Questions, blame surround soldier's suspected suicide

[bsb]

Questions, blame surround soldier's suspected suicide

>>The Army declared him fit for duty and ordered him to Afghanistan after he had twice attempted suicide at Fort Campbell, Ky., and after he had been sent to a mental institution near the base, the home of the 101st. After his arrival at Kandahar early in 2010 he was so troubled that the Army took away his weapon and forced him into counseling on the air base, according to the e-mails from the Army investigator. But he was assigned a roommate who was fully armed. C.I.D. investigators have identified the M-4 with which Sergeant Senft was killed as belonging to his roommate.

"I question why, if he was suicidal and they had to take away his gun, why was he allowed to stay in Afghanistan?" asked Sergeant Senft's father. "Why did they allow him to deploy in the first place, and why did they leave him there?"<<

>>Ever since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, suicides among American troops have been soaring, as military personnel become mentally exhausted and traumatized from repeated deployments to combat zones. In 2004, the Army reported that 67 soldiers on active duty committed suicide; by 2009 that number had jumped to 162. The Army has reported 144 suicides in 2010 through November, and officials say it is now beginning to see a sharp rise in suicides among nonactive duty National Guard and Reserve personnel who are not currently deployed.<<

http://news.mobile.msn.com/en-us/articles.aspx?afid=1&aid=40876816&pg1=2501

[Kramer]

People don't commit suicide unless they are having a certain degree of mental problems or anguish.  It is paramount that the military do everything humanly possible to ensure it's personal are given the best in health care, both mental and physical. This is a crying shame.

[bsb]

Well, you know what they say. If you take your cat out into the backyard early in the evening, keep it out there, and throw cherry bombs out the window all night, when you go out and get your cat in the morning it won't be the same cat you put out the night before.

bsb

[Xavier_Onassis]

I agree that the military should do all it can to prevent soldiers from becoming suicidal or homicidal, but I do not believe that it will ever be possible to prevent this entirely. All I can say is that they should do whatever they can.

[Kramer]

Well, you know what they say. If you take your cat out into the backyard early in the evening, keep it out there, and throw cherry bombs out the window all night, when you go out and get your cat in the morning it won't be the same cat you put out the night before.

bsb

Yup, one of my dogs is terrified by fireworks, and we have to take precautions because a park near our house fires them off during July 4th, and Christmas. If we don't she gets tweaked out for a couple of weeks.