[dogwood]

the suicide rate among them is 19 a day (http://www.armytimes.com) see the article from 4-26-10 by Rick Maze

[EJ711]

Originally Posted by dogwood

the suicide rate among them is 19 a day (http://www.armytimes.com) see the article from 4-26-10 by Rick Maze

I love our veterans. Thank you for sharing that statistic. That is awful! I had no idea if was that high!

[NuckingFutz]

This is really pathetic! Creeps me out! Ack!

Worse yet, I read that approximately 40% take their life after returning from deployment. Makes me so upset that vets so often get treated as budget items.

[NuckingFutz]

You got that right. The military knows some deployed troops will never be the same. I think PSTD is a MAJOR issue that the military tries to sweep under the rug every chance they get. On average, if this article is on the up and up, we gave more veterans dying than "Operation Enduring Freedom" has claimed since 2001. I am not in awe but I sure am shocked. There are not enough programs and funding. PTSD affects our vets as well as their families and friends and anyone else they emotionally touch. Spent all day at the VA Hospital and the longest lines and the busiest department was the psych ward. This will have a rippling effect throughout the soldier's respective countries. The VA also does not treat the vet's families. On a more spirtual note, the weapons and what they can do to people, let's face it, our minds are just not equipped to deal with. Natural disasters happen, that's bad enough, we have to add our own distruction to the mix. And we do not seem to be learning that what we are doing isn't working.