A New York Times article reports that more of our soldiers are dying as a result of suicide than from enemy fire.
This finding disturbs me. It seems to suggest that we’re not giving sufficient attention to the well-being of our soldiers.
Given that we’ve been curtailing services for our soldiers, such a result isn’t altogether surprising. We seem to be trying to save money by telling our soldiers that they no longer need medical or psychological treatment, rather than actually taking steps to help them heal. Health care by “fiat” doesn’t work.
The US has consistently failed to live up to its promises to its soldiers, apparently starting with the Vietnam War. They’ve come back broken and bleeding, and we’ve told them to carry on, stiff upper lip, etc. Thanks for putting your life on the line for us, sorry you got hurt, now fuck off and die.
Medical care is expensive. Psychiatric care is even more expensive. If you want to save money, cutting these services is the way to go – it eliminates a huge source of expenses. Unfortunately, it costs us even more in the long run.
We may save money – maybe lots of money – but we’re killing our soldiers. This cost-cutting is killing more soldiers than our enemies are.
The Dangers Of Combat
A New York Times article reports that more of our soldiers are dying as a result of suicide than from enemy fire.
This finding disturbs me. It seems to suggest that we’re not giving sufficient attention to the well-being of our soldiers.
Given that we’ve been curtailing services for our soldiers, such a result isn’t altogether surprising. We seem to be trying to save money by telling our soldiers that they no longer need medical or psychological treatment, rather than actually taking steps to help them heal. Health care by “fiat” doesn’t work.
The US has consistently failed to live up to its promises to its soldiers, apparently starting with the Vietnam War. They’ve come back broken and bleeding, and we’ve told them to carry on, stiff upper lip, etc. Thanks for putting your life on the line for us, sorry you got hurt, now fuck off and die.
Medical care is expensive. Psychiatric care is even more expensive. If you want to save money, cutting these services is the way to go – it eliminates a huge source of expenses. Unfortunately, it costs us even more in the long run.
We may save money – maybe lots of money – but we’re killing our soldiers. This cost-cutting is killing more soldiers than our enemies are.