The looming mental health crisis in the U.S. Military :(

Another "surprise" to the so-called experts is an issue that I have been talking about publicly as a potential threat for the past several years -- American soldiers are increasingly falling prey to mental health issues. These are both active duty servicemen and women, as well as those recently discharged.

This problem has now reached almost epidemic proportions. Case loads of counselors have seen an 800 % increase in just 5 years -- 800 % !! -- and at Fort Hood, almost one in four soldiers sought counseling for assistance with some type of mental health issue in the past year.

This is a staggering number.

I started talking about the possibility -- no, probability -- of this happening years ago. I have said privately since 2004 and publicly since 2007 that we were destroying the US military (seemingly from within) and that, in my opinion, the problem would only get worse.

I believe this is due to several factors: fighting for something many of them had to realize was a false pretense is incredibly stressful and injurious to their self-esteem, most of our service men and women are young and many of the Reservists called up for active duty have received poor training for their specific tasks at hand, not to mention the fact that they see mercenaries like those working for Blackwater make big money while concurrently having few rules to follow, while they were given poor wages and were subject to an entirely different set of rules.

Add to this a string of continual deployments, with few breaks and without the chance (in many cases) to quit once their enlistments were technically up -- all these factors (not to mention the fact that most young men and women have been brought up in a culture that values consumption over duty and anyone who exhibited any behavioral traits other than sit still and pay attention has probably been drugged since pre-school) suggested, to me anyway, that the likelihood of a mental health CRISIS in the US military was inevitable.

Sadly, that is becoming more and more obvious with each passing week. This is a serious problem, not just for the soldiers and the Armed Services as a whole. This is also a looming threat to those of us still here once these young men and women are discharged and attempt to re-assimilate into civilian life, at a time of such economic and social uncertainty. Trained fighters who are mentally unstable is not a recipe for the ideal neighbor or co-worker.

Our leaders have failed us and wasted the greatest Army ever assembled. It is a shameful act and one, I am afraid, that may haunt all of us for years to come :(

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US Military 'Overwhelmed' by Mental Health Problems of Soldiers

Thousands Strain Fort Hood's Mental Health System

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/08/23-2

Army Weak: Soldiers Expose Deployment of Unprepared Troops

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/08/11-9

Soldiers Punished for Refusing to Attend Christian Rock Show

http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/147937/soldiers_punished_for_refusing_to_attend_christian_rock_show_/