Analyst's note: Absolutely must read and carefully consider. More and more all should be able to see that war has far more than simple political consequences. Political correctness continues to kill and maim our Warriors, otherwise known as some of America's finest citizens. Each time I reread this article, what it reports makes me sick as our nation continues to send our youth off to fight in a war we are not intending to win quickly or decisively. Semper Fidelis
"A recent Army health report draws an alarming profile of a fighting force more prone to inexcusable violence amid an “epidemic” of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the mental breakdown attracting speculation as a factor in a massacre of Afghan civilians this month.
Based on an exhaustive study of nearly 500,000 soldiers, reservists and veterans, the report finds that troops are more likely to commit suicide and violent sex offenses, and notes that as many as 236,000 suffered from PTSD since the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
For military analysts, the reason is the nightmarish experience of sustained combat: Soldiers have been fighting the longest war in U.S. history, with frequent stressful deployments and compressed rest time back home.
“The real issue here, which I’ve been tracking for a long time, is 10 years of combat,” said military analyst Robert Maginnis, a retired Army officer.
“I see these kids who have been in combat year after year after year. It is taking a real toll, not only medical, but being able to sort out their lives. What this kid caved to I think could be an epidemic. It is really long term what we are doing to a generation of volunteers.”
[....] The Army report, “Generating Health and Discipline In the Force,” notes that the average infantryman in World War II in the South Pacific experienced a total 40 days of combat during the entire war.
“In contrast, the [operational tempo] in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade has remained persistently high, providing very few opportunities for individuals to rest, either physically or mentally,” the report says.
[....] Before the Army completed its landmark "Generating Health and Discipline" research, it conducted a so-called "red book" assessment because of the high number of suicides and PTSD cases.
The Army said the red book "discovered a growing high-risk population of soldiers engaging in criminal and high-risk behavior with increasingly more severe outcomes including violent crime, suicide attempts and suicide, and accidental death."
Last year, 280,000 soldiers sought help from behavior health practitioners, the Army says."
Related articles:
Double Standards of Compassion from our American Leaders!
Afghanistan; Understandable rage or Unacceptable Behavior?
Another American Prostrates himself and his Country Before the Intolerant and Unforgiving!
Truth, lies and Afghanistan: How military leaders have let us down
Obama Seeks New Ways to Insult the American Warrior Community!
More mass murder in Afghanistan predicted beyond 'The Panjway 16'
