The job will literally drive you to death if you return from your tour:
"Among active-duty troops, there has been an uptick in suicides this year. Among veterans from all of the nation’s wars, about 18 commit suicide
each day."
(Blog editor is stunned by that statistic)
"Suicide rate in military rises sharply" June 09, 2012
The
suicide rate among the nation’s active-duty military personnel has
jumped this year, eclipsing the number of troops dying in battle and on
pace to set a record annual high since the start of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan more than a decade ago, the Pentagon said Friday.
One heck of an "uptick."
Suicides
have increased even as the US military has withdrawn from Iraq and
stepped up efforts to provide mental health, drug and alcohol, and
financial counseling services.
It's no mystery. The soldiers have seen abominable atrocities committed in the name of lies. May have even committed some themselves. Living with a monster inside you is a tough thing.
The military said Friday that there
had been 154 suicides among active-duty troops through Thursday. The
figures were first reported this week by the Associated Press.
About one a day, huh -- meaning somewhere out there 17 other vets who will take their own lives today.
That
number represents an 18 percent increase over the 130 active duty
military suicides for the same period in 2011. There were 123 suicides
from January to early June in 2010, and 133 during that period in 2009,
the Pentagon said.
By contrast, there were 124 US military fatalities in Afghanistan as of June 1 this year, according to the Pentagon.
Veterans’ groups said Friday that the Pentagon had not done enough to
moderate the tremendous stress under which combat troops live, including
coping with multiple deployments.
A perfectly predictable outcome that was warned about by people who opposed all this crap.
--more--"
Also see: Suicide is the biggest foe for US troops
Veteran's Vigil
Sunday Globe Special: US Army F***ing With Vets' Minds
As I am told so often, things could be worse.
But help is on the way.
"Shelters set up to assist homeless female veterans" June 03, 2012|Annie Gowen, Washington Post
WASHINGTON
- Four years ago Veronica Witherspoon was stationed in Baghdad,
enduring roiling sandstorms and near-daily rocket fire as she worked as a
Navy petty officer at Camp Victory.
By January, she had left the
military, lost her job as a civilian contractor, split with her husband,
and ended up virtually homeless, bunking with family members. Deeply
ashamed of her predicament but desperate for a way out, she ran across a
story on a military website for a new program for female veterans
called Final Salute.
The
women-only shelter for veterans opened its doors in November in a quiet
cul-de-sac in suburban Fairfax County, Va. The group home, the
brainchild of an Army captain who was once homeless herself, is one of a
small but growing number of shelters that have opened up across the
country in recent years to cater to a rising number of female veterans
who have wound up on the streets after their military service.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has made strides in its five-year campaign to end veteran homelessness....
What a scandal for something they risked their lives to earn.
I've made my position on the matter quite clear: vets health and care is my first priority in the defense budget, even at the expense of empire and Israel's wars.
The VA acknowledged in the
report that there was an “acute’’ need to improve services for the
growing number of female veterans, because they are more likely to be
diagnosed with mental health problems, to have suffered sexual trauma
during their military service, and to have a greater risk of
homelessness than their male counterparts.
“We have a demographic
shift in the makeup of our fighting forces and it’s starting to appear
in homelessness,’’ said Daniel Bertoni, the GAO’s director of disability
issues....
I guess you really have come a long way, baby.
--more--"
FLASHBACK:
"Homelessness increasing for female veterans" Associated Press, April 09, 2012
WASHINGTON - Homelessness and economic struggles are escalating among female veterans, whose numbers have grown during the past decade of US wars while resources for them have not kept up.
Support the troops!
The population of female veterans without permanent shelter has more than doubled in the last half-dozen years and may continue climbing
now that the Iraq war has ended, sending women home with the same
stresses as their male counterparts - plus some gender-specific ones
that make them more susceptible to homelessness....
A new report from the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general
examining housing that receives VA grants found bedrooms and bathrooms
without locks, poorly lit hallways, and women housed in facilities approved for men only. Nearly a third of the 26 facilities reviewed did not have adequate safety precautions.
One female veteran and her 18-month-old son were placed in the same facility as a male veteran who was a registered sex offender.
Maybe you ladies wouldn't mind spending a night with General Carter. Maybe you will even get a kiss.
--more--"
Related: VA should accelerate plans to help female veterans avoid homelessness
Also see: Occupation Iraq: Mommy Court-Martial
In the Loving Arms of the AmeriKan Military
Women in the Military
The Greatly Troubled Generation
The Fighting Females of Camp Homeless
How little has changed, ladies.
