I am reposting this diary because this issue is so important and others (TheWesternSun,Shanay) requested I do so.
From yesterdays diary:
I am not the most articulate person so forgive the grammatical errors. But this story broke my heart. As a vet, the daughter of a vet, wife of a vet, grand daughter and niece of vets from WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Iraqi Freedom I am particularly angered by this finding.
Yesterday per CNN:
The rate of suicides among-active duty soldiers is on pace to surpass both last year's numbers and the rate of suicide in the general U.S. population for the first time since the Vietnam war, according to U.S. Army officials.
Army officials said that if the trend continues this year, it will pass the nation's suicide rate of 19.5 people per 100,000, a 2005 figure considered the most recent by the government...
According to the VA, about 46 of 100,000 males between the ages of 18 and 29 utilizing VA services committed suicide in 2006, compared with about 27 the year before.
For female veterans in the same age group, about three in 100,000 killed themselves in 2006, compared with about eight per 100,000 in 2005.
CNN
As a American how dare we live in a nation that does not provide adequate mental health care services to our veterans.
These are articles about Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and service persons. All I have to say is we were warned...
2005
Almost 1,700 servicemembers returning from the war this year said they harbored thoughts of hurting themselves or that they would be better off dead. More than 250 said they had such thoughts "a lot." Nearly 20,000 reported nightmares or unwanted war recollections; more than 3,700 said they had concerns that they might "hurt or lose control" with someone else...
In October 2004, a federal panel of medical experts that studied illnesses of Gulf War veterans estimated that one in seven suffer war-related health problems.
Benson said the percentage of troops back from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with health issues is close to the portion of former servicemembers coming to the VA for mental health or medical care. He says 101,000 of the 431,000 war vets who have separated from the military, or about 23%, have sought help.
USA Today
2006
According to a American Medical Association Study:
Answers provided by soldiers in the post-deployment survey showed that 19.1% of those returning from Iraq reported mental problems, compared with 11.3% of those returning from Afghanistan and 8.5% of those returning from other overseas postings, mostly in noncombat areas.
By the end of the first year, 35% of Iraq veterans had sought mental care. A portion of those, 12% of the total, were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or another serious disorder.
According to a officer interviewed in this article:
"I had 38 guys under my command. One shot himself in the leg to go home. Seven of them got divorces, one is in a mental institution, and one took his own life a few months after he got back," he said. "Not everyone comes home with post-traumatic stress disorder, but no one comes home unchanged."
LA Times
2007
November 6, 2007 (Washington, DC) — Estimates of the rate of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans returning from Iraq range from 12% to 20%. With deployment topping 1.5 million this summer, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) having treated more than 52,000 persons, the greatest effect of those mental health issues has yet to be experienced...
"A study of the first 100,000 [Iraq and Afghanistan] veterans seen at VA facilities showed that 25% of them received mental health diagnoses. Of these, 56% had 2 or more mental health diagnoses. The most common were PTSD, substance abuse, and depression," Dr. Kanter said. "The younger the veterans are, the more likely they are to have mental health conditions."
Med Scape
Fact:Did you know that 17 veterans of all wars commit suicide every day. That means approximately 120 veterans kill themselves each month.
Source:Alter Net
The rates of suicide of veterans is so bad that in a November 2007 investigative report by CBS, CBS called the high rate of suicides of veterans of all wars an "epidemic".
Remember they tried to cover this up in the past. I would not be surprised if the numbers were higher.
The e-mails, uncovered as part of a class-action lawsuit filed against the VA in San Francisco, was reported by CBS News on Monday.
"Our suicide-prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities," Katz wrote in a Feb. 13 e-mail to Ev Chasen, the department's communication director. "Is this something we should [carefully] address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?"
Seattle Times
Please check out the story of Jonathan Schulze. He is one of our heroes that fell through the cracks. He was told to wait for mental healthcare that was owed to him. Here is a excerpt from the article:
Family and friends had convinced him at last that the devastating mental wounds he brought home from war, wounds that triggered severe depression, violent outbursts, and eventually an uncontrollable desire to kill himself, could not be drowned in alcohol or treated with the array of antianxiety drugs he'd been prescribed.
And so, with his father and stepmother at his side, he confessed to an intake counselor that he was suicidal. He wanted to be admitted to a psychiatric ward.
But, instead, he was told that the clinician who prescreened cases like his was unavailable. Go home and wait for a phone call tomorrow, the counselor said, as Marianne Schulze, his stepmother, describes it.
When a clinical social worker called the next day, Jonathan, 25, told again of his suicidal thoughts and other symptoms. And then, with his stepmother listening in, he learned that he was 26th on the waiting list for one of the 12 beds in the center's ward for post-traumatic stress disorder sufferers.
Four days later, on Jan. 16, he wrapped a household extension cord around his neck, tied it to a beam in the basement, and hanged himself.
Boston Globe
After all this I want to know who in the administration can we hold accountable. This administration always seems to pass the buck, give out medals of freedom and promoting people who were unfit to serve in these positions in the first place. I believe the failure in not fully funding the V. A. is reflection of the leadership of the current President. Until we change the attitude of unaccountability in Washington D.C. the trend will continue. Just imagine the pain these families like Jonathan's face at the thought that these conditions could be treated adequately if the V. A. was fully funded. Money cost our good service people their lives. Now imagine if Jonathan was your brother, son, grandchild or nephew.
I am sorry, but I had to bring politics into this. This is why we need a president that really supports veterans.
McCain Voted against:
2006-A bill to provide, with an offset, $20,000,000 for the Department of Veterans Affairs for Medical Facilities.
2006-A bill to increase Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.
2007- A bill To provide an additional $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.
Guess who supported these bills. Senator Obama!
Various Veteran Group ratings
DAV (Disabled American Veterans)
John McCain has a 20% rating
Barack Obama has an 80% rating
VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA
John McCain voted "AGAINST" this group 15 times
Barack Obama voted "FOR" the Veterans Group EVERY SINGLE TIME, but "ONE
IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS FOR AMERICA
John McCain "D"
Barack Obama "B+"
I ask you when you volunteer and people say mean things to you think about this. Think about our nations veterans. We have a choice in this election. I am voting for the guy that supports veterans.
Update
If you know anyone who needs help here are a few organizations that can assist you. Let them know they are not alone.
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
Disabled American Veterans
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The American Legion
National Alliance on Mental Illness
American Veterans (AMVETS)