Comments on: Mental Illness In The Military On The Rise

Troops Returning From Iraq And Afghanistan Tours With Post-Traumatic Stress

[myidoncbs]

shaynabee, this is not really the best place to ask for such advice, but without going into any of the horrible details of what could happen to you and your loved ones, let me point out this obvious fact: if you sign up for the US military, you give up ALL OF YOUR RIGHTS-- you no longer have any control over your body, over your mind, over your time. From that moment on, the "commander in cheif" is your absolute dictator, and he can do what he wants with your life: kill you, torture you, turn you into a murderer, poison you, make you sick, tired, insane, whatever. Once you sign up, your life as in independent, thinking and acting human being is OVER.

I wouldn't wish that on anybody. If there is any other way to live (be a janitor, ditch digger, even a homeless street beggar), I'd suggest you try that instead of joining the US military.

[ravnslikbals]

To Shayneebee - I would use the Army has my last chance to survive whatever personal dilemmas one has. My son has done 2 tours of Iraq and is scheduled to be released this August but in true Army fashion they 'stoplossed' him this May and now he has serve another tour in Iraq and another 15 months in the Army.

When he came back from his 2nd tour he was pretty well wacked upstairs. He couldn't sleep, had the recurring nightmares and would frequently yell and scream in while he attempted to sleep. He won't divulge some of the things he had to do but I do know innocent people have been killed by his squad. The Army are notorious liars also - you join believing you'll be a PC technician receiving all this advanced training etc. then suddenly your orders change and know you're with the 82nd Airborne.

So yes join the Army if you want to lose all control of your life, destroy your health and be sent off to fight wars that only benefit a few Republicans and long laundry list of campaign financiers.

[smirk5]

Luckily, I did what Bush asked of me after 9-11. Instead of joining up, I went shopping. No complaints at all.

[brianbwb-2009]

I'll make it easier for you;

"Lariam (Mefloquine) Side Effects Lawsuits. The most-prescribed malaria drug could produce psychiatric side effects in more than one-quarter of all travelers who take it. Peace Corps volunteers are coming forward saying that over the past 12 years they suffered crippling paranoia, anxiety, hallucinations, memory loss, suicidal behavior and physical ailments from seizures to vision difficulty because of the drug handed out by government doctors to prevent malaria. Emerging evidence suggests that a rash of domestic killings by soldiers at Fort Bragg in North Carolina in the summer of 2002 may be related to this drug."

And according to the manufacturers these effects have been known to continue even after people stop taking the drug.

[brianbwb-2009]

The US military gives Larium to soldiers as a safeguard against malaria.

But google the side effects of Larium (severe depression, hallucinations, and psychotic behavior, but don't take my word, look it up yourselves) which continue even after they stop taking the medication.

This absolutely had to be known beforehand, the side effects have been documented in the accompanying literature from the beginning, but the military probably liked the idea of mentally disturbed psychopaths as soldiers, and who gives a s**t what happens when they finish their duty and are sent back out onto the streets of America.

The Ft Bragg incident, where four GIs returned from Iraq, and brutally murdered their families, might have been connected to Larium poisoning, but the brass squashed the investigation.

[shaynabee]

I dont really follow polotics. I am a young mother. My brother is young and planning to get married and join the Air Force. I myself have recently thought about allowing my significant other to join the Army. We are in a situation that causes us to believe that it would be the best thing for our family. And I very randomly found this on the internet. I truthfully cant even tell you how i stumbeled upon it. But nothing I see is good. Could anyone that reads this possibly fill me in. I am a simple civilian who only know what the news tells me, and could possibly become a part of what sounds like a living hell. I do not want an insane husband.... If he does in fact join the army I would expect things to change..... but exactly how bad is it? Someone please tell me the truth about the things that happen over seas. Or maybe even here in our own country.

[samthetvcat]

Well I guess it goes without saying that mental health is probably not a big priority for Bush. But gosh what's it going to take to get these heroes the treatment they deserve after Bush pushed them beyond the limits of what all the doctors said was healthy? And given the stigma, wouldn't you think the numbers of sufferers is probably even higher than shown in an evaluation based on self-reporting?

So many jobs these days require a clear mind, ability to concentrate, interacting with people - even from an economic perspective, with the discipline and passion so many soldiers have, it would provide a great return on the investment to patch up their minds as well as their bodies so that they can go out and thrive in their second careers as well.

[sandy19731]

Take the "I support the troops" ribbon off of your car and make congress and the president support mental health care for these people.


Get them help now. Quit cutting back on mental health care and help these troops. It is the least we can do.

[jonesforch]

bobgee_1999

Agree But nows days everything is solved by drugs.

Legal or illeagl

[bobgee_1999]

SlipSter01:

And you are missing the obvious cause. When you train somebody to kill other human beings, after telling them all their lives it was wrong, a sin, and a crime, you get mixed signals. Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome isn't anything new; vets from the world wars suffered from it too. Then they called it "battle fatigue" or "shell shock" but it wasn't widely reported, until Audie Murphy---actor and most highly decorated soldier in WW2---cracked up, became a junkie, and threatened to blow his wife's head off after suffering from depression, anxiety attacks and insomnia. It had nothing to do with stigma or what they wrote in the newspapers. Audie Murphy was treated like royalty, and in general, those who fought in WW2 were considered heroes.

[jonesforch]

Retired miltary here believe in America. Can smile and easily see another MASH citcom coming.

[donnie900]

I'm the better terrorist. I die lonesome and by myself. Of old age.

[fascistusa]

You have to be mentally ill to be in Lord Bush's Military.

If you weren't mentally ill before, they'll make you mentally ill.

Just get doses of US Military Government Propaganda to complement the Brainwashing we've been fed by TV all our lives.

[johnshaft4]

"God TOLD me to smite Saddam Hussein, so I smote him". GWB

[winnerindia]

offcourse, soldiers are also humans and if they are bound to live under fire, bullets and blood for a long time, they would mentally ***.

[john0211]

Bush is Americas first psychopathic, megalomaniac president. Like Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, and others. They are always full of delusional thoughts. Like talking to GOD before making decisions.

Funny thing is. GOD always tells them what they want to hear. Even if it%u2019s obviously wrong.

It had to happen sooner, or later. Thank goodness for term limits.

[hmmagain]

' ... If there's 10 billion folk each w/ 317 new songs & dances a day, why can't i find the 100,000 s&ds nearest me?
if there's a tiny percentage of the world dancing get sick soon tax the world first strike on the trail songs on all the front pages, how are the get well soon feed the world first aid on the trail folk making their ends meet? if food & medicine volunteers are feeding the world by making everyone pay for lunch, are they really feeding the world, or just starving it in the names of peace & prosperity? (there's more food thrown away each day than is needed to feed the world)? if we closed vietnam & opened dare in the school houses, have we considered nuking the scools as we considered in vietnam? & why wage war against foreign drug lords in local schools, isn't that like spanking washington by roasting fish at the beach? if kid age five & less absorb 99 plus percent of all spankings, & that figure only comes more close to 100% during wartime (as children are more likely to die in war than are soldiers), then shouldn't we forgive those who wage wars instead of killing kids to punish them? ... '

[donnie900]

"The mentally ill have always caused the wars and the wars have always created mental illness in those who fought the wars. The VA funding for all veterans has been cut dramatically during the current administration. It is not only the mental health professionals who are needed. Many veterans need career counseling and help, both financial and educationally, in reentering society. This administration has already decided who is expendible and what part of our society is "throw away.""

But why ain't we just like them? Huh? Why can't we die for something too? Why is it only terrorists .. who got something to die for?

[slipster01]

Most people don't get the true meat of the story.

"reported psychological symptoms such as anger, depression or alcohol abuse after returning home"

Key point. AFTER they get home, and see the *** printed about the military in the news, and the impression the big media are giving the 'folks back home' of the military. THAT's when their problems like anger, depression, etc., kick in.

[ubrew12]

from the Article: "According to the Pentagon's latest mental health survey...Marines... soldiers and... National Guard reported psychological symptoms such as anger, depression or alcohol abuse after returning home"

Wait 'till they find out who's paying for the Iraq War. Symptoms should double.