(no subject)
Soldiers need our help!
Many of you have probably followed the news and have read that there are several soldiers being accused of either rape, killing civilians, or other atrocities over in Iraq.
What most of you don't know is the story behind them.
Many of the soldiers in Iraq, either there now, or before, or going back, have developed mental problems. Post-tramatic Stress Disorder, violence tendencies, hatred, fear, inability to function normally socially or mentally, and worse.
Many of those same soldiers have either asked for help from the US-often repeatedly- or exhibited definite signs of these problems that their superiors can't ignore.
The problem? The Army takes MONTHS, even more than a year, at best, to evaluate and give soldiers help. Most of them just get some drugs and are sent right back where they came from. Doesn't matter if the drugs work or not- it'll take forever for the soldier to go back for more help.
Not to mention that with the Army's lack of new recruits have left them panicked and straining to keep every soldier in as long as they can, and the frequent use of stop loss.
So what's going on here? Soldiers go overseas. They witness violence, torture, bombs, seeing comrades blown up, sneaking guerilla war tactics, opponents who hide and use civilians and don't fight fair. They come home again with a barrage of mental problems and illnesses. Some of them actively seek help. Some are recognized as needing help through filling out questionares. Many slip through unnoticed- a trait more and more common. So do the soldiers receive help? No, they have to wade through pages of paperwork, appointments, and questions, and then wait months for just one appointment- IF they get in that fast. That's if they are lucky. Even then, they might be told to fill out some more paperwork and come back later.
So they're waiting, still waiting for help, and - you guessed it, they get stop-lossed. Next thing they know, this group of mentally-hurting soldiers, needing and still wanting help, are deployed yet again to a violent region. Without help, they watch more comrades die, face more bombs, more war, more violence, until they snap, a civilian is raped, a civilian is killed, and suddenly the soldier is in trouble. The entire Army is pointing its finger at the soldier for doing something wrong. And the Army can't WAIT to "make an example" of the soldier in the wrong.
Wait a second, lets back up here. This soldier KNEW he needed help. He TRIED to get help. The ARMY turned him away. Made him wait. The ARMY stop-lossed him, and the ARMY redeployed him. And the ARMY still didn't help him. When the soldier snapped, whose fault is it?
If a person confessed to wanting to rape children, would you allow that person to teach at a children's school? How about FORCE that person to teach at that school? Even when that person was begging to avoid that and get help?
Isn't that what the Army is doing?
Let me make this more poignant by adding an example. The soldiers currently at Fort Carson were first stationed in Korea, a war zone where they were separated from their families. They were then sent directly from Korea to Iraq. For some, this meant a over 2 consecutive years away from their families. For others, those who had just gotten out of Basic and Airborne and were deployed directly to Korea, this meant a total of 2 and 3/4 years of separation. Many-no, most-of those soldiers came home with mental problems. Fort Carson has the highest rate of PTSD of any of the units currently in the US. They had the highest death rate in Iraq (after all, they were stationed in the very volitile Ramadi triangle, where the worst of the violence is), and continue having a high death rate- EVEN ONCE RETURNING HOME. Most of these deaths are alcohol-related, leading to the fact that Fort Carson ALSO has a leading DUI record.
So what is the US doing about the guys at Fort Carson?
Of course, you guessed it. They've been stop-lossed, given orders for not only Iraq but-of course- Ramadi. Help is put on hold. All these guys with mental problems- even the ones arrested numerous times for assault and DUI's-are being sent right back into the war.
So what do you think is going to happen to THESE guys when some of them snap?
You bet that the Army won't take responsibility. The Army sure won't help them. After all, the ARMY needs these unstable soldiers to fight the war (one that should be over by now). The Army will go right on needing them until they snap, and suddenly, all those problems that the Army refused to help with are the soldier's fault. The family of those soldiers will be ridiculed, shunned, and the soldier punished and made an example of. A soldier who just needed help and more time away from the war. The two things that unfortunately, our Army just can't give.
Please spread the word about how bad the soldiers are being treated. When you read the news, try to understand. Write to congress, tell them to do better by our soldiers. Please??
Many of you have probably followed the news and have read that there are several soldiers being accused of either rape, killing civilians, or other atrocities over in Iraq.
What most of you don't know is the story behind them.
Many of the soldiers in Iraq, either there now, or before, or going back, have developed mental problems. Post-tramatic Stress Disorder, violence tendencies, hatred, fear, inability to function normally socially or mentally, and worse.
Many of those same soldiers have either asked for help from the US-often repeatedly- or exhibited definite signs of these problems that their superiors can't ignore.
The problem? The Army takes MONTHS, even more than a year, at best, to evaluate and give soldiers help. Most of them just get some drugs and are sent right back where they came from. Doesn't matter if the drugs work or not- it'll take forever for the soldier to go back for more help.
Not to mention that with the Army's lack of new recruits have left them panicked and straining to keep every soldier in as long as they can, and the frequent use of stop loss.
So what's going on here? Soldiers go overseas. They witness violence, torture, bombs, seeing comrades blown up, sneaking guerilla war tactics, opponents who hide and use civilians and don't fight fair. They come home again with a barrage of mental problems and illnesses. Some of them actively seek help. Some are recognized as needing help through filling out questionares. Many slip through unnoticed- a trait more and more common. So do the soldiers receive help? No, they have to wade through pages of paperwork, appointments, and questions, and then wait months for just one appointment- IF they get in that fast. That's if they are lucky. Even then, they might be told to fill out some more paperwork and come back later.
So they're waiting, still waiting for help, and - you guessed it, they get stop-lossed. Next thing they know, this group of mentally-hurting soldiers, needing and still wanting help, are deployed yet again to a violent region. Without help, they watch more comrades die, face more bombs, more war, more violence, until they snap, a civilian is raped, a civilian is killed, and suddenly the soldier is in trouble. The entire Army is pointing its finger at the soldier for doing something wrong. And the Army can't WAIT to "make an example" of the soldier in the wrong.
Wait a second, lets back up here. This soldier KNEW he needed help. He TRIED to get help. The ARMY turned him away. Made him wait. The ARMY stop-lossed him, and the ARMY redeployed him. And the ARMY still didn't help him. When the soldier snapped, whose fault is it?
If a person confessed to wanting to rape children, would you allow that person to teach at a children's school? How about FORCE that person to teach at that school? Even when that person was begging to avoid that and get help?
Isn't that what the Army is doing?
Let me make this more poignant by adding an example. The soldiers currently at Fort Carson were first stationed in Korea, a war zone where they were separated from their families. They were then sent directly from Korea to Iraq. For some, this meant a over 2 consecutive years away from their families. For others, those who had just gotten out of Basic and Airborne and were deployed directly to Korea, this meant a total of 2 and 3/4 years of separation. Many-no, most-of those soldiers came home with mental problems. Fort Carson has the highest rate of PTSD of any of the units currently in the US. They had the highest death rate in Iraq (after all, they were stationed in the very volitile Ramadi triangle, where the worst of the violence is), and continue having a high death rate- EVEN ONCE RETURNING HOME. Most of these deaths are alcohol-related, leading to the fact that Fort Carson ALSO has a leading DUI record.
So what is the US doing about the guys at Fort Carson?
Of course, you guessed it. They've been stop-lossed, given orders for not only Iraq but-of course- Ramadi. Help is put on hold. All these guys with mental problems- even the ones arrested numerous times for assault and DUI's-are being sent right back into the war.
So what do you think is going to happen to THESE guys when some of them snap?
You bet that the Army won't take responsibility. The Army sure won't help them. After all, the ARMY needs these unstable soldiers to fight the war (one that should be over by now). The Army will go right on needing them until they snap, and suddenly, all those problems that the Army refused to help with are the soldier's fault. The family of those soldiers will be ridiculed, shunned, and the soldier punished and made an example of. A soldier who just needed help and more time away from the war. The two things that unfortunately, our Army just can't give.
Please spread the word about how bad the soldiers are being treated. When you read the news, try to understand. Write to congress, tell them to do better by our soldiers. Please??