No that headline is not a statement of opinion about the course of the war or Bush Administration policy. Sadly, it’s a statement that’s meant to be taken all too literally. According to a new study released by the Army, suicide rates among soldiers deployed in Iraq are at their highest rate since 2003.
With many troops on their second and third tours and no end in sight it’s not surprising that suicide rates are starting to rise. The military is stretched thin and can’t afford to keep many troops at home simply because they are suffering from depression. A sad fact is that many of those in the military that have gone AWOL or committed suicide could’ve finished their military careers and their lives had they been given the down time and counseling needed to recover from the trauma of war.
The war seems to have reached that critical point within the military where it’s no longer a war that takes its toll on other units and unlucky but fairly anonymous brothers in arms. Soldiers are finding that it’s not the guy from a friend of friend’s unit that was killed but the guy or gal they joked with, shared stories with, even fought and worked with on a daily basis.
According to the Army’s report, “Three out of four soldiers reported knowing someone killed or injured in combat last year or this year, compared with 69% in 2004.” Another, 55% worry about dying in a roadside explosion and the suicide rate for troops on deployment has almost doubled.
The more soldiers that are stop-lossed, the more tours with only a few months relief between them, and the worse civilian violence between Iraq’s Sunni and Shia populations get, the more trauma our soldiers will experience.
A write up of the Army’s report on suicides and mental health can be found here.
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