Suicide Rates among returning and active duty soldiers

This is the posting I left today on commondreams.org regarding the suicide rates among active duty and returning veterans from the Gulf "wars" of the United States. Your comments are welcomed.

I returned from VN on 12/31/98, and received no counseling or recognition of any kind with regard to possible PTSD, or whatever it may have been called at that time. I know it is almost 40 years later, but I don't see that much has changed. Yes, there is a PTSD diagnosis, but it is frowned upon in the "macho world" of the military, and it is documented that the symptoms often do not manifest for months or even years following the incident(s) that may have caused the condition. The cost to society and the individuals involved is incalculable, but there is a cost and it is way beyond what we Americans of the United States are willing to allocate for this condition. Suicide rates are manipulated so that they appear less than they are; homeless rates among veterans of this and previous wars/military conflicts are way beyond what is statistically expected over the population; domestic abuse, violence in the workplace, mall shootings, job retention, job performance and other social costs cannot be measured accurately, but the fact that there seems to be an increase in this form of dysfunction is a clear indicator to me that the consequences of war and violence-based conflict resolution are underneath this escalating trauma of war.

In a Wholeness Paradigm, all these factors are to be viewed as interrelated and the solutions have to be developed with the whole in mind. Treating symptoms one at a time does not root out the cause, and the symptoms just move around as a virus does when it mutates to resist new vaccines. Remove the source of sustenance of the problem and you remove its life-force; resist it with more force and it gets stronger. Developing conflict resolution tools that recognize the cause(s)of the conflict and create solutions that integrate all stakeholders into the resolution removes the fear and separation that just fighting the differences with force validates.

I don't know if this is of value to you other CD posters, but it helps me in self-examination and evolving my own solutions. Thanks for your participation in being the change you wish to be in the world.

peace