Patters

When we talk of the price of war, not only should we remember the thousands who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also those who come home to die. Perhaps a nation that was less obsessed with tax cuts would do more for these people and their families.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/11...y3507361.shtml

This week, CBS News presented the findings of a five-month investigation into veteran suicides. The results paint a frightening picture of despair.

We found veterans are killing themselves twice as much as non-veterans.

In 2005 alone, at least 6256 men and women who served their country committed suicide. That’s more than 120 suicides per week.

Based on analysis of 2004 and 2005 data, we also found those most at risk for suicide are veterans between the ages of 20 to 24.

Real World

We absolutely should. I don't think enough people understand what involving a nation in a war means. War should always be a last resort. It should be avoided at any, and all times possible. In war, people die, and families suffer. Sadly, war is a reality of mankind, that will continue long after we're all gone.


Or perhaps a government that was more efficient, and less obsessed with pissing money away on the lazy, foreign nations, spinach farmers, bridges to nowhere, illegals, and million dollar tax payer funded parties could do more too.


I think we all agree that veteran suicides are an issue of concern. So before you jump all over me, the following is strictly related to the statistical information given. My only point of contention is with the window of data taken, and that it is not properly applied against any other time of war. Using data from 1995-2005 is too small a window. More so, taking a 2 year period inside an already inadequate window doesn't give us an understanding of where this rate is historically. Should we truly be alarmed because this rate is uncharactoristically high, which could imply the military is clearly not doing enough, or could this actually be low (probably not but who knows) when compared to Gulf War I, Vietnam, Korea, WW II, WW I, etc. Personally speaking, any death is tragic, and veteran suicides should be examined and treated. I'm just curious how these rates relate historically. I would imagine that wartime suicides would be much, much higher than peacetime. I'd probably think that Vietnam era suicides were probably the worst. Never the less, the rate of veterans suicides is both sad, and tragic. I wonder if the military men in here have any opinions as to why they're so much higher than the general population.

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