -4/+9I smell BS jackyan. I know plenty of vets, the healthiest ones are the ones that came back and joined Iraq Veterans Against the War.
http://www.ivaw.org - ramilehti, on 02/03/2009, -0/+5You mean Bush's first term?
Or Bush Sr.'s term?
Let's hope Jeb Bush doesn't get elected. - Ruger11mcrdpi, on 02/03/2009, -5/+10First off listen up... the Civilian suicide rate in the US is historically around 11 per 100,000. BUT that's all ages. The military is largely made up of males, ages 18-27. This is one of the highest portions of the population for suicide rates, typically around 20-21 per 100,000. While yes that's high, its still the same or lower than the TOTAL NATIONAL suicide rate for Belgium and Japan, two very developed nations. Also keep in mind we are talking about VERY small numbers. Total suicides in America per year is usually around 32,000, or 1.3% of all deaths. If the active army is (for sake of easy argument) 600,000 then we're talking about 120 suicides.
YES that's terrible and shouldn't happen, but I didn't want people blowing this out or proportion and thinking everyone in the military is crazy or anything like that. I am in the Marines and I wanted to say that the level of care for PTSD, and TBI, etc has increased exponentially in the last 6 years since I've been in. I don't think it will ever be perfect, but from a standpoint of someone who has actually been there, done that, etc not just a basement commenter, our health care system, both physical and mental is getting really good, and the attention to health problems in the individual units (at least my infantry battalion) was fantastic.
S/F - LOGNATR, on 02/03/2009, -0/+5Like, say, Big W's presidency...
- themadrammer, on 08/18/2009, -0/+4 "On War" by David Grossman.
He lays it all out. Why soldiers in combat zones come back and shoot themselves. His claim is that 90% of all soldiers who have shot a gun at another human, will enter Post-Combat Stress Disorder, and unless treated, will do something drastic. (The other 10% are Special Forces, and they're just crazy anyway.) - induren, on 02/03/2009, -0/+4My apologies. Will do in the future!
- DirtyVicar, on 02/03/2009, -2/+6If you're using the 6" broadbrush you should use a can of Glidden's Hannity 142.
- MacParrot, on 02/03/2009, -0/+4That's nonsense. 90%? Really? 90% of all returning vets will do something rambo or kill themselves? 90% of all returning vets are in need of treatment? So whatever happened to the 90% of WW2, Korean, Vietnam veterans. Oh right, they went on with their lives and didn't do anything crazy.
There are people who can't handle the stress of combat and upon returning will need some kind of help but throwing out numbers like that is nonsense. - bobinaccounting, on 02/03/2009, -0/+4How come Marines have the star of David on their swords? Because you are a pawn in this "Game" they play.
- charmaniac, on 02/03/2009, -4/+8The wreckage from Little W's presidency gets more astounding by the day. I read that some economists think we could have 23% unemployment and an additional 9 trillion in debt on top of what we already have due to Bush's Depression.
How is it possible that one Administration could ***** things up so completely in such a short period of time? - darkstar949, on 02/03/2009, -0/+4I'm sorry, but there is a difference between intellectually knowing what you are signing up for and actually being there in combat. Pretty much anyone that I have ever met that has been in combat (as in, firing their weapon in anger) came back different from it. This is something that your recruiter doesn't tell you - if you see combat, you will come back different.
- kalii, on 02/03/2009, -2/+5I remember when I was in the service most of the people that attempted suicide that I knew just wanted out and saw it as the best way to do it. I don't really think boot camp is anything like the real life military so it doesn't really prepare or measure how well a serviceman will really handle real life situations in general.
- YumYumTruck, on 02/03/2009, -0/+3what? are you trying to say everyone in the army is black? you *****--
oh, sorry your account says your just a troll... - theonlywizdum, on 02/03/2009, -3/+6You sound like a very angry person.
- drcrank, on 02/04/2009, -0/+3Well, that's what happens when you send them back again and again to get shot at in a hostile land with very little break in between. "Support our troops" my ass. Bush never did.
- Feenix566, on 02/03/2009, -1/+4Here's a crazy outside-the-box idea for improving morale among the troops. How about if we bring them home so they can actually defend the country they signed up to defend, instead of defending every other country on the planet? I know, that's crazy, right? I must be some kind of wacko isolationist to say something like that...
- digger0007, on 02/03/2009, -0/+3The sad truth is that the official rate reported here is far from the painful reality of suffering that many soldiers have to endure with PTSD.
The sad truth is that for the past eight years, the Bush administration either ignored it or actively suppressed it to defend their strategic mistakes in the war on terror.
The sad truth is that hundreds and thousands of soldiers did not have to die with despair and hopelessness thinking they failed their country when their country failed them.
The sad truth is that even now, with a new president who cares, a new secretary of veteran affairs who is a real soldier, the country and the bureaucracy is still mired in the lies and delusions that kept these suffering soldiers from the care that they need, that they deserve, that they earned.
How long before justice is served? - sylvanpine, on 02/03/2009, -0/+3All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do. -Leo Tolstoy
- itsthemechanic, on 02/04/2009, -0/+3What? Signing up to kill people isn't spiritually fulfilling? No *****, Sherlock!
- inactive, on 02/03/2009, -2/+5"surpassed the civilian suicide rate"? Am I the only one that assumed it would always be higher than the civilian rate?
- Zaraexist, on 02/04/2009, -0/+3Actually, the whole country's suicide rate has been slightly increasing for the last four years and the military rate is merely a by-product of that. There is nothing special to be said about the military at all in this regard.
The military's ratio of suicides very rarely departs from the national average by more than a point or two.
As it stands the countries ratio is about 21.5 people in 100,000 whilst the military is 20 in 100,000. - z00k, on 02/03/2009, -0/+3If you're referring to the difference between a Marine and a Soldier then whatever, you can think what you want.
If you're saying that a person is better because they have a different job or if they're an admin or something that leaves them stateside and they're not like they're deployed friends, then you are wrong. Every job can get you deployed unless you physically have orders to not be deployed due to your "Essential" status state side. - MelissaOfTroy, on 02/03/2009, -1/+4I wish there was something I could do for them.
New vets are without a doubt the most disenfranchised group in the US right now. Their daily life consisted for months or years of witnessing killing and brutality, sometimes directed at them, sometimes perpetuated by them. They are fighting a very unpopular and unnecessary war and maybe a lot of them are unable to reconcile their conscience to their actions. They may feel that because their acquaintances don't support the war, they don't support the troops. If I were a soldier I probably wouldn't want to discuss my war experiences with people who don't agree with the reason I was there.
But to top it off, their government doesn't support them either. Veterans rights have been slashed time and time again. The powers that be never seemed to care about the indivisual soldiers-remember Dick Cheney's "so?" interview in which he was completely cavalier and uninterested when asked about troop casualties? Those who sent them to fight see them as expendable, they are losing health insurance, can't get jobs, and I'm sure a lot of them do not morally agree with the war they've fought in. It's little wonder suicides are up.
I've been against this war from the start but have nothing but respect and compassion for those who put their lives at risk every day. - Tuto, on 02/03/2009, -1/+3Why do you have respect for those who are fighting a war that can be considered illegal? I have much more respect for those who are able to think for them selfs and decide are they doing the right thing, instead of just going out and killing things because somebody commands them to do it.
- sangjmoon, on 02/03/2009, -0/+2Loss of motivation and purpose is often at the root of suicides. The additional stress of active duty push mental weaknesses higher. Along with the explosions and bullets are the long stretches of boredom where people are forced to dwell on internal problems. The feeling that their own country and president doesn't support what they are doing doesn't help.
- Velvolver, on 02/03/2009, -0/+2Maybe if women weren't triflin skanks it wouldn't be a problem.
- BotchaMcCoola, on 02/03/2009, -0/+2People feel bad about themselves when they are not doing something useful. Even worse if they are damaging their own country financially and economically.
- bagadoritos, on 02/03/2009, -0/+2Thank you for pointing that out, Rugger11...
I'm an Army platoon leader and I promise you, we do everything we can to prevent this at the command level and above. We have suicide awareness & prevention briefings twice a year and have chaplains and free psychological assistance through militaryonesource or its free through Tricare.
We had a suicide in our company this year. A teenage girl who had just come back from Basic Training. Folks, the "rate" is going up because the standards are going down. Most of these poor souls should not have ever been allowed to "waiver" in to the military in the first place.
You want to knock the military, go ahead. But you should really get you facts straight. Its the irresponsible pursuit of recruitment numbers that lower the threshold and pressure recruiters into allowing mentally unstable, and at times mentally challenged, people through that should be called to task.
If you really care about soldiers, and not just looking for another opportunity to go hyperbolic on the former Bush administration, call your Congressman about THAT. - Velvolver, on 02/03/2009, -0/+2The people put into these situations for the most part can't possibly imagine the horrors of war they'll experience or what it really is to face your mortality on a daily basis. If the news didn't filter out what a bullet really does to a human face then maybe people would be a lot less pro-war.
The people that start these wars don't ever have to experience this suffering. Shine light on these pigs. - DustoMan, on 02/03/2009, -0/+2There are some things that you can do. Volunteer at your local VA. Donate time and money to the USO. Mental health problems with Soldiers returning from deployment are very common. Almost all of them get PTSD in some form or another. If you know a Soldier returning home, encourage them to make sure they visit the VA 3-6 months after returning. And not to lie on their Post-Deployment Health Survey. The VA is there to assist all Soldiers and also are very understanding and supportive of them.
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