Veteran Suicide
Seems to me our brother and sisters are going threw real struggles. Why are veteran committing suicide at a all time high compared to civilians. Is it the Drugs that the VA is prescribing were the side effects are suicide. Is it the broken system that makes you wait years for service. I was at the New VA in Mishawaka, Indiana were a veteran took his own life. All I have in my head from yesterday is the police car and the police tape. I left pissed off and angry. This shouldn't be happening in America. We have more veterans dying at VA across the nation than in battle. I had a issiue with the VA and asked to speak to the director. I was told they dont have a open door policy. Even Walmart has a open door policy. If you don't listen to your vets you'll never accomplish anything and change will never take place
Glad you could drop in again, Mr. Bear, in your usual ghostly fashion! You certainly are a strong advocate for veterans, a noble cause for sure!
The VA is has been, and continues to be under assault from the private for profit cartel whose only desire is to turn the VA into a cash cow paid for by the taxpayers.
Veteran suicides? Too many to be sure. However, the Mid-East Wars have been going on for nearly a generation and their inception was based on lies and fraud. Too many soldiers made an honorable sacrifice only to learn that in the end game the only ones that benefitted were the war profiteers and certain people who wore their service on their sleeve and did whatever they could to assure that the wars continue.
I have no problem with my local VA. It is efficient, caring and ready to help at a moments notice. Waiting periods? No.
Vietnam Veteran.
Mid-East wars - Iraq - U. S. involvement from 1990 - 2011 - 21 years. Still have military presence in country. Afghanistan - 2001 - present - 18 years.
Why?
Nephew, Army Tank driver, 7 tours to Mid-East - concussion, broken back, ribs, legs, hips, arms from 6 IED's - medically discharged with huge PTSD and TBI issues. VA just couldn't "find space" for his treatment. Has developed Type 4 Colon Cancer and isn't expected to live past 12/31 of this year.
Has he considered suicide? Yer dam right he has - numerous times due to the lack of support from the VA and U. S. government - even the community is shunning him 'cause he's "one of those". But, he has a strong support group in his family.
I admire and pray for him daily.
Most of my clients are vets with mental health issues and I have had to a lot of research and writing about what goes on with them. I see a few things:
Moral injuries and difficulties readjusting to civilian life. The fundamental thing that military training has to do is take someone who knows that killing is wrong and turn them into someone who will kill without hesitation. And it's not just killing. War can require the soldier to do a lot of things as survival techniques that would be illegal or immoral in civilian life.
The military has become incredibly efficient at this programming. Studies show that in World War II, you might get half of a group to fire on the enemy when ordered. Today that number is 99% or higher. However, they put little or no effort into deprogramming people. I don't expect perfection, but the military has known something about how to help people readjust since the late 40s but they don't use that information.
Multiple deployments. Certainly plenty of people served more than one tour in Vietnam, but multiple deployments have occurred since 2003 at a rate we have not seen before. That matters, because multiple deployments dramatically increase the likelihood of PTSD and related mental health issues. The deployments are also often much longer than expected.
TBI and physical injuries. The rates of Traumatic Brain Injury are about 4 times what we saw in previous generations. The reason for this, ironically, is superior armor and medicine. Modern technology (especially helmets, armor, and medicine) means that soldiers who might have died on the battlefield in previous generations, survive today and come home with brain injuries or chronic pain that gets them hooked on opiates. All of that can radically impact mental health and behavior.
I agree with most of your comment Tacos....As a veteran who served two tours in Nam and a son who is a 100% disabled Marine vet with TBI and right leg and arm paralyzed and multiple emotional problems due to the TBI is something that he and has to live with every day. It is also difficult for our family and himself since he lives alone a couple of miles from us.
He has been well served by the VA and has a excellent advocate in the DAV.
And yes, it scares the hell out of me that he could commit suicide.
The multiple combat tours being served by our military today isn't acceptable and we can see the effects of this every single damn day.
I will also add this. War based on lies and waged for profit will always have unforeseen and unintended consequences. The worst, when our 'volunteer Army' becomes mercenaries for the industry of war.
I think about it every day.