Private Chow

mylifeinthearmy:

The United States of America has been fighting two wars for the last nine years and despite what officials might tell you, we’re not successful in either one of them. But no one is telling you we’re fighting a third war—at home—and this one is proving to be another losing battle.

US Army is at it’s breaking point and soldiers are coping with the stress with drugs abuse and violence that often leads to their death. And because of the repeated deployments and inadequate support for soldiers when they return, these soldiers are ticking time bombs. The proof is in the statistics:

• 1/3 of soldiers are taking prescription drugs including anti-depressants, anxiety medications, and pain killers. Amphetamines use has doubled between 2006 and 2009.
  
  
• Sexual offenses tripled since 2003. Every year an increase of 5,000 misdemeanors are committed every year which means approximately 55,000 offenses are expected for 2010. 
  
  
• Domestic abuse is up 177% in the past six years.
  
  
• More soldiers died from non-combat injuries than war including accidents and “high risk behavior.”

No Support
Army soldiers are in desperate trouble and Army leaders are failing to aid those who need help while in combat or when they return home. ABC News reports the statistics suggests leaders are focusing only on preparing soldiers for their next deployment too quickly without allowing them sufficient time to reset after time in war. Currently soldiers are asked to return to war after one year of combat and two years at home instead of the necessary three years at home.

Suicide
Suicide details are even more dramatic. Suicides are only discovered weeks after they occurred.

Of 1,038 non-combat soldier deaths between 2006 and 2009, the report found that 88 percent were due to high-risk behavior. Of that figure, 46 percent involved drug or alcohol use at the time of death and 20 percent were due to overdose.

Nearly 80 percent of Army suicides take place in the United States, most typically among married 23-year-old, caucasian, junior-enlisted males who have deployed at least once, according to the study.

Drug Abuse
Many drugs prescribed to soldiers are open-ended with no expiration dates and are distributed as needed. In addition, soldiers have been allowed to remain in the Army despite frequently failing drug tests.

Crime
ABC News reports…

“Crime is on the rise and discipline is seemingly going unchecked. In fact, approximately 1,054 soldiers who have committed two or more felony offenses are still serving in the Army today,” the study says.

In 2009 alone, 15,074 cases of soldier misconduct faced no known disciplinary or corrective action, or referral to law enforcement, it found. Only a fraction of domestic abuse cases were referred to law enforcement.

After Death
The psychological damage is real, but the lack of support continues even after death. Military families expecting death benefits are getting scammed by insurers at Prudential and MetLife. 

They tell bereaved relatives that they’ve opened a convenient, interest-bearing account for their money that’s a nice, safe place to keep it and they give them a “checkbook.” But it’s not a normal checkbook, they don’t open individual accounts for each soldier, and they skim off most of the interest the money is making—giving beneficiaries 1% while it’s earning 4%.

These “convenient accounts” are simply corporate accounts at Prudential or MetLife and it is not insured by FDIC. If the well runs dry, these families are out of luck and the insurance companies walk away with fat pockets. 

That information is baffling! Where is the support for the US soldiers? Anyone over 30 who has a Vietnam vet relative can tell you they are psychologically not all there. There’s historic proof that war damages a person mentally, yet we’ve yet to create a structure to rehabilitate them. 

So our country wants to recruit healthy young people to join their organization, yet they’ve failed to prove they will support them if something goes wrong. This sounds like a freak’n scam and it’s legal!

-Monique “Marvelous Mo” Balcarran | Email: News@Roc4Life.com

SORCE:http://www.roc4life.com/profiles/blogs/how-us-army-neglect-their

Hopefully the army can get on top of this and the suicide rate will go down. We need to find new and effective ways to help soldiers cope with stress and depression. -pv2 green www.mylifeinthearmy.tumblr.com

sweetupndown:

Dear Followers Associated with the Military 

1.) This is not a ploy to get votes for the President. 

2.) This does not mean they are coming home. They are just leaving Iraq. More than likely, they will go to Kuwait. 

3.) They are leaving Iraq because our contract with the Iraqi Government expires. IF they were to stay, they are not protected by amnesty / granted immunity and could be arrested / tried by Iraqi Laws. So they need to leave to stay safe.

Our time in Iraq is finally coming to a close, and I am happy. I understand war-effort, and leaving a job “unfinished”, but there comes a point where you need to let a country manage themselves. 

Please read and educate yourself before spewing ignorant garbage. 

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Thanks. 

:)