So what's with these record numbers of military suicides?

[Arvoitus 1]

The reason for the statistical spike is very simple. The military no longer lies and stopped hiding the suicides into the statistics as various forms of accidents and mishaps.

Your rights end where my feelings begin.

[steve1 5]

I think anyone who returns home from combat, may have some guilt for what they did. Killing the enemy would be hard enough, but what about the innocent who are killed in the process.

Then there is the trauma from watching your own friends killed. Along with the terrors of combat itself. Some survive by stuffing all their feelings. It's hard to turn those feelings back on again, when the war is over.

Then to come back to a society, which may not give a rip. It must be really hard to adjust. In Vietnam you were called a baby killer or worse, for serving your country.

A huge number of people who are living on the streets now, are Vietnam Vets. They simply weren't able to adapt to life after combat. Many turned to drugs and alcohol. Some could not hold a job. Others killed themselves. Others are now dieing from agent orange.

The Vets in WWII faced the same terrors in combat. They stayed with the same unit (usually) and spent weeks coming home together after combat. (that time together helped them adapt). Then they were welcomed home as heroes. Sure there was PTSD back then, but soldiers were better able to adapt with that kind of environment to return to.

I know a young man who is an airborne ranger. He will fly home for a couple weeks soon. Then it will be back to Afganistan. I would think that would be very hard to adapt to. One day your life is on the line in combat, the next you are in a city in America.

I have a ton of respect for these young men. I don't think the high rate of suicide is because they have been coddled.

I don't think the war they are fighting in is right, at all. But I still respect our troops....

[Skyrad 0]

I think that there is a number of reasons, one of which is that the nature of warfare has changed dramatically with counter insurgency warfare. In the last century soldiers would have time when they fought battles after which they got down time in relatively 'safe' areas behind the lines. Todays soldiers are in theatre for extended periods of time where there is no defined front line as such. The psychological stress of doing what in the past would have been mundane things like driving down a road is now an event which may end your life at any moment. The time between rotations has decreased and soldiers who were never supposed to be 'front line' fighters are now facing combat dangers. The accumulative stress takes its toll. Maybe decompression could be handled better also.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca