You are herecontent / VFP Says: "Congress Must Face Escalating Military Suicides!"
VFP Says: "Congress Must Face Escalating Military Suicides!"
VFP Says: "Congress Must Face Escalating Military Suicides!" | Press Release
The United States military is scrambling to head off what has turned into an epidemic of suicides. As reported on CNN, 24 service members killed themselves in January of this year, six times as many as in January of last year. 2008 was the fourth consecutive year of increases in soldier suicides.
Veterans For Peace Executive Director Michael McPhearson said this is not a surprise to him. “It is tragic. It is the culmination of years of continuous deployments and general stress the Armed Services have been put under because of an invasion and subsequent occupation that should have never happened.”
The Army Times reports that Army Secretary Pete Geren has ordered a February 13, 2009, one day halt to recruitment activities also known as stand-down of the Army’s entire recruiting force and a review of almost every aspect of the job in the wake of a wide-ranging investigation of four suicides in a Houston Recruiting Battalion.
Mike Ferner, Veterans For Peace’s National President stated, "I don't want to see anybody in Washington shed one tear for the families surviving these suicides as long as Congress continues to fund these wars and the President continues to deploy more troops. You put people through combat; you get suicides and PTSD-related violence back home. That's the simple equation Congress and the President cannot ignore."
One vivid example of this equation comes from the Houston Chronicle, which reported in a May 18, 2008 that an Army investigation attributed the 4 recruiter suicides to a combination of work environment, stress and personal issues. The latest was the March 6, 2007 death of Sergeant Nils Aron Andersson who shot himself in the temple less than 24 hours after his wedding to Cassy Walton. Cassy killed herself the next day.
McPhearson went on to add; “Nils Anderson’s death was nearly two years ago and the Army is just reacting to the 4 deaths in one Battalion. They should have seen these 24 deaths in January coming. Veterans For Peace is asking our members to visit with their Congressional Representatives and Senators next week to discuss these suicides, that the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan contribute to the deaths and how our economy must transition from a reliance on war spending to human needs spending. We look to Congress to take these suicides seriously and stop spending our taxes on war. Bring all our troops home now.”
# # #
Founded in 1985, Veterans For Peace is a national organization of men and women veterans of all eras and duty stations spanning the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), World War II, the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf and current Iraq wars as well as other conflicts cold or hot. It has chapters in nearly every state in the union and is headquartered in St. Louis, MO. Our collective experience tells us wars are easy to start and hard to stop and that those hurt are often the innocent. Thus, other means of problem solving are necessary. Veterans For Peace is an official Non- Governmental Organization (NGO) represented at the U.N.
CONTACT: Mike Ferner 419-729-7273
Michael T. McPhearson 314-303-8874
- Login or register to post comments
-
- Email this page
- Printer-friendly version
Diplomacy, Not War is a Key to Peace
Sergeant Nils Aron Andersson and Cassy Walton Andersson's
story is tragic beyond words. Young with their whole lives ahead of them only to leave the living, their families behind wondering what went wrong, trying with all their might to keep themselves together in the midst of their sorrow and despair. That's what I would imagine if their families are still alive...
War is brutal and relationships difficult. On the war issue I'm reminded of the brutal war history of the U.S. as masterfully illustrated and written by Joel Andreas, 2004, www.addictedtowar.com. ADDICTED TO WAR, a look at U.S. Military history. About relationships, it's sort of a new situation when a troop returns home after along time, a time then is needed for readjustment, the less pressure the better, just to give him/her a chance to find a civilian sense of themselves again. And if it is difficult then it is very helpful to seek help from a psychologist or a social worker, and no disgrace in doing so...
In addition to the troubled troops, the unfortunate ones who took their own lives we have the unfortunate military families militaryfamiliesanw@gmail.com) who wait and hope at home that their son or daughter returns, and returns with a mind that can become somewhat normal within time. I imagine many of the suicides happen because of psychological disturbances due to combat and that $50 million earmarked to 'study' the situation would be well spent by having a good sized staff of psychologists and social workers in the field speaking with the troops during the day and night to help them cope with the combat situation. the troops could then speak out about their problems and find some remedy right away, preventing the buildup of anxieties and frustrations which can lead to thinking about taking one's precious life... Probably everyone in a foreign war zone could use counseling from time to time, it's nothing to be ashamed of to admit that you are troubled by war and all that it entails. After all war is abnormal! And the human senses rebel at it's abnormal demands and responses to what it witnesses in battle and between actions. too a trooper needs to deal with their superiors and a government policy which may go against their inner convictions, causing contradictions in values, i.e. I want to defend my country but it's wrong and horrible to injure or kill another human being...Too, they are concerned with the anxieties of their parents and friends, families at home who write and share their mutual frustrations without relief which can lead to depression and poor performance in their difficult duties and assignments. Some non-profit groups may have people who can counsel in the field as well...let's call upon Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Head of the Joint chief of Staffs, Michael Mullen to make a strong effort to bring in people who can aid the troops, keep their spirits up, and prevent them from sinking alone in despair; war is h--- back in the movies and is very real to the soldier in combat and to the family back home praying for all the troops to return home safely - the troops on both sides!
arn specter, phila. arnpeace@yahoo.com