- Thread Starter
- #21
Anyone who has ever used the words, "I support the troops, but..." deserves to be butt stroked.
I didn't use those words.
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Anyone who has ever used the words, "I support the troops, but..." deserves to be butt stroked.
When I think of soldiers and PTSD, I usually think of soldiers that were in the thick of it, getting shot at or in constant vigilance for IEDs. In light of the US drone attacks that have lead to the deaths of possibly thousands of innocent men, women, and children around the globe over the last several years, I can't help but wonder if a drone operators a half a world away from any real danger could also develop PTSD. I thought they had pretty cushy jobs, but what they do must eat at some of them as the body counts add up. I hope their mental health needs aren't dismissed simply because they may have never been "in theater."
When I think of soldiers and PTSD, I usually think of soldiers that were in the thick of it, getting shot at or in constant vigilance for IEDs. In light of the US drone attacks that have lead to the deaths of possibly thousands of innocent men, women, and children around the globe over the last several years, I can't help but wonder if a drone operators a half a world away from any real danger could also develop PTSD. I thought they had pretty cushy jobs, but what they do must eat at some of them as the body counts add up. I hope their mental health needs aren't dismissed simply because they may have never been "in theater."
The rate of deployments is way up.
The threat of IEDs and other unexpected attacks is nerve-wracking.
The popular support for the wars is low.
All of this is bad for the troops' morale and mental state.
As cuts in military personnel ramp up I can see Vet suicides going up. The military is making good people get out not allowing people to reenlist. If your not ready and don't have a plan or a job ready combined with a feeling the mkitary turned its back on you I can see people giving up.
I think its worse now. people that plan to reenlist put in the paperwork only to be told a few months before there EAS date that they cant reenlist. Shock to the system making things worse.You bring up really good point here regarding the military cuts that are going on. I've said for years that the military really doesn't do a good job at preparing members for that transition back into the civilian workforce. It's better than what it was, but it's still no where near the level that it should be. Granted there is some ownership on the members being separated to take charge of their careers and plan for that day, but overall the military needs to continue to improve in the transition assistance area.
I think its worse now. people that plan to reenlist put in the paperwork only to be told a few months before there EAS date that they cant reenlist. Shock to the system making things worse.
I saw alot of that when I was active duty years ago as well, I saw a lot of good troops denied reenlistment which was a crying shame. It's also becoming an issue with the reserves (at least in the Air Force), they seem to be kicking out folks left and right around here. I'm actually relieved that I retired recently, the higher ups on my base here have really lost track of taking care of their folks and it's a trend that I'm noticing at other bases as well and I don't see it improving any time soon with the draw downs in personnel.
You bring up really good point here regarding the military cuts that are going on. I've said for years that the military really doesn't do a good job at preparing members for that transition back into the civilian workforce. It's better than what it was, but it's still no where near the level that it should be. Granted there is some ownership on the members being separated to take charge of their careers and plan for that day, but overall the military needs to continue to improve in the transition assistance area.
Yeah one of the guys we just hired was telling me he had 12 years in the Navy. I asked why he got out he was over half done he said it wasnt his choice. Even with a letter of recomndation from an Admiral he said they put everyones name in the computer that want to reenlist and it pick randomly the number of people allowed and he wasnt picked.
Yeah one of the guys we just hired was telling me he had 12 years in the Navy. I asked why he got out he was over half done he said it wasnt his choice. Even with a letter of recomndation from an Admiral he said they put everyones name in the computer that want to reenlist and it pick randomly the number of people allowed and he wasnt picked.
Just for the sake of curiosity, what can the military do other than what is authorized by congress? And what can the military do period? If you are talking about PTSD, wouldn't that better be handled by the VA? Not trying to be confrontational, just curious how you see it.
I personally don't have a whole lot of faith in the VA myself, both from my own personal experience with an injury, but I've spoken with a number of folks that have returned from deployments that have very negative experiences from the treatment they recieved from the VA. To answer your question, I'm not 100 percent sure what exactly the military can do additionally, but it just seems to me that as the suicide rate has been increasing they (the military) needs to seriously readdress their tactics in regards to that subject. I'm not sure if outsourcing the care to another agency other than the VA is the answer or not.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/us/chris-kyle-american-sniper-author-reported-killed.html?_r=0HOUSTON — From his perch in hide-outs above battle-scarred Iraq, Chris Kyle earned a reputation as one of America’s deadliest military snipers. The Pentagon said his skills with a rifle so terrorized Iraqi insurgents during his four tours of duty that they nicknamed him the “Devil of Ramadi” and put a bounty on his head.
The insurgents never collected, and he returned home to become a best-selling author and a mentor to other veterans, sometimes taking them shooting at a gun range near his Texas home as a kind of therapy to salve battlefield scars, friends said. One such veteran was Eddie Ray Routh, a 25-year-old Marine who had served tours in Iraq and Haiti.
But on Saturday, far from a war zone, Mr. Routh turned on Mr. Kyle, 38, and a second man, Chad Littlefield, 35, shortly after they arrived at an exclusive shooting range near Glen Rose, Tex., about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth, law enforcement authorities said Sunday. The officials said that for reasons that were still unclear, Mr. Routh shot and killed both men with a semiautomatic handgun before fleeing in a pickup truck belonging to Mr. Kyle.
I don't know how it is with others countries services but here the ones least likley to manage in civvy street are the soldiers. In the RAf and Navy you have a trade that is useful for when you come out, you have to have educational qualifications to get in and gather more as you serve. These two services also allow considrable leeway into what their people do outside work and allow them huge responsibilities within work. In the army by it's very nature this doesn't happen, you rarely need qualifications to join, you don't actually need to be literate or numerate as the army will teach you. If soldiers have a medical/dental appointment it's put on orders and the NCO makes sure they go, in the other two services it's your responsibility to go as it would be in civvy street. If you experience financial, legal or any other type of problem the army will sort it out for you, the RAF and the Navy frown on you if you get into trouble as you are expected to sort this yourself, they will give help but you will not be thought much of. All this means when it comes time for demob whether voluntary or on redundancy the RAF and Navy can already sort life out for themselves, the soldiers mostly cannot. All have a time of resettlement training but it can't make up for as much as 22 years in the army of having everything done for you. Soldiers are by no means stupid, under educated most likely ( but what government wants thinking soldiers!) but are treated as children in many respects. When they are demobbed many feel they have landed in a foreign country where they can't under the langauge, money or housing etc. They get very lost, add to that the lack of camaraderie, lack of security, the very different sense of humour civvies have coupled with being unable and often unwilling to speak of their war experiences many take to drink and drugs and follow the inevitable slide down to hell.
With the huge number of War Vets now being phased out of the military do you think more of this will happen?
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/us/chris-kyle-american-sniper-author-reported-killed.html?_r=0