No Matter What You Feel They Want You to Stay

Posted on August 16, 2007 in Occupation of Iraq PTSD Suicide

The Army is trying to explain why its suicide rate is the highest in twenty six years, with Iraq being the most common deployment for victims.

The report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its scheduled release Thursday, found there were 99 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers during 2006, up from 88 the previous year and the highest number since the 102 suicides in 1991 at the time of the [[Persian Gulf War]].

No mention is made of hidden suicides, namely those which happen when an unhappy soldier exposes himself to enemy fire, something like suicide by cop. Later, the article reveals:

About a quarter of those who killed themselves had a history of at least one psychiatric disorder. Of those, about 20 percent had been diagnosed with a mood disorder such as [[bipolar disorder]] and/or depression; and 8 percent had been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, including [[post traumatic stress disorder]] _ one of the signature injuries of the conflict in Iraq.

The Army’s response to mood disorders seems to be give ’em a pep talk, pump ’em with [[Lithium_pharmacology|lithium]] or an [[SSRI]], and send ’em back out to fight.

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Army Suicide Awareness Site
Army Suicide Prevention Help Card (Microsoft Word)

The sites linked just above represent the Army’s approach to its suicide problem. “Never Accept Defeat” is the tagline of one of its suicide awareness posters. I think, herein, is the problem: [[Conscientious objector|men and women of conscience]] who oppose the war can’t go to their chaplain or medical officer. If they admit what is happening in their minds, they become defeatists or cowards. Perhaps suicide is their way of demonstrating that they are not cowards but troubled by the war? If so, the Army is not getting the nature of its problem nor honoring the freedom of belief that it is supposed to be protecting.

[tags]Army, suicide, mood disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, Iraq, Afghanistan, occupation of Iraq, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, military intelligence, mental illness[/tags]