Suicides and War
by Doug Feaver
The Post reports today that suicides among active-duty soldiers in 2007 reached their highest level since the Army began keeping such records in 1980.
Our Readers Who Comment for the most part commend The Post and reporter Dana Priest for continuing to report on what happens to mentally and physically wounded soldiers returning from Iraq. They express sympathy for the individual around whom this story is built, call for a change in political leadership, improved patient car, and decry the fact that legal proceedings were initiated (then dropped) against the individual.
Some contend that such reporting aids the enemy and question the patriotism of the journalist and her news organization. And, as sometimes happens, commenters take the opportunity to issue boilerplate condemnations of the Iraq War, some of which are anti-Semitic…
The conversation on this article had mostly cogent, on-the-point remarks early on, but degenerated for awhile into the sort of incoherent and sometimes profane rant that makes old-line MSM journalists cringe and wonder why anonymous comments are permitted to go live without review. I wince myself, but I think it is useful to be reminded that hateful attitudes are out there. Further, hate speech in comment strings is almost always answered by others, part of the self-correcting process that goes with the open forum. Some comments have been removed by washingtonpost.com comment moderators as I write this morning, and others may well be before you read it.
The story, citing a draft internal military study, reports that 121 soldiers took their own lives last year, nearly 20 percent more than in 2006. A couple of comments have asked what the statistics for the general population would be for the same period; it would have nice to have had that statistic, but the increase within the military population is what this story is about, and it is significant on its own right.
Now to the comments themselves.
emainland said that "One-third or more of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq have mental problems. That’s not surprising. They’ve been asked to give their lives or futures or limbs or health to fight in an occupation that is illegal, immoral, unaffordable, unsupportable and indefensible…"
And there was this interesting exchange:
1. aldous wrote, "You know that by publishing this, you are emboldening Al Queda and being un American, right?"
2. ita8111 wrote, "…By releasing such information however relevant it "may" be, DON’T you think you are comforting the enemy specially at a time when we are at war? Just asking as such issues are best dealt with by the armed forces and have little to do with civilian life."
3. Bud0 said, "ita8111, you prove aldous correct. Sure enough, a Bush-cultist turns up to call for this news to be supressed… Where do you think Dana Priest gets his [Dana is actually a her] statistics? The Army Suicide Event Report is a regularly published, open publication… Because openness is a cornerstone of a free society. Because without a free, open society, what are you defending?…"
And claudedunger said, "Dana Priest is as much of a patriot as the guy walking point. She cares and will cover your back. The military and the administration would do well to learn from her. A thank you goes to Anne Hull too." [Anne Hull contributed to the story and was the coauthor of the original articles on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.]
1/30/2008 8:49:31 PM
But WmBabbington wrote, "Dana Priest is a traitor–don’t believe a word she writes."
And Schweg responded, "Guess that makes you a facist, given Ms. Priest’s constitutional rights and propensity to tell the truth backed up by actual facts."
drjcarlucci asked, "What’s the rate of suicide for non-military of the same demographic? That’s the most important piece of context that’s completely left out of the article. "News" out of context is trash, not information."
With that discussion out of the way, we’ll turn to BlueTwo1 who wrote, "If I were a patriotic American driven to join the military… and my thanks was to be brought up on charges after the war drove me around the bend, suicide would seem to be an acceptable option. Not everyone is lucky enough to be an officer who believes war is a simple matter of troop movements and projection of authority."
rj2z said, "Let’s just hope that this is the bottom for Lt. Whiteside [the individual on whom the story is built] and she is on her way up from here. She deserves a break, and she has given more to this country than most of us."
dotellen wrote,"I want to know if the superior officer who harassed her is going to be court-martialed."
jlk1 said, "We keep failing our soldiers. The ultimate sign of our failure is that they choose the option of suicide… It’s time to replace the elected officials who led us into a war with lies, refuse to get our troops home and refuse to care for our troops who made it home."
nicekid added, "…
Thank you George Bush and Dick Cheney for destroying everything this once great country stood for. Not only do you have the blood of hundreds of thousands on your hands, you have broken the minds of some of America’s finest.."
Eekeeley wrote, "Thank goodness they finally had the sense to stop the court martial. I guess the military’s "no man left behind" doesn’t count on a level deeper than the physical one…"
kinoworks suggested, "Remember, this is all just liberal bias. Just repeat after me until your mind is blank: the surge is working, the surge is working the surge is working until you forget that the surge is the attempt to make the best of the disaster that is Iraq, and failure that is Bush"
PaulBoyceUSArmyWashingtonDC wrote, "…It is crucial for our Soldiers to recognize that seeking help during times of stress is a sign of strength, not weakness. Leadership involvement is key to create healthy environments where Soldiers are encouraged to seek help…"
Frishoo said, "Tragic. Also tragic is the Post’s continued efforts sway public opinion against the war. Where are the stories about young people who were positively impacted by their military experience in Iraq or Afghanistan?…"
But OIFdoc wrote, "As a physician serving in iraq, the answer to this problem is simple: It is time to leave this country. I have served 10 months of a 15month stint here and have seen absolutely none of the progress that is reported by the military command… Their is no "winning" in iraq."
Last word today to hoosiermandarin, who said, "It should be mandated that all commanders spend at least a week at a VA hospital walking the halls from midnight on. They should be required to submit a written report on all coversations held and be questioned by social workers or psychiatrists If they fail to learn an understanding this should be repeated until they do or removed from command."
New internal Army figures illustrate how serious the problem has become among active military servicemembers. It’s part of an exclusive report that will appear in Thursday’s Washington Post and on washingtonpost.com.
CBS News national security correspondent David Martin has one soldier’s harrowing story – and that of her struggle to get help.
"She took two weeks worth of medicines – four different medications… and she took them all at once," her father, Tom Whiteside, said.
He holds a note she left, reading in part: "I’m very disappointed with the Army."
He says her suicide attempt was brought on by the stress of waiting to find out if she would be court-martialed for an earlier attempt to kill herself.
"It became sodistressing to my daughter, it just drove her over the edge and, um, she attempted to take her own life," Whiteside said.
Lt. Whiteside is the latest in the epidemic of attempted suicides and self-injuries by soldiers.
According to internal Army documents, the number has gone from less than 500 in 2002 to more than 2,000 last year. The number of actual suicides is also climbing, and the Army’s suicide rate is higher than at any time in the past 25 years.
But Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside is more than just a number. Hers is a shocking story of how the Army dealt with one case of mental illness.
She first tried to kill herself a year ago while serving in Iraq.
"I had a psychotic break and shot myself," she said. "I also … discharged my weapon twice and put two bullets in the ceiling."
She told her story to Washington Post reporter Dana Priest, who was the first to report that the Army wanted to courtmarshall Whiteside for brandishing her weapon.
Said Priest: "Her commander said in the charges that he brought, ‘I realize that people have said that you were mentally ill, but this is an excuse for your actions.’"
Read Dana Priest’s full investigative story at WashingtonPost.com.
Read a timeline of events surrounding the case of Lt. Whiteside.
"I want them to make a decision," Tom Whiteside said. "They have driven my daughter into suicide. I would like to get this issue resolved."
Minutes after the interview ended, Whiteside received a call telling him the charges against his daughter have been dropped."
"But what a God damn shame that we had to go to this extent," he said into the telephone.
He left immediately for the hospital to give his daughter the news – although he won’t be able to see her because she’s still in lockdown.
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