Why are US soldiers commiting suicide?

Question

I have heard soldiers say they would do in Bush and Cheney in a heartbeat (they were just back from seeing friends blown to bits for oil) but never heard of suicides before.

By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer
39 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report.

The report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its scheduled release Thursday, found there were 99 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers during 2006, up from 88 the previous year and the highest number since the 102 suicides in 1991 at the time of the Persian Gulf War.

(more in Yahoo news)

Good answers so far (I don't agree with some but still good) To Little Brother's reply: You present an interesting problem. To keep quiet about what's going on over there - does that help or hurt? I think being afraid to speak out is what got us there in the first place. (PS..I was told that by a Marine after he was discharged. I included it to show that not all soldiers are happy about this war)
Listen to the Vietnam vets.

Answer 1

I'm sure the conditions over there are hellish.

I think many of the soldiers also come to the conclusion that what the United States is doing in the middle east is wrong. Killing someone in a defensive war (such as WWII) is very different from killing people in an offensive war, such as Iraq. The focus for why we're in the middle has been forgotten (Osama Bin Laden), and the foundation for Bush's reason for invading Iraq (weapons of mass destruction) has proved wrong. Many people are left wondering, why are we there?

It's hard to justify killing people for reasons that aren't clear. Many of the soldiers have killed people. As more and more evidence comes forward revealing that the United States invaded those countries for the wrong reasons, soldiers begin to feel that they're not killing to protect freedom, instead they feel like they've murdered. An individual with a deep sense of right and wrong has a hard time justifying what they've done, and may feel guilty for their actions - and unable to live with themselves. They also see their best friends killed on a daily basis - often in horrific ways. A mountain of guilt and emotional anguish drives people to do commit suicide.

Answer 2

It is the same reason that cops have a higher rate of suicide than other people. Easy access to loaded weapons. Plenty of people who probably wouldn't have to opportunity to kill themselves get to walk around with loaded weapons under great stress. Cops and military personnel can act on the impulses that other people under stress cannot. You note that the time there were high suicides before that (I'm guessing that the article has a typo in it, the gulf war was 16 years ago, not 26) was again in a zone where soldiers and Marines were under high stress, and had easy access to live ammo.

I don't know any soldiers or Marines who said they would do in Bush or Cheney (I was IN Iraq, and so were they) but I know some who said that they would frag Kerry, especially after my buddy got hit in Afghanistan, and his life was saved by a vest that was bought with money that Kerry voted against giving. Glad he was on the wrong side of that vote.

Answer 3

The VA is hopefully researching why the suicide rate is up.

An educated guess as to why it is up would encompass the stress of combat...I'm a Vietnam vet who rode with the Blackhorse along the Cambodian border in 1969...which is life changing and leaves memories and behaviors that last a lifetime. One should also consider post traumatic stress disorder and the depression and cognitive dissonance that it entails.

In any case, people of good character and good heart should embrace our new vets when they come home. Any of you that make negative employment decisions when you learn that an applicant is a vet should be hung from your thumbs over a pit of rabid dogs. Just my opinion...rofl

Answer 4

Hasn't anyone given the thought that these soldiers are probably committing suicide because they have not seen their families in years! There are some soldiers who haven't seen their families ever since the war started. Some have been in Iraq since 2003!! If that doesn't lead to suicide that I don't know what else does.

Answer 5

A better question should be Why some English Major would shoot up a College? What the hell is he depressed about? There more cops that commit suicide than Soldiers I would bet. Long duty, away from home, facing a dear john letter has often sent people over the edge.

Answer 6

I tend to take any report with an AP byline with a grain of salt. They tend to give, at best, a very distorted view of what's going on, and at times resort to complete falsehood. That said, how do the numbers per capita compare to the average numbers, both during war and during peace.
The numbers listed do not seem to be a significant change. It would require more data than you list here to see if it is significant.
The other possibility is that this is just another piece of data taken out of any rational context and restated to provide the most anti-military impression possible.
Given that the later is the most common of the methods that AP uses to deliberately lie to their readers, it seems likely that this is just another one of the numerous falsehoods they've perpetrated over the years.

Answer 7

how long can you last with going out and seeing death and destruction for 12 plus hours at a time, get back to the fob if your lucky you get to eat a meal (the only one you get that day) then told now you have 4 more hours of work before you get to sleep for 5 hours, knowing you have to get up and do it again. told you'll get to go home in two months and then oh wait you've been extended for another 12 months and no you don't get another r&r. the soilders are over worked, and under rested. it kills me knowing the hell my hubby going through. it kills him knowing he missing seeing his 1 year old son grow up, going to miss the birth of his girl. a lot of people don't understand the stress the soilders go through. thats why you have to support them, i don't care if you hate the war support them, let them know they are stilled loved and cared about. let them know they still have a place when they get back home.

Answer 8

Along with the stress, there's the politics. You believe it's all over oil and said so on the internet. Any soldier with a laptop can read that now. Had you thought about that?

Answer 9

The higher than normal rate of suicide has been a problem for a while, almost since we went into Iraq. It just hasn't gotten a lot of publicity.

Answer 10

I wish I knew, my 22 year old cousin shot himself im the head within 1 month of coming home from "Desert Storm."