Our boys are killing themselves faster than the enemy is killing them!

My god we need to get the hell out of that wasteland as soon as possible!


http://news.yahoo.com/ap-impact-suicides-surging-among-us-troops-204148055.html

Quote: only1choice

My god we need to get the hell out of that wasteland as soon as possible!


http://news.yahoo.com/ap-impact-suicides-surging-among-us-troops-204148055.html

I hate an article that tells me how many suicides there were in the given group (active duty soldiers) but does not mention what the rate was in a control group. 154 out of 1.4 million sounds like a lot, but how many were there amongst young men and women not in the military? If it's 8 per 1.4 million then it is a huge story. If its 147 per 1.4 million then it is no story.

Good point!
NIH claims it was 177.8 among people between 20 and 24 in 2007, and that it is six times more common among males than females.

Quote: weaselman

Good point!
NIH claims it was 177.8 among people between 20 and 24 in 2007, and that it is six times more common among males than females.

Article: 154 out of 1.4 million in 155 days. Works out to 259 per million per year.

NIH article claims 127 per million, but this was before the economy crashed back in 2007. South Korea (understandable) and Sweden (Huh?) have higher rates than 259/million in their general population.

Also, since there's a much higher rate in the men and men make up over 85% of our military that figure needs to be adjusted significantly upwards. On the other hand, aren't military personnel given a psyche evaluation when enlisted/commissioned so arguably they should be more mentally stable going in? Either way, military suicide of course is a horrible thing - but I wouldn't expect their rates to ever be anywhere close to the civilian rate.

Quote: SOOPOO

Quote: only1choice

My god we need to get the hell out of that wasteland as soon as possible!


http://news.yahoo.com/ap-impact-suicides-surging-among-us-troops-204148055.html

If its 147 per 1.4 million then it is no story.

Excuse Me? Roughly 73/74 men/women were killed in action in Afghanistan in 2012. Twice as many commited suicide. I understand your point but are we going to quibble about percentages?

It probably wasn't all suicides, but I do seem to remember that early in Iraq the military death total was actually lower than it was during peacetime. All branches combined lose 1-3 people a day, day in and day out. Makes sense when you consider nearly 2MM total that you will have car accidemnts, natural causes, etc. I go along with saying if the press wants to be fair, compare the rate for the civillian population of the same age.

Even then I think the military will be a little higher as you get a fair amount of people who join to get away from their life/family/town and when it is not what they thought they stay depressed.