http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/ap-impact-suicides-surging-us-troops-16522930
“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 — according to Pentagon statistics obtained by The Associated Press.”
According to the most recent report in the above link, suicides among troops continues to be very troubling. In my recent posting, http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4469716410121705800#editor/target=post;postID=4708284990189152658, “Call to Action,” there appears to be a national effort to bring the communities where veterans return home into ACTION, along with the VA and veterans support groups as public/private partnerships. Veterans who return home to the local community generally struggle with readjustment to civilian life. Local communities are not stepping up as they should to provide the critical “soul feeding” and TLC needed to support veterans who often feel alone and disconnected when they return home. We just need “get it” on the home front, and stop the denial and ignorance concerning the challenges and issues our heroes face when they return home following extended deployments in combat. Please go back and read my posting again to see what we are trying to do in Lincoln County Oregon to bridge the gap between federal, state, county, and local resources and put the ownership for our veterans returning home back where it belongs, back in the communities where they reside and spent most of their lives. After all, it is the local communities that sent our veterans to war in the first place…
Steve Sparks
Author
Reconciliation: A Son’s Story
