Army sees spike in accidents, suicides

[maddezmom]

Source: UPI

WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- The acting secretary of the U.S. Army says he is seeing a troubling spike in key morale indicators among soldiers -- suicide, divorces and accidents.
Acting Secretary Pete Geren told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday at his nomination hearing to become the civilian head of the Army that he discusses suicides and fatal accidents at a weekly meeting with senior military leaders.

"Our Army leadership every week, in addition to everything they're doing all week long, is alerted to those two indicators as well as the other indicators," he said.

Geren said he tracks absent-without-leave rates, desertion rates, drug rates, criminal activity, and accidents.

"We have seen most of those indicators hold steady. Three have not held steady and are troubling. Accidents have increased, as have suicides and have divorces," he said.

An Army source said the numbers of fatal accidents, divorces and suicides is not significantly spiking, and at the end of the fiscal year is likely to not to appear to be an increase over pre-war levels. However, viewed in a short span of time, it is an increase and a real concern.



Read more: http://www.upi.com/Security_Terrorism/Briefing/2007/06/21/army_sees_spike_in_accidents_suicides/6564/

[babylonsister]

1. Dammit, connect the dots! What do they think these longer deployments

are doing for morale?

[papercut]

2. Accidents? Really?

I'd wager that many of those "accidents" are also suicide or suicide attempts.

[Ezlivin]

3. So the same people who know how "terrorists" think don't understand those under their own command?

These fuckers are good at telling us how the "terrorists" think and what they will do if we leave and etc.

Yet they can't see what repeated and extended deployments with NO GOAL does to people?

This is just so fucked up on so many levels....

[Orsino]

6. Oh, they understand their own commands, all right. Some of them do.

They may not dare to lodge protests, but they can derive a certain satisfaction from publishing the stats. Some in uniform really care for their troops, and are desperately hoping that we and our Congress will do something.

[saigon68]

8. Time to get out

I don't buy the shit which states "I was only following orders"

Get the fuck out of the military.

The people who "care" but remain silent on the losses are cowards

[Orsino]

9. Or just maybe...

...they care enough to try to minimize the damage, and to remain instead of leaving the job to whatever mindless aparatchik the * Admin would replace them with.

I do have to agree, though, that very senior officers can retire almost at will, and could then speak out if they were so willing. It may not be cowardice so much as comfort.

[saigon68]

11. A lot of the senior types

give "Lip Service" to the welfare of their subordinates

Most are waiting to retire to Boeing and Lockheed land where the salaries are 7 figures and above

[DrDan]

4. so get ready for some real statistical tricks to hide the significant trends

like showing rolling-averages so spikes are reduced and hidden.

[Solly Mack]

5. I've lived on 2 different military posts since 2001 and during that time

suicides, accidents, and divorces have all gone up on both posts. On both posts, all 3 have been higher than usual...

[kineneb]

7. "the floggings will continue until moral improves"

got the t-shirt

What does the military expect, when they push people beyond their physical and mental resources?

[roody]

10. Bush is doing what no left leaning president

could do: destroy the military.

[catmandu57]

12. They're wearing out

Mentally, physically, just worn the fuck out, used up questioning their job and being extended, stop lossed, it's got to be a big morale crusher.
I feel so sorry for the men and women of our military, they've done the best job possible, but, they've been rode hard and put away wet by a bunch of pshychopaths who don't care about them.