Denial in the Corpse (not a misspelling)

[genie_weenie]

Another tale of a young man broken by war, ignored by the government and left to take his own life...

From the http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020208Z.shtml">Truthout Article:

According to civilian and military defense lawyers, mental health professionals and veterans' advocates, the trajectory of James Jenkins's postdeployment life, with untreated PTSD leading to misconduct and then punishment, is all too common in the Marine Corps. A marine endures one, two, even three tours in Iraq, serves honorably and well, but returns suffering from combat trauma and starts to drink or abuse drugs or becomes violent at home, and suddenly finds himself ostracized, punished and drummed out of the Corps with an other-than-honorable or bad-conduct discharge.

[Annces]

1. It is so awful what

the young soldiers endure. Last week there was the story of the young woman who tried to commit suicide and then they wanetd to court-martial her for trying to commit suicide and she tried a 2nd time. Because of news coverage, they dropped the charges.

[gratuitous]

2. I search the recruitment brochures

Odd, the military doesn't mention this as one of the benefits of signing up at all. Don't they know that they're giving 17- and 18-year-olds a badly distorted pictures of what the military can be like? Aren't they aware of the latest neurological studies that show that human brains don't complete some critical frontal lobe development until a person is in his or her early 20s? As a result, these young people don't have the mental tools necessary to evaluate a two, five or eight year commitment?

Why does our society let the military recruit such vulnerable people?

[genie_weenie]

3. The military indoctrination program is designed

to convince Young American males (mainly) they will be Chuck Norris - bad asses, learning and using high tech gadgets, making competitive wages, with excellent health care, whom DD breasted young women want to fuck at every opportunity.

[truedelphi]

6. My father was an ancient twenty seven year old when he showed

Up to fight the Germans in WWII.

He said that even before he got a stripe or two on his shoulder, the younger men listened to him and asked him for advice. (This guy was not much of a bragger, he was trying to tell me something about military service.)

He was not surprised when we lost in Vietnam - where the average person was only nineteen.

"Younger adults oppose orders they should follow and follow an order they should oppose."

BTW he continually lost the stripes on his arm - one day he'd do something heroic and get promoted. The next day he'd refuse to order his men up a hill just to get a flag down. "No one in my platoon is losing their life for a flag!" His other Army buddies were of a similar age and had similar stories to tell.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

4. I'm amazed they're not fragging their officers on the way out the door.

Of course, we simply may not be hearing about it... :shrug:

[genie_weenie]

5. I'm amazed at how the Warmongers (FREEper Types) can claim to support

the troops while ignoring the growing number of suffering veterans (homeless, PTSD, etc). I wonder if those who champion the war but have no intention of going anywhere near it must consider those Vets who come home mentally damaged as wimps or cowards...