The Hell of War Comes Home

[Grannygoli]

The Hell of War Comes Home: Newspaper Series Documents Murder, Suicide, Kidnappings by Iraq Vets

A startling two-part series published in the Gazette newspaper of Colorado Springs titled “Casualties of War” examines a part of war seldom discussed by the media or government officials: the difficulty of returning to civilian life after being trained to be a killer. The story focuses on a single battalion based at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment. Soldiers from the brigade have have been involved in brawls, beatings, rapes, drunk driving, drug deals, domestic violence, shootings, stabbings, kidnapping and suicides. The Army unit’s murder rate is 114 times the rate for Colorado Springs. We speak with the reporter who broke the story and get the Army’s response.

See this link for the newscast:

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/30/the_hell_of_war_comes_home

For those who support war, look at what war does to the minds of your young people.  This is wrong and it should be stopped.  A department of peace is much better than a department of war.

[Grannygoli]

WAR is wrong.  The military is wrong.  The military brainwashes its people to kill.  For what?

More than a million Iraqis dead and thousands of soldiers dead is a shame upon America!

This is barbaric and it must be stopped.

[cjcharlie1959]

Have you ever been in the military? I thought not!

[Gretchen2876]

I don't think that the Military is wrong. There is a very honorable and real purpose for their existence. However, I feel we should have exited the ME awhile ago. Our troops are tired, and no longer feel the pride of knowing exactly what they're fighting for. The same people are going back way too many times, while others never go at all. That's completely unfair. They need a break.

[AdkArmyMom]

And the difference between these people and the murderers and rapists in any inner-city area (NY, Chicago, etc.) is?  People who are of the mind set to commit crime are sick individuals with no regard for others.  They're everywhere!  We have a great deal of violent crime in this country and the crimes are not all being committed by soldiers returning from the war.   You need to stop already with your twisted diatribe about the people in our military.  See things for what they are.  Some people are sick.  Some of them are teenagers in back streets, some are accountants, mothers, fathers, military Majors and babysitters. They are Christians, Muslims, atheists, Buddhists or any other religion. 

Do some of the people coming back from the war have difficulties re-adjusting?  I am sure they do.  They should receive counseling.  More should be done to assess the mental health of these people just as we should be paying more attention to the youth in our schools who are going off the deep end and shooting at eachother or at the people at the mall.  Who are you blaming for THEIR actions?

Stop singling out the military.

[momandvet]

And that is relevant because?

She has every right to take issue with violence.  Just because it is government sanctioned doesn't mean it is useful or necessary.  Many Nations are thriving without picking fights every few years.  

Ever aim a gun at another human being and pull the trigger.   It isn't an easy thing to just get over.  Her post brings up some very valid concerns.

Quoting cjcharlie1959:

Have you ever been in the military? I thought not!

[Della529]

Quoting Gretchen2876:

I don't think that the Military is wrong. There is a very honorable and real purpose for their existence. However, I feel we should have exited the ME awhile ago. Our troops are tired, and no longer feel the pride of knowing exactly what they're fighting for. The same people are going back way too many times, while others never go at all. That's completely unfair. They need a break.

I agree. 

[momandvet]

The problem isn't in the military, but in the way it has been abused to perpetuate imperialism.

There are many who joined during peacetime with the thought that perhaps we had learned our lessons from Vietnam.  Others joined post 9-11 to protect their country. 

The issue is with sending troops to fight a battle that their hearts just aren't in.   The military should only be used as a form of defence against attack.  They are not equipped for peace making and that is what we need in the ME.  

We need to show these brave men and women our support by demanding that they all be brought home alive. 

[Grannygoli]

Quoting AdkArmyMom:

And the difference between these people and the murderers and rapists in any inner-city area (NY, Chicago, etc.) is?  People who are of the mind set to commit crime are sick individuals with no regard for others.  They're everywhere!  We have a great deal of violent crime in this country and the crimes are not all being committed by soldiers returning from the war.   You need to stop already with your twisted diatribe about the people in our military.  See things for what they are.  Some people are sick.  Some of them are teenagers in back streets, some are accountants, mothers, fathers, military Majors and babysitters. They are Christians, Muslims, atheists, Buddhists or any other religion. 

Do some of the people coming back from the war have difficulties re-adjusting?  I am sure they do.  They should receive counseling.  More should be done to assess the mental health of these people just as we should be paying more attention to the youth in our schools who are going off the deep end and shooting at eachother or at the people at the mall.  Who are you blaming for THEIR actions?

Stop singling out the military.

"The Army unit’s murder rate is 114 times the rate for Colorado Springs."

An organization that teaches young people to deal with the problems of the world through military action, an organization that aggressively speaks to young people as young as 14 to join the military is leading young people into higher rates of "murder, brawls, beatings, rapes, drunk driving, drug deals, domestic violence, shootings, stabbings, kidnapping and suicides."

[Della529]

Quoting AdkArmyMom:

And the difference between these people and the murderers and rapists in any inner-city area (NY, Chicago, etc.) is?  People who are of the mind set to commit crime are sick individuals with no regard for others.  They're everywhere!  We have a great deal of violent crime in this country and the crimes are not all being committed by soldiers returning from the war.   You need to stop already with your twisted diatribe about the people in our military.  See things for what they are.  Some people are sick.  Some of them are teenagers in back streets, some are accountants, mothers, fathers, military Majors and babysitters. They are Christians, Muslims, atheists, Buddhists or any other religion. 

Do some of the people coming back from the war have difficulties re-adjusting?  I am sure they do.  They should receive counseling.  More should be done to assess the mental health of these people just as we should be paying more attention to the youth in our schools who are going off the deep end and shooting at eachother or at the people at the mall.  Who are you blaming for THEIR actions?

Stop singling out the military.

Are you seriously comparing our soldiers to the criminal element?  The causations of crime in the inner cities and our schools are a completely different topic.  These occupations along with repeated deployments are changing their personalities and their mind-set.  Some of them, no matter how much counseling they receive will never be the same, will never be able to totally "re-adjust". 

These soldiers (I can't believe you referred to them as sick individuals with no regard for others) are becoming this way as a direct result of political action and inaction.  The majority of them would have never thought about doing these things had it not been for our government's eagerness for war and the big cats who have and are becoming more wealthy as a result.

[AdkArmyMom]

 

Quoting Grannygoli:

 

Quoting AdkArmyMom:

And the difference between these people and the murderers and rapists in any inner-city area (NY, Chicago, etc.) is?  People who are of the mind set to commit crime are sick individuals with no regard for others.  They're everywhere!  We have a great deal of violent crime in this country and the crimes are not all being committed by soldiers returning from the war.   You need to stop already with your twisted diatribe about the people in our military.  See things for what they are.  Some people are sick.  Some of them are teenagers in back streets, some are accountants, mothers, fathers, military Majors and babysitters. They are Christians, Muslims, atheists, Buddhists or any other religion. 

Do some of the people coming back from the war have difficulties re-adjusting?  I am sure they do.  They should receive counseling.  More should be done to assess the mental health of these people just as we should be paying more attention to the youth in our schools who are going off the deep end and shooting at eachother or at the people at the mall.  Who are you blaming for THEIR actions?

Stop singling out the military.

"The Army unit’s murder rate is 114 times the rate for Colorado Springs."

An organization that teaches young people to deal with the problems of the world through military action, an organization that aggressively speaks to young people as young as 14 to join the military is leading young people into higher rates of "murder, brawls, beatings, rapes, drunk driving, drug deals, domestic violence, shootings, stabbings, kidnapping and suicides."

Statistics from Examiner.com regarding deaths by murder in 2008:

Philadelphia, PA…332

-Chicago, IL…508

-New York, NY…522

-Baltimore, MD…234

-New Orleans, LA…179

 -Columbus, OH…108

-St. Louis, MO…167

-Los Angeles, CA…376

-Detroit, MI…344

-Washington D.C…186

Who is responsible?