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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Friday, February 27, 2004 PTSD, Gulf War Syndrome, Suicide War can be hell even if you're the alleged "winner." Is suicide going to be the sad legacy of George W's war, as Gulf War Syndrome was of his father's, and PTSD of Lyndon Johnson's? Following is an excerpt from an article by Wayne Smith in today's Editor & Publisher online.The army reports that 21 soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait have killed themselves since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom but this number will increase as suspicious non-combat deaths that have already occurred and might be suicides await classification by the army's Criminal Investigation Division (CID). We have learned from a Pentagon source that the CID may not rule on these deaths until after the operation is over. Even the number of 21 is well above the average Army rate. The army's peculiar calculus also excludes suicides that occur outside the "theater," that is, soldiers who served in Iraq or Kuwait but kill themselves once they get home. The media is toting these up ad hoc. United Press International discovered two at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and The Sun of Baltimore recently reported on one that occurred in a Shoney's Inn. But most of these tragedies will unfold anonymously since family members are often reluctant to speak publicly about a subject they consider taboo.Smith, a Vietnam vet and former post traumatic stress disorder counselor, says that research at the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation brought back feelings of "deja vu," as he contemplated a country ill-prepared to deal with post-Iraq psychiatric disorders. Reading the article brought back memories for me too, of a co-worker who spent several years with the Montagnard tribes in the central highlands of Vietnam. He came back with a Vietnamese wife, a scar that stretched from the middle of his scalp down to his chin and a very shaky hold on reality. Several people whose desks had been near his had already complained that he "mumbled all the time" and had asked to be moved to another part of the large open office to get away from him. For whatever reason, he and I hit it off immediately, and although our good relationship didn't stop the muttering from the other side of the cubicle wall, he seemed to calm down somewhat. One day, though, he didn't show up for work. When there was no word from him by the middle of the afternoon, I called his house. The man who answered the phone said Laurie had tried to kill himself. No one knew why. He had gotten up in the morning as though it was any other day, taken out a handgun that he kept in a drawer and put it to his head. Only his wife's screaming bodily intervention had stopped him. By the time he was able to return to the workforce, we had moved hundreds of miles away. I saw him only a couple of times after his suicide attempt—sad, awkward visits in which neither of us knew what to say to the other, while his wife hovered anxiously in the background to make sure I wouldn't upset him. I don't know whether he is alive today or not. Smith goes on to say:Now, over the next few weeks, as more troops rotate home, and the anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq approaches, the Pentagon faces the prospect of a potentially unwieldy public becoming more "casualty sensitive," something war planners have been conscious of since Vietnam brought the human or "blood" cost of conflict into America's living rooms. This looming milestone may explain a bizarre episode a few weeks ago when various Pentagon spokespeople began driving the suicide number down, to 18 or even 17, only to officially re-affirm a higher number later. I have to say that the Bush administration is at least being consistent. After all, a lot of their other numbers are going up and down like a yo-yo too (see Brad DeLong's January and February blog entries on payroll figures for some interesting examples). Smith mentions that the anti-malarial drug Lariam is suspected of possibly playing a role in the suicides, but suggests that the "sheer bloodiness of this deployment" is a factor as well.Experts both on suicide and epidemiology, including the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, tell us that a cluster of suicides in a specific population, in this case the army, represents the thin edge of a numeric wedge. A report by UPI on Feb. 19 from the army's hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, offers a chilling glimpse at the size of the trouble heading for the military's already over-taxed and unprepared medical system. It said that about 1,000 soldiers have already been evacuated to Landstuhl for psychiatric reasons. The UPI story by award-winner Mark Benjamin also exposed what may be the Pentagon's internal mantra on an issue so explosive it could seriously downgrade the American public's support for this war. When asked how many soldiers the hospital has treated following actual suicide attempts, Col. Rhonda Cornum, commander of the hospital, wouldn't give a number, saying only, "This is a sensitive thing that some people might not want you to know, I guess." My internal mantra, expressed already in this blog, is "Didn't we learn anything from Vietnam?" I guess not. posted by Liz @ 7:09 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
War can be hell even if you're the alleged "winner." Is suicide going to be the sad legacy of George W's war, as Gulf War Syndrome was of his father's, and PTSD of Lyndon Johnson's? Following is an excerpt from an article by Wayne Smith in today's Editor & Publisher online.The army reports that 21 soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait have killed themselves since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom but this number will increase as suspicious non-combat deaths that have already occurred and might be suicides await classification by the army's Criminal Investigation Division (CID). We have learned from a Pentagon source that the CID may not rule on these deaths until after the operation is over. Even the number of 21 is well above the average Army rate. The army's peculiar calculus also excludes suicides that occur outside the "theater," that is, soldiers who served in Iraq or Kuwait but kill themselves once they get home. The media is toting these up ad hoc. United Press International discovered two at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and The Sun of Baltimore recently reported on one that occurred in a Shoney's Inn. But most of these tragedies will unfold anonymously since family members are often reluctant to speak publicly about a subject they consider taboo.Smith, a Vietnam vet and former post traumatic stress disorder counselor, says that research at the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation brought back feelings of "deja vu," as he contemplated a country ill-prepared to deal with post-Iraq psychiatric disorders. Reading the article brought back memories for me too, of a co-worker who spent several years with the Montagnard tribes in the central highlands of Vietnam. He came back with a Vietnamese wife, a scar that stretched from the middle of his scalp down to his chin and a very shaky hold on reality. Several people whose desks had been near his had already complained that he "mumbled all the time" and had asked to be moved to another part of the large open office to get away from him. For whatever reason, he and I hit it off immediately, and although our good relationship didn't stop the muttering from the other side of the cubicle wall, he seemed to calm down somewhat. One day, though, he didn't show up for work. When there was no word from him by the middle of the afternoon, I called his house. The man who answered the phone said Laurie had tried to kill himself. No one knew why. He had gotten up in the morning as though it was any other day, taken out a handgun that he kept in a drawer and put it to his head. Only his wife's screaming bodily intervention had stopped him. By the time he was able to return to the workforce, we had moved hundreds of miles away. I saw him only a couple of times after his suicide attempt—sad, awkward visits in which neither of us knew what to say to the other, while his wife hovered anxiously in the background to make sure I wouldn't upset him. I don't know whether he is alive today or not. Smith goes on to say:Now, over the next few weeks, as more troops rotate home, and the anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq approaches, the Pentagon faces the prospect of a potentially unwieldy public becoming more "casualty sensitive," something war planners have been conscious of since Vietnam brought the human or "blood" cost of conflict into America's living rooms. This looming milestone may explain a bizarre episode a few weeks ago when various Pentagon spokespeople began driving the suicide number down, to 18 or even 17, only to officially re-affirm a higher number later. I have to say that the Bush administration is at least being consistent. After all, a lot of their other numbers are going up and down like a yo-yo too (see Brad DeLong's January and February blog entries on payroll figures for some interesting examples). Smith mentions that the anti-malarial drug Lariam is suspected of possibly playing a role in the suicides, but suggests that the "sheer bloodiness of this deployment" is a factor as well.Experts both on suicide and epidemiology, including the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, tell us that a cluster of suicides in a specific population, in this case the army, represents the thin edge of a numeric wedge. A report by UPI on Feb. 19 from the army's hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, offers a chilling glimpse at the size of the trouble heading for the military's already over-taxed and unprepared medical system. It said that about 1,000 soldiers have already been evacuated to Landstuhl for psychiatric reasons. The UPI story by award-winner Mark Benjamin also exposed what may be the Pentagon's internal mantra on an issue so explosive it could seriously downgrade the American public's support for this war. When asked how many soldiers the hospital has treated following actual suicide attempts, Col. Rhonda Cornum, commander of the hospital, wouldn't give a number, saying only, "This is a sensitive thing that some people might not want you to know, I guess." My internal mantra, expressed already in this blog, is "Didn't we learn anything from Vietnam?" I guess not.
The army reports that 21 soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait have killed themselves since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom but this number will increase as suspicious non-combat deaths that have already occurred and might be suicides await classification by the army's Criminal Investigation Division (CID). We have learned from a Pentagon source that the CID may not rule on these deaths until after the operation is over. Even the number of 21 is well above the average Army rate. The army's peculiar calculus also excludes suicides that occur outside the "theater," that is, soldiers who served in Iraq or Kuwait but kill themselves once they get home. The media is toting these up ad hoc. United Press International discovered two at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and The Sun of Baltimore recently reported on one that occurred in a Shoney's Inn. But most of these tragedies will unfold anonymously since family members are often reluctant to speak publicly about a subject they consider taboo.
Now, over the next few weeks, as more troops rotate home, and the anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq approaches, the Pentagon faces the prospect of a potentially unwieldy public becoming more "casualty sensitive," something war planners have been conscious of since Vietnam brought the human or "blood" cost of conflict into America's living rooms. This looming milestone may explain a bizarre episode a few weeks ago when various Pentagon spokespeople began driving the suicide number down, to 18 or even 17, only to officially re-affirm a higher number later.
Experts both on suicide and epidemiology, including the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, tell us that a cluster of suicides in a specific population, in this case the army, represents the thin edge of a numeric wedge. A report by UPI on Feb. 19 from the army's hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, offers a chilling glimpse at the size of the trouble heading for the military's already over-taxed and unprepared medical system. It said that about 1,000 soldiers have already been evacuated to Landstuhl for psychiatric reasons. The UPI story by award-winner Mark Benjamin also exposed what may be the Pentagon's internal mantra on an issue so explosive it could seriously downgrade the American public's support for this war. When asked how many soldiers the hospital has treated following actual suicide attempts, Col. Rhonda Cornum, commander of the hospital, wouldn't give a number, saying only, "This is a sensitive thing that some people might not want you to know, I guess."
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
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PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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