AP is reporting on a cluster of three suicides in Special Forces troops based at Fort Carson, Colo. returning home from Iraq.
The Army says there appears to be no connection between the men’s overseas service and their deaths, and Army investigators found no “common contributing cause” among the three. The fact they were in the same unit is only a coincidence…
The Army says its overall suicide rate in 2003 was 12.8 per 100,000 active-duty soldiers, while the rate in the general U.S. population was 10.5 per 100,000Special Forces soldiers specialize in what the Army calls “unconventional warfare” — commando raids, search-and-destroy missions, intelligence gathering. They go through specialized psychological screening. They also undergo rigorous physical training and learn survival techniques and other skills, including foreign languages….
Special Forces officials said the Colorado-based unit experienced heavy combat in Iraq. Two members were killed in the first half of 2004 — one by a roadside bomb, another in a vehicle rollover. Another member, former Staff Sgt. Georg-Andreas Pogany, was sent home and charged with cowardice when the sight of the mangled body of an Iraqi caused a panic attack and prompted him to ask for psychological help. Charges against Pogany were later dropped, and he received a medical discharge.
Part of the problem is lack of funding for effective prevention. But we already knew taking care of our troops isn’t a big priority for the Bush administration.
The Army says its overall suicide rate in 2003 was 12.8 per 100,000 active-duty soldiers, while the rate in the general U.S. population was 10.5 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
[Former Army Ranger and veterans’ advocate Steve] Robinson has been pushing military leaders to stop using paper questionnaires to screen for problems among returning soldiers and switch to face-to-face meetings with mental health professionals.
“There have been improvements, but it’s been like pulling teeth from a lion’s mouth to get the Department of Defense to do things they’re not willing to do because of the dollars,” he said.
Support our troops. Bring them home.
My brother worked for Ret. General Tommy Franks and saw all sorts of this stuff in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Quatar, you name it.
He committed suicide this year, the day after his “Mental Evaluation” or whatever they do. The claim that Replublicans support the military yet constantly vote to cut their benefits, including mental health assistance sickens me to the core.
Anyone supporting this administration needs to look beyond newsbites and talking points. All the information is there to see how much America has been abused and I hope our brave military forces start to more actively and openly question their mission. I appreciate every single one of you men and women, and you deserve better.
am deeply saddened by the loss of your brother randy and all the other folks were losing to this war of lies and oil.the problem here is that these people[if thats what we can call them]will deny the truth no matter the cost,whether its your brothers life our the ruin of our nation.the only thing they care about is their bottom line and how much they can screw out of the american public.on the upside it looks like they are begining to unravel rather quickly,excellent.much peace and respect to your brother and family randy.
I too am devastated by the loss of you brother, Randy. May God rest his soul.
I am an old Vietnam Vet; Naval Hospital Corps, and a one-time volunteer at Plowshares, in San Francisco, after I obtained my degree in psychology and a Doctorate in mental health.
We need to really be prepared for the young men and women who are and will be coming home. they will probably be in worse shape that the Vietnam Vets.
First off, my sympathies to you on the death of your brother.
Chaos and destruction are what BushCo is all about. As long as they can physically sequester themselves away from conflict, they have nothing to fear from U.S. citizens. The American populace could die off by the millions and it wouldn’t have that much effect on anyone with a pass to the Friends Of Bush Bunker.
Crazed soldiers kill off excess population. If you can get a bunch of mentally wounded soldiers behind some Philadelphioid idea of “cleansing” a neighborhood of “terrorists and criminal elements,” look out. All BushCo has to do is arm them and stand back. The killers can be eliminated later–some of them will eliminate themselves. Why worry about eminent-domain rights when you can just scorch the earth? Who’s got the shock and awe?
BushCo sure as hell DOESN’T need the labor or the infrastructure destroyed in such a process. There’s plenty of stored food for the interim. They’ll survive better than anyone thinks.
Iraq is just a dry run for the U.S.
I would look closely into that. They were probably murdered for what they knew.
Wow conspiracies, anti-bush propaganda. I knew someone was gonna say oil somewhere in there. The suicide rate is 2.8 per 100k higher because of hightened stress levels. Since the beginning of time soldiers have had to deal with mangled bodies, it comes with the job. If you flip burgers at McDonald’s and one day freak out because of some rotten buns you’ll probably get fired too. Soldiers deal with ALOT of stress, and that can lead to suicide. It’s not some master plan of the government to let ‘potential racial cleansers’ kill themselves by denying mental help….