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EDITORIAL: ROOT OUT MACHO MYSTIQUE AND TREAT
TROUBLED SOLDIERS -- From the St. Petersburg
Times,
St. Petersburg, Florida.
Editorial here...
http://www.sptimes.com/
2007/09/08/Opinion/Root_out_
macho_mystiq.shtml
Editorial below:
-------------------------
Root out macho mystique and treat troubled
soldiers
By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Service in the U.S. military is difficult and dangerous, taking a
personal and often tragic toll on combat personnel in battle. In
addition to causing physical injuries, war leaves large numbers of
soldiers with severe psychological problems that motivate many to commit
suicide.
But because a macho mystique - bravery, stoicism and selflessness -
underpins military duty, top brass traditionally have been slow to
discuss mental health problems and suicide among the ranks.
The human costs of the so-called global war on terror, however, are
forcing officials to go public. In its latest report on suicide, the
Army acknowledges that 99 active-duty soldiers killed themselves in
2006. Officials also report that 948 soldiers tried to kill themselves
last year. The highest number of suicides ever reported by the Army came
in 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, when more soldiers were on active
duty.
Many officials conducting the dual wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are
worried about the causes of the high number of suicides. The Army's
report states that broken personal relationships, financial and legal
crises are motivating factors. Researchers also found strong connections
between suicide attempts and the number of days deployed in Iraq,
Afghanistan other regions where troops participate in the fighting. And
psychiatry consultants are taking special note of the relationship
between suicides and failed marriages and long deployments.
As a result of the 99 suicides, the 948 attempts and the ongoing war,
the Army is creating new programs for mental health care and is
strengthening old programs, designed for peacetime, that are now
inadequate because of the large increase in the number of battle-scarred
soldiers needing care.
Surveys in Iraq found that 20 percent of Army troops show symptoms of
posttraumatic stress. Back home, 35 percent of soldiers returning from
the war are seeking mental health treatment. Officials worry that some
of these troops will become suicide statistics if they do not get help.
Given the troops' personal sacrifices for the nation, the taboo against
acknowledging mental health problems and suicide in the military should
be abolished. Officials have a duty to provide the troops with the
counseling and medical care they need. The suicide of one active-duty
soldier is one too many.
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Larry Scott --
