This is hideous: "Post-war Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths" - we must end this madness.

[99th_Monkey]

Post-War Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths, U.S. Says (Update1)

By Avram Goldstein

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- The number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government's top psychiatric researcher said.

Community mental health centers, hobbled by financial limits, haven't provided enough scientifically sound care, especially in rural areas, said Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He briefed reporters today at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in Washington.

Insel echoed a Rand Corporation study published last month that found about 20 percent of returning U.S. soldiers have post- traumatic stress disorder or depression, and only half of them receive treatment. About 1.6 million U.S. troops have fought in the two wars since October 2001, the report said. About 4,560 soldiers had died in the conflicts as of today, the Defense Department reported on its Web site.

Based on those figures and established suicide rates for similar patients who commonly develop substance abuse and other complications of post-traumatic stress disorder, ``it's quite possible that the suicides and psychiatric mortality of this war could trump the combat deaths,'' Insel said.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, known as PTSD, is the failure to cope after a major shock, such as an auto accident, a rape or combat, Insel said. PTSD may remain dormant for months or years before it surfaces, and in about 10 percent of cases people never recover, he said.

Difficult to Predict

``We don't yet know how to predict who is going to be the person to be most concerned about,'' Insel said.

The Pentagon didn't dispute Insel's remark.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=a2_71Klo2vig&refer=home

[babylonsister]

1. 'Hideous' would be the correct word. Someone needs to figure

out why this is happening. Sounds like these people have nothing to live for. Could it be the stop-loss, the family problems, the PTSD? So very sad. Rec'd.

[TooBigaTent]

2. Just keeping the casualty figures down, one body at a time. And you will probably

hear how the rate is lower than in some US cities.

So, what's the problem? They are just replaceable resources.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. I love that "Support Our Troops" mantra

It was, I believe, designed to overcome the bad behavior that greeted some soldiers who returned from Vietnam. Now, it's quite proper, and even expected, that you'll "support our troops."

I support our troops.

I want them brought home as quickly as possible.

I want them taken care of like the government promised them.

That's how I support our troops.

[99th_Monkey]

7. Spot-on. The Right's hypocritical stance on this is so painfully obvious.

Gratefully, many voters are waking up to all this RW garbage.

[Blue_In_AK]

4. The stepsister of my husband's niece

committed suicide upon her return from Iraq just a few weeks ago. It's a tragedy upon a tragedy.

[99th_Monkey]

6. I'm so sorry.

my condolences to your family ... all these suicides really speak to me about how horrible it must be for our troops over there,
to be so hated by the Iraqis (who we're supposed to be "helping"), and to be exposed to so much bloodshed and all for such
extended periods of tome.

Thanks for letting us at DU know about this. :-(

[napi21]

5. Didn't anyone in the DOD anticipate that would happen when you

force multiple deployments on human beings? Last week I heard someone on TV talking about a soldier who was on his SEVENTH TOUR in Afghanastan!!!! I couldn 't believe my ears! I've heard of 3 & 4 but SEVEN?????

[flamin lib]

13. It depends on the type of unit. Regular army is currently 15 months,

Marines are 10 months and Special Ops are supposed to be six months. Each level of intensity of mission comes with a decrease in time in country. You can't cram 7 12-15 month tours into five years, but you can do it with successive six month tours.

Special Ops people are, well, special. They do things under conditions that would kill the average regular army soldier. It's a hard life, very few marriages survive it even under peacetime conditions (for the SOs there really isn't a peace time) and to put these people under those stresses in criminal and unconscionable.

[napi21]

15. You're right. I never thought to do the math! I can't even remember who's show

it was on. I was so stunned to hear 7 tours I just forgot everything else. To me, it's even WORSE sending the SO guys on so many tours. Both mentally & physically, it's much harder duty and there should be a mandatory restriction to how often & how many times these people can be deployed!

[1776Forever]

8. For anyone who didn't see this Bob Herbert NY Times wrote about death of Afgan Vet who went 7 times!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5804123&mesg_id=5804123

Shocking! How can we continue this mass destruction of our military!

http://bp0.blogger.com/_uwJAIW53WLg/R-6GUXln1QI/AAAAAAAAGhc/Cy9O9EL6U8Y/s400/Cheney+-+So.jpg

[napi21]

16. Thanks for posting this. I was just so stunned by the 7 deployments, I couldn't

recall where I heard it.

[flamin lib]

9. Hey, the VA has admitted that 6700 plus returning veterans committed

suicide in 2007. I'm no math whiz, but it seems to me that 6700 is more than 4500 and that's only one year.

CBS made the come clean after the chief mental health guy in the VA went before congress and said only 740 committed suicide in 2007. They found emails from Ira Katz to other high level VA types admitting he was told of 1000 attempts/month and telling everybody to keep quiet about it.

Snakes, all of 'em . . .

[99th_Monkey]

11. This speaks volumes about how horrid the conditions in Iraq must be,

and that the M$M keeps glossing over and ignoring.

[flamin lib]

12. It's not just the conditions, it that they're goning back over and over again

without time stateside to recover. In Nam about 10% of combat vets suffered PTSD on return. They usually served one 13 month tour. For Iraq the number is 30% and that's with the piss poor reporting the VA is doing. I would hazard a guess that for combat vets the number is probably closer to 70% depending on how many tours they did.

That shit never goes away and the demons only sleep so long . . .

[99th_Monkey]

14. Yes, of course. The non-stop exposure to/participating in bloodshed has to take a huge toll ~nt~

[TheUnspeakable]

10. a very sad k&r

[lonestarnot]

17. Hey bushitler likes it that way. No benefit payments that way.