Most U.S. soldiers in Iraq say morale is low, plunging from a year previous, according to an
Army report. Suicides are down, but as many as 15-20% have symptoms of serious disorders. The stress level seems particularly high among National Guard and Reserve troops, most of whom don't feel they are adequately trained. A significant factor seems to be the
year-long tours, up from 6 months previously.
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Wednesday's report said the number of suicides in Iraq and Kuwait declined from 24 in 2003 to nine last year.
The overall assessment said 13 percent of soldiers in the most recent study screened positive for a mental health problem, compared with 18 percent a year earlier. Symptoms of acute or post-traumatic stress remained the top mental health problem, affecting at least 10 percent of all soldiers checked in the latest survey.
In the anonymous survey, 17 percent of soldiers said they had experienced moderate or severe stress or problems with alcohol, emotions or their families. That compares with 23 percent a year earlier.
National Guard and Reserve soldiers who serve in transportation and support units suffered more than others from depression, anxiety and other indications of acute psychological stress, the report said. These soldiers have often been targets of the insurgents' lethal ambushes and roadside bombs...
Only 55 percent of National Guard support soldiers said they have "real confidence" in their unit's ability to perform its mission... And only 28 percent of the Guard troops rated their level of training as high...
The report said 54 percent of soldiers rated their units' morale as low or very low. The comparable figure in a year-earlier Army survey was 72 percent.
Recently an increase in the divorce rate among officers deployed to Iraq was reported.
"The trend is severest among officers. Last year, 3,325 Army officers' marriages ended in divorce -- up 78% from 2003, the year of the Iraq invasion, and more than 3 1/2 times the number in 2000, before the Afghan operation, Army figures show. For enlisted personnel, the 7,152 divorces last year were 28% more than in 2003 and up 53% from 2000. During that time, the number of soldiers has changed little."
Psychological/psychiatric sequelae of the war are the silent elephants in the hospital room reserved for our casualties (but not yet financed by President Flightsuit).
EVEN WITHOUT BOMBS OR SHOTS, MORE OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BEING DISABLED EVERY DAY.