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Tue 7 Oct, 2003 11:27 am
IN IRAQ, IN UNIFORM, AND IN TURMOIL
U.S. News and Report
"Suicide attempts in the military frequently represent manipulative behavior to avoid combat or simply to go home."
-- An excerpt from a recent article in Military Medicine
According to the most recent Pentagon figures, Operation Iraqi Freedom as of September 25 had claimed the lives of 309 U.S. troops. Of those, 196 were killed in action or as a result of wounds suffered in action. The rest died from what's called the "fog of war"--often mundane things like traffic accidents, injuries, and illnesses. Also included in the fog, but not often mentioned, are 10 service members--nine Army, one a marine--who have committed suicide or, in military parlance, whose cause of death was "self-inflicted." Fifteen other deaths are still being investigated as possible suicides.
The military is trying to determine why these soldiers gave up hope:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15504a87344a170716372a3
Maybe some have realised that they've been part of a monstrous crime perpertrated by a madman?
Guilt. The gift that even if you don't have it, someone will give it to you.
Maybe the suicides can be explained because these soldier have a firsthand experience with death so it doesn't seem so shocking?
This seems pretty telling, BBB.
Quote: In the year 2000, suicide was the second-leading cause of death in the military, and it's always in the top three. By contrast, suicide does not even appear in the 10 leading causes of death in the general population. But that overall statistic masks facts more telling from the military's point of view. For example, for men it is the eighth-leading cause of death. And it's the third-leading cause of death among males who are 15 to 24 years old--double the rate of the general population.
Alarmed Army probes soldier suicides
Posted 10/13/2003 1:31 AM
Army probes soldier suicides
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
Alarmed by the number of suicides among soldiers in Iraq, the Army has asked a team of doctors to determine whether the stress of combat and long deployments is contributing to the deaths.
"The number of suicides has caused the Army to be concerned," said Lt. Col. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, a psychiatrist at the Army's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. Ritchie is helping to investigate the suicides in Iraq. "Is there something different going on in Iraq that we really need to pay attention to?" (Related story: Soldier's suicide shocks Pa. town)
In the past seven months, at least 11 soldiers and three Marines have committed suicide in Iraq, military officials say. That is an annual rate of 17 per 100,000. The Navy also is investigating one possible suicide. And about a dozen other Army deaths are under investigation and could include suicides.
The numbers suggest the rate in Iraq is above normal. Last year, the military services reported 8 to 9 suicides per 100,000 people. The Army rate is usually higher, 10 to 13 per 100,000. That mirrors the rate for the same age group in the general population.
Army officials caution against drawing general conclusions based on small changes. But they sent a mental-health team to Iraq last month to study various issues, including suicides and treatment available for soldiers suffering from depression. Dispatched by the Army surgeon general's office, the team consists of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and the manager of the Army's suicide-prevention program. The team has surveyed 700 soldiers and held discussions in which GIs were encouraged to talk freely.
"They are ... looking at the stresses on the troops, how well the troops are coping and how well the basic principles of battlefield psychiatry are working," Ritchie said.
Most of the suicides have occurred since May 1, after major combat operations were declared ended. Experts say harsh and dangerous living conditions combined with a long deployment can worsen existing depression. And the accessibility of weapons in a war zone can quickly turn a passing thought into action. "It just takes a second to pull it out and put it to your head and pull the trigger," Ritchie said.
The Army has sent 478 soldiers home from Iraq for mental-health issues. Officials say that in previous wars, many of those cases would have been treated in the war zone. The Army doesn't have enough mental-health resources in Iraq to treat many of the cases.
The Army responded to a 26% increase in active-duty suicides from 1997 to 1999 by implementing the suicide-prevention program in 2001.
Piffka wrote:Guilt. The gift that even if you don't have it, someone will give it to you.
Maybe the suicides can be explained because these soldier have a firsthand experience with death so it doesn't seem so shocking?
This seems pretty telling, BBB.
Quote: In the year 2000, suicide was the second-leading cause of death in the military, and it's always in the top three. By contrast, suicide does not even appear in the 10 leading causes of death in the general population. But that overall statistic masks facts more telling from the military's point of view. For example, for men it is the eighth-leading cause of death. And it's the third-leading cause of death among males who are 15 to 24 years old--double the rate of the general population.
In Oz, suicide is the LEADING cause of death in males 18 to 35. Overtook car accidents last year.
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