Ukrainian Soldiers Are Committing Suicides At A Staggering Rate

Members of the Ukrainian armed forces prepare a weapon at their position located near the town of Horlivka, north of Donetsk, Ukraine, June 6, 2015. REUTERS/Oleksandr Klymenko

Mikhail Klikushin, Observer: Why Are So Many Ukrainian Soldiers Committing Suicide?

The ratio of combat to non-combat fatalities is staggering.

Sooner or later, Ukraine’s war against two Russia-supported separatist regions will be over, Ukrainian Minister for Interior Arsen Avakov writes in Ukrainskaya Pravda. However, he believes the multitude of problems the war created are here to stay.

The “Strategy of the Hybrid Peace” (the title of Avakov’s article alluding to a “hybrid war” that Russia has supposedly been waging against Ukraine) is not going to be easy since the war created a “phenomenon of destruction” in Ukraine—on both individual and societal levels.

Similar to the Vietnam syndrome American soldiers suffered and the Afghan syndrome of Soviet troops, there is a new phenomenon that appeared in his country: a “Ukrainian post-war veteran syndrome.”

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WNU Editor: I am surprised that the Ukrainian Minister for Interior has brought up this crisis in such a public matter  .... like much of what is happening in Ukraine, this topic is taboo in Ukraine. My guess is that the problem is far worse than what they are willing to admit. Hell .... no one even believes the casualty stats anymore .... 2,197 Ukrainian troops have been killed, and around 8,000 have been wounded .... I have been told by family and friends that the real number is far more higher. As for eastern Ukraine .... I would not be surprised if the same suicide epidemic/crisis exists, but there is also the civilian population that has been impacted by this war .... and I am sure that they are suffering the scars from this conflict at a level that is just as bad as the soldiers .... if not worse.

US Special Forces Are Committing Suicide In Record Numbers

Special Forces’ Suicide Rates Hit Record Levels — Casualties Of ‘Hard Combat’ -- Washington Times

The suicide rates for U.S. military members who serve in special forces, like the Navy SEALs and the Army Rangers, have hit all-time highs, said Adm. William McRaven, the head of Special Operations Command.

The rate’s been high for two years, he said, Newsmax reported.

“And this year, I am afraid, we are on path to break that,” he went on at a conference in Tampa. “My soldiers have been fighting now for 12, 13 years in hard combat — hard combat — and anybody that has spent any time in this war has been changed by it. It’s that simple.”

He didn’t provide hard data for the suicide rate, but prior military statistics show that in 2012, more active duty service members died by their own hands — about 350 — than in combat, Newsmax reported. That trend seems to be showing the same for 2013, when 284 service members killed themselves between January and Dec. 15, 2013.

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More News On The High Rate Of Suicides In U.S. Special Forces

U.S. special forces struggle with record suicides: admiral -- Reuters
Special Ops chief concerned about suicides in his force -- Tampa Bay
US Special Ops forces committing suicide in record numbers -- RT

The Wounded Platoon (Special Documentary From Fronltline On Returning Iraqi Vets)

From Frontline:

On November 30, 2007, 24-year-old Kevin Shields went out drinking with three Army buddies from Fort Carson, Colo., a base on the outskirts of Colorado Springs. A few hours later, he was dead -- shot twice in the head at close range and left by the side of the road by his fellow soldiers. Shields' murder punctuated a string of violent attacks committed by the three, who are now serving time in prison for this and other crimes, and it contributed to a startling statistic: Since the Iraq war began, a total of 17 soldiers from Fort Carson have been charged with or convicted of murder, manslaughter or attempted murder committed at home in the United States, and 36 have committed suicide.

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My Comment: I highly recommend that readers should also read the comments thread for this story at the end of the PBS story..

The Rise In Military Suicides

Tough Old Soldier Battles New Enemy: Suicide Epidemic -- McClatchy News

WASHINGTON — Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Samuel Rhodes keeps pictures of the dead in his pockets.

They're the faces of young soldiers whose eyes stare out resolutely from photocopied pages worn and creased by the ritual of unfolding them, smoothing them flat and refolding them.

They're the faces of men who, haunted by problems at home or memories of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — the dead children, the fallen comrades and the lingering smell of burnt flesh — pressed guns to their heads and pulled the triggers or tied ropes with military precision and hanged themselves.

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My Comment: This problem is probably just the tip of the iceberg .... and one thing that I have learned about vets is that these problems surface up years after they have left the service.

My God-father was a World War II vet, but he committed suicide in 1963. His family and my father always referred to his war experience as the main reason why he had committed suicide .... but the official record was that he accidentally shot himself.

The Epidemic Of U.S. Military Suicides Continues

Despite Prevention Efforts, U.S. Military Suicides Rise -- McClatchy News

WASHINGTON — Eight years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq have etched indelible scars on the psyches of many of the nation's servicemen and women, and the U.S. military is losing a battle to stem an epidemic of suicides in its ranks.

Despite calls by top Pentagon officials for a sea change in attitudes about mental health, millions of dollars in new suicide prevention programming and thousands of hours spent helping soldiers suffering from what often are euphemistically dubbed "invisible wounds," the military is losing ground.

The Department of Defense Friday reported that there were 160 reported active-duty Army suicides in 2009, up from 140 in 2008. Of these, 114 have been confirmed, while the manner of death in the remaining 46 remains to be determined.

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My Comment: This problem is only going to get worse with time, but for the moment our prayers are with the families.

Army Suicides At Record Pace

Wounds Of War -- Washington Times

A warrior braves the hardship of the front, endures months away from home, suffers the trauma of combat, escapes bullets and explosions and then comes home to America to take his own life.

This makes no sense at all. Yet this year, 82 soldiers have committed suicide, according to the Army. At this pace, the tally for 2009 will likely eclipse last year's total of 140 suicides, the highest annual rate since the Pentagon began recording suicide rates 28 years ago.

It is all the more distressing since multiple efforts have been made to combat this phenomenon.

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My Comment: Long time readers of this blog know that my godfather was a World War 2 vet who committed suicide 18 years after the end of the war. Even though 18 years had passed .... we all knew that it was because of his war time experiences that he took his life.

Fortunately, public awareness is now making this issue something that we are now all aware of .... and something that we watch for.

But more work will still have to be done.

The Epidemic Of Soldier Suicides Is Increasing

U.S. Army special operations forces prepare to give Iraqi army soldiers helicopter training on an airfield near Camp Korean Village, Iraq, May 30, 2009. The training, which teaches helicopter operations and methods to detain suspected insurgents, is part of an ongoing partnership between the Iraqi army and U.S. special operations forces. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Chad Trujillo

15 Months After Iraq Bloodbath, Young Veteran Takes His Life -- McClatchy News

On March 7, 2007, Army Spc. Trevor Hogue was inside his barracks in Baghdad, describing his morning on the battlefield.

"I saw things today that I think will mess me up for life," Hogue typed to his mother, Donna, as she sat at her computer thousands of miles away from Iraq, in Granite Bay.

That day the young soldier, whose assignment included driving a Humvee through perhaps the most dangerous ZIP code on the globe, saw his sergeant blown to pieces. He saw the bodies of half of the men in his platoon torn apart. Heads were cut off and limbs severed. It happened 30 yards in front of him, and he had never been so afraid, he told his mom.

"My arms are around you," Donna Hogue wrote. "You'll be alright."

But Hogue never really recovered. Last week, he committed suicide by hanging himself in the backyard of his childhood home. He was 24 years old.

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My Comment: My father fought for the Soviet Army during the Second World War. I can only imagine what he experienced, and what little that I do know (which he told to his war buddies when he was drunk and which I overheard) is enough to give anyone the shakes.

He carried the war with him until he passed away .... the nightmares, the post traumatic syndrome .... sighhhh .... I guess his war experiences even impacted me.

America will continue to have casualties from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for a very long time. The only thing that we can do is to always treat our veterans with the respect and special consideration that they so richly deserve.

More Soldiers Committed Suicide In January Than Killed By Al Qaeda

From The Daily News:

Shocking new figures show the number of soldiers who committed suicide in January could top the number of soldiers killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan last month.

In a rare move, the Army released monthly suicide data Thursday to highlight the growing problem. Last week, Army officials said its suicide rates were at their highest in nearly 30 years.

Last year, 128 soldiers committed suicide and another 15 suspected cases are pending. Last month, Army officials believe that 24 soldiers killed themselves - compared with just four in January 2008.

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My Comment: Another example of how casualties of wars never end when the war ends.

Suicide Hot Line Got Calls From 22,000 Veterans

Pfc. Joseph Dwyer, 26, from Mt. Sinai, N.Y., carries a young Iraqi boy who was injured during a heavy battle between the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry Regiment and Iraqi forces in this March 25, 2003 file photo near Al Faysaliyah, Iraq. Dwyer died of an accidental overdose after struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder for almost five years.(AP Photo/Warren Zinn, Army Times)

From Yahoo News/AP:

WASHINGTON - More than 22,000 veterans have sought help from a special suicide hot line in its first year, and 1,221 suicides have been averted, the government says.

According to a recent RAND Corp. study, roughly one in five soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan displays symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, putting them at a higher risk for suicide. Researchers at Portland State University found that male veterans are twice as likely to commit suicide than men who are not veterans.

This month, a former Army medic, Joseph Dwyer, who was shown in a Military Times photograph running through a battle zone carrying an Iraqi boy, died of an accidental overdose after struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder for almost five years.

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My Comment: The casualties of war never end with the war ending.