Military blames everyone and everything for suicides

Military blames everyone and everything for suicides
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
March 6, 2013

First let this sink in for a moment.

"Between November 2011 and October 2012, there were more than 15,000 IED attacks against U.S. service members"

Now, some want to point their finger at the blast itself, but fail to notice the most important factor of what the blast does. It kills. It blows up bodies. It hides in the road. They can't see it coming. They don't know where they are. They cannot shoot at it, fight it or avoid them 100% of the time. While average people get hit by PTSD after traumatic events, and most understand that, the military fails to connect the event to the result.

TBI is not PTSD but the event that causes TBI can also cause PTSD. The military and "experts" have been alluding to reports of NFL players TBI and suicides but fail to acknowledge that getting hurt is part of the job and how they get hurt is when they are tackled by other players with only one mission. Taking them down. It is a violent sport just like boxing is. Yes, their brains get bashed into their scull by opponents trying to take them down and yes, some have TBI as the result. Still this is far from a "new theory" and I wish reporters would finally do some research to know the truth.

I suggest you read this for the numbers alone and then what else I have to say will make more sense.

Are brain injuries from IED blasts causing the military suicide crisis?
By Bill Briggs
NBC News contributor

Traumatic brain injuries sustained by more than 200,000 U.S. troops during combat explosions may be fueling the military’s suicide crisis, according to a letter co-signed by 53 congressional members who are seeking additional data to investigate the new theory.

In the letter, sent Tuesday to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the lawmakers urged both agencies to provide Congress with a raft of figures, including the number of Iraq and Afghanistan service members and veterans who committed suicide or tried to end their lives after being brain injured by the detonation of an improvised explosive device — “the weapon of choice” in both wars.

“Evidence has suggested that blast injuries, including but not limited to those causing damage to vision or hearing, can have a severe psychological impact ... that can play a major contributing role in suicides,” read the bi-partisan letter.

Between November 2011 and October 2012, there were more than 15,000 IED attacks against U.S. service members in Afghanistan, and 58 percent of all coalition casualties during that span were caused by the hidden bombs, the letter states.
read more here

From 2007
Trends in Treatment of America’s Wounded Warriors

These are from 2008
One in five soldiers get concussion
Study: PTSD, not brain injury, may cause vets' symptoms
Finally common sense on TBI-PTSD link

These are from 2009
A Chance for Clues to Brain Injury in Combat Blasts
Scanning invisible damage of PTSD, brain blasts
There are more but you get the idea now. None of this is new! The military keeps hoping they will find the answer that points to anything but what they have gotten wrong all these years. RESILIENCE TRAINING AND CLAIMS OF SUPPORTING THEM TO GO FOR HELP ARE NOT WORKING!

I talk to families all the time and they are dealing with the suicide of someone they thought came home safe from combat. What the DOD thinks they got right is wrong and nothing will change the outcome unless they finally see what is right under their nose!