I'm watching the Montel Williams show right now, and he stated that more troops returning from Iraq have committed suicide (about 6000) than the total number of troops killed in combat. I have not independenty verified this information and also do not know what the expected number of suicides would have been for a comparable group of individuals who had not engaged in combat, but I thought this number sounded staggering and worthy of discussion. On the show, they framed this number of suicides in terms of lack of proper health care (including mental health care) for returning troops. Anyone else have information or thoughts related to this issue? Discuss.

Some reference material a la Google:

http://www.reuters.com/article/domestic ... edType=RSS



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 873622.ece



It's important to note that not all veterans included in these statistics served in the Iraq war, but served in general. It has not been proven that this is a direct tie to military service. The reasons for joining the military could be the same reasons for someone wanting to kill themselves. Correlative Statistics.

I think we may be confusing cause and effect here. How many of them would have committed suicide anyway?

The suicide rate, in general, has been rising over time in westernized countries, especially in young males. Such rates are highest in young men between the ages of 17-24. Some of the the men may have killed themselves regardless of war but war is an unspeakable atrocity and I think the numbers simply reflect this particular war's effect on a human being. The high numbers don't completely shock me though. The soldiers are seeing the same atrocities veterans from other wars have seen but their length of stay has been extended and uncertain. When one is unable to see a future that is their own, it's far to easy to lose all hope, especially if mental health services are unavailable.

I definitely agree with uncertainty as playing a big role in the Iraq veteran suicide rate. I'm speaking both of the ambiguity inherent in the conflict itself and the uncertainty of healthcare and employment once returning home.

Imagine that, war has a profound effect on the psych. I'm glad we've finally established this trend in.

The question here is not if war has a profound effect on the psyche. That's a question that was answered long ago. The question is why is the suicide rate (and the rate of PTSD) higher for veterans of the Iraq war than for veterans of previous wars?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/ ... 6471.shtml

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/565407

I don't think currently that most of the people can live with killing other people, even if they are protecting themselves. That on top of seeing your peeps get shot or blow up right in front of you might play a factor in it also.

You would think that after playing GTA or other shoot to kill games that it would get people ready, I guess the real thing is just too real for some people sometimes.

PTSD is the worst state I've ever seen anyone in.

I think one of the biggest problems is alcohol though. These guys come back from Iraq and do nothing but drink; instead of having counseling that might make a difference, or just someone to talk to, they drown their memories in a bottle. It's almost expected for each and every soldier to get completely hammered, hell I've seen command sponsored drinking parties. They come back, get smashed, and go on some crazed drunken rampage covered in tears and it all gets brushed off as some guy drinking a little too much. These guys are getting kicked out for drinking too much, but is that really the problem?

It's a different military these days, as well. You don't see as many soldiers coming back and joining protests as there used to be, it's more polished. The DoD is more concerned about the image of their military than they are about the well being of the enlisted. There also used to be a much larger sense of community in the military, where real emotional troubles were shared openly and freely without fear of appearing like a pussy or becoming chastised. It's supposed to be the toughest most clean cut military in history. What's moral when you have the next pay-grade waving at you from behind a group of shattered soldiers you're supposed to bulldoze over?

I don't know... I did my four and I'm not looking back....