More soldiers die of suicide than from combat

For the second year in a row, more soldiers die of suicide than from combat. As reported by Project Censored:

For the second year (2010) in a row, more US soldiers killed themselves (468) than died in combat (462). “If you… know the one thing that causes people to commit suicide, please let us know,” General Peter Chiarelli told the Army Times, “because we don’t know.” Suicide is a tragic but predictable human reaction to being asked to kill – and watch your friends be killed – particularly when it’s for a war based on lies.

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Erich Vieth

Erich Vieth is an attorney focusing on civil rights (including First Amendment), consumer law litigation and appellate practice. At this website often writes about censorship, corporate news media corruption and cognitive science. He is also a working musician, artist and a writer, having founded Dangerous Intersection in 2006. Erich lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his two daughters.

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  1. Avatar of Adam Herman
    Adam Herman March 5, 2012 Reply

    It’s not really just that. A lot of suicides are stateside and many happen in basic training. Homesickness, a sense of being trapped in a commitment you didn’t fully understand, the high stress nature of even peacetime military service for those unprepared for it…

    According to this article, about a third of suicides are in Iraq and Afghanistan, and things like legal and financial problems and failed relationships are the primary motivators:

    http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500257_162-3173570.html

    I think one of the solutions is simply that when people need to get out, they should be let out. The idea that once you’ve signed on the dotted line, you’re stuck, should be done away with. A lot of these kids are too young to know what they are getting into and the recruiters count on that. Most of them end up liking it anyway, or adjust to it, but for others, it’s just too much. Let ’em go.

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