Suicides Still A Military Problem

I have posted before about suicide in the military. It is not just a problem, it is a problem that is getting out of hand. In 2010, a record number of combat deaths were reported in Afghanistan. But even sadder is the fact that the number of military suicides that year outnumbered the number of combat deaths (and the number of suicides was most likely under-reported).

Now we learn that the war-time suicide problem in the military also affects women. Women who have been sent to war commit suicide at three times the rate of military women who have not been to a war-zone. The normal suicide rate for military women is 5 per 100,000, but the rate of those sent to war jumps to 15 per 100,000. The scientists are unsure of the reason. They say it may be because the war-zone is male-dominated, and it could be because of children and other family they have left behind. I suspect it is because of the horrors they are exposed to in a war-zone (including rape by their own male cohorts).

But whatever the reason, the suicide rate among women is still lower than that of their male cohorts. The normal suicide rate for military males is 15 per 100,000, and this jumps to 21 per 100,000 when sent to a war-zone. The military says the overall suicide rate for troops is rising, and has climbed from 15 per 100,000 to 22 per 100,000 since 2004 (far surpassing the civilian suicide rate).

The only odd thing about the suicide rate is that it doesn't increase for married soldiers when they are sent to a war zone, but remains at about the same rate as for those not sent to a war-zone. No one seems to have a clue as to why this is true.

We are usually only told about combat deaths in the current wars. But the truth is that we are ruining the lives of a lot more soldiers, both men and women, than the number of combat deaths. Many are seriously injured and a lot of those are disable physically or mentally for a long time -- maybe the rest of their lives. Then there is the increasing and record number of suicides. And we haven't even discussed the ones who develop alcohol or drug problems.

Are these wars really worth the awful cost our soldiers are paying?