18 veterans kill themselves every day in the U.S.

Navy Admiral Mike Mullen (ret.), former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an audience in Aspen this weekend that military has “18 vets a day who are killing themselves in the United States” due to the incomprehensible stresses of military life, which he said are compounded by a public that is increasingly disconnected from the ongoing wars.

Military suicides rose dramatically after the start of the Iraq war, according to a recent study by the Army’s Public Health Command. That same study found that in 2008, 1 in 5 U.S. soldiers voluntarily submitted to a mental health evaluation, “implying a prevalent public health problem.” Since then, the military’s suicide rate has continued to climb, hitting a 10-year high in 2012, even though U.S. forces are almost entirely withdrawn from Iraq.

As bad as that sounds, it gets worse: Those figures only account for active duty soldiers, and not soldiers who have returned to private life. If Mullen is correct, then the problem of military suicides is even worse than previously known.

Read more

U.S. Troops Average One Suicide a Day

In 2011, suicide rates in the U.S. military reached a staggering level of one per day: 154 active-duty troops committed suicide in the first 155 days of the year, representing the fastest increase in troop suicides over the past decade.

According to the Associated Press and Pentagon statistics:

The 154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year far outdistance the U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan — about 50 percent more.

The 2012 active-duty suicide total of 154 through June 3 compares to 130 in the same period last year, an 18 percent increase. And it’s more than the 136.2 suicides that the Pentagon had projected for this period based on the trend from 2001-11. This year’s January-May total is up 25 percent from two years ago, and it is 16 percent ahead of the pace for 2009, which ended with the highest yearly total thus far.

Read more

On Memorial Day, Remembering 15-Year-Old Marine PFC Dan Bullock

Dan Bullock was 14 when he signed up with the Marines using doctored documents—and 15 when he died in Vietnam.

Read more

News and Features A Fallen Soldier’s Last Gift: Bruce Hays and the Apache Project

U.S. military receives remains of last soldier missing in Iraq

The U.S. military has recovered the remains of the last U.S. service member missing in Iraq, ending a nearly six-year ordeal involving shadowy militants and a tragic love story, his family said Sunday.

Read more

Arrests of Service Men Raises Question of Racism in Soldier's Death

This undated file photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Pvt. Danny Chen,19, who was killed Monday, Oct. 3, 2011 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The U.S. Army says eight American soldiers have been charged in connection with the Oct. 3 death of a fellow soldier in southern Afghanistan. In a statement, the military said the eight soldiers from Chen’s company faced charges ranging from dereliction of duty, assault, negligent homicide and involuntary manslaughter. Chen was found in a guard tower in Kandahar province with what the Army described at the time as “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.” He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Read more

274 Troops’ Ashes Dumped in Landfill

Last month it was revealed that the Air Force dumped incinerated remains of American troops in a Virginia landfill, but the military downplayed just how much had been dumped. Records now show that the partial remains of at least 274 American troops were dropped in that landfill, much more than originally acknowledged. The military has put an end to using the landfill for disposing of troop remains, a practice that was never formally authorized or disclosed to senior Pentagon officials. In order to determine exactly how many soldiers’ ashes were sent to the landfill, the records of every service member to have gone through the mortuary since 2001—more than 6,300—would have to be searched.

Read more

Facing Ninth Deployment, Army Ranger Kills Himself. 'No Way' That God Would Forgive Him For What He'd Seen, Done, He Told Wife

Epidemic: Over 400,000 Traumatic Brain Injuries for Vets Coming from Iraq and Afghanistan

America faces a huge challenge in caring for the shocking number or traumatized war vets.

READ MORE

The Military

Dear Civilians,

'We know that the current state of affairs in our great
nation has many civilians up in arms and excited to join the military.

For those of you who can't join, you can still lend a hand. Here are a few
of the areas where we would like your assistance:

1. The next time you see any adults talking (or wearing a hat) during the
playing of the National Anthem - kick their ass.

2. Regardless of the rank they held while they served, pay the highest
amount of respect to all veterans. If you see anyone doing otherwise,
quietly pull them aside and explain how these veterans fought for the very
freedom they bask in every second. Enlighten them on the many sacrifices
these veterans made to make this Nation great. Then hold them down while a
disabled veteran kicks their ass.

3. If you were never in the military, DO NOT pretend that you were.
Wearing battle dress uniforms (BDUs) or Jungle Fatigues, telling others that you
used to be ' Special Forces '. Collecting GI Joe memorabilia, might have
been okay when you were seven years old, now, it will only make you look
stupid and get your ass kicked.

4. Next time you come across an Air Force member , do not ask them, "Do
you fly a jet?" Not everyone in the Air Force is a pilot. Such ignorance
deserves an ass-kicking (children are exempt).

5. If you witness someone calling the US Coast Guard "non-military",
inform them of their mistake - and kick their ass.

6. Next time Old Glory (the US flag) prances by during a parade, get on
your damn feet and pay homage to her by placing your hand over your heart
Quietly thank the military member or veteran lucky enough to be carrying
her - of course, failure to do either of those could earn you a severe
ass-kicking.

7. Don't try to discuss politics with a military member or veteran. We
are Americans, and we all bleed the same, regardless of our party affiliation.
Our Chain of Command is to include our Commander-In-Chief (CinC). The
President (for those who didn't know) is our CinC regardless of political
party. We have no inside track on what happens inside those big important
buildings where all those representatives meet. All we know is that when
those civilian representatives screw up the situation, they call upon the
military to go straighten it out. If you keep asking us the same stupid
questions repeatedly, you will get your ass kicked.

8. "Your mama wears combat boots " never made sense to me - stop saying
it! If she did, she would most likely be a vet and therefore would kick
your ass!

9. Bin Laden and the Taliban are not Communists, so stop saying "Let's
go kill those Commies!" And stop asking us where he is! Crystal balls are not
standard issue in the military. That reminds me - if you see anyone
calling those damn psychic phone numbers, let me know, so I can go kick their ass!

10. "'Flyboy" (Air Force), "Jarhead" (Marines), "Grunt" (Army),
"Squid" (Navy), "Puddle Jumpers" (Coast Guard), etc., are terms of
endearment we use describing each other. Unless you are a service member or
vet, you have not earned the right to use them. Using them could get your
ass kicked.

11. Last, but not least, whether or not you become a member of the
military, support our troops and their families. Every Thanksgiving and
religious holiday that you enjoy with family and friends, please remember
that there are literally thousands of soldiers, sailors, Marines and
airmen far from home wishing they could be with their families. Thank God for our military as without them our country would get its ass kicked.

Army Sends Mom to Afghanistan, Infant to Protective Services

U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, was threatened with a military court-martial if she did not agree to deploy to Afghanistan, despite having been told she would be granted extra time to find someone to care for her 11-month-old son while she is overseas.

Hutchinson, of Oakland, California, is currently being confined at Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah, Georgia, after being arrested. Her son was placed into a county foster care system.

Hutchinson was threatened with a court martial if she did not agree to deploy to Afghanistan on Sunday, Nov. 15. She has been attempting to find someone to take care of her child, Kamani, while she is deployed overseas, but to no avail.

The military backed off from deploying her on Nov. 15, after enough media attention came to Hutchinson's case. She is still to be deployed, likely immediately after she is able to find someone to care for her infant while she is in Afghanistan.

Read more

10 Suicides This Year at Ft. Hood -- War Stress Is Taking Soldiers to the Brink

The shooting tragedy at Fort Hood on Friday points to a much larger problem of combat stress and overdeployment in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Coburn in the way of Vet's Health Care

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Navajo Code Talkers break silence for Veterans Day

The famed Navajo Code Talkers, the elite Marine unit whose unbreakable code stymied the Japanese in World War II, fear their legacy will die with them.

Only about 50 of the 400 Code Talkers are believed to be still alive, most living in the Navajo Nation reservation that spans Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Many are frail or ill, with little time left to tell the world about their wartime contribution.

But on Tuesday, 13 of the Code Talkers, some using canes, a few in wheelchairs, arrived in New York City to participate for the first time in the nation's largest Veterans Day parade, set for Wednesday.

The young Navajo Marines, using secret Navajo language-encrypted military terms, helped the U.S. prevail at Iwo Jima and other World War II Pacific battles, serving in every Marine assault in the South Pacific between 1942 and 1945. Military commanders said the code, transmitted verbally by radio, helped save countless American lives and bring a speedier end to the war in the Pacific theater.

They were sworn to secrecy about their code, so complex that even other Navajo Marines couldn't decipher it. Used to transmit secret tactical messages via radio or telephone, the code remained unbroken and classified for decades because of its potential postwar use.

Read more

Veterans to Obama: Do Not Escalate in Afghanistan

Lack of Health Care Killed 2,266 US Veterans Last Year: Study

The number of US veterans who died in 2008 because they lacked health insurance was 14 times higher than the US military death toll in Afghanistan that year, according to a new study.

The analysis produced by two Harvard medical researchers estimates that 2,266 US military veterans under the age of 65 died in 2008 because they lacked health coverage and had reduced access to medical care.

That figure is more than 14 times higher than the 155 US troop deaths in Afghanistan in 2008, the study says.

Read more

Why Are We Locking Up Traumatized Veterans for Their Addictions Instead of Offering Them Treatment?

A new report by the Drug Policy Alliance exposes practices and policies that for decades have unjustly resulted in large numbers of psychically injured and addicted veterans landing in U.S. prisons and jails.

The report reflects a year's worth of outreach to veterans and veterans' advocates across the country and a distillation of their most creative, innovative and optimistic responses to the problem.

Gen. Steven Xenakis, M.D., special adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff for warrior and family support, brought a message of official support to a teleconference announcing the release of the report:

"250,000 soldiers is a large number of soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen who have been affected," he said. "It is so important that people are made aware of the issues and that we follow up with the best action plans we can find. … We in this country have a responsibility to assist and support them."

The report recommends changes in state and federal statutes that now prioritize punishment over treatment for veterans who commit nonviolent drug-related offenses as a result of their addictions and other mental health issues

Read more

Does Military Service Turn Young Men into Sexual Predators?

"Everyone has the potential to be a sex offender. It depends on how they have been conditioned."

PTSD Ignored on Active Duty

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have thrown post-traumatic stress disorder into stark public light. As of the end of March, 346,393 US veterans were being treated for PTSD; 115,000 of those served in Iraq or Afghanistan. That number continues to grow rapidly.

However, PTSD symptoms don't always wait to emerge until soldiers return home. For active-duty soldiers like Airman Steven Flowers, stationed in Aviano, Italy, it can take years to receive even minimal care. And once treatment begins, the soldiers are often punished for revealing their problems.

Read more