Tough old soldier battles new enemy: Suicide epidemic

[unhappycamper]

Tough old soldier battles new enemy: Suicide epidemic
By Halimah Abdullah, McClatchy Newspapers
Stars and Stripes online edition, Sunday, January 31, 2010

WASHINGTON — Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Samuel Rhodes keeps pictures of the dead in his pockets.

They're the faces of young soldiers whose eyes stare out resolutely from photocopied pages worn and creased by the ritual of unfolding them, smoothing them flat and refolding them.

They're the faces of men who, haunted by problems at home or memories of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — the dead children, the fallen comrades and the lingering smell of burnt flesh — pressed guns to their heads and pulled the triggers or tied ropes with military precision and hanged themselves.

~snip~

Rhodes, 49, is among a small cadre of senior non-commissioned officers and officers who are opening up about their journeys back from the brink of suicide — efforts that top military commanders applaud as they battle a suicide epidemic. The open support from the military's uppermost ranks for openly discussing a topic long considered taboo is a revolution triggered largely by both greater awareness and pressure to curb record-high suicide rates.

This month, the Defense Department reported that there were 160 reported active-duty Army suicides in 2009, up from 140 in 2008. Of these, 114 have been confirmed, while the cause of death in the remaining 46 remains to be determined. The increase in military suicides includes men between the ages of 18 and 30, mid-career officers and, increasingly, women.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=67666

[old mark]

1. Rec. Send a copy of this article to George Bush. nt

[Mari333]

2. knr

wish the politicians cared. they dont. wish the so called corporations who call themselves people cared. they dont.
wish the US public cared. many dont.
i.e., if people dont see it, they dont think about it. or.
if people make MONEY off of corporate wars (and that is all they ARE) they dont care about soldiers.

knr and fuck the military industrial complex that runs this goddamned country.

[G_j]

3. K&R

[Vidar]

4. K&R.

[ensho]

5. I'm wondering if the pharma given to the troops is causing the suicides

its happening in the non military too

[Heidi]

6. Recommended.

:kick:

[G_j]

7. and nobody can possibly measure the effects on the families.

the ripples of these tragedies can and will effect generations.

[dhpgetsit]

8. Heartbreaking.

The wars are coming home.

[sharesunited]

9. With a rope, you might be able to change your mind prior to departure.

And it takes more planning. Less impulsive in a moment of despair.

[northofdenali]

10. I worked in a DFAC on Ft. Wainwright for 4 months.

We had 3 suicides of kids just returned from Iraq.

[amborin]

11. k&r how many rotations have some of these soldiers been on?

criminal!