Morale high? Another Bush lie.

[Chris A]

• Army's Suicide Rate in Iraq Said Higher
  By MATT KELLEY
  
  
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) - The Army's suicide rate in Iraq has been about a third higher than past rates for troops during peacetime, the Pentagon's top doctor said Wednesday.
  
  Also, the military still has about 2,500 troops waiting for medical care after returning from overseas, said Dr. William Winkenwerder, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. The Pentagon is preparing for even more soldiers on "medical extension'' after tens of thousands of troops are rotated home from Iraq this spring, Winkenwerder said.
  
  The issue of suicides so worried the military that the Army sent an assessment team to Iraq late last year to see if anything more could be done to prevent troops from killing themselves. The Army also began offering more counseling to returning troops after several soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., killed their wives and themselves after returning home from the war.
  
  Winkenwerder said the military has documented 21 suicides during 2003 among troops involved in the Iraq war. Eighteen of those were Army soldiers, Winkenwerder said.
  
  That's a suicide rate for soldiers in Iraq of about 13.5 per 100,000, Winkenwerder said. During recent peacetime years, that number for the Army has hovered around 10.5 to 11 per 100,000, Winkenwerder said.
  
  "We don't see any trend there that tells us that there's more we might be doing,'' Winkenwerder told a breakfast meeting of Pentagon reporters.
  
  The military has nine combat stress teams in Iraq to help treat troops' mental health problems, and each division has a psychiatrist, psychologist and social worker, Winkenwerder said. He said between 300 and 400 troops have been medically evacuated from Iraq for mental health problems.
  
  The military prefers to treat mental health problems such as depression by keeping troops in their regular duties while they get counseling and possibly medication, Winkenwerder said. Less than one percent of the troops in Iraq are treated for mental issues during an average week, he said.
  
  Winkenwerder said he had no specifics on the number of troops being treated for battlefield stress, although the military is focused on treating that problem.
  
  "We believe they are being identified, they are being supported,'' Winkenwerder said.
  
  The military also is working to solve the issue of soldiers awaiting medical care. Since November, about 1,900 of the 4,400 troops waiting for medical care have been treated, Winkenwerder said.
  
  But the military expects more problems when tens of thousands of troops are rotated in and out of Iraq this spring, Winkenwerder said. Many of those troops may have to wait at various bases for medical treatment such as physical therapy for injuries, he said.
  
  The Army is working to sign contracts with civilian medical providers and bringing in more staff from the Navy, Air Force and Department of Veterans Affairs to help, Winkenwerder said.

01/14/04 14:40

[Monte Smith]

Hmm. I am no psychologist, but I bet these boys are under stress. Could that account for higher suicide rates than in peace time?

We can remedy that easily, of course, by declaring peace.

[GoodSpeak]

Originally posted by Monte Smith
Hmm. I am no psychologist, but I bet these boys are under stress. Could that account for higher suicide rates than in peace time?

Sounds pretty damned Liberal, Monte ol' boy.


I wonder...would this "stress" induced suicide rate extend to Vietnam vets, too?



Nah.


Just a bunch of Liberal whiners who claim that.

[Chris A]

December 17, 2003

1. Despite Claims to the Contrary, Bush Not Doing Everything He Can to Protect Troops
   
   In an exclusive prime-time interview, President Bush told ABC News that, "We're doing everything we can to protect the troops, and it's important for their loved ones to understand that."1
   
   But according to recent reports, as many as 30,000 soldiers in Iraq are without body armor and are being forced to use '"Vietnam-era flak jackets" that provide insufficient protection from shrapnel and bullets.2 Military families across the country are so concerned about the president's negligence, that many have felt forced to raise the $1,400 personally to pay for their loved one to have the armor.3
   
   As a groundswell of concern grew over the last year, the president still refused to adequately fund body armor needs in his massive $87 billion war spending bill. At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John Warner (R-VA), told the administration that its body armor funding shortage was "totally unacceptable."4 And while Congress ultimately filled the funding gap left by the president, the president's delay and foot dragging have caused a serious delay. As the U.S. Army reports, the new armor will only start getting to Iraq by the end of this month.5
   
   Sources:
   
2. "Excerpts From Interview With President Bush", ABC News, 12/16/2003.
   
3. "U.S. troops prepare to don Kevlar body armor", Star Bulletin, 11/26/2003.
   
4. "Family raises $1,400 for flak jacket", Morning Journal, 11/26/2003.
   
5. "Body armor saves U.S. lives in Iraq", MSNBC, 12/04/2003.
   
6. "American soldiers to get new body armour - at last", The Guardian, 12/05/2003.