terrifying.
The US Army announced last week that 24 soldiers are thought to have committed suicide in January. That's six times the number of suicides in January of 2008. More than 30% of service men and women seek out psychological help after deployment, in spite of existing stigmas. For comparison, 16 Army personnel were lost in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq this January. A senior Army official reporting these numbers characterized them as "terrifying".
And it is. And it's our young people. And we are ruining them to preserve and protect a status quo, a bygone value system, and an imaginary economic dominance. Do any of us even know anymore if they are supposed to be protecting us or we are supposed to be protecting them?
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Both. It's a two way street...
ReplyDeleteWe, as a nation, have consistently failed our veterans. From the Korean conflict to the present day, the US Gov't and to a large part, it's citizens, have ignored or denied the suffering of it's troops involved in conflict. It is a cripplingly sad situation, and you are brave and good person to bring it to light even in a small way.
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