For many in uniform, the strain is too much

Opinion

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November 21, 2009

Anonymous The News Courier Sat Nov 21, 2009, 09:28 PM CST

By The Associated Press

In nearly all corners of America’s military, the strain felt by the U.S. soldier is in full bloom. The causes are unmistakable.

Two ongoing wars. Rising casualty rates. Multiple and prolonged deployments. Reports of sagging morale among troops in Afghanistan. And, earlier this month, the indescribable tragedy of Fort Hood.

For too many in uniform, that strain proves to be too much.

This week, the Army released data that highlighted the severity of the Army’s suicide problem. In 2008, 140 soldiers killed themselves, a dubious record the military desperately does not want to repeat. Through the first 10 months of this year, the Army says it has 140 suspected cases of suicide, with 90 cases already confirmed. That number is expected to rise as investigators sift through the numerous remaining cases.

The image, and the message, is clear: 2009 is destined to become a dark year for the Army, with an expected modern-day record for suicides for the second year in a row.

Despite any of the service’s battlefield successes in Iraq or Afghanistan, the inability to stem the five-year rise of suicides is a sign that soldiers are being asked to perform at a level that, sadly, is often unsustainable. Post-traumatic stress syndrome and depression among troops on their third and fourth deployments are embedded as top topics in the Pentagon. That a sizeable portion of the suicides is by non-deployed soldiers talks to the depth of the problem.

In this case, the Army can be an easy target for experts who point to the service’s historically lackadaisical efforts to address suicide prevention and the stigma of mental illness among soldiers.

To the Army’s credit, however, several programs are under way to address this rising calamity. In March, the Army established a task force that officials say has already created 170 improvements to its suicide prevention policies and in other areas, as well.

Last month, the Army inaugurated another effort, the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, which it claims is a “holistic program designed to give the same emphasis to the psychological, emotional and mental strength that is given to physical strength.”

Kudos to the Army for those efforts. The Pentagon seems to be aggressively and proactively addressing this problem, even if the seeds of military suicide are not going away.

Before announcing the suicide data, the Army admitted last week that morale among troops in Afghanistan has sagged as fighting has intensified and deployments have increased. Concern that more soldiers will suffer from multiple tours of duty in an 8-year-old war that’s escalating is real.

It’s more proof why it’s altogether right to end the war in Iraq, and to long for the day when the war in Afghanistan is a distant memory.

This decade, American soldiers are being asked to be super men and women, to perform at high levels in war zones for increasingly long periods of time. Giving them the protection and support they need mentally as well as physically isn’t merely critical, it’s a must.

-- The Anniston Star

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