Without getting overly political, it is heartbreaking to see soldiers eyeing suicide as a way out of service. The big problem is that there is a finite amount of military personnel that continually get deployed into more and more theaters of combat. So the onus of fighting these wars falls on them and their families, while the majority of us(myself included) happily chuch along in our lives.
When and if these wars end, there will be a large contingent of returning soldiers that will need assistance with injuries, PTSD, disabilities and just adjustment to civilian life. Judging by the increase of recent suicides of many soldiers, I would speculate that we have a long way to go to fully understand and treat this problem.
@MattC: Had there been a draft, we would have been out of Iraq years ago and we'd be out of Afghanistan around now.
That the non-military segment of our country-- you and me-- made absolutely no sacrifices whatsoever in the last decade is incredible.
In addition to the multiple deployments, better armor and medicine mean soldiers are surviving (and witnessing) more horrific injuries than Vietnam. Those images and memories are impossible to erase.
Without getting overly political, it is heartbreaking to see soldiers eyeing suicide as a way out of service. The big problem is that there is a finite amount of military personnel that continually get deployed into more and more theaters of combat. So the onus of fighting these wars falls on them and their families, while the majority of us(myself included) happily chuch along in our lives.
ReplyDeleteWhen and if these wars end, there will be a large contingent of returning soldiers that will need assistance with injuries, PTSD, disabilities and just adjustment to civilian life. Judging by the increase of recent suicides of many soldiers, I would speculate that we have a long way to go to fully understand and treat this problem.
@MattC: Had there been a draft, we would have been out of Iraq years ago and we'd be out of Afghanistan around now.
ReplyDeleteThat the non-military segment of our country-- you and me-- made absolutely no sacrifices whatsoever in the last decade is incredible.
In addition to the multiple deployments, better armor and medicine mean soldiers are surviving (and witnessing) more horrific injuries than Vietnam. Those images and memories are impossible to erase.