Say Anything Blog

And yet, the fact remains, that soldiers are slightly less likely to commit suicide than the average citizen.

Nice try, boob.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

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What caught my attention was the tiny factoid that only 1,221 suicides were averted. Are they actually trying to tell us that over 20000 people who called this hotline committed suicide? Really?

Una Salus Victus Nullam Sperare Salutem

WASHINGTON — The number of U.S. Army soldiers who took their own lives increased last year to the highest total since 1993, despite a growing effort by the Army to detect and prevent suicides.

The suicide rate for the Army has routinely fluctuated over the past 25 years, from a high of 15.8 per 100,000 in 1985 to a low of 9.1 per 100,000 in 2001. Last year it was nearly 13 per 100,000.

The Army rate is higher than the civilian suicide rate for 2003, which was 10.8 per 100,000, according to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the Army number tracked closely with the rate for civilians aged 18-34, which was 12.19 per 100,000 in 2003.

The U.S. Army reported Thursday that the suicide rate among its soldiers continued to rise last year, and is now nearly double the rate recorded before the invasion of Iraq. But they say last year’s increase was not as sharp as the two previous years. VOA’s Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

The army says it has confirmed that 115 active-duty soldiers committed suicide last year, with two more investigations still pending. That is a rate of nearly 19 per 100,000 soldiers. The rate was just under 10 per 100,000 in 2002, before the Iraq invasion, and has been rising steadily, except for one year, ever since. The rates for the last two years are the highest since record keeping began in 1980.

• More than 32,000 suicides occurred in the U.S. This is the equivalent of 89 suicides per day; one suicide every 16 minutes or 11.05 suicides per 100,000 population (CDC 2005).

Excuse me, you were saying?

I am not sure if I am explaining myself properly. But, with reports like this. I always wonder how much the Murtha’s of the world, along with the NY Times and the MSM in general assist in causing this problem. As a viet vet who spent 2 months in a hospital before coming home. It was always amazing to me. How vile the coverage was of the ‘Nam war. Article after article explaining how bad we were losing, how the militry was attacking the civilians on purpose. I was able to digest what my thoughts on the war were during my recovery period. I did not have to answer questions by family and friends that were prompted by the slanted views of the MSM. Wheras, most other vets were just discharged and sent home. While still trying to understand the anger of the MSM in the U.S.
This is going on again with the returning vet’s from Iraq. They are being told again, how evil the war is. That they are fighting an unjust war. That blowhard Murtha comes out and call Marine’s killers. NY Times LIES about how soldiers are killing civilians on purpose, etc. etc., the list goes on.
Does this not effect some of the veterans thoughts. I have always put the majority of blame for this type of behaviour by our Vets on the protesters and MSM of this country.

If ignorance is bliss, then I know why everyone is smiling....RichNJ

Light travels faster than sound. That’s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.....Larry the CableGuy

I would rather be ruled by people represented by the first 100 names in the Boston phone book than by the faculty of Harvard. .....William F. Buckley

boob, you are trying to tell the world that 20,000 US combat veterans, from Iraq and Afghan, have committed suicide during the last 12-16 months. Would you care to prove that?

Una Salus Victus Nullam Sperare Salutem

Still no proof from boob that over 20,000 US military personnel and veterans have committed suicide since this “hotline” was opened. Why am I not surprised? This moron has yet to give us the list of the thousands of US citizens persecuted under the Patriot Act and FISA.

Una Salus Victus Nullam Sperare Salutem

I concede, maybe you really are that stupid.

Excuse me, you were saying?