AlterNet: Journalist Tells Congress About Suicide Epidemic Among Vets

[marmar]

Journalist Tells Congress About Suicide Epidemic Among Vets

By Penny Coleman, AlterNet. Posted January 2, 2008.

A testimony at congressional hearings in response to increasingly ominous reports of soldier and veteran suicides.




On Dec. 12, at 10 in the morning, I was sitting in room 345 of the Cannon House Office Building, as Rep. Bob Filner called to order the Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on "Stopping Suicides: Mental Health Challenges Within the Department of Veterans Affairs."

The hearings were in response to increasingly ominous rumors of soldier and veteran suicides (which the DoD and the VA have continued to deny), culminating in the dramatic CBS News report about veteran suicides released in late November. Finally, an entity with some insider clout had produced some hard numbers that attest to an epidemic of monstrous proportions. Even so, the bad guys, like Dr. Ira Katz, who is head of mental health at the VA, quibble about whether or not this is "an epidemic" or a "major problem." "Why hasn't the VA done a national study seeking national data on how many veterans have committed suicide in this country?" Katz was asked by the CBS reporter. "That research is ongoing," Katz replied, looking a lot like Lucy promising not to snatch the football away again.

So, on Dec. 12, I and three other citizens found ourselves scheduled for the morning panel: Mike and Kim Bowman, whose son Tim, a veteran of the Iraq war, took his own life a year ago; Ilona Meagher, author of Moving a Nation to Care; and me -- all of us, by the way, suicide survivors. We were to be followed by a second panel consisting of Katz and fellow apologists, who were supposed to eviscerate the CBS report and skewer us with their conflicting numbers. Without, of course, appearing callous, slimy or cruel.

Mike Bowmen spoke first, his wife Kim sitting beside him. Kim didn't speak, but kept her hand on Mike's back. It was such a simple gesture, but one that spoke volumes: Mike is capable of doing the talking, because Kim makes it possible. They are absolutely there for each other. And for their son's memory. And for all the other parents who have already -- or will someday -- have to find ways to survive a death like Tim's. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/72093/

[Demeter]

1. If It Isn't a War Crime, It Ought to Be!

There is no bottom to the shamelessness of BushCo.

[Echo In Light]

2. Delivering so much "freedom" a la guns and bombs has to eventually...

Diminish the brainwashing soldiers endure when they enlist. Reality sets in quick for some, or, like a Navy SEAL I used to work with, they remain inordinately macho, unstable and prone to violence throughout their lives.