War’s toll on U.S. troops.
Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker recently recommended to President Bush that troop levels in Iraq “remain nearly the same through 2008 as at any time during five years of war.” The New York Times reports on a survey by the Army surgeon general’s Mental Health Advisory Team that shows the mental health toll of these repeated deployments on U.S. troops:
Among combat troops sent to Iraq for the third or fourth time, more than one in four show signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress, according to an official Army survey of soldiers’ mental health. […]
Among the 513,000 active-duty soldiers who have served in Iraq since the invasion of 2003, more than 197,000 have deployed more than once, and more than 53,000 have deployed three or more times, according to a separate set of statistics provided this week by Army personnel officers. The percentage of troops sent back to Iraq for repeat deployments would have to increase in the months ahead.
The Army study of mental health showed that 27 percent of noncommissioned officers — a critically important group — on their third or fourth tour exhibited symptoms commonly referred to as post-traumatic stress disorders.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
The treatment of those who have loyally followed the orders of a madman is among the worst crimes of the Bush administration. Unfortunately Mr. Bush has exhibited no signs that he possesses a conscience so it will be up to the next administration, and the American public, to hold the guilty accountable.
April 5th, 2008 at 7:48 pmIf we “win” in Iraq we stay. If we are “losing” in Iraq we stay. If violence is up “the surge is working” if violence is down “the surge is working.” He who controls the message . . . Bush and his continual “head’s I win–tails you lose” game is mercifully coming to an end and none too soon.
April 5th, 2008 at 8:07 pmAmong combat troops sent to Iraq for the third or fourth time, more than one in four show signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress, according to an official Army survey of soldiers’ mental health. […]
“So.” - DICK cheney
April 5th, 2008 at 8:14 pmBring. Them. Home. NOW! Can we make that any clearer?
PEACE
April 5th, 2008 at 8:17 pmWHAT WAR? WHEN WAS THE OFFICIAL DECLARATION OF WAR MADE?
April 5th, 2008 at 8:26 pmSomehow my one tour of twelve months in Nam pales in comparison to what this generation of American soldiers are going through.
April 5th, 2008 at 8:30 pmBush/Caligula has the ‘hardest job’ of any soldier. Right.
April 5th, 2008 at 8:31 pmRUCerious Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Bush/Caligula has the ‘hardest job’ of any soldier. Right.
When I heard that comment I was stunned into silence. It is beyond all the usual comments like arrogance, etc. This borders on insanity. The totally out of the loop royalty of by gone days. “Let them eat cake” comes readily to mind. Completely out of touch with reality and living in a self projected fantasy.
April 5th, 2008 at 8:45 pmI’ll bet that Cheney-Bush’s response to the mental health issues will be, “So?”
April 5th, 2008 at 8:48 pmWhy is there still so much stigma attached to common mental illnesses?
April 5th, 2008 at 8:57 pmSince the trolls aren’t touching this thread, the part of the troll will be played by ralph the wonder llama.
“So? They volunteered.”
Thank you.
April 5th, 2008 at 8:58 pmThe Army study of mental health showed that 27 percent of noncommissioned officers — a critically important group — on their third or fourth tour exhibited symptoms commonly referred to as post-traumatic stress disorders.
These are the sergeants that run the show as the mission unfolds. You have, essentially, emotionally sick men who need help, directing their squads in the heat of battle! To accept this fact, and totally ignore it is criminal on the part of BushCo and the top commanders in Iraq who are sanctioning this policy.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:03 pmRalph you are to funny. You are a constant in the universe don’t change. Please..
April 5th, 2008 at 9:06 pmdbadass Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Why is there still so much stigma attached to common mental illnesses?
You are right. There shouldn’t be, but there is. Fortunately there is much less negativism now than years ago (like in the 40s and 50s which I lived through.) “Crazy” people were quickly isolated from society and severe forms of “therapy” like electroshock and lobotomies, were the accepted norm. Fortunately, we are moving slowly in a positive direction. I believe there is a demonstrable difference in the view of the public, between the returning Nam vets and those from Iraq. Not so for BushCo however. All people, sick or not, to them, are merely pawns in their game of personal greed and power. All expendable.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:16 pmAnother source of this toll on American soldiers is that their own commanders will not level with them. Gen. Petraeus has said he will not recommend troop reductions below those already announced, which means that he is freezing troop levels in Iraq at roughly 140,000. The military has also announced that tours will be shortened from 15 to 12 months.
The dishonesty comes in because the military doesn’t have enough troops to be able to shorten tours to 12 months while also keeping 140,000 in Iraq. Also, we saw what happened in Kansas last year and New Orleans the year before where the National Guard was deployed to Iraq so they didn’t have the people to provide support when tragedy struck here at home.
Conditions such as this happen because we have weak leadership. The leaders are clueless when it comes to having strategies to handle the consequences of their actions, both intended and unintended. This criticism is directed at the General’s that have been picked to lead these operations as well as the civilians in DOD responsible for this utter failure. It is hard to imagine how a worse crew could have been picked.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:26 pmBush/Caligula has the ‘hardest job’ of any soldier. Right.
Merlin and RUCerious, don’t forget that Laura Bush tried to sell this same line of shite before Darth did. Absolutely sickening.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:27 pmalph the wonder llama Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Since the trolls aren’t touching this thread, the part of the troll will be played by ralph the wonder llama.
“So? They volunteered.”
Thank you.
————-
Wow… so…so… believable… ‘n realistic.
Method acting, right?
What was your “motivation”… Ralph?
How did you get in touch w/ your “inner troll”, so to speak?
April 5th, 2008 at 9:32 pmHeh, “inner troll”. :-)
April 5th, 2008 at 9:39 pmI know what you mean, TRoS. I almost flagged Ralph. Amazing work. **applause**
April 5th, 2008 at 9:41 pmHi jane… it’s beisbol season! :-D!!
I bought an online subscription to MLB radio today.
ALL MLB games, for the whole season, for $15. I know that’s a small fortune to a troll… but… I had to do it.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:41 pmYeah…
***chuckling…***
That llama… how does he do it?
I mean, as a bear, I almost have opposing thumbs.
But a lllama? I mean… he’s an ungulate, fer Christ’s sake. He’s only got HOOVES.
And yet, he still sells it, every time.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:45 pmI never knew llamas could be so talented. But afterall, he is the wonder llama…
April 5th, 2008 at 9:47 pmTrue, Z… tis true…
And a wonderful llama, ta boot…
April 5th, 2008 at 9:52 pmOoops, #23 should read”
the general public believes, IMO.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:53 pmThe Republic of Stupidity Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
How did you get in touch w/ your “inner troll”, so to speak?
Yes, Ralph. Inquiring minds want to know! Next you will be telling us that your other user name is Kilo.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:56 pmHey, TRoS, yes, it is! I couldn’t get tickets for the last game, but I got the penultimate game. It’ll have to do.
Back on topic (more or less): How is it that we who advocate bringing the troops home are considered to be “not supporting the troops”, while this administration and most Republiskunks are the ones who are against doing pretty much anything FOR the troops, whether while they’re deployed or after they’ve come back home, whatever their condition when they arrive?
April 5th, 2008 at 9:56 pmI know, Jane.
That blood-thirsty, delusional little monster in the WH is destroying the military.
It’s just gets more and more painful all the time watch the wingnuttery care on in their rabid insanity.
April 5th, 2008 at 10:00 pmAnother problem is that the guys that have already come home with post traumatic stress disorders are being denied benefits. They are telling them that they already had mental illnesses before they entered the Armed Services.
So it was okay for them to fight in the war with a mental illness??? How can the government not take care of Vets..
April 5th, 2008 at 10:00 pmIt is absolutely shameful.
Freedom Rebel, you’re right, they can’t have it both ways. Unfortunately, they already live in their own reality where logic means nothing. Also unfortunately, no one seems to call them out on this crap.
April 5th, 2008 at 10:03 pmJane E. Schneider Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
How is it that we who advocate bringing the troops home are considered to be “not supporting the troops”,…
Yes, Jane, I know you pose a rhetorical question. But never the less, one that confused (not you) people often ask even here. The answer for those other questioners is in my post #23:
The price, however tragic, is of no concern to them. Their philosophy is that “the ends justifies the means.”
April 5th, 2008 at 10:04 pmHi Jane,
Here is an interesting article comparing the military with private corporations regarding the treatment of their “workers,” and their attitude toward them. Check it out!
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080331/zweig
April 5th, 2008 at 10:21 pmMerlin, why am I not seeing your post #23? I’ve got a TRoS comment as #23.
April 5th, 2008 at 10:21 pmJane,
I don’t know. It shows on my screen. Here it is again. Let me know if you see it. I will post it on the next post from this.
April 5th, 2008 at 10:24 pmRe: Comment of “llama”
Since we are going to segregate the troops according to whether they are “volunteers” or ” others”.
Perhaps the DOD will set up two layers of treatment for the wounded veterans. One first class system for the “others”, and a not so first class for the “volunteers”. Should this cost saving item be forwarded to V.P. Cheney and Sen McConnell?
April 5th, 2008 at 10:25 pmJane,
Apparently, they have some question about my comment as is indicated here:
Merlin Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
I was strong in my condemnation of BushCo. may be why.
April 5th, 2008 at 10:29 pmJane,
Can you see #37?
April 5th, 2008 at 10:33 pmJeez, Merlin, how strong? Well, I hope that whoever’s moderating hurries up! Thanks for the link, BTW.
April 5th, 2008 at 10:34 pm“Can you see #37?” was #36, then mine was 37.
April 5th, 2008 at 10:36 pmJane,
It is interesting that they have chosen to ban that post. I have read a great many worse posts against the administration, swearing and condemning etc. Must have used a word that the computer system did not like. Like “crinimal” or saying that they were not a “good” as in honest and above board group.
They also banned one of my posts against Hillary last year for no reason that I could figure out, and of course they never answered my request as to why.
And to think, I actually thought that was a good post, which is not always the case.
April 5th, 2008 at 10:45 pmJane,
How about the post #42 on my screen, at this time below:
Merlin Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 10:50 pmApril 5th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
The comments are all messed up.
I blame the trolls.
April 5th, 2008 at 11:01 pmah hahaha! … leave it to the trooll to come here with that nonsense…
the trooll only knows about puppets (and puppet masters)…
obama is no puppet…
An article in Friday’s New York Sun reports that the publication has obtained a confidential policy paper written by Colin Kahl, an advisor to Barack Obama’s campaign, that recommends that the United States have between 60,000 and 80,000 troops in Iraq as late as 2010. According to the Sun, in Kahl’s proposal U.S. troops would serve in an “over-watch role” in Iraq, allowing Iraqi forces to take the lead on counterinsurgency operations.
The Sun article describes Kahl as “the day-to-day coordinator of the Obama campaign’s working group on Iraq.” However, both Kahl and the Obama campaign quickly distanced the candidate from Kahl’s plan, which is not the official policy of the Obama campaign. Kahl said, “This has absolutely zero to do with the campaign.” Susan Rice, a senior foreign affairs advisor to the Obama campaign, said of Kahl’s assessment, “We have experts and scholars with a range of views and Barack appreciates this range of views. They are in think tanks and like me they write in their own voice, they are people who do their independent scholarship. Barack Obama cannot be held accountable for what we all write.” Rice added that the number of U.S. troops Obama would keep in Iraq “depends on the circumstances on the ground.” And the Sun did note that “Obama’s policy to date also allows for a residual force for Iraq.”
April 5th, 2008 at 11:18 pm[…]
http://www.salon.com/ politics/ war_room/ 2008/ 04/ 04/ obama_residual_force/ index.html
sent to me via email from moveon.org:
10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don’t):
1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has “evolved,” yet he’s continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain “will make Cheney look like Gandhi.”2
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3
4. McCain opposes a woman’s right to choose. He said, “I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned.”4
5. The Children’s Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children’s health care bill last year, then defended Bush’s veto of the bill.5
6. He’s one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a “second job” and skip their vacations.6
7. Many of McCain’s fellow Republican senators say he’s too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: “The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He’s erratic. He’s hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me.”7
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his “spiritual guide,” Rod Parsley, believes America’s founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a “false religion.” McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church “the Antichrist” and a “false cult.”9
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:11 amNow its time to take Charlton Heston’s gun out of his cold dead hand.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:12 amForTruth Says:
April 6th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Now its time to take Charlton Heston’s gun out of his cold dead hand.
Did he finally kick? Suck actor, suck person.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:17 amI shall remember Charlton Heston as a spokesman for a noble group of people when he said, “Get your paws off me, you damn, dirty ape!”
April 6th, 2008 at 12:28 amYou are all much too kind.
(ralph bows)
April 6th, 2008 at 12:29 amForTruth
April 6th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Hey, party at TheZoo…
April 6th, 2008 at 12:29 amRe: Charlton Heston to Pres. Clinton:
“America doesn’t trust you with our 21-year-old daughters, and we sure, Lord, don’t trust you with our guns.”
Gee, I didn’t realize that fathers had so much control over their adult daughters. Monica was an adult. What an idiot.
Very good actor, though, IMO.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:56 amFathers have this illusion about their adult daughters….
April 6th, 2008 at 1:01 amZooey Says:
April 6th, 2008 at 1:01 am
Fathers have this illusion about their adult daughters….
It’s more comforting than the truth, ain’t it, Zooey? ;)
April 6th, 2008 at 1:05 amWayne A. Schneider Says:
April 6th, 2008 at 1:05 am
It’s more comforting than the truth, ain’t it, Zooey? ;)
Absolutely. :-)
April 6th, 2008 at 1:10 amkilo is really full of himself tonight. what a poser.
April 6th, 2008 at 1:16 amGen Betray Us couldnt run a fast food restaurant let alone an occupying army…good politician in uniform though. What a stupid putz this guy is
April 6th, 2008 at 1:37 amhttp://ccoaler.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 04/ army-worried-by-rising-stress-of-return.html
Army Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours to Iraq
Army Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours to Iraq
April 6th, 2008 at 2:45 amPublished: April 6, 2008
WASHINGTON — Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq for this year and beyond.
http://ccoaler.blogspot.com/2008/04/in-nutshell.html
Iraq cartoon: in a nutshell
April 6th, 2008 at 4:19 am.
Glen Greenwald writes
Blinky eyes
Blinky eyes
What WAR CRIMES?
What Usurpation of the Constitution?
What TORTURE?
.
April 6th, 2008 at 5:33 amPresident Bush got America to attack Iraq by CONFLATING Saddam Hussein with Osama Bin Laden. Now Act II. Told ya…
A strong statement from General David Petraeus about Iran’s intervention in Iraq could set the stage for a US attack on Iranian military facilities, according to a Whitehall assessment. In closely watched testimony in Washington next week, Gen Petraeus will state that the Iranian threat has risen as Tehran has supplied and directed attacks by militia fighters against the Iraqi state and its US allies.
The outbreak of Iraq’s worst violence in 18 months last week with fighting in Basra and the daily bombardment of the Green Zone diplomatic enclave, demonstrated that although the Sunni Muslim insurgency is dramatically diminished, Shia forces remain in a strong position to destabilise the country.
“Petraeus is going to go very hard on Iran as the source of attacks on the American effort in Iraq,” a British official said. “Iran is waging a war in Iraq. The idea that America can’t fight a war on two fronts is wrong, there can be airstrikes and other moves,” he said.
From Zbigniew Brzezinski , ONE YEAR AGO:
“A plausible scenario for a military collision with Iran involves Iraqi failure to meet the benchmarks; followed by accusations of Iranian responsibility for the failure; then by some provocation in Iraq or a terrorist act in the U.S. blamed on Iran…”
I really hope I am Wrong about this.
April 6th, 2008 at 8:20 amOff-Topic:
Chuckie Heston kicked the bucket — it’s time to go pry his guns out of his dead, cold hands.
April 6th, 2008 at 8:45 amI’m in Afghanistan right now. I’m done with the perpetual war-game. I’m 4 months in on a 15 month tour. I have 10 months left in the army when I get back and then I’m out. I hope they pass the proposed changes to the GI Bill Senator Webb from Virginia is pushing so I don’t end up waiting tables until I die, but it sure beats another tour in this place. We’ll see whether I get stuck in the “stop-loss,” trap. Why worry about recruiting new soldiers when the ones you have are trapped in the military? You can stay in and have a stable paycheck to feed your family, or you can get out and fend for yourself in a struggling economy. It’s up to you.
April 6th, 2008 at 9:24 amGet your college paid for - Join the National Guard!
Just one weekend a month, and 2 weeks a year….
yeah
right….
I seem to recall hearing that sometime or another….
April 6th, 2008 at 9:42 amOf the soldiers with symptoms of a mental health problem, only 38 percent to 45 percent indicated they were interested in getting professional help and only 23 to 40 percent said they had received such help in the past year.
“Concern about stigma was disproportionately greatest among those most in need of help from mental health services,” the study’s authors said.
Among the reasons cited for not seeking help, 63 percent of those with signs of mental health problems agreed with the statement “my unit leadership might treat me differently” and 65 percent said that they would be seen as weak.
Those extra tours of duty are taking too high of a toll on these guys. The biggest crime of this war is the survivors that have been irrevocably changed for life. That have to live with horrific nightmares, outburst of anger, the inability to never be able to relax and a damaged phyche.
We can repair wounds to the flesh. But how do you repair the deepest of all wounds to the heart and mind??
April 6th, 2008 at 11:03 amSo it was okay for them to fight in the war with a mental illness??? How can the government not take care of Vets..
It is absolutely shameful.
I hope that the Democrats run an ad saying “The Republicans (and John McCain) tell us they support the troops.” Then go on to list all the bills they have killed that actually support the troops, highlighting John McCain’s votes. Especially hit on armoring the troops and the care they don’t get when they come home. And then there’s always the GI bill college benefits legislation that it looks like McCain is not going to support. That will be a BIG mistake on his part.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:10 amWe have experts and scholars with a range of views and Barack appreciates this range of views.
And that, my friend, is what I like about Obama. He listens to what a lot of people with differing opinions has to say. I have total faith in the fact that he will do what is right at the time he takes office. I’m hoping that the first thing he will do is to close the permanent bases that are being built.
Regarding those bases, why can’t Congress pass a law that says the Bush Administration can’t spend any of the money appropriated for Iraq on permanent bases? That would be a definite step in the right direction.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:17 amNow I remember why I don’t read Kilo’s posts. I accidentally read the last one and it left me shaking my head. They remind me of a psychological phenomenon I studied in my Psych class in college. It’s called Talking in Word Salad. This means the person talking is stringing words together but they are just that words. There is no meaning to the words. I actually witnessed it one time when I was working in a psych facility. The person was carrying on a “conversation” with me, but the words made no sense. It’s a weird feeling. You keep trying to assign some meaning to the words, but you can’t do it because they are just random words.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:37 amhahaha! good one, bilbo…
“Waldorf Word Salad” (in your best snooty tooty sounding voice)
what’s another? waldorf first came to mind… but that’s apples…
anyway…
…
MonkeyButt - thanks for the report… we know you’re doing your best at what you have to do! …come back here often and keep us informed!
April 6th, 2008 at 12:28 pmTAKE CARE! you AND your buds!
#67 Bilbo
Great Idea… It would make people wake up and think for once.
April 6th, 2008 at 7:32 pm